scolopacinjE. 677 



Gen. Rhynch^a, Cuvier. 



Char. — Bill shorter than in Gallinago, slightly curved downwards 

 at the tip ; wings rather short, broad, slightly rounded, beautifully 

 ocellated, 2nd quill longest, 1st and 3rd sub-equal; tail of 14 or 16 

 feathers, slightly rounded, short ; tarsus long ; tibia much denuded. 



In this genus the females are not only larger than the males 

 but they are also much more richly colored. It contains three 

 very closely allied species. Blyth considers it to have some affini- 

 ties for Eurypyga, a South American bird of rather large size with 

 ocellated wings, usually placed among the Herons. 



873. Ehynchsea bengalensis, Linnaeus. 



Scolopax, apud Unn^eus — Sykes, Cat. 199 — Jerdon, Cat. 

 334 — Blyth, Cat. 1612 — R. capensis, Linn. — R. picta, Gray — 

 R. orientalis, Horsfield — Hardwicke, 111. Ind. Zool. 



The Painted Snipe. 



Descr. — Upper plumage more or less olivaceous, the feathers 

 finely marked with zig-zag dark lines, and the scapulars and inner 

 wing-coverts with broad bars of black, edged with white ; a me- 

 dian pale buff line on the head, and another behind and round 

 the eye ; scapulars with a pale buff stripe as in the Snipe ; wing- 

 coverts mottled and barred with pale olive and buff; quills oliva- 

 ceous grey, with dark, narrow, cross lines, blackish towards the 

 base on the outer web, and with a series of five or more buff 

 ocelli on the outer web ; the inner web with white cross bands 

 alternating with the ocelli, and gradually changing to buff on 

 the tertials ; tail olivaceous grey, with four or five rows of buff 

 ocelli on both webs, and tipped with buff; chin whitish; neck, 

 throat, and breast olivaceous brown, with whitish spots or bars ; 

 the lower parts from the breast, white, passing on the sides of the 

 breast towards the shoulder, and becoming continuous with the 

 pale scapulary stripe. 



The female is darker and plainer coloured above ; the wing- 

 coverts and tertials dark olive with narrow black cross lines, the 

 outermost tertiaries white, forming a conspicuous white stripe ; lores, 

 sides of the face, and whole neck, deep ferruginous chesnut, 

 gradually changing on the breast into dark olive, almost black 



