JACK SNIPE. 145 



Bill bluish at the base, black towards the tip ; irides deep 

 brown ; legs and feet greenish grey. Length 8 J inches ; 

 extent 14 ; wing 4£ ; tail not quite 2 ; bill at front If ; tarsus 1. 

 Weight If ozs. 



The Jack Snipe is generally diffused throughout India, pre- 

 ferring thicker coverts than the Common Snipe, lying very close, 

 and difficult to flush. Now and then considerable numbers will 

 be met with ; in other places it is rarely seen. It makes its ap- 

 pearance later than the Common Snipe, and departs earlier, 

 breeding in the Northern parts of Europe and Asia. 



Various other Snipes are found all over the world. A group 

 from South America is separated by Bonaparte as Xylocola. 

 Gen. Rhynch^ea, Cuvier. 



Char. — Bill shorter than in Gallinago, slightly curved downwards 

 at the tip ; wings rather short, broad, slightly rounded, beautifully 

 ocellated, 2nd quill longest, 1st and 3rd sub-equal; tail of 14 or 16 

 feathers, slightly rounded, short ; tarsus long ; tibia mucn denuded. 



In this genus the females are not only larger than the males 

 but they are also much more richly colored. It contains three 

 very closely allied species. Blyth considers it to have some affini- 

 ties for Eurypyga, a South American bird of rather large size with 

 ocellated wings, usually placed among the Herons. 



48. Rhynchsea bengalensis, Linnaeus. 



Scolopax, apud Linnaeus — Sykes, Cat. 199 — Jerdon, Cat. 

 334— Blyth, Cat. 1612— R. capensis, Linn.— R. picta, Gray — 

 R. orientalis, Horsfield — Hardwicke, 111. Ind. Zool. 



The Painted Snipe. 

 Descr. — Upper plumage more or less olivaceous, the feathers 

 finely marked with zig-zag dark lines, and the scapulars and inner 

 wing-coverts with broad bars of black, edged with white ; a me- 

 dian pale buff line on the head, and another behind and round 

 the eye ; scapulars with a pale buff stripe as in the Snipe ; wing- 

 coverts mottled and baired with pale olive and buff; quills oliva- 

 ceous grey, with dark, narrow, cross lines, blackish towards the 

 base on the outer web, and with a series of five or more buff 

 ocelli on the outer web ; the inner web with white cross bands 



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