2 A Bryant, Noies on Some Limicoline Birds. [^^j "j",^. 



The Snipe (Gallinago australis) is the ordinary Snipe that you 

 have all seen and eaten during the early part of summer. It is 

 one of the most gamey birds that visit us, and it is highly prized 

 both for the table and the sport it affords. This Snipe arrives 

 here late in August, and continues to come over in some seasons 

 in large numbers ; in others, in very small numbers, I am sorry 

 to say. The average weight is from 5 to 6 ozs., but I have shot 

 them as late as March weighing over lo ozs. Mr. R. Hall informs 

 me that the Australian Snipe breeds in Siberia,* and that it is 

 more than probable that most of the birds that visit us come all 

 the way from the tundras. This Snipe travels probably by night, 

 and arrives about the period of the full moon nearest the end of 

 August or beginning of September. The description of this bird 

 you all know, so I will not inflict it upon you, and the sexes are 

 exactly alike. 



Marsh Tringa, or Sharp-tailed Stint {Tringa acuminata). — This 

 bird is a little over half the size of a Snipe, and arrives in large 

 flocks in September and October, settling in the swamps and marshes 

 near the coast line. They are very fond of the insects and worms 

 which inhabit the greenish seaweed noticed at low tide along the 

 bay. In the swamps I have noticed they prefer the slightly brackish 

 places to those where the water is fresh, and when the swamp is 

 drying off and the water is low and the mud nice and black and 

 oozy these birds are usually very thick, if not disturbed. They 

 afford excellent sport, as they are very swift fliers, and if taken 

 singly require a skilled shot to stop them ; of course a shot into 

 the brown makes a nice addition to the game bag, and I notice 

 my friends do not miss many chances of this sort if they come their 

 way. They are a delicious table bird if properly cooked, and in 

 my opinion quite as good as the ordinary Snipe. 



Curlew Stint [Ancylochilus siiharqiiatus). — This species is not 

 quite so large as the Sharp-tailed Stint, and has a curved bill instead 

 of a straight one, which is also rather longer than that of the Sharp- 

 tailed Stint. It is ashy-brown above, with dark centres to the 

 feathers ; rump and under surface white, and white bar on the 

 upper surface of the tail. This bird is just as swift as the Sharp- 

 tailed Stint, is not quite so good a table bird, but has exactly 

 the same habits in every way. 



Little Stint {Limonites riificollis). — This little bird is about half 

 the size of a Tringa, with ashy-grey back and head, white abdomen, 

 and straight bill. These birds arrive at the same time as the 

 Tringa, and are usually seen in large flocks. They are fonder of 

 a sandy beach than the Tringa, and are exceedingly swift fliers, but 

 being so small are hardly worth shooting as a table bird. 



The Lesser Golden Plover {Charadriits dominicus) affects open 

 lands in the neighbourhood of the sea-beach, or swampy places ; it 

 swims and flies rapidly, and closely resembles the European Golden 



* This Snipe is known to breed in Japan. See "Nests and Eggs " (Camp.), 

 p. 823. 



