288 
allen's naturalist’s library. 
plumage or in immature dress are difficult to distinguish from 
the same phases of our Common Summer-Snipe. The Ameri- 
can species, however, may be distinguished by the greater 
amount of yellow on the under mandible, and by the broad sub- 
terminal band which is continuous throughout the secondary 
quills. In T. hypoleucus the inner secondaries are, for the most 
part, white. 
Range in Great Britain. — This species has a very doubtful right 
to be included in the British List, and Mr. Howard Saunders 
considers that, of all the recorded instances, only two are pos- 
sibly genuine. I have retained it simply because, like so many 
other American waders which visit us, it is a bird which may 
occur accidentally. 
Range ontside tlie British Islands. — The American Summer Snipe 
breeds throughout North America, generally not beyond the 
Arctic Circle, and visits, in winter. Central America, the 
IVest Indies, and the northern part of the South American 
Continent. 
Hahits. — We quote the following note from Mr. D. G. 
Elliot’s recent work : — “ It arrives in April from the far 
southern lands where it has passed the winter, and soon com- 
mences the courtship preparatory to the nesting season. The 
‘ Tilt-up,’ or ‘ Peet-weet ’ as it is also called, does not go in 
flocks of any size, but is rather solitary in its disposition, an 
individual or pair seeming to appropriate a certain amount of 
the shore, where they dwell contentedly, only flying when dis- 
turbed higher up or lower down the river, as the case may be ; 
and then if any ‘Tilt-up ’ is on the particular spot near where 
they desire to alight, they move on to some other part of the 
bank or beach. The flight is rapid, performed with quick, 
stiff beats of the wings, and the bird utters frequently its cry 
of peet-weet as it passes along. It is a most comical species to 
watch upon the shore. When it alights after its short flight, 
it may stand for an instant motionless, contemplating its sur- 
roundings, and then it makes a profound bow, inclining both 
head and neck, at the same time elevating its hindquarters in 
a seeming derogatory manner, very disrespectful to the on- 
lookers ; and as if to emphasise the fact that the motion was 
intended for each and all of those present, it deliberately 
