290 THE GAME BIEDS AND WILD FOWL 



Family CHAEADEIIDiE. Genus Gallinago. 



Subfamily SCOLOPACINM. 



GREAT SNIPE. 



GALLINAGO MAJOE— (GzreeZMi) . 

 Plate XXX. 



Scolopax major, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 661 (1788; Macgill. Brit, B. iv. p. 364 (1852); 



Seebohm, Hist. Brit. B. iii. p. 237 (1885) ; Dixon, Nests and Eggs Non-indig. 



Brit. B. p 278 (1894j ; Lilford, Col. Fig. Brit. B. pt. xxviii. (1894) ; Seebohm, 



Col. Fig. Eggs Brit, B. p. 152, pi. 41 (1896). 

 Qallina^o major (Gmel.), Dresser, B. Eur. vii. p. 631, pi. 541 (1876) ; Yarrell, Brit. 



B. ed. 4, iii. p. 336 (1883) ; Sharpe, Handb. B. Gt. Brit. iii. p. 211 (1896) ; Sharpe, 



Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxiv. p. 626 (1896). 



Geographical distribution — British: The Great Snipe is a rare 

 straggler, chiefly on autumn migration, to our Islands, and most frequently 

 observed in the eastern and southern counties. It is very rare in Scotland, 

 perhaps not more than a dozen authentic instances of its occurrence being 

 known, two of which were in May— a fact which more likely proves the bird 

 occasionally to winter with us than to wander here in spring. In Ireland it is of 

 even rarer occurrence still, probably not more than four examples having been 

 recorded. Foreign : Western Palsearctic region ; Ethiopian region in winter. 

 It breeds more or less frequently in Holland, Denmark, North Germany, Poland, 

 throughout Scandinavia, and Eussia south to about lat. 50°, and north to the 

 coast. In West Siberia it is found as far north as lat. 67^^° in the valley of the 

 Obb, but only to lat. 66|-° in the valley of the Yenisei, which appears to be the 

 eastern limit of its range. It passes the remainder of Europe (east of the Ehone 

 valley), the Caucasus, and Persia on migration, a few wintering in the basin of 

 the Mediterranean, but the majority passing on to the Ethiopian portion of the 

 Intertropical realm for the cold season. It is said that the Great Snipe crosses 

 the tropics to winter in South Africa, but possibly the present species has been 

 confused with Gallinago ceguatorialis ; if found there it is either as an abnormal 

 migrant or as a summer visitor for breeding purposes. 



Allied forms. — Gallinago megala, an inhabitant in summer of South-east 

 Siberia and the north island of Japan, passing China on migration, and wintering 

 in the Malay Archipelago. It is distinguished from the Great Snipe by having 

 twenty tail feathers instead of sixteen, the outermost being narrow and banded 

 with brown, instead of being broad and pure white for at least the terminal half. 



