138 GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. 



The Snipes have the richest plumage of the family, the dorsals 

 and scapular feathers being often streaked with black and yellow. 

 Their bills are highly sensitive and soft at the tip, and in drying, 

 shrivel up so as to appear punctured. They feed on worms and soft 

 larvse, are chiefly nocturnal in their habits, and have large eyes 

 set far backwards, giving them a peculiar physiognomy. They 

 mostly affect concealment, and some of them even frequent woods. 



Gen. Scolopax, Linn, (as restricted.) 



Syn. Rusticola, Vieillot. 



Char. — Bill long, thin, more or less rounded, of soft texture, 

 swollen at the tip. and obtuse ; upper mandible channeled for the 

 greater part of its length, slightly bent downwards at the tip ; 

 lower mandible channeled only to the middle ; nostrils basal, 

 longitudinal; wings moderately long, very pointed, 1st quill long 

 est ; tail short, of twelve soft uniform feathers ; tibia plumed to 

 the joint; toes free to the base; tarsus short, stout; hind toe short. 



This genus, now restricted to the true Wood-cocks, differs from 

 the Snipe chiefly by the tibia being feathered to the knee. It 

 comprises birds of larger size and stouter make than the Snipes, 

 and perfectly sylvan in their habits, as the English name implies. 

 The humerus is stated to be without air-cells. 



42. Scolopax rusticola, Linn^us. 



Jerdon, Cat. 335 — Blyth, Cat. 1605— S. indicus, Hodgson. 

 — Gould, Birds of Europe, pi. 319 — Sim-titar, or Tutatar, H. 

 of some. — Sim-Kukra in Kumaon. 



The Wood-cock. 



Descr. — Forehead and crown ash-grey, tinged rufous ; a dusky 

 streak from gape to eyes ; occiput, with four broad transverse 

 bars of blackish brown ; the rest of the upper part variegated 

 with chesnut brown, ochre-yellow, and ash-grey, with zigzag lines 

 and irregular spots of black ; throat white ; rest of under parts 

 yellowish white, passing into rufous on the breast and forepart 

 of neck with cross wavy bars of dusky brown ; quills barred 

 ferruginous and black ; tail black, the outer webs edged rufous, 

 tips ash-grey above, silvery white beneath ; bill fleshy grey ; 

 legs livid ; iricles dark brown. 



