Til 



SCOLOPACI1XE. 



8COLOPACID.K. 



n 



Mr. Oould observes that there an two other snipes which exceed this 

 in sue, found in the billy districts of India ; and a third from Mexico, 

 whoM tiie is superior to that of a woodcock. (' Birdi of Europe.') 



itaeroram^ia. Leach ; If. griteut, Scolopajc yrtsw, AaeL ; Brown 

 Snipe of Pennant Temminck places the genus Strtpnltu in this 

 futuily, but the species are more closely allied to the Oyster-Catchers. 

 [CRARJLDBI&OJK.I 



Totaniu. It lias the bill moderate, straight, sometime* slightly 

 recurred, firm, rounded, the upper mandible grooved and with iu tip 

 curving over the lower mandible ; nostrils lateral, basal, linear, longi- 

 tudinally cleft in the furrow of the mandible; leg* long, slender, 

 naked above the knee ; toes three before, united at the base by a small 

 membrane, and one behind, which is abort ; wings moderate. 



Such is the character of tboae Scolopacida which are termed by the 

 English Redshanks, Oreenahanks, Ac., and by the French Chevaliers. 



T. ttagnalUii. This bird is subject to considerable variations. In 

 the first year they are the .Wojxix Tutaimt of Linnrcus. In their 

 summer plumage they are the Tolaata tlaynalilli of Leisler. It is 

 found in the north of Kurope, on the borders of riven, migrates along 

 the eastern provinces of Europe to the Mediterranean, but never along 

 the maritime coasts of the ocean. (Temm.) 



ifadula. Bill straight, rather slender, with a smooth ami dilated 

 lip ; nostrils bavil, lateral, linear, situated in the commencement of 

 the groove; wings long and sharp-pointed; first and second quills 

 equal and longest. Legs long, slender, and naked high above the tarsal 

 joint; three anterior toes, one posterior, which is short; outer toe 

 connected to the middle toe by a membrane an far as the first joint. 



tl. jmgnax, the Runt It is the Combattant and Paon de Mer of 

 the French ; Selsarola and Uccello Muto of the Italians ; Itruushane of 

 the Danes; Brushane of the Swedes; Streitscbnepfe and Kampfhuhn- 

 lein of the Germans ; Run" (male), Iteeve (female), of the English ; and 

 Yr Ymladdgar of the Welak 



Mile Ruff (Uarkrtn w 1 ""). In Winter Plumage. 



The tail rounded, the two middle feathers striped ; the thr.i lateral 

 feathen always uniform in colour. The hues of the plumage so 



variable, that it is almost impossible to find two individuals which 

 perfectly resemble each other. 



Hale Raff (Uacketa pugnax), in hi Summer dress. 



The plumage of the male differs much in summer nnd winter. In 

 his autumn or winter plumage lie is the Trinya rariegala of Brunwich. 

 In his summer or nuptial plumago the male is the Tringa pugnax of 

 Linnccus. 



The young of the year much resembles the female in winter plumage. 

 In thia state the bird is the Tringa littorca of Linnicus ; Le Chevalier 

 Varid of Buffon; Shore Sandpiper and Greenwich Sandpiper of Latham. 



The adult female and the young after the autumnal moult are the 

 Tringa cquatrit, Equestrian Sandpiper of Latham ; Le Chevalier 

 Commun of BufTon ; and Le Chevalier Ordinaire of Gerard. (Temm.) 

 This bird is found in Iceland, Lapland, Scandinavia, Denmark, Siberia, 

 Russia, France, Provence, Switzerland, Italy, Malta, Tunis, Trebizond, 

 and the neighbourhood of the Caucasus. In Ireland the Ruff appears 

 occasionally in spring and autumn. (Thompson.) In England it arrives 

 in spring about April, and departs in autumn. 



The food of the Ruff consists of worms and such insects as it can 

 pick up in moist and marshy places ; in the spring it is rarely found 

 on the shores of the sea. 



At one time a considerable trade was carried on in Ruffa in the fens 

 of Lincolnshire, as they are regarded by some as delicate food. The 

 Ruffs were caught by persons who made a living by catching them. 

 Montagu gives a full account of these people, and their mode of 

 catching the Kuffd, which is done by nets, the birds being decoyed by 

 stuffed individuals. 



The males arrive in England several days before tho females. 

 According to Colonel Montagu, the Reeves begin laying their eggs the 

 first or second week in May, and he found their nests with young as 

 early as the 3rd of June. By that time the moles ceased to ' hill.' 

 Tho nest was usually placed upon a stump in tho most swampy places, 

 surrounded by coarse grass, of which it was also formed. The same 

 author describes the eggs as four in number, nearly similar in 

 colour to those of tho Snipe and Redshank, both of which breed in the 

 name wet places, and moke similar nests. Tho eggs of the Ruff are 

 however, he observes, superior in size to those of the Snipe ; and are 

 known from those of the Redshank by the ground being of a greenish 

 hue instead of rufous-white; but inilividuals assimilate so nearly to 

 each other as not to be distinguished, especially as tho dusky and 

 brown spots and blotches are similar. 



The food offered to the Ruffs in captivity, and they will go greedily 

 to it and fight for it immediately after their capture, is bread and 

 milk, or boiled wheat. 



Fhalaroput. Bill long, slender, weak, straight, depressed at its 

 base, tho two mandibles furrowed up to the point ; extremity of the 

 upper mandible curved over the lower one, obtuse ; point of the lower 



Bill and Foot of flrd.Ncckexl Fhnlnropc (Thalanfvi y/vrfccri). 



