208 



the Straits of Gibraltar, as also in Morocco, in considerable numbers during migration ; but the 

 larger number pass in September on their way southward, returning again in April ; they are 

 seldom seen inland, like L. wgocephala." It is also, according to the Eev. A. C. Smith, by no 

 means rare in Portugal. Bailly refers to this species as only occasionally observed in Savoy 

 during migration ; and Salvadori states that it occurs in Italy, on the mainland, and also in 

 Sicily, but it is nowhere so numerous as L. cegocephala. To Malta it is a very rare straggler, 

 having, according to Mr. C. A. Wright, but once occurred, a specimen (now in the Derby Museum 

 at Liverpool) having been obtained by Mr. W. J. Eoss on the 22nd September, 1843. All along 

 the southern coasts of Europe it occurs here and there during migration, and some may pass the 

 winter. Lord Lilford found it in Epirus ; and Captain Sperling in November shot two out of 

 three which were feeding on a sandpit off Missolonghi, but he remarks that he never observed 

 any others. Professor von Nordmann found it rare on the coasts of the Black Sea ; but, 

 according to Pallas, it is common in the spring on the Caspian. We have no details as to its 

 occurrence on the coast of Asia Minor, where it is doubtless found during migration. Messrs. 

 Finsch and Hartlaub state that it is found in North-eastern Africa, in the southern part of the 

 Eed Sea, and the Gulf of Aden down to the Somali country ; Loche writes that it is common in 

 Algeria during the winter season, leaving early in the spring. Major Irby informs us that it is 

 by no means uncommon in Morocco during the winter season ; and Mr. J. H. Gumey, jun., saw 

 one in full summer-plumage, shot at Harrach, in the Algiers Museum. According to Finsch and 

 Hartlaub it has been procured in the Gambia, but it has not been recorded from Southern Africa. 

 It has also, these gentlemen state, been obtained in the Canaries; but Mr. Godman does not 

 include it in his list of the birds of those islands. In Siberia and in Eastern Asia this species is 

 replaced by the closely allied Limosa novce-zealandice, which may be distinguished by its barred 

 rump from L. lapponica. Our Bar-tailed Godwit, however, does occur in Scinde, as Mr. A. O. 

 Hume writes (Ibis, 1872, p. 468) that he procured numerous specimens there; and Captain 

 Bulger records it as " not uncommon at Mulci-bon, Selham, and Eas Dowra, in Sikkim." The 

 latter, however, may refer to L. novas-zecdandice and not L. lapponica. The bird referred to 

 by Von Middendorff and other naturalists under the name of L. rufa, as found in Siberia and 

 Eastern Asia, must, we think, in all cases be referred to L. novce-zealandice ; and Von Middendorff 

 especially refers to the barred rump in speaking of the Siberian Godwit. 



The Bar-tailed Godwit is only known to breed in the north-eastern portion of Europe ; and 

 but little is known of its breeding-habits. It deposits two or three eggs in a depression in the 

 soil, or in the mossy tussocks in the wet morasses which abound throughout Northern Europe, 

 making no regular nest. The late Mr. Wolley found the eggs in Lapland in May, which seems 

 to be the time of year when the eggs are usually deposited. 



In Dresser's collection are two eggs of this species, both obtained in Lapland by the late 

 Mr. Wolley's collectors. In size these eggs measured 2-^ by lf-J and 2-§-J} by lf§ inches respec- 

 tively. In the one the ground-colour is light olive-green, and the markings, which are chiefly 

 collected towards the larger end, are dark brown; and the other is dark olive-green, blotched 

 with dull greenish brown. Dr. E. Eey gives the measurements of eggs in Mr. Schluter's col- 

 lection, obtained in Muonio-Lapland through Mr. Meves, as 50-5 by 38-0 and 50-0 by 36-0 

 millimetres. 



