28 Suppltmentai-y Notice of British Snipes. 



The first of these two, in order of dates, is the /Scolopax 

 grisea of Montagu's Ornithological Dictionary. (Jig. 2.) A 

 specimen of this bird 

 was killed in Devon- 

 shire in the month of 

 October, 1801 : the 

 length of the bill 2^ 

 inches; whole length 

 of the bird 1 1 inches ; 

 weight S\ oz. The 

 head, neck, breast, 

 and wing coverts, are 

 ash-coloured brown, 

 without spots, with a 

 streak of the same 

 colour from the base 

 of the beak to the 

 eye ; above the eyes, the throat, belly, and thighs, pure white ; 

 the flanks white, varied with light brown ; back and scapulars 

 light brown, each feather having a darker brown edge ; rump, 

 upper and under tail coverts, white, marked across with black 

 bars ; tail feathers also crossed with narrow black and white 

 bars alternately. This specimen is now in the British Museum, 

 and a good representation of the bird, in this its winter plumage, 

 will be found in Montagu's Supplement to his Ornithological 

 Dictionary. 



In its summer plumage this snipe bears considerable resem- 

 blance to the knot (Tringa Canutus) at the same season of the 

 year. The top of the head, nape of the neck, back, and 

 scapulars, are then irregularly varied with black, reddish 

 brown, and yellow ; the space round the eye bright red ; front 

 of the neck and breast chestnut brown ; wing coverts ash- 

 coloured, and edged with white ; the belly, rump, and tail, the 

 same as in winter. 



An excellent representation of this bird, in its summer 

 plumage, will be found in the seventh volume of Wilson's 

 Ornithology of America, under the name of ^Scolopax novebo- 

 racensis (pi. 58. fig. I.), with a description at p. 45. The bird 

 appears to be common in that country, while with us it is so 

 rare that M. Temminck, in the second edition of his Manual 

 of Ornithology (vol. ii. p. 682.), says that he is only acquainted 

 with two instances of this species having been killed in Europe; 

 once in England, and once in Sweden. To these I am able 

 to add a notice of one other instance ; a very fine specimen, in 

 summer plumage, having been lately shot near Yarmouth, for 



