MACHETES PUGNAX, 875 



central one, three dark longitudinal bands ; beneath whitish ; thighs mottled with brown. Bill at front 0-66 inch ; 

 tarsus 1*13. 



Young, just fledged. Breast and flanks tinged strongly with fulvous; the head still in down : brown, mottled with 

 buff ; feathers of the back and scapulars blackish brown, with broad buff margins on all but the interscapular 

 region, where the edgings are narrow and rufous ; wings brown, greater coverts broadly tipped with white : 

 secondaries the same ; lesser wing-coverts tipped with dull buff. 



1st autumn (male). Wing 7'1 inches. Throat and under surface white ; sides and front of neck, breast, and chest 

 uniform tawny grey, blending into the white ; head brown, the feathers edged with rufous ; hind neck brownish 

 grey, lower part with the interscapulars and scapulars black-brown, with buff edgings to the feathers ; tertials 

 margined with rufous ; wing-coverts broadly margined with buff, the tips being white ; tail dark brown, with buff 

 indentations at the outer edges. In an older male specimen shot in February at Kirinde, Ceylon, the wing-coverts 

 are only edged with fulvous ; the wiug measures 7-2 inches, tail 2-7, tarsus 1*9, bill at front 1-4. 



Obs. The Buff in winter plumage, in which dress it will alone be found in Ceylon, might perhaps be mistaken for 

 the Large-billed Stint (Tringa crassirostris) by those who are not well versed in this family of birds ; but it may 

 be distinguished always by the somewhat curved bill and peculiarly forward position of the gape. T. crassirostris, 

 which is about the same size, has a straighter and longer bill and shorter legs ; it will be found noticed in my 

 article on Tringa subarquata. 



Distribution. — For the introduction of this interesting and well-known bird into the present work my 

 readers are indebted to my friend Capt. Wade-Dalton, 73rd Regt., who met with the only specimen yet 

 recorded from the island at the Bundala Lake near Kirinde in February 1877. It is not unlikely that, being 

 a bird of wandering disposition and extensive southerly range in the breeding-season, it may now and then 

 visit Ceylon, and will no doubt be procured on future occasions within its limits. The south-east coast of the 

 island constitutes by far the most southerly Asiatic point which the Ruff has yet reached in winter. 



It is a bird of wide European, African, and Asiatic distribution, but, singularly enough, does not extend 

 to China or the islands to the south-east of that Empire. 



Jerdon states that it is found " in large numbers in India during the cold season ; " but I imagine it is 

 rare in the south. This author does not state any locality ; and recent observers, with the exception of 

 Mr. Davidson, have not seen it in the peninsula. He procured a " specimen from a small flock which arrived 

 at Pundharpur in September 1877, and saw another large flock towards the end of that month." Its visits 

 so far south are evidently uncertain, although it may now and then be found in considerable force. Again, 

 towards the east it seems to be local. Messrs. Ball, Blanford, and Cripps do not make mention of it; but 

 Mr. Hume writes that it is rather common about Calcutta, large numbers being brought to the market at the 

 close of the season. Blyth likewise speaks of specimens with growing ruffs being shot at Rajmchal. In the 

 north-west, where it first arrives from Western Asia, it is abundant in the autumn, winter, and spring ; but, 

 according to Mr. Hume, is less common in the two latter seasons than elsewhere. It is plentiful in 

 marshes between Ahmedabad and Deesa, writes Capt. Butler, and appears as early as the end of July. 

 Mr. Hume learns that at the close of the inundation in Sindh large flocks appear, disappearing in about a 

 month. He met with it at the Kunkrowlee tank in Oodeypore. Mr. Adam says that it visits the Sarnbhur 

 Lake in large flocks during the cold weather. Col. Irby met great numbers in Oudh and Kumaon. Eastward 

 of the Bay of Bengal it is a mere straggler, not having been, as yet, recorded from Pegu or Burmah, and 

 ouly having been once met with in Tenasserim at the mouth of the Sittang river. 



It breeds, without doubt, in Kashgharia, as Dr. Henderson states that it was very common near the city 

 of Yarkand, many specimens being obtained in August and September, when the males had lost their ruffs, 

 but not all breeding-plumage. Dr. Scully does not seem to have noticed it in this region, so that perhaps it 

 is not a regular breeder there. At the Panir Lakes, westward of Yarkand, Dr. Stoliczka met with it in April 

 before the ice had broken up. In Turkestan, according to Severtzoff, it occurs on passage throughout the 

 country up to an altitude of -1000 feet or thereabouts; but Prjevalsky does not seem to have met with it in 

 any of his travels in the Mongolian region. 



It extends in the summer as far north as Kamtchatka. In North-eastern Siberia Von Middendorff met 



5u 



