snipe. 225 



This bird is found about Georgia, in America, from whence it 

 was sent by Mr. Abbot, under the name of Brown Sandpiper ; it is 

 probably ailied to the Semipalmated, as the membrane between the 

 inner and middle toes is one-eighth of an inch deep, and the outer 

 full half an inch. One in the collection of Mr. Francillon, named 

 Cinereous Sandpiper, has on each side of the toes a kind of rough 

 membrane, swelling out between the joints, giving a double breadth 

 to the under part of each toe. This may not unlikely be the Semi- 

 palmated Snipe in full plumage. I observe, too, in this, that the 

 shafts of the quills on the back are darker than the webs; and it is 

 well known, that the colour of the plumage of the Semipalmated 

 Snipe varies considerably with the season, 



37— NODDING SNIPE. 



Scolopax nutans, Ind. Orn. i. 153. Gm. Lin. i. 659. 

 Nodding Snipe, Gen- Syn.x. 153. Arct. Zool.xu No. 370. 



SIZE of the Snipe. Bill slender, long, black ; crown and upper 

 part of the back dusky, streaked with red ; cheeks cinereous, streaked 

 with black ; neck and breast cinereous, mixed with rust-colour, and 

 obscure dark spots ; belly white ; thighs spotted black ; lesser wing 

 coverts ash-colour ; the greater dusky, edged with brown ; quills 

 dusky, the secondaries edged with white ; lower part of the back 

 white, spotted with black; tail barred black and white, tip reddish ; 

 legs greenish, the toes bordered by a narrow plain membrane. Found 

 in Chateaux Bay, in September, with the last, and like it, is in the 

 habit of nodding the head. 



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