504 



SCOLOPAX. 



SC0L0PAX MINOR. 



AMERICAN WOODCOCK. 



Diagnosis. Scolopax primariarum primis tribus valde attenuatis. 



Variatious. No local races of this species are known. 



Synonymy. 



Literature. 



Scolopax minor, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. p. 661 (1788). 



Rusticola minor (GmeL), Vieillot, N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. iii. p. S51 (1816). 

 Microptera minor {GmeL), Nuttall, Man. Dm. ii. p. 192 (1834). 

 Microptera americana, Audubon, Syn. Birds N. Amer. p. 250 (1839). 

 Philohela minor [GmeL), Gray, List Gen. and Subijen. Birds, p. 90 (1811) 



Plates. — Wilson, Am. Orn. pi. 48. fig. 2 ; Audubon, Orn. Biogr. pi. 265. 

 Habits. — Baird, Brewer, and liidgway, Water-Birds N. Amer. i. p. 183. 

 Eggs. — Described by Brewer in the above-mentioned work, p. 187. 



Specific 

 characters. 



The American Woodcock may be recognized at once by the extraordinary attenuation 

 of its first three primaries. The pattern of the colour of the upper parts is very similar to 

 that of our bird, to which it is evidently very closely allied, but it has no trace of bars on 

 the primaries, and scarcely any on the underparts. Its range extends northwards to 

 lat. 50°, and southwards into Texas, but its longitudinal range extends from the Atlantic 





