AUSTRALIAN PAINTED SNIPE. 
neck chestnut, the feathers minutely barred with black ; upper-back and scapulars 
greenish-grey, the feathers minutely speckled and barred with dark brown ; the 
inner webs of the inner scapulars buff which form a longitudinal line on each side 
of the back ; the upper, lesser, median, and greater wing-coverts with narrow 
dark cross-bars ; some of the primary-coverts, inner primaries, and secondaries 
silvery-grey, with narrow bars of black and buff and also white blotches edged 
with black, the long innermost secondaries more inc linin g to dark green barred 
and finely vermiculated ; outer primary-quills brown, darker towards the base, 
with golden-olive on the outer webs and oval spots of buff ; lower-back, rump, 
upper tail-coverts, and tail sUvery-grey, with wide bars of white or buff and very 
narrowly lined across with black ; lores, sides of face, sides of neck, throat, and 
fore-neck dark brown, more or less mixed with white especially on the chin and 
throat ; a patch of dark brown on each side of the breast which terminates with 
olive-coloured feathers which are very narrowly barred ; a broad band of white 
on each side of the fore-neck, which extends in a narrow line on each side of the 
mantle, where it joins the buff streak on the inner scapulars ; middle of breast, 
abdomen, and under tail-coverts white like the axillaries and inner under wing- 
coverts ; marginal under wing-coverts and the greater series grey, minutely 
barred with black and tinged with golden-olive ; bill yellowish-brown ; iris 
hazel ; feet blue-grey. Total length 290 mm. ; culmen 45, wing 150, tail 52, 
tarsus 43, 
Adult male. Differs chiefly from the adult female in its smaller size and by the absence 
of the chestnut on the hind-neck, the more golden-olive on the upper wing-coverts, 
which have large twin spots of buff, and by the much paler and more white on 
the throat and fore-neck ; biU, iris, feet, and legs brown. Total length 282 mm. ; 
culmen 41, wing 139, tail 49, tarsus 38. 
Nest. A depression lined with grass. 
Eggs. “ Clutch four. Ground-colour cream-white, almost completely hidden by 
irregular broad lines of black wound round the thicker end and extending 
longitudinally towards the thin end, the lines are curved and twisted forming loops 
and blotches. Axis 30-31 mm. ; diameter 27-28.” (Ramsay.) 
Breeding-season. November and December. 
Mr. J. W. Mellor writes : “ It is by no means plentiful but occasionally it 
may be seen singly or in pairs in the swampy lands, where there is a certain 
amount of grass. 
“ A nest of this bird was found at ‘ HoLmfihth,’ Fulham, Adelaide, 
South Australia, on November 6th, 1908. The nest was placed in a slight 
hollow in the ground, beside a small tussock of grass, and was composed of a 
few leaves and bits of grass ; the ground was soft and boggy. The nest was 
visited several times with the field glasses, and when the bird began to sit, 
I was able to get closer and found that it was always the male bird that was 
on the eggs ; the female being the brighter of the two kept out of sight 
during the time the nest was visited, which was always in the day-time. The 
bird would always slink out of the side of the nest, and glide through the 
short grass for a couple of yards, before fiying up with a sharp, quick flight, 
and would pitch down again about a couple of hundred yards away in the 
VOL. m. 
309 
