The Snipes. 467 



In this species the sexes do not vary 

 much in size. Length up to i2|; wing 

 about 51; tail 2^; bill about 2|. The 

 bill is greenish brown for two-thirds of 

 its length from the base, then horny 

 brown ; the irides are brown ; the legs 

 and feet are brownish green. Weight up 

 to rather more than 45 oz. The tail- 

 feathers are fourteen in number (occasion- 

 ally sixteen), and all of them are of the 

 ordinary kind, soft and broad, the laterals 

 not narrowed nor stiff. 



Allied to the Common Snipe is the 

 Great, or Double, Snipe (fiallinago 

 major), which is not unlikely to be found 

 to occur within our limits as a chance 

 visitor. In this species, the three outer 

 feathers of the tail, on either side, are 

 narrower than the others, being about 

 three-tenths of an inch in width. They 

 are pure white, with just one or two small 

 black bars at the base of the outer web. 

 The larger upper wing-coverts are tipped 

 with white. This Snipe is rather larger 

 than the Common Snipe. These cha- 

 racters should suffice for the separa- 

 tion of this species from all other Indian 

 Snipes. 



