SCULOPACID.E — TIIK SNIl'K FAMILY — SCOLol'AX, 



181 



mark.s, on eiuli nuh of tliu ru.sty l)latk-.i|MitttMl uix'ii. Um\\\) lij^'littT cinimiiioii-nisty, imrrowly 

 buried with dusky ; upimr tail-coVLTlH lnr;,',.ly tijiiicd with li;,'ht gmy. 'I'liii-lciitiiiTs l>lm:k, ncr- 

 ratfd almi^,' llu- (nitcr i'll'^f with lUsty, iiiid widrly ti|i|icd witli lij,'ht ^'iiiy. I'"()niicii<l iiini imliiinr 

 |iarl 111' till' rmwii, ludwni.sh ;,'iiiy ; pu.-lfiior [lait (it the truwii and « hulo (MTJimt, l>huk, cio.s.sod 

 l.y lour traiiMVfi'Ho iiurrow liamln of lij^'lit rusty, or ocliraccous — iwo tlirou;;!! tiie lilack, tliu other 

 two lininidiii^' it anteriorly ami posti linrly. A wide loral stri|pc of Mackish lirown, riinnin;,' from 

 tlic riiliis to the eye. ( iiin wliitc Lower parts iu ^,'i'urral palf fuivipus ),'rayisli (nearly wliite 

 medially), marked with irre;,'nlar transverse l.ars of dark Lrown. (,)iiills dusky, liu'ir outer welis 

 marked willi trian^^ulai' spots of lij,dit cinnamon, arraiij^ed so as to form transveisi; Lands; outer 

 web of exterior cpiil! widely eil^'ed with pure wliiie. Hill and feet li^jlit liorn-color, tlie former 

 blaekish at the end. Uninui Vouini: (leueial line delicate rusty ocliraceous, the upper surface 

 marked with larj,'e blotchdike areas of deep rusty, these Leiii;,' arran;,'ed as follows ; an isolated, 

 somewhat wedi,'e-shaped, spot oecupyini,' the ndddle of the forehead ; a loii;^iludiual stripe down 

 the middle of the rump ; a lonyitudinal patch coverin;,' the occiput ami nape, and sending' out two 

 lateral branches, the lirsl from the upper part to the eye, the second from the lower part across the 

 neck, where continued, more or less interrupteiUy, acu'oss the juj,'ulum ; a dark chestnut (nearly 

 black) stripe from the bill to the eye. 'I'lie other blotches eoveriii;,' the back, part of the wings, 

 and the aiuU re^'ion. 



Wing, nearly 8.tK) ; cuhnen, about ;3.('l)-;3.:i."); tarsus, 1. 50 ; middle toe, 1.30. 



The Eui'opeait Woodcock is of occiisioiuil iiiid iK^cidciital occurrpnco iu North 

 America, and its iii»i)oaraiice (jiiitc possibly is more frccjiiciit than we arc; aware of. 

 It is referred to, in one instance, in the •• Ihis." as having' lieeii included in the New- 

 ioundlaud c(dlection of mounted birds in tlie Kxiiositioii of ISC)". 



In Lewis's "American Sportsman" (p. lilS), under tiie lu'adiii}; "'Woodcock," refer- 

 ence is made in a footnote to a specimen of a \Vood(!Ock sent, iibout 18()(), to Mr. G, 

 1). Wetlieriil, wiiich wei^du'd fotu'teeii ounces. When received, however, it was too 

 far gone to 'le preserved; but it Wiis, without much (huibt, ii bird of tliis species. 

 Mr. George X. Lawrence cites another similar instance, where a I'rieinl of his shot, 

 near Newport, J{. L, a large Woodccadc, which weighed fourteen ounces; nnfortu- 

 natel}' it was not ])reserved. The fact that our Woodcock rarely rciiidies and never 

 exceeds nine ounces, while the usual weight of the European is fourteen, naturally 

 suggests that in both instances the specimens were examples of the riistlruln. 



We are not, however, restricted to i)robal)ilities nuMfdy for our evidence of the 

 actual occurrence of this species within our limits. Mr. Lawrence has in his collec- 

 tion the skin of a European Woodcock purchased in the Washington Market of New 

 York, Dec. (>, LS,')!). It had been brought there with a lot of Quail, on board the boat 

 from Shrewsl)ury, N. J. 



This species appears to be widely distributed over Europe and the western portions 

 of Asia. It resorts in summer to northern regions for purposes of reproduction, and 

 in its migrations visits a wide extent of territory. 



A few breed in Great liritain, in various jiarts of the islands, but a large proportion 

 seen there are migrants from more northern regions. They breed througluiut Den- 

 mark, Norway, Sweden, Lapland, and Northern Russia, arriving in Scandinavia at 

 tlie latter end of March or the begiiunng of April, when they are found on the coast 

 in considerable iunul)ers, but usually dei)art for the interior on the prevalence of 

 westerly winds. They are common in Western Lapland l)eyond the Arctic Circle, 

 and are generally and widely dispersed ; but are nowhere numerous. The pine-forests 

 are their places of resort in summer. They are not foiuid in Southern Germany iu 

 the summer, and breed no farther south than Silesia, and thence northward. 



This is a celebrated game-bird in Europe, and especially in Great Britain and Ire- 

 land, where, in their fall migrations, the Woodcock arrive in great numbers, and are 



