SCOLOPAX. 179 



wing. Beneath white. Mid-tail projecting. — In summer : The females have 

 the crown and nape black, with a white patch on the sides of the head. Back, 

 scapulars, and tertiaries black, edged buff. Breeds in Arctic regions and ranges 

 south in winter to Chili and New Zealand. Four eggs (1-2 x 0-9), olive, marbled 

 brown. (J. 889. B. 1481.) 



Also the genus Steganopus. One species — S. tricolor, <J 8J", 9 9J", from N. America, 

 migrating to S. America. 



Subfamily ScoLOPACiN^. Woodcocks and Snipes. 



Bill long, slender, rather soft, swollen and bent over at tip. Eyes set far back, 

 with hinder margin, just above orifice of ear. "Wings long. Inner secondaries 

 less than primaries. Tail of twelve to twenty-eight feathers. Toes free and cleft 

 to base. Hind toe present {Phegomis excepted). Tarsus scutellated in front. 

 Plumage rich, often streaked black and yellow. No distinct summer and winter 

 plumage. 



Genus SCOLOPAX. 



ScSlSpax=:<rKo\6wa(, a kind of Snipe mentioned by Aristotle ; probably from <rK6\o\j/ = a, 

 thing pointed, a stake, and akin to <rKiWa = I stir up, probe, etc. 



Tibia plumed to joint. Tail of twelve uniform feathers. Eemiges twenty-six. 

 Head and neck transversely marked with black. First quill longest. Two 

 notches in posterior margin of breast-bone. Females as a rule larger than 

 males. Scattered throughout the world. 



186. Scolopax rusticola. The Woodcock. 



SiistUSla=a, little Heath-Gook in Pliny; rusticS,lics=a, little countryman in Cicero. 

 Diminutive of ru3licus=oi or belonging to the country, rus. 



Sim-titar, India; Kumattu, Chinjarol, Champa; Kangtruk, Manipur ; Wilate- 

 chaha, Chittagong; Murgh-i-zerak, Persia. 



<? 13" to 15"; 9 to 15 oz. ? 16". Legs livid. Bill 3", flesh-grey. Fore- 

 head ash-grey. Chin white. Four cross-bars on head. Plumage variegated 

 brown, yellow, and grey, with rufous bars and black spots. Breast and abdomen 

 buff, barred black. Eemiges twenty-six. Nine primaries, blackish, with rufous 

 notches on both webs ; in old birds the notches on outer webs of first two 

 primaries disappear; in females first primary is plain. Tail black, tipped grey 

 above and silvery white below. Breeds in N. Europe and Asia, the Azores, 

 Canaries, and Madeira. Also in Himalayas above 10,000 feet, and migrates 

 in winter to the lower valleys, also to S. India and Burma. Eare in Ceylon. 

 Four eggs (1-65 x 1-4), drab, spotted brown. Nestlings are believed to be carried 

 between the thighs of the old bird and held there by the bill of the parent as it 

 flies. Eises with a whirr and flies with bent wings and beak pointed down. 

 Arrives in Darjeeling in October and leaves about the middle of March. Masson 

 says they breed " in the hills close to the snows, for many a time, while out 

 shooting in July and August near the snows at dusk, I have seen Woodcock 

 flying in various directions." (J. 867. B. 1482. H. & M. iii. 309.) 



Also S. saturata. lOJ". With bill 3i". Abdomen white, with dusky bars. Forehead 

 rufous, barred black. Primaries almost uniform black. From Java and N.W. New Guinea. 



Also the genus Neosoolopax. One species — N. rochusseni, 15", with bill 3f"; a mountain 

 Woodcock confined to the Moluccas. 



Also the genus Philohela. One species— P. minor, 9", with bill 2\", and three outer 

 primaries attenuated ; from N. America. 



