13- 



plovp:r group 



Scolopacinae arc broadly distinguished from the latter group b>' the 

 backward position of the eye, and the absence of a distinct summer 

 breeding-plumage. The eye is always large, and placed only just in 

 advance of the aperture of the ear or even below it ; the beak is 

 long, slender, and richly furnished with nerves ; while the length of 

 the short shank, or lower segment of the leg, never exceeds that of the 

 middle toe and claw. Like the stints, the three front-toes are free. 

 In habits these birds, as a rule, are largcl}' nocturnal, or rather they 

 become active with the falling shades of evening. With the exception 



HE BOWLAHO 



WOODCOCK. 



of the painted snipe, which is unknown in the Briti.sh Islands, the two 

 se.xes are alike. The woodcock is distinguished from the snipes by 

 the fact that the feathering of the leg reaches down to the joint 

 between the shank and the second segment of the leg, and also by 

 the absence of pale longitudinal stripes on the feathers and the 

 transverse barring of the back of the head and nape of the neck. 

 The aperture of the ear appears to open in advance of the e\'e. The 

 wings are also more rounded, with the first quill the longest, and 

 the short tail has twelve feathers. Two species of woodcock inhabit 

 the Old World, one of which is confined to Java ami Xcw Guinea, 

 while the other ranges over Europe, northern Asia, and the 

 Himalaya, migrating in winter to the south of Europe, northern 



