THE PINTAIL SNIPE. 355 
It is true that Swinhoe, writing (42s, 1863, 415) on Formosan 
Ornithology remarked, that “a few stay to breed in our 
marshes.” But later, in his revised list of the Birds of China 
(P. Z. S., 1871, 497) he seems to have changed his opinion and 
says, “ probably goes north to breed.” And we gather from Pére 
David that even at Pekin, in Northern China, it only occurs on 
passage, 
If, as I believe, eterocerca of Cabanis, afud Prijevalski, (which 
he keeps separate from megala of Swinhoe) is really sthenura, 
then he gives us the following in regard to its breeding :— 
“It breeds in tolerable numbers on the Ussuri, but is still 
more plentiful during migration, about the 1oth of April and 
in the end of August. 
“Tn the latter half of April the birds choose their nesting 
localities in the thinly overgrown marshes, and their peculiar 
courting commences. Rising into the air, similar to our G. 
scolopacina, and describing large circles above the spot where 
the female is sitting, it suddenly dashes downwards with great 
noise (which is most likely produced by the tail-feathers, like 
that made by our species, and somewhat resembles the noise of 
a broken rocket). As the bird approaches the ground the 
noise increases, until it has got within a hundred yards, when 
it suddenly stops the sound and quietly flies on, uttering a 
note something like “ ti2c, terec, terzc.” Courtship lasts until 
the middle of June, and is mostly heard or seen in the mornings 
and evenings, but occasionally in the day time, and even at 
night in clear weather.” He adds that “it was not seen in the 
Hoang-ho Valley where mega/a breeds numerously.” 
Middendorff never seems to have met with this species, and 
the G. sthenura, Temminck, of Radde, is clearly not our bird, 
but probably meya/la. 
Now countless myriads of this species visit this Empire (and 
the other countries already mentioned when describing its 
range) during the winter. If only half of these bred in 
Southern or South-Eastern Siberia, one would think that every 
collector, Radde, Middendorff, Schrenk, Dybowski, would have 
found them breeding ; and unless we suppose that, as a rule, this 
species has not been discriminated from the Fantail, we must 
admit that its breeding head-quarters are still somewhat of a 
mystery. 
THE FEMALES in this species average larger and heavier than 
the males ; but the dimensions and weights of both sexes are 
very variable, according doubtless to age, and the weights vary 
also materially according to season ; birds shot in the latter part 
of March and in April, running, as a body, heavier than those 
shot from October to the end of January. 
The following is the resumé of the dimensions and weights 
