THE ISLANDS OF THE BAY OP BENGAL. 295 



2'7 to 2*9. I am, therefore, certainly of opinion that the bill of 

 our present species is decidedly shorter, sex for sex, than that of 

 scolopacinus. Then as regards the richly barred under-wing 

 coverts ; in stenura the axillaries and the entire wing lining 

 except the lower greater coverts are invariably, to judge from, 

 my large series, strongly and distinctly barred with blackish 

 brown. This, according to my experience, is never the case 

 in scolopacinus. In many specimens there is no barring at all, 

 properly speaking, on the lower surface of the wing, but even 

 where the axillaries are strongly barred, the median secondary 

 lower coverts are always unbarred, forming a white unbarred 

 patch in the centre of the upper portion of the lower surface of 

 the closed wing. I have been unable to detect a single excep- 

 tion to this rule, and believe it to hold good universally. 



Davison remarks : — " This is certainly the common snipe of 

 the Andamans and not G. scolopacinus. I examined every 

 snipe I could, and I only met with a single specimen of 

 G. scolopacinus. The present species is comparatively abun- 

 dant about the swamps and paddy fiats, more especially so at 

 Aberdeen, South Andaman, and Mount Augusta opposite Port 

 Mouat. I think it very probable that at least several pairs of this 

 species breed at the Andamans, as they were still to be found 

 about the middle of May. The greater number have left the 

 islands by the end of January; they are said to arrive about 

 the middle of October. 



" On the 27th of last December I saw one of these birds 

 feeding on the sea shore about 2 p.m. ; it was running hither 

 and thither like an Actitis ; as I approached, it rose and settled 

 in a piece of swamp about 23 yards from the shore, from which 

 I flushed and shot it." 



This species is very common in September and throughout 

 the cold season and up to the beginning of May ; but we have 

 also two specimens in June and two in July, so that it is 

 pretty certain that whilst the mass of the birds are migratory 

 some few couples remain throughout the year, and may possibly 

 breed there. 



861.— Gallinago scolopacina, Bonap. (0.) 



Very rare in the Andamans but does occur; we did not pro- 

 cure a single specimen ; but Davison carefully examined one 

 shot in the neighbourhood of Port Blair, and made sure of the 

 species. 



