AMERICAN WOODCOCK. 481 



ScotOPAX winoR, Gmel. Sjst. Nat. vol. i. p. 661 — Lath. Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 714. 



— Ch. Bonaparte, Synopsis of Birds of the United States, p. 331. 

 Woodcock, Scolopax minor, IVi/s. Amer. Ornith. vol. vi. p. 40. pi. 48. fig. 2. 

 Lesser Woodcock, Nuttall, Manual, vol. ii. p. 194. 



Adult Male. Plate CCLXVIII. Fig. 1. 



Bill double the length of the head, straight, slender, tapering, sub 

 trigonal and deeper than broad at the base, slightly depressed towards the 

 end. Upper mandible with the dorsal line straight, the ridge narrow, 

 towards the end flattened, the sides nearly erect, sloping outward towards 

 the soft obtuse edges, the tip blunt, knob-like, and longer than that of 

 the lower mandible. Nostrils basal, lateral, linear, very small. Lower 

 mandible broader than the upper, the angle very long and narrow, the 

 dorsal line straight, the back broadly rounded, the sides marked with a 

 broad groove, sloping inwards at the base, outwards towards the end, 

 the edges soft and obtuse, the tip rounded. 



Head rather large, oblong, narrowed anteriorly ; eyes large, and placed 

 high. Neck short and thick. Body rather full. Feet rather short ; 

 tibia feathered to the joint ; tarsus rather short, compressed, anteriorly 

 covered with numerous scutella, laterally and behind with subhexagonal 

 scales, and having a row of small scutelliform scales along the outer side 

 behind. Toes free, slender, the first very small, the second slightly 

 shorter than the fourth, the third much longer and exceeding the tarsus 

 in length ; all scutellate above, marginate, flattish beneath. Claws very 

 small, arched, acute, that of hind toe extremely small, of middle toe with 

 a thin inner edge. 



Plumage very soft, elastic, blended ; of the fore part of the head very 

 short, of the neck full. Wings short, rounded ; the fourth and fifth 

 quills about equal and longest, the first three extraordinarily attenuated, 

 being in fact sublinear, narrower beyond the middle, the inner web slight- 

 ly enlarged towards the end, the first as long as the seventh ; secondaries 

 broad, the outer a little incurved and rounded, the inner tapering and 

 elongated. Tail very short, wedge-shaped, of twelve narrow feathers, 

 which taper towards the rounded point. 



Bill light yellowish-brown, dusky towards the end. Iris brown. 

 Feet flesh coloured ; claws brownish-black. The forehead is yellowish- 

 grey, with a few dark mottlings in the centre ; on the upper part of the 

 head are two broad blackish brown transverse bands, and on the occiput 



VOL. III. "^ H h 



