THE PLOVER TRIBE 



2271 



and measures from ten and one-half to eleven and one-half inches in length, is 

 characterized by the greater portion of the four outer tail feathers on each side be- 

 ing white, and by the broad white tips to the median tail coverts. A rare straggler 

 during (chiefly autumnal) migration to the British Islands, the great snipe breeds 

 in Northern and some parts of Southeastern Europe, and as far eastward as the 

 valley of the Yenisei, while in winter the majority sojourn in South Africa. East- 

 ward of the Yenisei its place is taken by Swinhoe's snipe (S. megala), which be- 

 longs to the preceding group, having twenty tail feathers. The best-known mem- 

 ber of the whole group is the common 

 snipe (S. galinago}, some of the leading 

 features of which have been already alluded 

 to on p. 2268. This species, which at- 

 tains a length of ten and one-half inches, 

 is, however, characterized by possessing 

 fourteen tail feathers, by the breast being 

 marked with longitudinal dark streaks, 

 and by the axillaries being white, more 

 or less marked with gray. The breeding 

 range of the common snipe comprises 

 Northern and Central Europe as far as the 

 Arctic Ocean, and southward to the Alps 

 and Southern Russia, while eastward it 

 extends through Siberia and Turkestan to 

 Southeastern Mongolia. In winter the 

 birds from the northern portion of this 

 extensive area spread themselves over the 

 countries on both sides of the Mediterra- 

 nean, Persia, India, Ceylon, Burma, China, and the Philippines. In North Amer- 

 ica this species is replaced by a variety known as Wilson's snipe, in the typical 

 form of which the beak is shorter, and the tail feathers sixteen in number, while the 

 axillaries are barred with brown, and the breast is marked with transverse bars. 

 Intermediate forms, however, completely connect the two races; these being fre- 

 quently met with in India. The breeding area of Wilson's snipe extends from the 

 Arctic Circle to the Northern United States, while in winter the species ranges to 

 Central and Northern South America. The last species to which we can allude is 

 the jack snipe (S. gallinula), which is a common winter visitor to Britain, and is 

 characterized by its small size (length, seven and one-half inches), its twelve tail 

 feathers, the purple gloss on the feathers of the upper parts, and the metallic-green 

 hue of the inner webs of the scapulars. 



Undergoing but slight seasonal variation in plumage, snipe are to be found at 

 all times of the year among the protection afforded by the sedge, grass, or other 

 vegetation of marshy places, from which they rise suddenly when flushed, with the 

 well-known staich, but without much whirring of the wings, and dart off with 

 lightning-like rapidity. Of the flight of Wilson's snipe Dr. G. B. Grinnell observes 

 that ' ' most birds when they rise from the ground appear to have some definite idea 



COMMON SNIPE. 



