A HISTORY OF DEVONSHIRE 



bers used to resort to Lundy in severe winters. 

 They are still sometimes fairly plentiful in the 

 covers on the mainland of north Devon. 

 White, cream-coloured and buff varieties are 

 not very rare. Parti-coloured examples also 

 occur. Devonshire woodcocks belong to the 

 red race, and specimens of the grey race are 

 rarely seen. 



223. Great Snipe. Gallinago major (J. F. 



Gmelin) 



Locally, Double Snipe, Solitary Snipe. 



A casual visitor occasionally met with in 

 autumn on the moors. In September and 

 October 1868 no less than seven examples 

 occurred in Devonshire. Specimens obtained 

 in this county are nearly always in immature 

 plumage, but the late Mr. Gatcombe records 

 an adult killed on Dartmoor on 23 August 

 1876. Only one great snipe has occurred 

 on Lundy Island. 



224. Common Snipe. Gallinago coelestis 



(Frenzel) 



Locally, Full Snipe, Whole Snipe, Heather 

 Bleater. 



Resident locally, breeding in small numbers 

 on Dartmoor and on the neighbouring com- 

 mons, in some marshes on the south-west 

 coast, on all the moors, and in many marshy 

 meadows in north Devon. The snipe is 

 however mainly a winter visitor, arriving con- 

 tinuously from the end of August throughout 

 the autumn and winter, and remaining until the 

 end of March or even to the middle of April, 

 the great bulk of the foreign birds appearing 

 early in October, and being followed in suc- 

 cession by smaller flights. The common 

 snipe was formerly a most abundant species 

 in Devonshire, but a great diminution in its 

 numbers has taken place during the last half- 

 century, and it has now become rather scarce 

 in most places. A large race, weighing as 

 much as 7^ oz., occurs occasionally, and 

 many varieties of plumage have been met 

 with. 



225. Jack Snipe. Gallinago gallinula (Linn.) 



Locally, Jack, Half-Snipe, Atterflitter (N. 

 Devon). 



A winter visitor tolerably numerous in 

 suitable localities. It is seen early in Septem- 

 ber on Dartmoor, but does not appear on the 

 marshlands in our estuaries until November, 

 or even December in mild and open seasons. 

 Jack snipe remain as late as March on Dart- 

 moor, and have been known to linger till the 

 middle of April in north Devon. 



226. American Pectoral Sandpiper. Tringa 



maculata, Vieillot. 



Two were shot by the Rev. Marcus 

 Rickard on Braunton Burrows 12 September 

 1 87 1. Bellamy mentions specimens having 

 been shot on the Tamar (probably about 1839) 

 and preserved by Pincombe of Devonport. 



227. Bonaparte's Sandpiper. Tringa Jusci- 



collis, Vieillot. 



Four specimens of this American sandpiper 

 were shot on the Taw near Instow in 

 November 1870. 



228. Dunlin. Tringa alpina, Linn. 



Locally, Sanderling, Stint, Purre, Sea-Lark, 

 Summer Lark (N. Devon). 



The most abundant of our shore birds, and 

 some may be seen on the coasts and the 

 estuaries of our larger rivers nearly all the 

 year round, but especially in spring and early 

 autumn, when large numbers arrive in flocks 

 from other parts. These flocks consist of 

 small dark-coloured birds, but later in the 

 autumn and in winter a larger and lighter- 

 coloured race visits us. This large grey form 

 is seldom obtained in summer plumage, but 

 when it does occur in that state it is noticed 

 in pairs, or in twos and threes in April, and 

 are newcomers and not those that have 

 remained throughout the winter. The 

 smaller and darker form, in full breeding 

 plumage, arrives in May in small companies 

 and remains a few weeks. In July they 

 return again, still in summer plumage, and 

 remain until October, when they give 

 place to the larger form. A few of the 

 small race breed on Dartmoor, where they 

 have been occasionally seen in June and 

 July. Some unusually small dunlins, ap- 

 parently answering to the description of 

 Tringa schinzi of Brehm, were killed at 

 Plymouth in August 1870. 



229. Little Stint. Tringa minuta, Leisler. 



A passing visitor of occasional occurrence 

 in May, and more frequently in August, 

 September and October. Flocks of consider- 

 able size are sometimes seen both on the north 

 and south coasts, wherever the shores are 

 sandy. One killed at Plymouth 9 December, 

 1875, in full winter plumage, is the only 

 specimen known to have occurred at that 

 season of the year. The little stint some- 

 times occurs singly or in pairs mixed with 

 dunlins and curlew sandpipers, but its presence 

 can always be detected by its note. 



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