BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER.
Adult in winter, l'lato CCOXXXIV. Fig. 3,
The adult in winter has the. upper parts light greyish-brown, the
margins of the feathers muc&Jighter'; the sides and fo®'part s of the
neck pale grey, with dark grey streaks and spots ; lower parts" white.
I n other ..respects the "colours are as in summer.
I n an adult male :o| this spefties, there is a double! row of papilla:
<m the roof of the mouth. The tongue is I inch loffig, -slender, tapering,
emarginate and ¡papillate at the .basetigoeoved aliové/hortiy on the
back. : The.oesQphagus a, is 5 irtchcS-bvl ^
long, at its upper pjtrt 1 twelfths in a
diameter, enlarged to I inch on. the* •.. - • ' .o MsÉ&Ë .
lower part of the-neck. .1 T h e ¡proven- . f J .
trieulus, 6, oblong, its greatest dia- M| ^^
meter 8 twelfths, its-glandule's o b l o u g * -; • ^ j f c S r j ^
anil about a twelfth in length. The ' • ' ' ':,•
stomach, c, d, is a very powerful •
gizzard of an irregular roundish form, 1 -b
1 inch. 5 twelfths long, 1 inch 3J
twelfths in b readth; i t s lateral muscles >
very large and distinct, the right d, • ^ y f â É E K K Ê K Ê Ë Ê k -
4 twelfths thick, the left,,«, 3 twelfths, l ift
the tendons large ; the ¿epithelium I l u V
thick, longitudinally rugous, and of a
reddish colour. The intestine g, h, i, V V ^
is 2 feet 2 inches long, it* diameter ' f
about 2 twelfths ; the aoeca'2 inches N. v )
2 twelfths long, their diameter at the '
base-half:a twelfth, toward the end 2 twelfths: the rectum 3 twelfth*
in diameter, and 2% indies long.
I n the stomach were several shrimps. The lobes of the liter very
unequal, the right being 2* inches .in length, the other J S - No gallbladder.
,
The trachea is wide, flattened, membranous, 4 twelfths'broad at
t h e upper part, gradually diminishing to 2 twelfths,1 i t s rings which are
very slender, about 100. The lateral muscles: exceedingly thin, but becoming
more distinct towards the lower part ; the sterno-tra'cheal slender.
Bronchi of moderate length, of about 20 half-rings.
R E D - B R E A S T E 1 ) SNIPE.
SCOI.OJ'AX SorF.uoRAcr.xsis, GMEL.
l ' l . A TB CCCXXX V. ANFIT i s BI'MMKR AKD WISTEA.
ON our arrival =irf the mouths of the Mississippi, on the first of
April 1837, 1 observed large flocks of this species on their way eastw
,:
a r ( i . M M i in their winter pi,image, and it was pleasing
M M how short a period that gaxb was changed, as we had opport
u n i t i e s M — 0® E S At B H 0 1 1 the
8 — I having reddish feathers scattered over their lower parts
wer'e procured. On the 13th, ai»Gayo Island, the change of colour was
very considerable in some specimens, which I found to H g W g
while the .younger were quite,.grey above, and H H At
Derniere Isle on the 16th,1 several M shot in as fine plumage as
that represented in my plate, and iewcvcn of the younger birds, were
without some-of • the markings peculiar to the summer dress; Thenl
u m b e r s were exceedingly great, and ççntinued without diminution
until we reached Galveston Bay in Te*as, on the 26th of the same
month. How far they proceed beyond that place to spend the winter
I am unable to say but their range ..ver North America-is known to
b e very extensive, as they have been found on the Columbia H |
t h e western icSast. on the borders Qf t h e r e a t northern lakes, and over
the whole extent of the Eur Countries, from the time of their appearance
in spring until that of their return "southward in autumn.
Although much more abundant along the coast, and in its vicinity,
the Bed-breasted Snipcjs not uncommon in many parts of the interior,
' especially in a u t umn , . « I have procured many individuals along the
muddy margins of lakes, more than three hundred miles in a direct
line from the; sea. I|l. migratory movements are performed wi t h uncommon
celerity, as many are observed along the coast of New Jersey
early in April, and afterwards on the borders of the arctic sea, in time
t 0 voiu. young, and return to .our Eastern and Middle Districts before
the end of August.
This bird exhibits at t i m e » manner of feeding which appeared to
roe singular, and which I repeatedly witnessed while at Grande Terre