122 
Mr. H. Seebohm on the Genus Scolopax. 
XVII .-—A Review of the Species of the Germs Scolopax. 
By Henry Seebohm. 
The Snipes are a very interesting group of birds, not only 
to the sportsman, but also to the ornithologist. Few birds 
give better sport in the field, and few genera are capable of 
being made a better text from which to preach an ornitholo¬ 
gical sermon on the new point of view from which the subject 
must be regarded, now that the theory of the evolution of 
species is generally accepted. 
The Snipes belong to the family Charadriidse, which 
also includes the Sandpipers, Curlews, Plovers, and a few 
other allied genera. From all these birds they are very 
easily and very distinctly characterized. Most of the Cha¬ 
radriidse are partially web-footed; they have a distinct web 
at the base of the toes, sometimes much more developed 
between the outer and middle toe; but the Snipes, some of 
the Sandpipers, and the Turnstones are exceptions to this 
rule, having no rudimentary web between any of the 
toes, which are all cleft to the base. Again, most of the 
Charadriidse have comparatively long legs and short bills; 
the Snipes, on the contrary, have short legs and long bills. 
The only birds in this family (except the Snipe) in which the 
bill is as long or longer than twice the length of the tarsus 
are the females of one or two species of Curlew, and one or 
two species of Sandpiper, none of which have all the toes 
cleft to the base. The genus Scolopax may therefore be 
diagnosed as follows * 
Charadriidse having the bill twice as long as the tarsus, 
and all the toes cleft to the base. 
The Snipes are the only birds in the family which combine 
both characters; the diagnosis is therefore perfect, including 
all the species which belong to the genus Scolopax , and ex¬ 
cluding every other bird. 
The genus Scolopax may, however, be diagnosed almost more 
simply as :—Charadriidse having the tarsus shorter than the 
middle toe and claw, and with parti-coloured tail-feathers. 
It is quite possible to construct other diagnoses of thia 
