SCOLOPACIDiE — THE SNIPE FAMILY — RHYACOPHILUS. 
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Hab. The whole of North and Middle America and the greater part of South America, ranging 
south to Brazil and Peru ; breeding throughout temperate North America, but chiefly northward ; 
accidental in Europe. 
Sp. Char. Adult in summer : Above, olivaceous slate, rather sparsely speckled with white, 
the crown and nape indistinctly streaked with the same ; outer upper tail-coverts barred with 
white ; primaries and primary-coverts plain slate-black. Tail white (the middle feathers dusky), 
all the feathers widely barred with dusky, these bars most numerous on outer webs, where extend- 
ing to the base of the feathers. Eyelids, supraloral stripe, and lower parts white ; the sides of 
the head, neck (all round), and jugulum streaked with brownish slate ; remaining lower parts 
immaculate. Lining of wing and axillars slate-color, regularly barred with white. Winter plumage : 
Similar to the summer dress, but dark ashy above, less distinctly speckled, and foreneck very 
indistinctly streaked, or simply washed with ashy. Young : Above, grayish brown (lighter and more 
olivaceous than the adult), thickly speckled with buff ; crown and nape plain brownish gray; cheeks 
and sides of neck nearly uniform gray ; foreneck streaked, as in the adult. 
Total length, about 8.00-8.50 inches ; extent., 15.50-16.50 ; wing, 5.00-5.40 ; culmen, 1 .15-1.30 ; 
tarsus, 1.25-1.30 ; middle toe, 1.00. Bill greenish brown (in life), dusky terminally; iris brown ; 
legs and feet olive-green in adult, more grayish in young. 
It is difficult to reconcile all the various statements in regard to the habits of 
this species, either with our own observations or with the experience of more recent 
observers. Audubon speaks of finding it nesting in Louisiana, Wilson of its breed- 
ing in the highlands of Pennsylvania, and Giraud considered it a summer resident 
of Long Island from May to September. How far these statements are reconcilable 
with fact, or how far they may be erroneous or exceptional, it is not easy to deter- 
mine. It may be that, like the Common Snipe, this bird occasionally breeds in 
unusually southern localities. Mr. J. A. Allen met with it at Ipswich, Mass., in 
June, under circumstances which led him to feel confident that the bird was breed- 
ing there. The general rule, however, is that throughout the United States this 
species is as decidedly migratory as the Winter Yellowleg, and that if it ever nests 
south of latitude 43°, the instances are rare, exceptional, or caused by peculiar cir- 
cumstances. It is common, though not abundant, in Massachusetts in spring and 
fall, although not known to breed in that State. It conies in the spring in the latter 
part of May, its stay being short, as it almost immediately passes on to its northern 
breeding-places. It begins to re-appear in midsummer, or about the 15th of July, 
and is more or less common from that time up to the last of October. Maynard 
obtained an example at Erroll, N. H., as late as October 31, when the ponds were 
frozen over ; and Mr. William Brewster met with partially grown young in Fran- 
conia, N. H., in August. 
Major Wedderburn states that this Sandpiper — which reminded him so much, 
both in appearance and in habits, of Rhyacophilus glareola of Europe — is found every 
