Order CHARADR1IF0RME8 Family 8C0L0PACIDM. 
No. 189. 
MESOSCOLOPAX MINUTUS. 
LITTLE WHIMBREL. 
(Plate 146,)* 
Numenius MmuTUS Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. (Lond.) 1840, p. 176, July, 1841 ; New South 
Wales. 
Numenius minutus Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. (Lond.) 1840, p. 176, 1841 ; id., Birds Austr., 
Vol. VI., pi. 44, 1848 ; id., Handb. Birds Austr., Vol. II,, p. 280, 1865 ; Swinhoe, 
Ibis 1875, p. 132 ; Salvadori, Omith. Papua, e Mol.,Vol. III., p. 334, 1882 ; Seebohm, 
Geogr. Distr. Charadr., p. 335, 1887 ; Styan, Ibis 1891, p. 509 ; Taczanowski, Mem. 
I’Acad. Imp. Sci. St. Petersb., Ser. VII., Vol. XXXIX., p. 947, 1893 ; Keartland, 
Trans. Boy. Soc. South Austr., Vol. XXII., p. 161, 1898 ; Buturlin, Emu, 
Vol. XI., p. 97, 1911 ; Mathews, Nov. Zool., Vol. XVIII., p. 220, 1912. 
Numenius minor S. Muller, Verh. Nat. Gesch Land en Volkend, p. 110, 1841 (Amboina) ; 
Temminck and Schlegel, Fauna Japonica, Aves, p. Ill, pi. 67, 1849 ; Masters, 
Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., Vol. I., p. 61, 1876 ; Bamsay, ih., Vol. II., p. 198, 1878 ; 
id.. Tab. List Austr. Birds, p. 20, 1888 ; Legge, Austr. Assoc. Adv. Sci., Vol. IV., 
p. 962, 1892 ; North, Birds County Cumberl., p. Ill, 1898. 
Mesoscolopax minutus Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., Vol. XXIV., p. 371, 1896 ; Hall, 
Key Birds Austr., p. 84, 1899 ; Campbell, Nests and Eggs Austr. Birds, p. 806, 
1901 ; Berney, Emu, Vol. II., p. 213, 1903 ; Carter, ib., Vol. III., p. 176, 1904 ; 
Berney, ib., Vol. IV., p. 47, 1904 ; Hall, Key Birds Austr., p. 84, 1906 ; Berney, 
Emu, Vol. VI., p. 113, 1907 ; Mathews, Handl. Birds Austral., p. 26, 1908 ; id.. 
Emu, Vol. IX., p. 55, 1909. 
Distribution. East Siberia (breeding ?), migrating southwards to Australia in winter. 
Adult male. Upper-parts dark brown with white or rufous spots on the margins of the 
feathers ; some of the long upper tail-coverts regularly barred with grey ; the small 
marginal-coverts round the bend of the wing very dark brown like the bastard- 
wing and primary-coverts ; median and greater coverts similar to the back ; 
primary-quills dark brown, shaft of first primary white, some of the inner-quiUs 
fringed with white at the tips ; secondaries pale brown slightly tipped with white, 
the long innermost secondaries like the back ; crown of head brown spotted with 
white or buff with a scarcely-defined mesial streak ; lores, eyebrow, ear-coverts, 
and sides of face buff minutely streaked with brown ; hind-neck brown with pale 
margins to the feathers ; throat whitish ; lower-throat and fore-neck buff with 
* The plate is lettered Numenius minutus. 
180 
