314 SCOLOPACID^E. 



black ; irides dark brown ; around the eye a patch of white ; 

 a narrow stripe down the back of the neck; all the back 

 and rump nearly black, with pale yellow margins ; lesser 

 wing-coverts lead-grey, edged with white ; greater wing- 

 coverts and secondaries lead-grey, with broad ends of white ; 

 tertials also lead-grey, margined with orange-yellow ; quill 

 and tail-feathers almost black ; the front and sides of the 

 neck, the breast, and all the under surface of the body 

 uniform reddish-chestnut, or bay; under surface of tail- 

 feathers ash-grey; legs, toes, and their lobed membranes 

 yellow ; the claws black. 



When changing in autumn to the plumage of winter, the 

 bay under-colour is lost by degrees ; the first grey feathers 

 that appear are the scapulars, and from thence down the 

 sides of the back ; afterwards those of the interscapular 

 space, and the centre of the back below ; the orange-coloured 

 margins of the tertials becoming paler. 



In winter the beak becomes black, more than halfway from 

 the tip ; around its base, and on the top of the head, white ; 

 irides dark brown ; around the eye dusky black ; a patch of 

 the same colour on the ear-coverts and on the occiput ; back 

 of the neck, scapulars, upper wing-coverts, and all the back, 

 uniform pearl-grey ; greater coverts, secondaries, and tertials, 

 lead-grey, margined with white ; primaries as in summer ; 

 tail-feathers ash-grey, margined with white ; chin, neck in 

 front, breast, and all the under surface cf the body pure 

 white, except a small patch of pearl-grey before the point 

 of the wings, but not extending round the front ; legs, toes, 

 and membranes yellowish ; the claws black. 



Specimens vary considerably in size ; the females are the 

 largest, and measure about eight inches and a quarter in 

 their whole length ; the males usually' half an inch less ; 

 from the carpal joint to the end of the wing four inches and 

 three-quarters. 



