WOODCOCK AND SNIPE 283 



and four stripes along the back. In the common and great-snipe 

 the back is further variegated with blotches of black, the rump has a 

 marbled tracery of black, and the tail, when closed, commonly bears a 

 more or less extensive patch of black near its tip, while the long inner 

 secondaries are transversely barred with black, but, be it noted, 

 the amount of black on the tail, and the barring of the inner 

 secondaries, varies considerably, as also does the general hue, some 

 being much darker than others. And these differences, at present at 

 any rate, cannot be attributed either to age or sex. The great 

 or, as it is also called, the solitary-snipe, differs in no important points 

 in its coloration from the common-snipe. But it shows a similar 

 tendency to vary, especially in regard to the barring on the flanks and 

 the amount of the white in the tail, though these differences are not 

 apparent till a large series of individuals is compared. The jack- 

 snipe, in its general coloration, bears a striking likeness to its 

 congeners, but on analysis many interesting points of difference 

 become apparent. In the first place, the median yellow stripe along 

 the crown, and the black area on the tail when closed, are wanting. 

 These are markings which have probably been recently lost, but to 

 this point we shall return. More important is the remarkable 

 metallic lustre which the plumage has acquired. And nowhere is this 

 more conspicuous than where we should least expect to find it on the 

 rump, which glows with a rich purple. The hinder scapulars, which 

 are peculiarly elongated, have a long band of rich metallic green 

 running down the free edge of the inner margin, while the black 

 subterminal bar of the long inner secondaries is similarly ornamented. 

 In like manner a band of purple runs along the outer margin of the 

 submedian yellow stripe which courses down the back. The white 

 under tail-coverts are probably also a later acquisition. In the common 

 and great-snipe it will be remembered they are yellow and black. 



This latter point, however, demands closer attention, and this 

 because the common-snipe is said, like the woodcock, when resting, to 

 crouch with its tail, instead of its head, to windward, the tail being 



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