130 FEATHEEED GAME 



WILSON'S SNIPE. AMEEICAN SNIPE. 

 ' ' ENGLISH SNIPE. " ' ^ JACK SNIPE. ' ' 



(Gallinago delicata.) 



Through a common and widespread error 

 this American citizen is often called the ''Eng- 

 lish Snipe." This last is one of the species 

 of the Old World, an extremely rare visitor 

 from Greenland, to which place it occasionally 

 strays from Europe. The difference between 

 the two birds is slight, however, and in size, 

 form, habits and general appearance they are 

 nearly identical. The distinguishing points, 

 then, are these: the European species, poor 

 thing, has only from twelve to fourteen feath- 

 ers in his rudder, and the barrings on the flanks 

 and axillars are much fainter than is produced 

 under a republican form of government. Our 

 own fortunate fellow citizen (as you have prob- 

 ably noted a thousand times when they have 

 risen before your gun) is the possessor of from 

 sixteen to eighteen tail feathers and heavy black 

 barrings on the flanks and axillars, but it is the 

 fashion with some gunners to suppose when 

 they have taken an exceptionally fine bird that 



