SNIPE. GRALLATORES.. SCOLOPAX. 119 



Medway, near Rochester, in October 1824, and is now pre- 

 served in the excellent collection of Mr DUNNING of Maid- 

 stone. Since that time, no instance of the capture of this 

 species has come to my knowledge, although I have used all 

 diligence on the subject, not only in England and Scotland, 

 but also in Ireland, where it was first discovered, and where 

 the nature of the soil, and the abundance of marshy tracts, 

 are peculiarly favourable to birds of this genus. The above 

 indicates that, as a species, it is very sparingly distributed 

 throughout the kingdom ; and, from the circumstance of no 

 skin or specimen having been hitherto obtained from any 

 other part of the globe, it would appear to be equally rare 

 in such countries as have been examined with attention, as 

 far as regards their ornithological productions. I do not, 

 however, make these remarks, as questioning in any degree 

 its claim to be considered a distinct species (of which I en- 

 tertain no doubt, both from the accurate description of Mr 

 VIGORS, and from personal inspection of the original speci- 

 mens), but merely as noticing its present apparent rarity. It 

 is not at all improbable, but that it may be discovered in 

 abundance in some hitherto unexamined part of the world, 

 or where ornithology has been little attended to ; and I need 

 scarcely add, what is well known to most practical natural- 

 ists, viz. that species, in every department of nature, are fre- 

 quently very restricted and local in their distribution. 



In giving the distinctive characters of this species, I can- 

 not do better than quote Mr VIGORS'S own words : " It is 

 at once distinguished from every other European species of 

 Scolopax, by the total absence of white from its plumage, or 

 any of those lighter tints of ferruginous-yellow, which extends 

 more or less in stripes along the head and back of them all. 

 In this respect it exhibits a strong resemblance to Scolopax 

 saturata of Dr HORSFIELD, from which, however, it suffi- 

 ciently differs in its general proportions ; and I find no de- 

 scription of any other extra-European species of true Scolo- 

 pax which at all approaches it in this character of its plu- 

 mage. In the number of its tail-feathers, again, which 



