514 SEMIPALMATED SNIPE. 



medial, beyond it the outline slightly ascending and straight, sides grooved 

 as far as the angle, and convex, the edges broad and flat, the point nar- 

 row and slightly incurved. 



Head small, oblong, narrowed before. Neck rather long, slender. 

 Body slender. Feet long and slender ; tibia bare for nearly half its length, 

 scutellate before and behind ; tarsus long, slender, covered before and be- 

 hind with numerous scutella, the narrow lateral spaces with extremely 

 small oblong scales. Toes small, slender, scutellate above, flat beneath, 

 marginate, the anterior toes connected by basal membranes which extend 

 along their sides, the outer membrane larger than the inner ; first toe ex- 

 tremely small, second and fourth about equal, third little longer. Glaws 

 small, compressed, slightly arched, obtuse, that of third toe with a dilated 

 inner edge. 



Plumage soft and blended, on the fore part of the head very short, 

 on the neck short and very soft. Wings long, very acute, narrow ; pri- 

 maries tapering and rounded, the first longest, the second little shorter, 

 the rest rapidly graduated; secondaries obliquely rounded, the inner 

 elongated and tapering. Tail short, of twelve narrow, rounded feathers, 

 the two middle ones a little longer than the rest. 



Bill light blue, dusky towards the end. Iris brown. Feet light blue; 

 claws black. Head and neck brownish-grey, streaked with blackish- 

 brown ; the throat, and a band from the bill over the eye white. Fore 

 part of back and scapulars brownish-grey, variegated with central mark- 

 ings and bars cf blackish-brown ; the hind part of the back brownish-grey 

 with a gloss of olive. Wing-coverts grey with central lines of brownish- 

 black ; primary coverts and primary quills brownish-black, but the latter 

 white in their basal half; outer secondaries white, inner like the scapulars. 

 Lower wing-coverts dusky ; breast and sides white, the latter undulatingly 

 barred with brownish-black ; abdomen and lower and upper tail-coverts 

 white, some of them, however, with a few dusky bars. The four middle 

 tail-feathers are bai-red with brownish-black and brownish-grey, the rest 

 pale grey fading to white on the outer, and all more or less minutely 

 mottled with pale brown. 



Length to end of tail 15;^ inches, to end of wings 15, to end of claws 

 17i ; extent of wings 271 ; wing from flexure 8^ ; tail 3^*^ ; bill along the 

 back 2| ; along the edge of lower mandible 2y*g ; tarsus 2^ ; middle 

 toe li\, its claw |. Weight 7 oz. 



