RED-BREASTED SNIPE. 
93 
with pale brown ; rump and tail-coverts, of a very light 
brown, barred with dark brown ; tail, even, except the 
two middle feathers, which are a little the longest ; 
wings, pale ferruginous, elegantly marbled with dark 
brown, the four first primaries black on the outer edge ; 
whole lining and lower parts of the wings, bright 
ferruginous ; belly and vent, light rust colour, with a 
tinge of lake. 
The female differs in wanting the bars of black oil 
the breast. The bill does not acquire its full length 
before the third year. 
About fifty different species of the scolopax genus 
are enumerated by naturalists. These are again, by 
some, separated into three classes, or subgenera ; viz. 
the straight-billed, or snipes ; those with bills bent 
downwards, or the curlews ; and those whose bills are 
slightly turned upwards, or godwits. The whole are a 
shy, timid, and solitary tribe, frequenting those vast 
marshes, swamps, and morasses, that frequently prevail 
in the vicinity of the ocean, and on the borders of large 
rivers. They are also generally migratory, on account 
of the periodical freezing of those places in the northern 
regions, where they procure their food. The godwits 
are particularly fond of salt marshes ; and are rarely 
found in countries remote from the sea. 
GENUS LIII . — SCOLOPAX 
SUBGENUS I. MACRORAMPHUS, LEACH. 
233 . SCOLOPAX GRISEA, GMELIN. 
SCOLOPAX NOVEBORACENS1S, WILSON. RED-BREASTED SNIPE. 
WILSON, PLATE XLVII. FIG. I. 
This bird has a considerable resemblance to the 
common snipe, not only in its general form, size, and 
colours, but likewise in the excellence of its flesh, 
which is in high estimation. It differs, however, 
greatly from the common snipe in its manners, and in 
