. The aquatic birds of Great Britain and Ireland . and onelevated marshes. The eggs, four in number, vary in the ground-colourfrom very light olive to greenish-brown. The darkermarkings consist of different shades of brown in the formof blotches and streaks, which in some cases form a zoneor even a confluent patch at the larger end of the egg, thuseffacing from that portion the lighter ground-colour. Theeggs of all the Snipes are very large for the size of thebirds. Incubation begins about the end of March, and twobroods are most likely reared in the season. GeograpJtical distrihution.—Abroad,
. The aquatic birds of Great Britain and Ireland . and onelevated marshes. The eggs, four in number, vary in the ground-colourfrom very light olive to greenish-brown. The darkermarkings consist of different shades of brown in the formof blotches and streaks, which in some cases form a zoneor even a confluent patch at the larger end of the egg, thuseffacing from that portion the lighter ground-colour. Theeggs of all the Snipes are very large for the size of thebirds. Incubation begins about the end of March, and twobroods are most likely reared in the season. GeograpJtical distrihution.—Abroad, the Snipe breedsover Northern and Temperate Europe and Asia; in winterit reaches North Africa and Tropical Asia, as far as theline of the Equator. DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial.—Head, dark brown,with a median stripe of light buff; stripe over the eye, lightbuff; cheeks, light buff, minutely speckled with blackspots; from the gape of the mouth to the front of the eyeis a dark brown stripe; back of neck, spotted like the. f^ 9 -a K-1 « O) < ^ ^ 2; s ^ &: S COMMON SNIPE 279 cheeks ; feathers of the middle line of the back, rich darkbrown chequered with yellowish-buff; scapulars and innersecondaries, marked with longitudinal buff-coloured stripes;wing-coverts, chequered and vermiculated with brownish-black, buli, and dull greyish-white ; primaries, dusky-brown ;basal part of tail nearly black, terminal part, warm red-brickcolour, barred near the end with dark brown; outer tail-feathers, greyish-white near their tips, but grey above, andbarred with brown ; throat and chin, light greyish-white;front of neck and breast, greyish-brown with darker spots ;abdomen, white ; flanks, barred with greyish-brown andwhite; upper and under tail-coverts, warm yellowish-brownwith darker markings. Adult female nuptial.—Similar to the male plumage. Adult iviiiter, male and female.—Similar to the nuptialplumage. Immature, male and female.—Besembles the adultplumage
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectwaterbi, bookyear1906
