288 Allen's naturalist's library. 



plumage or in immature dress are difficult to distinguish from 

 the same phases of our Common Summer-Snipe. The Ameri- 

 can species, however, may be distinguished by the greater 

 amount of yellow on the under mandible, and by the broad sub- 

 terminal band which is continuous throughout the secondary 

 quills. In T. hypokucus the inner secondaries are, for the most 

 part, white. 



Range in Great Britain. — This species has a very doubtful right 

 to be included in the British List, and Mr. Howard Saunders 

 considers that, of all the recorded instances, only two are pos- 

 sibly genuine. I have retained it simply because, like so many 

 other American waders which visit us, it is a bird which may 

 occur accidentally. 



Range outside the British Islands. — The American Summer Snipe 

 breeds throughout North America, generally not beyond the 

 Arctic Circle, and visits, in winter. Central America, the 

 West Indies, and the northern part of the South American 

 Continent. 



Habits. — We quote the following note from Mr. D. G. 

 Elliot's recent work : — " It arrives in April from the far 

 southern lands where it has passed the winter, and soon com- 

 mences the courtship preparatory to the nesting season. The 

 'Tilt-up,' or 'Peet-weet' as it is also called, does not go in 

 flocks of any size, but is rather solitary in its disposition, an 

 individual or pair seeming to appropriate a certain amount of 

 the shore, where they dwell contentedly, only flying when dis- 

 turbed higher up or lower down the river, as the case may be ; 

 and then if any ' Tilt-up ' is on the particular spot near where 

 they desire to alight, they move on to some other part of the 

 bank or beach. The flight is rapid, performed with quick, 

 stiff beats of the wings, and the bird utters frequently its cry 

 oi pcet-wcet as it passes alonsj. It is a most comical species to 

 watch upon the shore. When it alights after its short flight, 

 it may stand for an instant motionless, contemplating its sur- 

 roundings, and then it makes a profound bow, inclining both 

 head and neck, at the same time elevating its hindquarters in 

 a seeming derogatory manner, very disrespectful to the on- 

 lookers ; and as if to emphasise the fact that the motion was 

 intended for each and all of those present, it deliberately 



