2-1 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. 



white ; upper tail coverts brownish-black, their bases white ; 

 upper parts greyish-brown, scapulars marked with darker ; feet 

 bluish. Length fifteen inches and a half, wing eight and a half. 

 Young with the lower parts brownish-grey, the ferruginous 

 markings wanting. " 



" This bird with us is not as plentiful as the former, and is 

 known to the gunners by the name of ' Ring-tailed Marlin,' — 

 so called from the white band crossing the tail feathers. A few 

 are shot every season on the shores of Long Island, and are occa- 

 sionally procured on the sea-coast of the Eastern States. Though 

 not abundant in the middle districts, it is by no means a rare 

 species. It is said to breed abundantly on the barren grounds 

 near the Arctic seas, from whence it migrates through the inte- 

 rior, or along the coast of the Pacific. Its habits are nearly 

 allied to the preceding, with which it sometimes associates." 



No. 9. The Red-breasted Snipe — Scolopax Novehoracensis ; 

 Gmel. — Vulgo, Doicitdier, or Quail Snipe. 



Red-breasted Snipe, Scolopax Novehoracensis, Wils. Amer. Orn. Scolopax 

 grisea, Boiiap. Syn. Scolopax Novehoracensis, New-York Godwit, Sw. & 

 Rich. Brown or Red-hreasted Snipe. Nutt. Maun. Red-breasted Snipe, 

 Scolopax Novehoracensis, Aud. Orn. Biog. 



" Specific Character. — Spring plumage, upper parts brownish- 

 black, variegated with light brownish-red ; lower parts dull 

 orange-red, abdomen paler, spotted and baiTed with black ; 

 rump white ; tlie tail feathers, and the upper and lower tail 

 coverts alternately barred with white and black. In autumn the 

 upper parts are brownish-gray ; the lower parts grayish-white ; 

 the tail feathers, and the upper and lower tail coverts, the same 

 as in spring. Adult with the bill toward the end black, lighter 

 at the base ; top of the head, back of the neck, scapulars, ter- 

 tials, and fore part of the back, blackish-brown, variegated with 

 ferruginous ; secondaries and wino- coverts clove broAvn, the 



