COMMON SNIPE 279 



cheeks ; feathers of the middle line of the back, rich dark 

 brown chequered with yellowish-buff; scapulars and inner 

 secondaries, marked with longitudinal buff-coloured stripes ; 

 wing-coverts, chequered and vermiculated with brownish- 

 black, buff, and dull greyish-white ; primaries, dusky-brown ; 

 basal part of tail nearly black, terminal part, warm red-brick 

 colour, barred near the end with dark brown ; outer tail- 

 feathers, greyish-white near their tips, but grey above, and 

 barred with brown ; throat and chin, light greyish-white; 

 front of neck and breast, greyish-brown with darker spots ; 

 abdomen, white ; flanks, barred with greyish-brown and 

 white ; upper and under tail-coverts, warm yellowish-brown 

 with darker markings. 



Adult female nuptial. Similar to the male plumage. 



Adult winter, male and female. Similar to the nuptial 

 plumage. 



Immature, male and female. Resembles the adult 

 plumage, but the gloss on the back and wings is only 

 feebly shown, and the immature birds exhibit more rufous, 

 especially about the neck. 



BEAK. Horn-colour with a darker point ; long, slender, 

 and straight. 



FEET. Greenish-brown. 



IKIDES. Blackish-brown. 



AVERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 



TOTAL LENGTH ... .. ... 10*75 in. 



WING 5 



BEAK 2'75 



TABSO-METATARSUS 1'25 



EGG ... 1-6 x 1-1 in. 



Allied Species and Representative Forms. The large 

 specimen, alluded to on p. 273, exhibits much buff shading 

 and belongs to the form known as G. russata (Plate XXI.). 



The dark variety, or Sabine's Snipe, 8. sabini, is but a 

 melanic type; while G. brehmi, with longer tail-feathers, 

 is also only a variety. 



The North American form, S. wilsoni, possesses six- 

 teen tail-feathers ; the Australian, G. australis, eighteen ; 

 and the Indian form, G. sternura, about twenty-two tail- 

 feathers. 



