The Snipes. 425 



very large and placed far back in the 

 skull. The birds feed chiefly by night. 



Snipes are represented over nearly the 

 whole world. The characters of most 

 importance in separating the species are 

 the general colour of the primaries ; the 

 colour of the outer web of the first 

 primary ; the marks on the crown of the 

 head; the colour and shape of the tips 

 of the outer secondaries; and lastly the 

 number and shape of the tail-feathers. 

 Snipes' tails, however, are frequently 

 imperfect in some respect or other, and 

 too much reliance must not be placed on 

 this character. 



The bill of the Snipes is very sensitive, 

 and there can be little doubt that the 

 food is found chiefly by touch. The 

 closed bill is inserted into the soil again 

 and again till a worm is felt. Having 

 discovered a worm, it becomes necessary 

 to seize it and draw it up to the surface. 

 It is obvious that the long, thin bill 

 of a Snipe is very weak, and that it 

 would not be possible to open it against 

 the pressure of the surrounding soil, in 

 order to grasp the worm. The Snipe, 

 however, and some other Waders, possess 

 the remarkable faculty of being able to 

 raise the terminal portion of the upper 



