PIN-TAILED SNIPE. 123 
84. Subspilura megala.—PIN-TAILED SNIPE. 
Mathews, Vol. III., pt. 4, pl. 167, Dec. 31st, 1913. 
Gallinago megala Swinhoe, Ibis, 1861, p. 343, Oct. : Pekin, China. 
Gallinago heierocerca Cabanis, Journ. fiir Orn., 1870 (June No.), p. 235: Luzon. 
Gallinago australis oweni Mathews, Nov. Zool., Vol. XVIII., p. 223, Jan. 31st, 1912: Parry’s 
Creek, North-west Australia. 
DistRiIBuTion.— Winter visitor to Northern Australia, breeding in the northern hemisphere. 
Adult male —Differs from Ditelmatias hardwickii (Gray) in its smaller size, and 
in having twenty tail-feathers, the outer six on each side being very narrow, the 
outermost being the narrowest and the others increasing in width. The light streaks 
in the head are much lighter—that is, with only a tinge of buff ; the colouring of the 
upper-surface is much lighter. The two outer tail-feathers are tipped with white, 
with irregular bands of brown, more noticeable on the inner web; the next four 
becoming gradually more uniform blackish-brown ; distal half of bill blackish- 
brown, basal half of upper mandible greyish-brown ; base of lower mandible grey ; 
iris brown ; feet and tarsus lead-grey. Total length 257 mm. (in the flesh) ; culmen 
59, wing 188, tail 55, tarsus 35. 
Adult female-——Similar to the male. 
Immature—Duller above, with rufous edgings to the feathers above and behind 
the eyes, to the inner webs of the scapulars and upper tail-coverts ; the wing-coverts 
more dusky ; the markings on the scapulars and secondaries are more rufous ; the 
outer tail-feathers lack the bold white tips of the adult, the markings being dusky ; 
the under tail-coverts are also dusky-rufous, not pale buffy-white, and the feathers 
of the throat and upper-breast have longitudinal black centre-streaks. 
Nestling—Does not appear to have been described. 
Nest-—A hollow, lined with grass. 
Eggs.—Clutch, four; ground-colour, creamy-white or a little more yellow 
or pale, dirty ochre. The spots of the lower end are of pale reddish, the upper 
reddish-brown or brown; the larger ones slanting, and coming together at the 
larger end, where there are also sometimes either zigzags or spots ; on the rest of 
the surface there are only dots and little stripes; axis 40-43 mm., diameter 30-22. 
Breeding-season.—June. (Siberia.) 
Distribution and forms.—Breeding in Eastern Siberia from Lake Baikal to the 
Sea of Japan, ranging southward in winter to Northern Australia, where it has been 
recorded from Northern Territory and North-west Australia, but occurs in Dutch 
New Guinea, so should be looked for in Queensland. No subspecies are known. 
Genus CALIDRIS. 
Calidris (Anon.) Allg. Lit. Zeitung, Vol. 2, No. 168, June 8th, 1804, col. 542. Type (by 
tautonymy) : Tringa calidris=Tringa canutus Linné. (cf. Richmond (3) p. 581, Aug. 25th, 
1917.) 
Canutus id., 7%. Type (by monotypy): ‘‘ Knot’ = Tringa canutus Linné. 
Calidris Cuvier, Régne Anim., Vol. I., p. 489, ‘1817’ = Dec. 7th, 1816. Type (by mono- 
typy): Tringa canutus Linné. 
Canutus Brehm, Handb. Naturg. Vogel Deutschl., p. 653, (pref. July) 1831. Type (by 
tautonymy): Tringa canutus Linné. 
Tringa Gray, List. Genera Birds, Ist ed., p. 69, April 1840. Type (by original designation) : 
Tringa canutus, Linné. 
Not of Linné, Syst. Nat., 10th ed., p. 148, 1758. 
Stout medium Waders with short straight bills, long wings, short tail, short 
stout legs and feet. The culmen is short, stout and straight, the tip decidedly 
expanded but not punctulate ; the groove in the upper mandible extends almost 
to the tip. The culmen is noticeably depressed, in the terminal half, to the tip ; 
