GALLINAGO. LIMNOCRYPTES. 213 



Canada, and the Bermudas, and is represented in North 

 America by the closely allied G. g. delicata. 



Sabine's Snipe is a dark variation of the Common Snipe ; 

 almost all the known examples have been killed in Great 

 Britain. 



Gallinago media. GREAT SNIPE. 



Scolopax media Latham, Gen. Synop. Suppl. i. 1787, 

 p. 292 : England. 



Gallinago major (Gmel.); B. O. U. List, 1st ed. 1883, p. 165; 



Sharpe, Gat. Birds B. M. xxiv. 1896, p. 626 ; Sounders, 



Manual, 2nd ed. 1899, p. 571. 

 Media = middle- sized. 



Distribution in the British Islands. A Bird of Passage, 

 met with in small numbers every year, principally in the 

 eastern counties o England between August and October. 

 It occurs occasionally in all parts of our Islands but is 

 rarely observed in spring. 



General Distribution. The Great Snipe breeds in northern 

 Europe and Asia south of 71 N. latitude from Scandinavin, 

 eastwards across 'Russia and Siberia to the valley of the 

 Yenesei ; southwards in Denmark, Holland, north Germany, 

 Poland, and in Russia, south to Bessarabia ; also in the 

 Caucasus, the Urals, and eastwards to the Altai Mountains. 

 In winter it visits the Mediterranean basin and Africa, 

 ranging to Cape Colony ; the birds from Siberia pass through 

 Turkestan and Persia to north-east Africa. It is said to 

 have occurred in Canada. 



Genus LIMNOCRYPTES Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. 1829, 

 p. 118. 



Type : L. yallinula (Linn.). 



Limnocryptes : from \ifivtj -a lake, and Kpv7rroj = I hide. 



