THE COMMON OR FANTAIL SNIPE. 369 
the middle of that month; and I myself have taken eggs in 
Norfolk as late as the 17th of May. 
The eggs, always normally four in number, are nearly hemis- 
pherical at the larger end; but from the middle they are com- 
pressed and elongated, so that, while one-half of the egg isa 
half globe, the other is a long cone, abruptly truncated or 
rounded off at the tip. Sometimes the cone is pinched in 
near the tip so as to make the egg almost pear-shaped. 
The shell is extremely smooth, but has, at most, only a 
faint gloss. In-colour and markings the eggs vary very much. 
Typically the ground colour varies from a yellow stone toa 
dark café au lait, but not unfrequently it has an olive tinge ; 
and again in some eggs the ground is decidedly green, quite 
a light bright green in one, and in one or two it is more blue 
than green. The markings are large blotches, smears, spots, 
and clouds of brown of varying shades, becoming black in some 
spots; the brown is very often reddish or purplish, and where 
pale in some of the sub-surface-looking clouds, is attimesa pale 
purple, at others pure brown, at others a sepia grey. The 
markings are always densest on the large half of the egg, where 
they occasionally form a nearly confluent cap, and are generally 
almost confined to the upper two-thirds of the egg, the conical 
end exhibiting few markings. Usually the markings are nearly 
all very large and bold, and comparatively few in number ; but 
occasionally they are much more numerous, smaller in size, and 
more thickly set. 
The eggs, very large for the size of the bird, vary from 1°54 to 
162 in length, and from I'I to 1'23 in breadth. 
IN THIS species also the females do average slightly larger, 
and have longer bills than the males; and so, as I have recorded 
a huge, series of measurements, I give the weights and dimensions 
of the sexes separately, although, as a fact, a vast number of 
each do not differ in size, and all one can say is, that the 
smallest birds are males, and the very largest always females. 
Males—Length, 9:0 to I1°3; expanse, 15°0 to 17°53; wing, 
40) to 5.0); tail, from vent, 2-5 to 2°93; tarsus, I-2 to 1°34 ;-bill, 
fiom cape, 239) to 2-7 ; at front, 2°43 to. 2:75 ; weight, 3°3 to 
5'I ozs, Average, 4°15 ozs. 
Females—Length, 9°2 to 12°5; expanse, 16°0 to 18:25 ; wing, 
Aesgate 5:71 >-tail> from vent, .2°3 to 3/0 ; tarsus, 1°25° to 1°33 ; 
pill trom ape, 2°5 to 2:9; at front, 2°62 to 3:0; weight, *3"r to 
5'5 ozs. Average, 4°27 ozs. Average of both sexes, 4'2 ozs. 
Some years ago my friend, Mr. J. C. Parker, writing to Stray 
Feathers, remarked: “I find, from looking over an old diary, 
that I have recorded the weights of some scores of each species; 
the average weight of the Pintail is 4ozs. 3 drams, and of 
the Fantail only 3 ozs. 3 drams. The heaviest of the former 
was 4 ozs, 9 drams, of the latter 3 ozs. 13 drams.” 
