SNIPE. 213 



leathers marked down the middle with dusky ; over the eye a whitish 

 streak; belly and vent white; the six prime quills black; inner 

 edges brown, the shaft of the first brown ; most of the others brown, 

 the outer margins pale, and clouded with pale brown, the inner 

 whitish, banded with greyish brown ; tail white, the two middle 

 feathers barred with brown, the others the same on the outer web, 

 but on the inner only towards the tip ; legs dusky. 



In some birds the rump is white, and the chin nearly so ; but 

 how far this may be distinctive of age, or a casual circumstance, 

 does not seem manifest ; for it is subject to great variety, in size of 

 body, length of bill, as well as in plumage. 



One sent to me by Mr. Boys in September 1786, measured 

 fourteen inches, to the end of the claws fifteen inches and a half ; 

 weight six ounces and three quarters; breadth twenty-five inches. 

 Bill two inches and a half long, tongue three-fourths of the length 

 of it ; a white spot beneath the eye, joining another above, forming 

 a circle round it ; between the bill and eye a dark spot ; head, back, 

 and upper parts mottled brown and white ; fore part of the neck and 

 breast pale reddish brown ; quills dusky, with white shafts ; outer 

 webs dusky, the inner light coloured, and towards the wing first 

 mottled with white, then deeply margined with the same ; secondaries 

 brown, edged reddish white ; rump white ; tail coverts the same, 

 spotted here and there with dusky ; tail barred dusky and white ; 

 legs black. 



In a second, the bill was three inches and a half long ; length 

 of the bird sixteen inches and one-eighth, and to the end of the 

 claws seventeen inches and a quarter; breadth twenty-eight; weight 

 twelve ounces ; plumage much as in the other : the rump spotted 

 with dusky. 



A third, received with the others, had the bill three inches in 

 length ; general length sixteen inches, to the claws seventeen ; 

 breadth twenty-seven and a half; weight eight ounces and a quarter. 

 All these were shot at one time, out of a large flock, on Sandwich 



