28 MR. p. H. BAIIR ON THE [Jan. 15, 



same nei'ial inoveineuts as the Common Snipe at home, rising to 

 a great height by a cii-cling motion, and ' drnmming ' whilst 

 descending in a diagonal line. How is this curions habit to be 

 acconnted for in the South- American and European forms, except 

 by the theory of inheritance from a. common progenitor ? " 



GaUinago mistralis. — Latham's Snipe has 18 tail-feathers, of 

 which the outer three are attenuated, two being less than ^ of an 

 inch in diameter; the outer six, however, are doubtlessly specialised, 

 as they dift'er markedly from feathei's fi'om the centi-e of the tail 

 both in struetui'e and coloui'. The feathers bear a certain resem- 

 blance to those of the South- American species. The shaft is 

 thick and cur-\-ed ; the rami of the inner web are long and thick, 

 but more easil}- separated than in the latter species. The i-ami 

 are peculiar, in that they ai-e thicker and stiffer than in any other 

 species. The distal i-ami of the inner web are longer than 

 the proximal row and ai'e provided with 5 hamuli. The rami of 

 the outer web are stilt" and structureless, thus resembling G. ccelestis, 

 paraguaya\ and frenata. The feathers produce aloud bleat, some- 

 what similar to that of G. avlestis. 



I have received from Mr. Alan Owston, of Yokohama, a skin of 

 this species, accompanied by some very valuable notes, which 

 add materially to our knowledge of the habits of this species, for 

 which I am greatly indebted to that gentleman. He says : " They 

 breed on the grassv moorland at the foot of Mt. Fuflfiyama. at an 

 elevation of 2000-3000 ft. above the sea (Fugiyama is 12,500 ft. 

 high). I have watched them on the 28th April, and on other 

 dates during the breeding-season. When alarmed they fly round 

 overhead, circling round generally against the sun, and every now 

 and again they begin to cry ' chip, chip. chip, sheep, cheo, che- 

 cheo,' and then rush downwards at the intruder, beating the air 

 in the descent and making a terrific rushing noise." 



He also sends me an extract fi-om Capt. T. W. Blakiston's 

 notes on the breeding habits of this species published in the 

 'Chrysanthemum' for Xov. 1882, p. 524 et seq.. referring to 

 "Bii-ds observed on the S.E. coast of Yezo in May": — ''^The 

 Australian species act very like the Snipe of North America, 

 by flying I'ound pretty high and making sudden rapid descents 

 almost to the ground, which latter movement is accompanied by a 

 Avhisping noise. At evening and during the day in dull weather, 

 these evolutions are commonly performed ; and in dirty rainy 

 weather the noise is heard even in the middle of the night.'" 



GaUinago ancklaudica. — Resembles G. australis in having 18 

 tail-feathers, the outer three of which are attenuated ; they are, 

 however, much softer in structure than in that species. The I'ami 

 of the inner web are easily separated, and possess 4 hamuli ; those 

 of the outer are provided with rudimentary rows of radii, thus 

 approximating to certain Asiatic members of the genus. I have 

 received a specimen of this i-are species from the Christchurch 

 Museum, X.Z. Xo mention of anv bleatinsf-habits is made in 



