PRELIMINARY CLASSIFIED NOTES 275 



migrating down the east side. It has occurred as a casual wanderer in Hudson's 

 Bay. [F. c. B. j.] 



3. Migration. A bird of passage in small numbers, chiefly to the south 

 and east coastal districts of England. On the autumn passage the birds, generally 

 young, are usually recorded between the middle of August and the middle of October. 

 On the return journey it is less frequently met with. [A. L. T.] 



4. Nest and Eggs. Does not breed in the British Isles, but see p. 312. 

 [F. c. B. j.] 



5. Food. Chiefly worms, insects, and small snails, [w. p. p.] 



COMMON-SNIPE [Gallindgo gattindgo (Linnaeus); GaUinago codestis 

 (Frenzel). Full-snipe, single-snipe, heather-bleater, air-goat ; snippack, 

 gowk, horsegowk (Shetlands). French, chevre volante ; German, gemeine 

 Sumpfschnepfe ; Italian, beccacino reale]. 



I. Description. The common-snipe is to be distinguished from the great- 

 snipe by the tawny-rufous colour of the outer tail feathers, which are fourteen 

 in number. The sexes are alike, and there is no seasonal change of coloration. 

 (PI. 114.) Length 10 in. [254 '00 mm.]. The crown is marked by a median and two 

 lateral lines of buff; lores dark brown. The back and sides of the fore-neck are buff, 

 more or less distinctly striated with dark brown, but the striations on the fore-neck 

 are blurred and may be wanting. The interscapulars and scapulars are black, with 

 narrow ochreous free edges forming semicircular lines of yellow. Usually these 

 lines are very imperfect and give rise to small ochreous spots. The feathers along 

 the outer border of the interscapulars have the outer webs of a rich buff, forming a 

 conspicuous longitudinal band : the hindmost feathers have the exposed portions 

 of the web black crossed by two narrow ochreous bars, and tipped buff. Scapulars 

 black, crossed by narrow ochreous bars to form large black blotches. The outer- 

 most feathers have the greater part of the outer web rich buff, forming on each 

 side of the body a longitudinal buff stripe running parallel with those of the inter- 

 scapulars. Wing-coverts dark brownish grey, tipped white and buff. The long 

 inner secondaries have the inner web dark grey, the outer barred alternately with 

 buff and black, and with an indistinct outer edge of white. Major coverts and secon- 

 daries dark grey, narrowly tipped white ; primaries dark grey. The tail feathers have 

 the basal portion velvet black, succeeded by a band of yellow, of varying width in 

 different individuals. The yellow band is bounded by a subterminal bar of black 

 VOL. III. 2N 



