Pal<sarctic Birds^ ^ffffs, 179 



or morass, sometimes close to a small earth-mound, and often 

 in a perfectly exposed position. Not unfrequently a pair will 

 take possession of a small islet or tongue of land sparsely 

 covered with grass, the nest itself being a mere heap of dry 

 herbage with a slight depression in the middle. The full 

 complement of eggs varies from two to four, consisting more 

 frequently of the smaller number. In general appearance they 

 much resemble those of Chettusia gregaria, but are consider- 

 ably smaller ; the ground-colour is clay-ochreous, occasionally 

 tinged with olivaceous, and the markings, which are commonly 

 distributed over the surface of the e^^, though, as a rule, more 

 profusely at the larger end, are black, the shell-markings 

 being paler and duller, and the surface-spots and blotches 

 deeper in colour. The length varies from 1*5 to 1*7 and the 

 width from 1"12 to Tlo inches. In the early part of May 

 Mr. Zarudny found both fresh and incubated eggs, while at 

 the end of May and early in June he saw, near Merv, young 

 birds just able to fly. 



The two eggs figured are a clutch received from Mr. Za- 

 rudny, and were taken by him at Dort Kuju, in Trans- 

 caspia. They measure 1'59 by TIS and 1'56 by 1'12 inches 

 respectively. 



(2) Gallinago stenura. Pin-tailed Snipe. (PL VI. 

 figs. 3-6.) 



According to Taczanovvski, Col. Prjevalski found the Pin^ 

 tailed Snipe breeding on the Ussuri, in Mongolia; and that 

 traveller has given (Rowley's Orn. Misc. iii. p. 92) some 

 details respecting its habits, but has not described or figured 

 the nest and eggs. I may also remark that the egg figured 

 by Dr. Dybowski (J. f. O. 1873, p. 104, tab. ii. fig. 31), and 

 referred to under the name "Gallinago heterocerca Cab.,^' is, 

 as Taczanowski informed me, not that of the present species, 

 but of Gallinago megala Swinhoe. 



Mr. H. Ley borne Popham met with this Snipe on the 

 Yenesei in 1895, and shot a female, apparently from the 

 nest, but, after a careful search, failed to find the latter. 

 In 1897, however, he discovered on the 28th May a nest of 



N 2 



