Wilson's snipe. 189 



raise while boring for roots and worms, and which, in place 

 of gravel, or other hard substances, appears to be the usual 

 succedaneum they employ to assist their digestion and 

 distend the stomach. 



The length of Wilson's Snipe varies from 11 to 11^ inches; the 

 alar stretch about 17 inches. The bill from 2^ to 2| inches, 

 brown, and black towards the tip (shorter in the young bird.) The 

 crown black, divided by an irregular line of pale brown ; and another 

 of the same tint passes over each eye. A dark brown stripe on the 

 lores, and another oblique one beneath the ears. Neck and upper 

 part of the breast pale brown, with small dusky longitudinal spots. 

 Chin pale and spotless, white, tinged with brown. Back and scapu- 

 lars deep black with bronzy reflections, the latter faintly barred, and 

 broadly edged exteriorly with pale-brown and white ; the central 

 feathers of the back broadly edged on their outer margins with di- 

 lute brown, thus producing two broad pale stripes down the centre 

 of the back, the same feathers also minutely tipt with brown. Wings 

 plain dusky ; outer web of the 1st primary as well as the lower por- 

 tion of the shaft white. Outer spurious feather of the bastard wing 

 much acuminated, and white, except a dusky space along the shaft; 

 wing coverts dusky, tipt with white, the upper ones paler and broadly 

 edged with a tint of brownish- white, the shoulder of the wing dus- 

 ky brown and glossy. Tail coverts long and dusky, faintly barred 

 with pale brown. Tail rounded, black, with a bright ferruginous zig- 

 zag, subterminal, broad band, then crossed by a similar nari^ower dusky 

 bar, and tipt with dilute brown, passing externally into white ; on 

 some of the lower feathers there is either a ferruginous spot below 

 the large bar on the inner web, or a pale greyish ferruginous entire 

 bar; the outermost narrow feather is almost wholly white, tinged 

 with dusky on the inner web, and crossed by 5 dark bands. — 

 This is then, very nearly, the Scolopax hraziliensis of Swainson, but 

 the whole three outer feathers are not white as in that species. The 

 belly white, the sides barred broadly with dusky, but faintly tinted, 

 as well as the breast, with dilute brown. The throat and commence^ 

 ment of the breast, faint greyish-brown, with two broad and darker 

 indistinct stripes along the sides of the throat. Long axillary feath- 

 ers, pure white, with 11 or 12 broad and very elegant angular dusky 

 bands on the longest of them; the lining of the wing white, and 

 also barred with the same. Vent pale brown, the sides tawny, with 



