Order GHARADRIIF0RME8 Family SCOLOPACIDM 
No. 209. 
SUBSPILURA MEGALA. 
LAEGER PIN-TAILED SNIPE. 
(Plate 167.)* 
Gallinago MEGALA Swinhoe, Ibis 1861, p. 343 ; Pekin, China. 
GalUnago megala Swinhoe, Ibis 1861, p. 343 ; id., ih. 1863, p. 41.5 ; id., Proc. Zool. Soc. 
(Lond.) 1863, p. 313 ; id.. Ibis 1865, p. 232 ; Prjevalsky, in Rowley’s Ornith. 
Miscel., Vol. III., p. 92, 1878 ; Salvadori, Ornith. Papua, e Mol., Vol. III., p. 337, 
1882 ; Styan, Ibis 1891, p. 505 ; La Touche, ih. 1892, p. 498 ; Taczanowski, Mem. 
I’Acad. Imp. Sci. St. Petersb., Ser. VII., Vol. XXXIX., p. 956, 1893 ; Sharpe, 
Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., Vol. XXIV., p. 624, 1906 ; Mathews, Austral Av. Rec., 
Vol. I., p. 125, 1912. 
Scolopax (Spilura) stenura (not Kuhl) Radde, Reisen Suden von Ost-Sibir., p. 334, 1863. 
GalUnago heterocerca Cabanis, Journ. fiir Ornith. 1870, p. 235 (Luzon) ; id., ib. 1872, p. 317. 
GalUnago stenura (not Kuhl) Salvadori, Proc. Zool. Soc. (Lond.) 1878, p. 83. 
GalUnago australis (not Latham) Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., Ser. II., Vol. II., 
p. 172, 1887 ; Keartland, Trans. Roy. Soc. South Austr., Vol. XXII., p. 187, 1898 ; 
Mathews, Emu, Vol. IX., p. 55, 1909. 
Scolopax megala Seebohm, Geogr. Distr. Charadr., p. 479, 1887. 
GalUnago australis oweni Mathews, Nov. Zool., Vol. XVIII., p. 223, 1912 (North-west 
Australia). 
Subspilura megala Mathews, List Birds Austr., p. 72, 1913. 
Distribution. Siberia (breeding), migrating southward to North-west Australia and 
Northern Territory in winter. 
Adult male. Differs from Ditelmatias hardwichii (Gray) in its smaller size, and in having 
• twenty tail-feathers, the outer six on each side being very narrow, the outermost 
being the narrowest and the others increasing m width. The light streaks in the 
head are much lighter — ^that is, with only a tinge of buff ; the colouring of the 
upper-surface is much lighter. The two outer tail-feathers are tipped with white, 
with irregular bands of brown, more noticeable on the inner web ; the next four 
becoming gradually more uniform blackish-brown ; distal half of bill blackish- 
brown, basal half of upper mandible greyish-brown ; base of lower mandible grey ; 
iris brown ; feet and tarsus lead-grey. Total length 267 mm. (in the flesh) ; 
culmen 59, wing 138, tail 55, tarsus 35. 
Adult female. Similar to the male. 
* The Plate is lettered GalUnago megala. 
