of the United States. 331 



SUBGENUS III. RUST1C0LA. 



Bknsse proprement dite. Temm. Rusticola, T^ieill. 



Scolopax, Steph. 



Feet short ; tibia wholly feathered ; toes cleft from the 

 very base ; hind nail not projecting beyond the toe, obtuse. 

 Three first primaries very narrow, linear, subequal ; fourth 

 and fifth longest. Tail of twelve feathers. 



Female conspicuously larger, with a much longer bill. 

 Young similar to the adult. Do not change in moulting. 



Colors a mixture of black, rufous, and cinereous. 



Solitary. Live in forests, wooded swamps and thickets, 

 fond of Indian corn fields, seldom seen in open grounds. 

 Carefully watch their young, even carrying them from danger 

 on their back. 



Flight low, slow, direct. Cosmopolite. But two species, 

 one in each continent. 



269. Scolopax minor, Gm.* Hind head black, with three 

 yellowish bands, beneath plain yellowish-rusty ; quills plain 

 dusky. 



Woodcock, Scolopax minor, Wils. vi. p. 40- pi. 43. Jig. 2. 



Inhabits throughout temperate America, wintering between 

 the tropics : very common during the fair season in the mid- 

 dle states where they breed, and a few appear to winter. 



FAMILY XXI. MACRODACTYLI. 



Macrodactyli, Lobipedes, III. Macrodactyli, Cuv. Lair. 

 Macro dactyli, Macroniches, Pinnatipedes, Vicill. 

 Macrodattili, Pinnatipedi, Ranz. Rallidce, Vigors. 

 Bill short or moderate, hard, thick at base, straight, com- 

 pressed, entire, curved at the point, sharp on the edges. Head 



* Scolopax rusticola, L. Head transversely banded ; beneath rustv, 

 undulated with blackish ; quills banded with black and rufous. 

 La Becasse, Buff", pi. enl. 885. 

 Inhabits throughout the old continent : breeding 1 in arctic regions. 



