NUMENIUS MINUTUS, Gow. 
Little Whimbrel. 
Numenius minutus, Gould in Proce. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p- 176. 
I KILLED a pair of this species out of a flock of about twenty in number which was flying over the race- 
course at Maitland in New South Wales, on the 4th of April 18389. The flock was constantly risimg and 
flying round, sometimes to the distance of a mile, returning again, alighting, and running quickly over the 
ground much after the manner of the Plovers. The above was the only instance in which the bird came 
under my observation during my stay in the country, consequently I am unable to state anything respecting 
its habits or the extent of its range, but I may mention that I possess a specimen procured at Port 
Essington. 
Forehead dark brown mottled with buff; lores and line behind the eye buff; back, sides and front of 
the neck buff, with a fine line of brown down the centre of each feather ; all the upper surface blackish 
brown, with a series of triangular spots round the margins of the feathers of a sandy buff; shoulders, 
primaries and secondaries blackish brown, the latter with white shafts ; rump and tail-coverts dark brown 
spotted with white on the margins ; tail greyish brown barred with black ; chin white; under surface light 
buff; flanks and under surface of the wing deep buff, regularly barred with arrow-shaped marks of brown ; 
irides black ; bill fleshy at the base, olive-brown at the tip; feet bluish flesh-colour. 
The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size. 
