Part 122

Hudsonian Godwit, Limosa hudsonica, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 426; v. v. p. 592.

GENUS VI. SCOLOPAX, Linn. SNIPE.

Bill twice as long as the head; subulate, straight, compressed for half its length, depressed toward the end; upper mandible with the dorsal line declinate at the base, then straight, at the end slightly arched, that part being considerably enlarged, the ridge convex, towards the end flattened, the sides with a narrow groove extending to near the tip, the edges soft and obtuse or flattened, the tip narrowed, but blunt; lower mandible with the angle extremely long and narrow, the sides erect, with a longitudinal groove, the edges flattened, and directly meeting those of the upper mandible, the extremity enlarged, the tip contracted and rather blunt. Nostrils basal, linear, very small. Head rather small, oblong, the forehead elevated and rounded; neck rather short; body rather full. Legs of moderate length, slender; tibia bare below; tarsus scutellate before and behind; toes very slender, free, scutellate; first toe very small and elevated, lateral toes nearly equal, the outer connected with the third by a basal web. Claws small, slightly arched, compressed, rather acute. Plumage very soft, rather dense. Wings long, narrow, pointed; the first quill longest; inner secondaries much elongated. Tail moderate, nearly even.

351. 1. Scolopax Wilsonii, Temm. Wilson's Snipe.--Common Snipe. English Snipe.

Plate CCXLIII. Male and Female.

Tail of sixteen feathers; upper part of head with two brownish-black longitudinal broad bands, separated by a narrower central pale brown band; another band of the latter colour on each side over the eye, then a loral band of dark brown; chin whitish; neck pale reddish-brown, spotted with brownish-black; general colour of upper parts brownish-black, variegated with pale reddish-brown, of which latter colour are the outer edges of the scapulars and of the lateral feathers on the anterior part of the back; wing-coverts and inner secondaries similarly mottled, the smaller anterior coverts, primary coverts, primary quills, and outer secondaries, deep brown, more or less tipped with white; first quill with the outer web brownish-white, rump barred with yellowish-grey and dusky; upper tail-coverts similar, but the larger barred with brownish-red and black; tail-feathers brownish-black at the base, with a broad subterminal band of brownish-red on the outer web of the two middle, and on both webs of the rest, excepting the outer on each side, which is barred with brownish-black and white, the black bars five, the tips of all white; anterior part of breast like the neck, the rest white; abdomen and lower tail-coverts greyish-yellow, barred with brownish-black, as are the sides; axillars white, barred with greyish-black, lower wing-coverts similarly marked.

Male, 10-1/2, 17.

Distributed throughout the country. Breeds from Virginia northwards. Exceedingly abundant in the Southern and Western Districts during winter.

Scolopax Wilsonii, Bonap. Syn. p. 330.

Snipe, Scolopax Gallinago, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. vi. p. 18.

Scolopax Wilsonii, Wilson's Snipe, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 401.

Wilson's Snipe, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 185.

American Snipe, Scolopax Wilsonii, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 322; v. v. p. 583.

352. 2. Scolopax Drummondii, Swains. Drummond's Snipe.

Not figured.

"Dorsal plumage and wings mostly brownish-black; the top of the head, scapulars, interscapulars, intermediate coverts, posterior greater ones, and tertiaries, reflecting green and mottled, or barred with yellowish-brown; this colour also forming stripes from the forehead to the nape, over the eyes to the sides of the neck, and more broadly on the exterior edges of the scapulars and interscapulars; middle dorsal plumage and first quill fringed with white, and most of the wing-coverts and lesser quills tipped with the same. Shafts of the primaries deep brown, an inch of the first near its point whitish. Rump and tail-coverts rich greenish-black, with reddish-orange or ferruginous ends, crossed by a blackish subterminal line, and tipped with white; the three exterior pairs barred externally with clove-brown and brownish-white, the white tips broader; the two intermediate pairs coloured nearly like the middle ones, but partly barred and tipped with white. Under plumage, a dark brown stripe on the lores, another under the ear; sides of the head, front of the neck, and breast pale wood-brown, with central spots of dark umber; the flanks, insides of the wings, and under tail-coverts barred with black and white, which on the latter is tinged with brown; belly white; bill blackish towards its tip, dark wood-brown at the base. Length 11-1/2, wing 5-3/8.

"Fur Countries to Lat. 55°. Rocky Mountains."

Scolopax Drummondii, Drummond's Snipe, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 400.

Drummond's Snipe, Scolopax Drummondii, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 319.

353. 3. Scolopax Noveboracensis, Gmel. Red-breasted Snipe.

Plate CCCXXXV. Adult in summer and winter.

Tail of twelve feathers; bill dark olive; feet light yellowish-olive. In summer, the upper parts brownish-black, variegated with light brownish-red, the feathers being margined and the scapulars obliquely barred with that colour; hind part of back, upper tail-coverts, and tail-feathers light buff or white, barred with black, the bars on the tail seven or eight, and its tip white; wing-coverts and secondaries greyish-brown, margined with greyish-white; secondary coverts tipped with white, the quills tipped and obliquely banded with the same; alula, primary coverts, and quills brownish-black, the shaft of the first quill white; from the base of the bill to the eye, and surrounding it, a dull reddish-white band; loral space dusky; all the lower parts dull orange-red, with streaks and spots of black, more numerous along the sides and on the tail-coverts. In winter, the upper parts of a nearly uniform brownish-grey, the hind part of the back and tail barred as in summer, head and neck all round ash-grey, streaked with dusky, the rest of the lower parts greyish-white, the sides barred with dusky.

Adult, 10-1/4, 18-1/2.

Passes in immense numbers from Texas eastward and northward to the highest latitudes, where it breeds, and returns in autumn. Occasionally seen in groups through the interior. Columbia River.

Red-breasted Snipe, Scolopax noveboracensis, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. vii. p. 48.

Scolopax grisea, Bonap. Syn. p. 330.

Scolopax noveboracensis, New York Godwit, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 398.

Brown or Red-breasted Snipe, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 181.