oo 
Or 
bo 
CHARADRIIDAt 
RED-BREASTED SNIPE. Macrorhamphus griseus 
(J. F. Gmelin). 
Coloured Figures.—Gould, ‘ Birds of Great Britain,’ vol. iv, pl. 
76; Dresser, ‘ Birds of Europe,’ vol. viii, pl. 571; Lilford, 
‘Coloured Figures,’ vol. v, pl. 29. 
The first British specimen of this rare American bird 
was taken about October, 1801, in Devon. It was described 
and figured by Montagu as the ‘ Brown Snipe’ (Ornith. 
Dict.). This specimen is preserved in the British Museum. 
The above county is credited with yielding three more 
examples, while the bird has also been recorded from :— 
England :—Middlesex, Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Lancashire, 
Cumberland, and the Scilly Isles. 
Scotland:— There appear to be but three records, 
namely, one obtained in Fifeshire, September, 1867 (Gray, 
‘Birds of West of Scotland’); this bird is preserved 
in the Edinburgh Museum. Another obtained in Lanark- 
shire (Gray, ‘Ibis,’ 1870). The third was procured in 
Argyll, September 2nd, 1891 (Malcolm, ‘ Zoologist,’ 1891). 
Ireland :— Until 1893, this species was unknown in 
Ireland. During the autumn of that year two examples 
were obtained, the data being as follows:—A female bird, 
in immature plumage, received in Dublin on September 
29th, by the late Mr. E. Williams. This specimen was 
sent up with a consignment of Snipe from Queen’s 
County (E. Williams, ‘Irish Naturalist,’ 1893, p. 302); it 
is now preserved in the Science and Art Museum, Dublin. 
An adult female, received in Birmingham, on October 
llth, by Mr. F. Coburn. This specimen was also found 
among a number of Snipe, sent from the co. Tipperary. 
It was sent to Professor Newton, who is of the opinion that 
it belonged to the western variety (Macrorhampus griseus, 
var. scolopaceus) (G. KX. H. Barrett-Hamilton, ‘ Irish Natura- 
list,’ 1893, pp. 323-4). 
DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. 
PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial—Top of head, blackish, 
mottled with brown ; back, scapulars, and wings, blackish, 
with yellowish edgings; shaft of first primary, white; tail 
and its upper coverts, white and rufous, barred with black ; 
abdomen, reddish-brown ; throat and breast, reddish-brown, 
