192 GAME BIRDS AND WILD FOWL. 



olive in ground colour, blotched and spotted with brown of various 

 shades, and with pale underlying markings of grayish brown. They 

 are pyriform, and measure on an average 2'o inches in length 

 by I '4 inch in breadth. Although MacFarlane, Richardson, and 

 others have had ample opportunity of observing the breeding 

 habits of the Eskimo Whimbrel, there are many points still un- 

 known. How long the period of incubation lasts, whether both 

 sexes sit, or male or female alone, whether more than one brood 

 is reared, all remains to be determined. 



Diagnostic Characters. — Numenius, with a pale mesial stripe, 

 the primaries unbarred, and the back of the tarsus reticulated. 

 Length, 14 inches. 



