86 BRITISH BIRDS 



THE GODWITS. 



The Bar-Tailed Godwit. 



Also called the Red-breasted Snipe, from the bright 

 chestnut red, deepening to orange-brown on the vent, of the 

 whole under surface of the body ; the upper parts are brown, 

 spotted with black, except the rump which is white, a bar 

 of a greenish colour across the middle of the wing, and a 

 yellowish-brown tail crossed by four bars of a greyish 

 black colour : the bill is orange with a black tip, and 

 the long legs and toes are greenish grey. 



BAR-TAILED GODWITS. 



The Godwits visit us in winter and breed in the north. 

 They are considered to be very good eating, but have a 

 decidedly fishy taste, as might be expected from their diet : 

 this they extract from the mud at the mouths of rivers 

 which they frequent. They are nearly the size of a 

 Woodcock, the female being, as is usual in this and some 

 allied families, a little bigger than the male. 



