The female may easily be distinguished from the male, by her superior size; but in the colouring of birds of both sexes, I have observed as much difference as in the Turnstone. Even during winter, some are more or less marked with black and brownish-red, while others, which, however, I easily ascertained to be younger birds, were of an almost uniform light grey above, each feather edged with dull white; but in all those which I have examined, whether old birds in the full spring or summer dress, in which I have shot some in May, in the Middle Districts, or young birds in autumn and during winter, I have seen no difference in the colours of the bill, legs, and toes. My plate of this species represents two birds in winter plumage, which were obtained in East Florida in the month of December. The figure of a fine male, which, being on another sheet of paper, was overlooked during my absence from London, you will find in Plate CCLXXXV. of “The Birds of America.”
Charadrius Calidris, Linn. Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 255.—Lath. Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 741, in Winter.
Charadrius rubidus, Ibid. p. 740, in Summer.
Tringa arenaria, Ch. Bonaparte, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 320.
Calidris arenaria, Sanderling, Swains. and Richards. Fauna Bor. Amer. part ii. p. 366.
Ruddy Plover, Charadrius rubidus, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. vii. p. 129. pl. 63. fig. 3.—Summer dress.
Sanderling Plover, Ibidem, vol. vii. p. 68. pl. 59. fig. 4. Winter dress.—Nuttall, Manual, vol. ii. p. 4.
Adult Male in winter. Plate CCXXX. Fig. 1.
Bill rather longer than the head, slender, subcylindrical, straight, flexible, compressed at the base, the point rather depressed and obtuse. Upper mandible with the dorsal line nearly straight, slightly sloping to beyond the middle, the ridge convex, towards the end flattened, at the point convex; sides sloping, edges rather blunt and soft. Nasal groove long; nostrils basal, linear, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle long and very narrow, the dorsal line slightly convex, the sides sloping outwards, towards the end convex.
Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed. Eyes rather large. Neck of moderate length. Body rather slender. Feet slender, of moderate length; tibia bare a considerably way up; tarsus compressed, anteriorly and posteriorly with numerous small scutella; hind toe wanting; toes of moderate length, slender; inner toe shorter than outer, middle toe considerably longer, all scutellate above and marginate, with prominent papillæ, and free; claws small, slightly curved, extremely compressed, blunt.