3o6 Allen's naturalist's library. 



the end of both mandibles, which are pitted. The female has 

 a longer bill than the male. 



Two species of Macrorhawphus are recognised, one being 

 North American and the other inhabiting Eastern Siberia. It 

 is the former which has visited Great Britain on several occa- 

 sions. 



I. THE RED-BREASTED SNIPE-TATTLER. MACRORHAMPHUS 

 GRISEUS. 



Scolopax gj'isea, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 658 (1788). 

 Macrorhaniphus griseus, Macgill. Brit. B, iv. p. 275 (1852); 



Dresser, B. Eur. viii. p. 187, pi. 571 (1878); B. O. U. 



List Brit. B. p. 177 (1883) ; Saunders, ed. Yarrell's Brit. 



B. iii. p. 357 (1883); id. Man. Brit. B. p. 561 (1889); 



Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxiv. p, 394 (1896). 

 Ereunetes griseus^ Seebohm, Hist. Brit. B. iii. p. 168 (1885). 



Adult Male in Breeding Plumage. — General colour above very 

 dark, the feathers being black, with pale cinnamon or buffy- 

 white spots on either web of the feathers, the scapulars barred 

 with rufous or buffy-white like the long innermost secondaries; 

 wing-coverts like the back, wath white tips to the greater series, 

 the coverts uniform brown where the rufous spotting of the sum- 

 mer plumage has not commenced ; bastard-wing, primary- 

 coverts, and quills blackish, the latter with brown shafts, except 

 the first one, which has a white shaft ; the inner primary- 

 coverts and inner primaries tipped with white, the latter with a 

 whity-brown longitudinal streak along the terminal region of 

 the shaft ; the secondaries margined with white externally and 

 round the tip, with a white shaft-streak also ; the innermost 

 secondaries like the back; lower back and rump white, the 

 latter with black spots or horseshoe-shaped bars; the upper 

 tail-coverts and centre tail-feathers white, washed with rufous, 

 and barred across with dusky black, the former with a sub-ter- 

 minal black spot as well; remainder of the tail-feathers blackish- 

 brown, barred with white, these bars narrower than the dusky 

 ones and somewhat irregular in shape ; crown of head nearly 

 uniform blackish, except for a few spots of pale cinnamon, the 

 hinder-neck streaked with the latter colour and dusky blackish ; 

 a broad eyebrow of sandy-buff; sides of the face of the same 



