in Great Britain during the Nesting-season. 437 



LiMosA iEGOCEPHALA (G. R. Gi'ay). Black -tailed Godwit. 

 Provinces IV. [VIII.] [X.]. 

 Subprovinces ii, (12), (19), (23). 

 Lat. 52°-54°. " Germanic " type. Not in Ireland. 



Until lately, a few pairs were accustomed to breed annually 

 in the fens of Norfolk, Cambridge, Huntingdon, and Lincoln j 

 but it is believed that the birds have now nearly deserted their 

 former haunts, Norfolk being the only county in which there 

 is a possibility that a pair or two may linger occasionally. 



The late Mr. H. Reid, of Doncaster, has frequently told me 

 that the Black-tailed Godwit used, within his recollection, to 

 breed on Hatfield Moor, in which locality he once found the 

 young birds himself. 



Phtlomachus pugnax (G. jR. Gray). Ruff. 

 Provinces [I.?] IV. VIII. [X.] XL 

 Subprovinces (3?), (10), 11, (12), 19, (22?), (23), 24. 

 Lat. 51° or 52°-56°. " Germanic" type. Not in Ireland. 



Like the former, this bird is rapidly disappearing before the 

 advance of cultivation and drainage. 



Montagu was informed that Ruffs were not uncommon in the 

 fens about Bridgewater, in Somersetshire, before they were 

 drained. In Suffolk the bird appears to have become quite ex- 

 tinct ; but Mr. Stevenson says that a few pairs still breed in east- 

 ern Norfolk, where, happily, they are strictly preserved. It is 

 extinct in Huntingdon, Cambridge, and Northampton, and pro- 

 bably also in Lincolnshire. In Yorkshire the Ruff appears to 

 have ceased to breed, though Mr. Reid remembered them to 

 have been quite plentiful. Mr. Hancock and the Rev. H. B. 

 Ti'istram tell me that the bird has become extinct in Durham, 

 but still breeds occasionally in Northumberland. 



Scolopax rusticola [Linn.). Woodcock. 

 Provinces I.-V. VIII.-XVII. 

 Subprovinces 2-15, 19-26, 27, 28, 29-35. 

 Lat. 50°-59°. " Scottish" type, or Northern. 



The nest of the Woodcock is by no means so rare as is gene- 

 rally supposed. The bird is reported as breeding occasionally in 



