LITTLE WHIMBREL. 149 



Breeding -season . July . (Si beri a . ) 



Breeds in Eastern Siberia as far south as Kamtschatka (perhaps Com- 

 mander Islands) shores of Okhotsk Sea, Baikal, and as far west as Upper Yenisei 

 Valley (rare). 



Distribution and forms. Throughout the Arctic Regions of Europe and Asia, 

 migrating southward in winter to Australia, India, etc. Two well-marked 

 subspecies are recognisable : L. I. limosa (Linne) the western race, and L. I. 

 melanuroides (Gould) the eastern form visiting Australia, easily separable by its 

 smaller size ; culmen average, 86 mm. against 115 ; wing av. 195 against 220 ; 

 tarsus av. 66 against 86 ; middle toe 32 against 35 mm. 



Genus MESOSCOLOPAX. 



Mesoscolopax Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., Vol. XXIV., pp. 338, 371, (pref. dated July 10th) 

 1896. Type (by monotypy) : Numenius minutus Gould. 



Small Scolopacine Waders with a short arched bill, long wings, legs and feet, 

 and long tail. The bill is only slightly curved and is less than a fourth of the wing, 

 and also shorter than the metatarsus. The metatarsus is regularly scutellated both 

 before and behind ; a feature which separates it at once from the Numenioid Waders, 

 and shows its relationship with the Totanoid forms. The middle toe is slightly 

 shorter than half the length of the metatarsus. The tail is long and rounded. 



103. Mesoscolopax minutus. LITTLE WHIMBREL. 



Gould, Vol. VI., pi. 44 (pt. xxxi.), June 1st, 1848. Mathews, Vol. III., pt. 2, pi. 146, May 



2nd, 1913. 



Numenius minutus Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. (Lond.), 1840, p. 176, July 1841 : New South 



Wales. 



Numenius minor Muller, Verb. Nat. Gesch. Land- en Volkenk., p. 110, 1841 : Amboina. 



Not of Forster, Synopt. Cat. Brit. Birds, p. 58, 1817. 



DISTRIBUTION. Winter visitor to Australia, breeding in the northern hemisphere. 



Adult male. Upper-parts dark brown with white or rufous spots on the margins 

 of the feathers ; some of the long upper tail-coverts regularly barred with grey ; 

 the small marginal coverts round the bend of the wing very dark brown like the 

 bastard-wing and primary-coverts ; median and greater coverts similar to the 

 back ; primary -quills dark brown, shaft of first primary white, some of the inner 

 quills fringed with white at the tips ; secondaries pale brown slightly tipped with 

 white, the long innermost secondaries like the back ; crown of head brown spotted 

 with white or buff with a scarcely defined mesial streak ; lores, eyebrow, ear-coverts, 

 and sides of face buff minutely streaked with brown ; hind -neck brown with pale 

 margins to the feathers ; throat whitish ; lower throat and fore-neck buff with 

 dark shaft-streaks, becoming coarser on the breast and sides of the body where 

 the feathers are barred with brown ; middle of abdomen inclining to white ; the long 

 under tail -co verts buffy -white barred with brown like the axillaries and under 

 wing-coverts ; bill blackish-brown, base of lower mandible flesh colour ; iris blackish- 

 brown, tarsi and feet lead -grey. Total length 333 mm. ; culmen 43, wing 182, 

 tail 68, tarsus 50. 



Adult female. Similar to the male but slightly larger ; culmen 48, wing 184, 

 tail 75, tarsus 53. 



Immature. Similar with pale rufous tips to upper feathers. 



Nestling in down. Apparently not described. 



Nest and Eggs. Undescribed. 



Breeds evidently on Upper Yana (near Verkhojansk, about 67J N.) and Middle 

 Lena. Not farther south than about 59 N. 



