GALLINAGO. — LIMNOCETPTES. 213 



Canada, and the Bermudas, and is represented in North 

 America by the closely allied G. g. delicata. 



Sabine's Snipe is a dark variation of the Common Snipe ; 

 almost all the known examples have been killed in Great 

 Britain. 



Gallinago media. Great Snipe. 



Scolopax media Latham, Gen. Synop. Suppl. i. 1787, 

 p. 292 : England. 



Gallinago major (Gmel.); B. 0. TJ. List, 1st ed. 1883, p. 165; 

 Sharpe, Oat. Birds B. M. xxiv. 1896, p. 626; Saunders, 

 Manual, 2nd ed. 1899, p. 571. 



Media = middle-sized. 



Distribution in the British Islands. — A Bird of Passage, 

 met with in small numbers every year, principally in the 

 eastern counties o£ England between August and October. 

 It occurs occasionally in all parts of our Islands but is 

 rarely observed in spring. 



General Distribution. — The Great Snipe breeds in northern 

 Europe and Asia south of 71*^ N. latitude from Scandinaviii, 

 eastwards across Russia and Siberia to the valley of the 

 Yenesei ; southwards in Denmark, Holland, north Germany? 

 Poland, and in Russia, south to Bessarabia ; also in the 

 Caucasus, the Urals, and eastwards to the Altai Mountains. 

 In winter it visits the Mediterranean basin and Africa, 

 ranging to Cape Colony; the birds from Siberia pass through 

 Turkestan and Persia to north-east Africa. It is said to 

 have occurred in Canada. 



Genus LIMNOCRYPTES Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. 1829, 

 p. 118. 



Type : L. gallinula (Linn.). 



Limnocryptes : from Xifivt) —a lake, and Kpii?rra)=I hide. 



