BIRDS IN THE CALENDAR 



vibrating noise, which may be produced from 

 the throat as well, but is more probably made 

 only by the beating of the wings. There ap- 

 pears to be some divergence of opinion as to 

 its origin in both birds, though in that of the 

 snipe such sound authorities as Messrs. Abel 

 Chapman and Harting are convinced that it 

 proceeds from the quivering of the primaries, 

 as the large quill -feathers of the wings are 

 called. Other naturalists, however, have pre- 

 ferred to associate it with the spreading tail- 

 feathers. Whether these eccentric gymnastics 

 are performed as displays, with a view to im- 

 pressing admiring females, or whether they 

 are merely the result of excitement at the 

 pairing season cannot be determined. It is 

 safe to assume that they aim at one or other 

 of these objects, and further no one can go 

 with any certainty. The word " roding " is 

 spelt " reading " by Newton, who thus gives 

 the preference to the Anglo-Saxon description 

 of the aerial tracks followed by the bird, over 

 the alternative derivation from the French 

 " roder," which means to wander. The flight 

 is at any rate wholly different from that to 

 which the sportsman is accustomed when one 

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