GALLLNTAGO gallinula. 
829 
Chin whitish ; fore neck brownish, the feathers edged with fulvous and on the sides of the chest centred with black ; 
beneath from the chest to the under tail-coverts white, the latter with brownish-fulvous stripes; axillaries white, 
streaked slightly with pale brown ; under wing white, the centres of the feathers pale brown. 
Winter dress (Ceylon, January). Buff markings of the upper surface not so rich as in the above, and the purple and 
sreen lustre of the scapulars, tertials, and rump not so brilliant; the fulvous edgings of the tail-feathers are 
not so broad This specimen, which I have compared with a series of English winter examples, is m good 
nlumage and is a pale type; the throat and the markings of the face and forehead are whiter than in many 
English specimens, and it is no doubt a fully-aged bird, as the axillaries ar e pure relate, 
f ii t» \ TTonrl on rl nrinpr surfiiCG mingled rich rufous unci bluck ? tbe clown tipped with 
Y0U ‘ white •' ^centrTof the^orehead, lores, and cheeks black and rufous ; a broad whitish stripe above and beneath the 
^tter extending round the ear-coverts ; chin whitish ; beneath dark ferruginous brown. Bill enormous 
for the age of the bird, measuring at front 1T5. 
Younq not quite fledged (Lapland). Plumage above much as in winter adults ; but the buff lateral stripes more rufous,. 
the scapulars barred with dark rufous and tipped with white ; the wing-coverts broadly edged with fawn-white , 
fore neck (which is still in down) brownish. Bill at front 1-4 inch. 
Plumage of first autumn (Wales) : female. Colours of the back and wings not so rich as in the adult; the scapulars 
conspicuously tipped with white, the black bars narrower, and the rufous terminal portions mottled with black , 
margins of central tail-feathers dusky buff, stippled with brown ; axillaries streaked with brown. 
Obs A marked difference in the plumage of this Snipe from that of its congeners consists in the head not haying the 
central stripe, the tail being unbarred and the flanks wanting the transverse markings. As above remarked, the 
tail also differs structurally, and, in addition to this, the sternum has two emarginations, which combined characters 
caused Kaup to place it 'in a separate genus (. Lymnoeryptes ). The bill, feet, and wings are those of the rest of 
the 2 roup although the former is rather high at the base, and the nostril is more distant from the margin than 
in some. Taking these points into consideration, the Jack Snipe might not unreasonably be placed m the sub- 
genus Lymnoeryptes ; but I prefer not to adopt it in the present work. 
Distribution.— There is reason to believe that this little Snipe is an occasional seasonal straggler to the 
northern D arts of Ceylon. Layard heard of its occurrence in the Jaffna district during his residence at 
Pt. Pedro, hut does not appear to have procured it himself. I give here his note concerning it The late 
Mr. Y. Burleigh, of Jaffna, an ardent sportsman and beautiful bird-stuffer, told me that he used frequently to 
meet with them about Wally some years ago, but that of late he had not seen any. My own testimony only 
reaches to a bird I saw on the table, luckily with both bill and legs perfect, and this I feel convinced in my 
own mind was a Jack Snipe.” Mr. Iloldsworth included it in his Catalogue on this “ sportsman's authority ;” 
but up to that date he had not procured any further evidence as to its occurrence. Of late years it has, I 
believe been not unfrequently shot in the 'extreme north of Ceylon. Mr. W. Murray, of the Ceylon Civil 
Service, informed me that he had killed it in the peninsula; and I have heard the same from other gentlemen. 
In January 1877 a specimen was shot by Mr. Smart, of the Civil Service, near Jaffna, and was satisfactorily 
identified but not preserved; in the following January, Mr. E. F. Hopkins, Police Magistrate at Jaffna, shot 
another, which, through the kindness of that gentleman, is now in my possession. There is no doubt that 
every year some few « Jacks ” find their way to Ceylon, and are overlooked among the thousands of its larger 
relation that visit the island. T ,. 
On the mainland it is pretty generally distributed, but is nowhere numerous. In the south of India we 
have the Rev Dr. Fairbanks testimony to its visiting the Palanis in small numbers, and it was observed by him 
frequenting; the vicinity of the Lake at Kodailcanal, which has an elevation of 7000 feet. In the Deccan it is 
said to be common, but less abundant than the European Snipe ; and the above-mentioned gentleman observes 
that it frequents all marshy places in the Khandala district, occurring however, only m small numbers In 
the north-west it is recorded as common in Sindh m the cold season {Hume), rare about le am bhur Lake, 
which is an unfavourable locality for all Snipe {Adam) ; common on the plains of Gu.erat {Butler) and, 
according to Mr. Hume, it is likewise so throughout the surrounding region; but Major Hayes-Lloyd does 
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