THE SNIPES OP CHINA. ISt 



3.-SWINH0E'S SNIPE; BIG SPRING SNIPE: 



{GalUnago megala) Swinhoe. 



Like the preceding, this bird passes through China and Japan in large numbers on 

 migration in spring and autumn, but none remain with us during the winter. Its range is 

 more easterly than that of the pin-tailed bird ; it breeds in Eastern Siberia and winters in 

 the Malay Islands, but is not found in India or Burmah. 



It migrates in company with the pin-tailed, and like its congener is most abundant 

 in cultivated fields and on grassy plains ; it is also fond of warm, dry grassy hillsides, while 

 it is sometimes found among rough scrub away from water, in a country where there are 

 low grassy hills broken by patches of low wet ground. It will generally be found that the 

 common snipe keeps to damp ground, while this species is more likely to be found on grassy 

 banks and terraced fields overlooking it. In autumn the Swinhoe is to be found with the 

 pin-tails among the cotton. Its flight is comparatively slow and heavy, especially when the 

 bird gets fat, as it usually does soon after arrival. 



Length lli to 12 inches; weight 6 to 8 ounces; variable according to condition; 

 average, perhaps 65 ounces ; 20 tail feathers, of which the central 8 are ordinary, 6 on each 

 side stiff and narrow, but not shortened as in the pin-tail and not so narrow. 



The Swinhoe is a much thicker set bird than the pin-tail, though similar in general 

 plumage, but can readily be distinguished by its larger size, comparatively shorter bill and 

 the difference in the tail feathers. 



4.— LATHAM'S SNIPE: {GalUnago australis) Latham. 



The range of this species is still more easterly and southerly. It breeds commonly in 

 Japan and according to Mr. Seebohn is not known to breed elsewhere. In autumn it passes 

 south through the Philippines and, according to the same authority, along the coast of 

 China, through the Malay Islands to Australia. It will therefore only be met with in the 

 south of China and not so far north as the Yangtze valley. In fact its occurrence in China 

 is doutful at present and will remain so until proved by actual specimens. In size it rather 

 exceeds Swinhoe's snipe which it much resembles : it has 18 tail feathers of which 14 are 

 ordinary and 2 on each side narrowed. 



5.— SOLITARY SNIPE: {GaUinago soUtaria) Hodgson. 



This is a rare bird and its range is more northerly than that of any other of our 

 snipes. It is a mountain species and breeds on the highlands of Northern and Central Asia 

 and Siberia. In winter it comes south as far as the Himalayas in the West and Northern 

 and Central China in the East, a few stragglers leaving the hills and wandering into the 

 plains. In this way a few are met with in the Yangtze valley, but it is a bird with which 

 the ordinary sportsman in China runs but small chance of coming across. It is, however, 

 sometimes shot near Peking and in Corea. In Japan it is resident and the Japanese bird 

 has been separated as a distinct race. Usually it is met with singly or in pairs and appears 

 to be more like a woodcock than a snipe in its habits. Length 12 to 13 inches; weight 6 to 

 8 ounces. 20 tail feathers, of which 6 on each side are narrow and stiff — the number seems 



