808 SCOLOPAX EUSTICULA. 



the tip ; and the latter are probably the older examples. The plain white border exists irrespective of sex, 

 although I am inclined to think that it is more highly developed in females than in the other sex. 

 The little American Woodcock, Scolopa.v minor, in which the wing measures 5-0 inches and the bill at front 2--1 to 

 2-5, differs chiefly in having a plain under surface, which is dusky buff, and rufous on the flanks ; the occiput and 

 nape are black with two bands, as in the present species. Seolopax saturata, Horsfield, is a Javan species and 

 very rare, and in size it is intermediate ; " the breast and abdomen are sooty black, with irregular dusky bauds." 

 The wing in a specimen in the Leyden Museum measures 5-8, bill in front 3'0. »S'. rochussenii, the king of the 

 genus, is another very local species from Tejnate — black above, buff beneath, and beautifully marked with the 

 same above. An example in Mr. Harting"s collection measures — wing 8 - inches, bill 3-7. 



Distribution. — The Woodcock has long been said to be an occasional visitor to the hills of Ceylon, 

 but until lately no specimen had ever been preserved. Kelaart first noticed its occurrence as follows : — 

 " The Woodcock, the same as the European species, is found on Horton Plains, and occasionally at Nuwara 

 Eliya. We have not seen the bird in its feathers, but we have seen a couple of birds called ' Woodcocks ' 

 at a dinner-table which tasted uncommonly like the birds of that name. We have no doubt of its existence 

 in the island, as several English sportsmen assured us of their having shot it." Layard, who did not collect 

 in the upper hills, had no opportunity of meeting with it ; and Mr. Holdsworth, who spent much time at 

 Nuwara Eliya while he was in the island, never came across it. In February 1876 a well-known Ceylon 

 sportsman, Mr. Frank Fisher, of the Civil Service, shot a fine example at Nuwara Eliya, news of which 

 reached Mr. Holdsworth in time for insertion in his catalogue. This bird was fortunately preserved, and is 

 the subject of the above description. In January 1877 a second specimen was shot in the Hakgala Gardens 

 by the superintendent, Mr. Thwaites. It frequented the locality for some little time previous to its being 

 killed, and appeared to have taken up its quarters there. 



It is not improbable that a few birds stray over to Ceylon every year from the hills of Southern India, 

 but they escape notice owing to the jungly nature of the country. I worked the ground at Horton Plains 

 thoroughly at the same time that the last-named bird was shot, but saw no sign of a Woodcock. It should 

 be looked for from November until February. 



In India the Woodcock is a migrant of only local distribution. Jerdon gives us the most complete 



note concerning it yet published, which is as follows : — " The Woodcock is a winter visitant to the more 



elevated wooded regions of India, the Himalayas, the Nilghiris, the Pulneys, Shervaroys, Coorg, and doubtless 



all the higher ranges of Southern India. During its periodical migrations individuals are occasionally killed 



in various parts of the country. Several were procured in the Calcutta market by Blyth. I have heard of 



its having been at least once obtained in the Madras market ; and various other instances of its having been 



procured in different parts of the country have come to my knowledge, viz. at Chittagong, Berhampore, 



Noacolly, Tipperah, Dacca, Masulipatam, &c. The Woodcock is late in arriving, generally not appearing 



before the middle of October, and usually later ; it leaves in February." Scarcely any data concerning its 



occurrence in Southern India, of late yeai's, is to hand. The Rev. Dr. Fairbank is the sole writer who 



notices it in ' Stray Feathers/ and remarks : — " I flushed a Woodcock in the Kodaikanal in 18G7. Afterwards 



one was obtained there by Mr. Levinge ; but they are certainly rare in the Palanis." These are the most 



southerly ranges in the Peuinsula, save the Travancore hills ; and as they are so rare in them it is not likely 



that they would be plentiful in Ceylon. On the southern slopes of the Himalayas it is a resident bird, 



breeding there in many localities. Mr. Brooks met with one in the valley of the Bhagarati ; and my late 



friend, Mr. A. Anderson, found a nest with four eggs at 10,000 feet elevation, near Namick, in Upper 



Kumaon. Mr. Wilson (better known as " Mountaineer ") likewise obtained its nest at Gangaotri, and Captain 



Duff at Kullu (Hume) . Captain Butler procured it in Sindli, about two miles from Karachi, in November 



1877, and he records the fact of Mr. James meeting with it in the North-Canara jungles. Two individuals 



were also killed by Col. W. Peyton and Mr. J. S. Laird in December 1877, near Belgaum. These stray birds 



are picked up during their migration ; and Mr. Hume remarks that there is scarcely a district in India from 



which he has not some record of their occurrence, and that at such unlikely places as Allyglmr, Booludshur, 



Agra, Cawnpore, &c. single individuals have occurred. Mr. Ball records it from Raipur. On the Burmah 



side of the Bay it is rare. Col. Brown procured one at Moulmein; and Mr. II. B. Davidson, superintendent 



of police, shot one near Rangoon and another near Tavoy in Tenasserim. Mr. Hume, who notes these 



