144 MANUAL OF PHILIPPINE BIRDS. 



Species. 



a\ Tail-feathers twenty or more, the outer ones stiffened and very narrow; dark 

 bars on axillars wider than tlie white bars. 



b^. Tail shorter, about 48 mm.; tniter featheis narrower stenura (p. 144) 



b-. Tail longer, about 53 mm.; outer feathers wider megala (p. 145) 



a-'. Tail-feathers usually fourteen in number, neither excessively stifT nor narrow; 

 dark bars on axillars narrow or obsolete gallinago (p. 146) 



121. GALLINAGO STENURA (Bonaparte). 



PIKTAIL SNIPE. 



Scolopax stenura Boxa1'.\rte, ex Kuhl MS. Ann. Stor. Nat. Bolonga (1830), 



4, 335. 

 Gallitiago stenura Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (189()). 24, (il!); Hand-List 



(1 899 ) , 1 , 165 ; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List ( 1 906 ) , 29. 



Calayan {McGregor) ; Mindanao (Murray); Palawan (White). Eastern Si- 

 beria to the Yenesei ; in winter China to Malay Peninsula. 



"Adult male in breeding plumage. — Al)ove blackish, striped and mottled 

 with sandy isal)e]line; streaks on the sides of back and scapulars very 

 broad; upper surface interspersed with rufous spots, but general color 

 of the light markings sandy Imff, especially on hind neck : wing-coverts 

 dark brown, marginal series almost uniform, the rest barred with rufous 

 or sandy l)utf, with paler tips, the rufous and black bars very distinct 

 on the greater coverts, where they are regularly indicated : alula and 

 primary-coverts blackish, with narrow white tip ; quills blackish, the 

 first primary browner on outer web, which is narrowly fringed with 

 white; secondaries (outermost of whicli do not exceed })rimary-coverts in 

 length) narrowly fringed with white at tip, inner ones l)arred with rufous 

 and l)lackish, mostly on outer web; innermost long secondaries barre<l 

 across, especially near the ends; tail-feathers blackish brown, ten central 

 ones with a broad band of pale chestnut, followed by a subterminal !)ar 

 of blackish l)rown, before a pale rufescent tip; a second rufous band, con- 

 siderably broken up, a little l)eyond the middle of the feather; eight outer 

 feathers on each side becoming narrower and narrower, till tbe outermost 

 has scarcely any web at all; tbese wire-like feathers with wbite tips, with 

 an indication of a l)lackish subterminal bar; crown black, mottled wilb 

 rufous spots and having a mesial streak of sandy isabellinc; a loral line 

 of black, surmounted by a sui)ra-loral i)atch of sandy isabellinc continued 

 into a narrow eyel)row ; sides of face and ear-coverts isabellinc. rufous 

 just l)ehind eye, entire sides of face having more or less distinct small 

 streaks of blackish, and traversed by a broad blackish line across ear- 

 coverts; fore part of cheeks and cliin sandy isabellinc; tliroat and clu'st 

 sandy buff, slightly mottled with streaks and narrow horseshoe-sba])('d 

 bars of blackish; l)reast and abdomen white; sides of l)ody slightly tinged 

 with sandy bufp, and distinctly barred with black; under tail-coverts 

 pale sandy buff, with blackish centers, longer ones narrowly barred with 



