566 Mr. E. A. S. Elliot on the Godwits. 



Bineteen years after (1895) that we got any considerable 

 number in the estuary in full dress^ and this was followed 

 by a much bigger flight in 1896 under similar climatic 

 conditions, and when a very beautiful series of males and 

 females were secured. This year we got birds in April, but 

 saw none in May ; the east wind came too late. 



At the very first shift in the wind to the south or west 

 the Godwit takes its leave, so that I have known birds in 

 numbers in the estuary in the evening (just dropped in), and 

 not one to be seen at daybreak next morning. 



The autumn-plumaged bird, when the young and old so 

 much resemble each other in plumage (the young may 

 always be known by the proportionately shorter bill), and 

 in which the females can only be separated from the males 

 by their superior size and length of bill, needs no descrip- 

 tion. As winter advances some changes ensue that are 

 interesting ; but, after all, it is only that change which is 

 characteristic of many of our seaside Waders. I mean that 

 the feathers of the mantle change from blackish brown with 

 buff edging to ash-grey with white edging, and the same 

 with the secondaries and wing-coverts, whilst the buff colour 

 on the thorax disappears. As regards the markings on the 

 tail, from which this bird takes its name, it is quite 

 true that the tail of the adult in winter becomes nearly 

 wholly ash-grey, losing in great measure the characteristic 

 bars. I cannot, however, agree with the late Mr. Seebohm, 

 who wrote : " The term Bar-tailed Godwit is an unfortunate 

 one, as the tails of fully adult birds in winter plumage 

 show scarcely any traces of bars," because the tail-coverts 

 cover the entire tail, with the exception of just an inch 

 at the tip, and these coverts are always strongly barred, 

 so that the old shore-shooters who first described the species 

 were not practically incorrect in distinguishing this species 

 by the name Bar-tailed, in contradistinction to Black-tailed. 

 Besides, as a rule, it is only the few central tail-feathers 

 that lose, in this measure, their characteristic markings, 

 and the side tail-feathers will always be found more or less 

 strongly barred. The question next arises, is the tail moulted 



