ioo Wild Life in Wales 



that can emanate from the vibration of the comparatively 

 unimportant tail feathers. If that be conceded, how comes 

 it that the lesser sound reaches our ears, while the greater 

 does not ? But there seems to be the further objection to 

 the tail-feather theory, that while the drumming of a Snipe 

 is distinctly audible at a considerable distance, say a quarter 

 of a mile away at least, can any sound be produced, by 

 mechanical means, with the tail, that will carry half that 

 distance ? 



Nor is that all that can be said on the subject. The 

 experimenters have failed, we are told, after repeated trials, 

 to produce the drumming sound by vibrating the wings 

 artificially ; but is that to be wondered at ? The musical 

 sounds made by the Lapwing on his love-flights are quite 

 as characteristic of that bird as is the drumming of the 

 Snipe ; so, too, are the various " whistles " produced by 

 Wild Duck, Golden-eye, or Shovelers, upon the wing. 

 Has it ever been questioned that all these sounds (there are 

 of course a large number of others that might be mentioned) 

 are the result of wing action, or are they capable of anything 

 approaching exact mechanical imitation ? That the tail of 

 the Snipe, which, together with the feet, acts as the rudder 

 during flight, may produce some sound during the time of 

 drumming is quite liKely, but it must be remembered that 

 it is preceded by the greater bulk of the body through the 

 air, and thus some portion of its vibrating, sound-producing, 

 power must be lost. And that, in any event, it is capable of 

 making any sound that would exceed that made by the 

 wings, is a proposition from which the writer must entirely 

 dissent. 



Many Snipe breed on the moors round about, and, 

 towards the end of August, these collect about the fields 

 and marshy land at the head of the lake. At that season 

 I have frequently flushed wisps of from half a dozen to 

 more than double that number, from the side of the streams, 

 and have seen more than thirty or forty on the wing 

 together. The majority of these are young birds, as 

 evidenced by their darker colour, and undeveloped voices, 

 the familiar scrape, scrape being represented by only a low, 



