CHARADRIIDA. 599 
THE RUFF. 
MACcHETES PUGNAX (Linneeus). 
The Ruff and Reeve—the latter being the name applied to the 
female—used formerly to breed in many of the marshy districts of 
England ; but drainage has greatly restricted their haunts, while col- 
lectors have done their best to extirpate the birds which arrive in 
spring and attempt to nest. On the autumn migration the species 
is more abundant, and a few individuals are occasionally met with 
during the winter. In the west of England the Ruff is decidedly 
rarer than in the east, and it is seldom obtained in Wales. In Scot- 
land it occurs from Berwickshire to the Orkneys and Shetlands, but 
has seldom been noticed in the Outer or Inner Hebrides. In 
Ireland it is of uncommon occurrence, and is usually seen in 
autumn, though occasionally in winter and spring. 
