COMMON SNIPE. 369 



Male. — This species, which is somewhat inferior in size to 

 the last, and greatly exceeds the next, is of the ordinary form 

 in this genus, its body being compact and rather full ; the 

 neck of moderate length, the head rather small, oblong, com- 

 pressed, and rounded above. The bill is twice the length of 

 the head, slender, straight, compressed until near the end, 

 where it is depressed ; the upper mandible with the ridge 

 narrow but obtuse, toward the end sulcate, the lateral groove 

 extending nearly to the end, the edges rather sharp, the tip 

 blunt ; the lower mandible with the angle extremely long 

 and continued into a groove, which extends to the tip, its 

 sides erect, the tip blunt and two-twelfths of an inch shorter 

 than that of the upper mandible. 



The eyes are moderate, their aperture being three- 

 twelfths. That of the ear four-twelfths. The nostrils very 

 small, basal, linear, a twelfth and a half long. The legs are 

 short ; the tibia bare for a third of an inch ; the tarsus short, 

 with eighteen scutella. The hind toe has eight, the inner 

 eighteen, the third thirty, the fourth twenty-eight scutella ; 

 the fore toes entirely separated. The claws are small, 

 arcuate, much compressed, laterally concave at the base, 

 pointed. 



The plumage is moderately compact ; the feathers oblong ; 

 those of the fore part of the back and the scapulars much 

 elongated. The wings rather long, of twenty-five quills ; 

 the primaries slightly incurved, the first longest ; the secon- 

 daries incurved, rounded at the end, the inner straight, 

 elongated, rather acute. The tail is short, somewhat doubly 

 emarginate, of fourteen obtuse feathers. 



Bill greyish-blue at the base, dusky in the rest of its 

 extent, but with two-thirds of the ridge flesh-coloured. 

 Irides brown. Feet pale greenish-blue ; claws black. From 

 the bill to the occiput two broad bands of black, slightly 

 variegated with pale red, and separated by a narrow band of 

 reddish- white ; from the bill over each eye a band of reddish- 

 white ; the loral band dusky ; then a band of reddish-white 

 dotted with brown to behind the eye, and beneath it an 

 obscure band of dusky spots. The throat is reddish- white ; 

 the neck all round variegated with reddish- white tinged with 



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