Ornithological biography, Vol. 4 (of 5) : $b An account of the habits of the birds of the United States of AmericaAudubon, John James
Science
Ornithological biography, Vol. 4 (of 5) : $b An account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America
Audubon, John James
Birds -- North America
SEMIPALMATED RING PLOVER, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 24.
Adult Male. Plate CCCXXX. Fig. 1.
Bill shorter than the head, straight, somewhat cylindrical. Upper
mandible with the dorsal line straight for half its length, then
bulging a little and curving to the tip, which is rather acute, the
sides sloping at the base, convex towards the end, where the edges are
sharp and direct. Nasal groove extended along more than half of the
mandible; nostrils basal, linear, in the lower part of the membrane,
open, and pervious. Lower mandible with the angle short, narrow, but
rounded, the sides at the base sloping outwards and flat, the dorsal
line ascending and slightly convex, the edges sharp and involute
towards the tip.
Head of moderate size, oblong, rather compressed, the forehead rounded.
Eyes large. Neck rather short. Body ovate, compact. Wings long. Feet
slender, of moderate length; tibia bare a considerable way above the
joint; tarsus of moderate length, rather compressed, covered all round
with sub-hexagonal scales; toes slender; the hind toe wanting; third
or middle toe much longer than the outer, which exceeds the inner; all
with numerous scutella; the outer connected with the middle toe by a
web which extends to the second joint of the former, and runs along
the edge of the latter, forming a broad margin, the outer toe also
connected with the middle toe by a short membrane which does not extend
more than half-way to the second joint. Claws small, slightly arched,
compressed, rather blunt, that of the middle toe having the inner edge
dilated.
Plumage soft and blended; the feathers rounded, those of the back
somewhat distinct. Wings long and pointed; primary quills tapering, the
first longest, the second a little shorter, the rest rapidly graduated;
outer secondaries incurved and obliquely emarginate; the inner tapering
and elongated, one of them reaching to half an inch from the tip of
the longest primary. Tail of moderate length, considerably rounded, of
twelve feathers.
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