OF THE BEITISH ISLANDS. 283 



Genus SCOLOPAX, or Woodcocks. 



Type, SCOLOPAX EUSTICULA. 



Scolopax, of Linnaeus (1766). — The birds comprising the present genus 

 are characterised by having the culmen longer than the tarsus (twice its length), 

 and the prominent eye situated so far back in the head as to be only just in front 

 of the auricular orifice. The metatarsus is somewhat short, and the tibia is 

 feathered in three species, bare just above the metatarsal joint in one other. The 

 bill is long and straight, swollen laterally, and softened towards the tip, which is 

 rugose or pitted. The nostrils are lateral, basal, and covered with a membrane. 

 The wings are more rounded than in the Sandpipers, the long innermost 

 secondaries not so long as the primaries, the black markings on the head are 

 transversely situated, the tail is tipped with silvery white spots on the under 

 surface ; and the summer and winter plumage are similar in colour. Sternum 

 so far as is known abnormal, with two notches only in the posterior margin. 



This genus is composed of four species, one of which is peculiar to the 

 Moluccas ; two others distributed over the Palaearctic and Oriental regions ; and 

 a fourth confined to the Nearctic region. One species is common in the British 

 Islands. 



The Woodcocks are dwellers in woodland swamps. They are birds of rapid 

 and powerful, if somewhat erratic, flight, displayed to a remarkable degree during 

 courtship. They run and walk with ease ; are shy and retiring, skulking close 

 amongst the cover, from which they rarely wander far. Their food consists of 

 worms, insects, and larvae. Their nests are made upon the ground amongst 

 herbage, and their double-spotted eggs are, so far as is known, less pyriform in 

 shape, paler, and less richly marked than the Snipes, and four in number. They 

 are monogamous, and for the most part solitary in their habits, except perhaps 

 during migration and in the pairing season. 



