680 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



edges ; primaries and coverts dark brown faintly glossed green , 

 paler on inner webs, inner ones tipped white, 2nd with outer web 

 mostly brownish -white ; secondaries dusky-brown broadly tipped 

 white, innermost with outer webs pink-cinnamon or cinnamon,, 

 irregularly barred, marked or freckled black and narrowly tipped 

 white ; greater coverts dark olive-brown narrowly tipped white,, 

 innermost cinnamon or pink-cinnamon barred black towards tip^ 

 some faintly edged pink-cinnamon ; median coverts black-brown 

 narrowly tipped white and with a subterminal border (sometimes- 

 with a bar or spot) of pink-buff or pink-cinnamon ; innermost 

 median and lesser coverts dusky-brown tipped white ; lesser coverts 

 same but light edges narrower. This plumage is acquired by com- 

 plete moult July to Oct. Summer. — The bodj-feathers, not lowest 

 scapulars, tail, some innermost secondaries and coverts, some 

 median and lesser coverts but not rest of wings are moulted Jan. to* 

 May. Coloration as winter. 



Nestling. — (Not examined.) 



Juvenile.- — (Not examined.) 



First winter. — Apparently indistinguishable from adult ; moult 

 presumably as in Common Snipe. 



Measurements and structure. — $ wing 108-117 mm., tail 46-51, 

 tarsus 23-25, bill from feathers 39-41 (12 measured). $ wing 

 107-115, bill 40-43. Primaries : 1st minute, 2nd longest, 3rd equal 

 or 2-5 mm. shorter, 4th 6-10 shorter, 5th 11-14 shorter, 6th 17-21 

 shorter. Longest inner secondary between 3rd and 6th primaries. 

 Tail wedge-shaped, 12 pointed feathers. Bill proportionately 

 shorter and stouter than in Great Snipe, higher at base, narrowing 

 suddenly and depressed towards tip. Other structure as in Great 

 Snipe. 



Soft parts. — Bill pale yellowish-flesh, tip black, sides and base 

 of under mandible pale ashy -grey ; legs and feet light greenish 

 blue -grey ; iris dark brown. 



Characters. — No subspecies. Small size, wedge-shaped tail and 

 upper-parts glossed green and purple distinguish this species from 

 Common Snipe. 



Field -characters. — Smaller than Common Snipe, with relatively 

 shorter bill. Plumage has more metallic gloss and lacks broad 

 pale stripe on crown. Solitary, whereas Common Snipe is more or 

 less gregarious, occurring at times in " wisps " of a dozen or more.. 

 Reluctant to rise, does not zig-zag, and usually pitches after a flight 

 of a few yards. Very silent during its sojourn in this country, but 

 the love -song uttered in flight above breeding-grounds was likened 

 by Wolley to distant canter of a horse on a hard road. 



Breeding-habits. — Breeds in marshes and high -lying bogs of 

 northern Europe and Asia. Nest. — Hollow in dry spot surrounded 

 by wet ground, lined with a little grass, Equisetum or leaves of 

 dwarf birch. Eggs. — Normally 4, large, pyriform, somewhat 

 browner on average than those of Common Snipe and more evenly 



