212 
allen’s naturalist’s library. 
numerous tiny blackish spots and a dark patch below the ear- 
coverts ; the hind-neck and sides of neck sandy-buff, streaked 
with black ; chin, breast, and abdomen white ; the lower 
throat, fore-neck, and chest pale sandy-buff, with central spots 
of black on the feathers ; the sides of the breast and flanks 
regularly barred with black ; the under tail-coverts sandy-buff, 
tinged with rufous, and having more or less complete bars of 
black ; under wing-coverts and axillaries white^ barred with 
black, the latter very distinctly banded ; lower primary-coverts 
and quills below uniform ashy-brown ; bill and feet brown ; 
iris hazel. Total length, ii inches ; culmen, 2’45; wing, 5'55 ; 
tail, 2-0 j tarsus, i'35. 
Adult Female. — Similar to the male. Total length, io'5 inches; 
culmen, 2-5; wing, 5‘3 ; tail, 2'o ; tarsus, 1-5. 
Winter Plumage.— More sandy-buff than in summer, the buff 
edges to the feathers of the upper surface broader and more 
conspicuous ; the blackish markings on the fore-neck larger 
and coarser, and either circular or horse-shoe shaped. 
Young.— Much more rufous than the adults, and having the 
black of the upper parts more uniform, the lateral edges to the 
scapular feathers not so distinct ; the inner greater coverts and 
inner secondiirics regulcirly barred with black and rufous, the 
bars being of about equal width ; the white tips to the wing- 
coverts not so distinct and slightly tinged with buff ; the sides 
of the face and hind-neck much more rufous than the adults, 
and the white upper breast also showing dusky circular bars ; 
the white outer tail-feathers also barred with dusky-brown. 
Characters.— The Great Snipe is, as might be supposed 
from its name, a somewhat larger bird than the Common 
Snipe, though it has a somewhat shorter bill than the latter 
specif. In full plumage it may be distinguished from the 
Common Snipe by the conspicuous white tips to the wing- 
coverts, and by the white outer tail-feathers, \oung birds with 
the outer tail-feathers barred, are not so easy to tell, but the 
ground-colour of these feathers is white in the^ Great Snipe, 
and is tawny-rufous in the Common Snipe. 1 he latter has 
also a white margin to the first primary, and the white tips to 
the primary-coverts are very small, while the white tips on the 
secondaries are conspicuous. In the Great Snipe the reverse 
