RED-BREASTED SNIPE. 171 



shape, and vary in length from I 1 75 to I 1 55 inch, and in breadth from 

 1'2 to T08 inch. There appear to be no reliable characters by which the 

 eggs of the Red-breasted Snipe may be safely distinguished from those of 

 either the Common Snipe or Wilson's Snipe. Only one brood appears to be 

 reared in the year. Of the habits of the young and their parents during 

 the breeding- season nothing appears to be known. 



The adult male and female Red-breasted Snipe in breeding-plumage 

 have the head, neck, mantle, scapulars, and adjoining innermost secon- 

 daries dull blackish, streaked with chestnut-buff, the latter colour soon fading 

 during the summer, and almost entirely disappearing by abrasion before 

 the autumn moult. The quills, wing-coverts, and adjoining innermost 

 secondaries are brown, margined and mottled with white on the secon- 

 daries ; the lower back is white, spotted with blackish brown on the rump ; 

 the upper tail-coverts and tail-feathers are white, barred with blackish 

 brown. The ground-colour of the underparts is buffish chestnut, shading 

 into nearly white on the centre of the belly, spotted on the neck and breast, 

 and barred on the flanks and under tail-coverts with blackish brown; the 

 axillaries and under wing-coverts are white, barred with dark brown. 

 Bill dark brown ; legs and feet olive-brown, claws black ; irides hazel. 

 After the autumn moult the colours of the wings, wing-coverts, upper 

 back, rump, upper tail -co verts and tail, axillaries, and under wing-coverts 

 are not changed ; but the rest of the plumage of the upper parts is greyish 

 brown, each feather darkest in the centre and palest on the margin ; on 

 the underparts the chestnut- buff is replaced by pale greyish brown ; the 

 spots on the neck and breast have disappeared, and the bars on the flanks 

 and under tail-coverts are less distinct. Young in first plumage resemble 

 adults in breeding-plumage, but the brown of the upper parts is paler, the 

 chestnut-buff is more conspicuous and extends to the wing-coverts and all 

 the innermost secondaries ; the ground-colour of the underparts is paler, 

 and the spots and bars are not more conspicuous than they are in winter. 

 Birds of the year resemble adults in winter plumage, but retain the wing- 

 coverts of young in first plumage. 



There appear to be two fairly well-defined geographical races of the 

 Red- breasted Snipe, an eastern and a western one, presenting differences 

 both of colour and size. Ereunetes griseus is found on the Atlantic coasts 

 of North America, varying in length of wing from 5'25 to 5'9 inch, and 

 in length of bill from 2'0 to 2*55 inch, with the centre of the belly white; 

 whilst E. griseus scolopaceus inhabits the Pacific coast from Mexico to 

 Alaska, and varies in length of wing from 5'4 to 6'0 inch, and in length of 

 bill from 2'1 to 3 inch, with the underparts uniform buffish chestnut. 



