GALL1NAG0 STENUKA. 817 



brown stripe from gape, passing beneath the eye to the ear-coverts ; another on the cheeks ; fore neck and chest 

 fulvous, the basal portion of the feathers barred with brown ; breast and lower parts white, the flanks barred 

 with brown ; thigh-coverts with the bases brown ; under tail-coverts buff, obliquely barred with dark brown ; 

 axillaries and under wing-eoverts white, closely barred with brownish black. 



Summer plumage (Tenesay, 10th June, 1S77). Markings of the upper surface yellower than in winter. Black portions 

 of the feathers of the head and back more intense than in my winter specimens, and the wavy rufous-buff markings 

 of the scapulars and tertials richer. There is a very slight green gloss on the black feathers, which tint has been 

 said to characterize the summer dress. The throat and lores are somewhat whiter than in winter specimens ; but 

 I am not aware that this feature is constant. The measurements of this specimen, which is a male, are : — wing 5-1 

 inches ; tail 2-1 ; tarsus T3 ; middle toe 1-3 ; bill to gape 2-38. 



Specimens that I have shot in May, as they were migrating, I have noticed to have the dark parts of the scapulars, 

 back, and tertials just perceptibly glossed with green, and the colour blacker than in winter. 



Young. I have no information as to the coloration of the chick ; but it is reasonable to infer that it must resemble 

 that of the next species, which will be found described. 



06s. It is not necessary to remark on Indian examples, which are one and the same stock as Ceylonese. A singular 

 feature in this species is the variable number of "pin" tail-feathers. Although six is the normal number on 

 each side, yet seven and even nine have been detected on careful examination, and Swinhoe speaks of a specimen 

 with only four. The weight given above is that of a series of Indian examples weighed by Mr. Parker, and recorded 

 in ' Stray Feathers;' it depends greatly on the condition the bird is in. The present species is, however, a bulky 

 bird in all respects, both as to body and bill, and weighs on the average more than the European Snipe. Measure- 

 ments taken in India are as follows: — Females: length 10-62 to 10-87 inches; wing 5-18 to 5-25, expanse 17"5 

 to 17-87 ; bill at front 2-5 to 2-62 (Butler). Females : wing 5-08 (?), expanse 17-62 to 18-0 ; bill at front 2-5 

 to 2-54 (Crippis). The wing-dimension is small in both cases; in the latter, judging from the " expanse," there 

 would seem to be an error. 



An allied species to the present is Swinhoe's 67. megala, called by this author the " Spring Snipe " of China. It 

 differs in having the stiff lateral tail-feathers broader and coloured with rufescent white ; they are also fewer 

 in number. An example before me has five of these feathers on each side ; they are barred aod " indented " with 

 black ; the two outer feathers on each side are the only ones that are really narrow, being 0-1 and 0-2 inch across ; 

 the upper and under tail-coverts are rufescent ; the under wing-coverts and axillaries are broadly barred with 

 black on an impure white ground-colour. Its describer pronounced it as larger than 67. stenura ; but I question 

 whether it much exceeds this latter. The example above alluded to measures 5-4 inches in the wing, tarsus 1-35, 

 bill at front 2-45, which dimensions do not exceed that of an average-sized " Pin-tail." 



Distribution. — The Pin-tailed Snipe visits the island of Ceylon in vast numbers, arriving in September, 

 either early or late, according- to season. I have heard it remarked that in wet years it arrives earlier than 

 when the weather has been very dry. Such a local cause, however, could scarcely influence its migration, 

 unless the rain had been very constant on the mainland, when, finding the country in a suitable condition to 

 harbour it and afford it food, it would naturally continue to move southwards more speedily than if the con- 

 trary were the case. Last year (1878), which was exceptionally wet in Ceylon, saw them earlier to the fore 

 than any other since my arrival in the island in 1868; and their occurrence in the Colombo district on the 

 1st September was reported by the local newspapers. In 1872 I met with Snipe in the neighbourhood of Galle 

 on the 10th September ; and this is the date when they may generally be looked for on the west coast. They do 

 not appear to locate themselves so early in the north-eastern parts of the island, for at one of their greatest haunts 

 in Ceylon (the Tamblegam district) there are scarcely any Snipe before the middle of October, and-the shooting- 

 is, as a rule, poor up to the end of November. They are diffused over the whole of the low country, and are 

 most abundant in large paddy-fields near jungle, and in marshy land surrounding the tanks of the northern and 

 eastern provinces. In the western portion of the island the best Snipe-grounds are at Jayelle, near Yean- 

 godde, in the Kurunegala district, on the borders of the Bolgodde Lake, on the banks of the Bentota river, 

 the paddy-land between Wackwella and Baddegama, and the marshy lauds in the Matara district. In the 

 interior of the south-western part of the island I have met with more Snipe in the wild secluded fields near 

 Oodogamma than anywhere else. Indeed it is in these out-of-the-way places where Snipe congregate most, for 



