Syrinx of the Scolopacidse. 335 



so long ago as 1884 by Wiinderlicli *. The striking peculi- 

 arities of this syrinx are more or less correctly given — rather 

 less than more, — but unfortunately the figure purports to be 

 that of tlie syrinx of the Common Snipe [Gallinago coslestis). 

 Dr. Gaclow has reproduced the figure as that of '^ Gallinago 

 sculojiacina" — the Commou Snipe — without comment. 

 But there can be no question about the mistake, as those 

 who refer to the figures given herewith may see. Recently a 

 paper purporting to describe the syrinxes of the Jack Snipe 

 and of the Common Snipe has appeared in the 'Zoologist* 

 (vol. XV. ser, 4, p. 266), but this, and the figures which 

 adorn it^ cannot be taken as a serious contribution to the 

 subject and need, not be further mentioned. 



Wiinderlicli fully realized the striking peculiarities of the 

 syrinx, which he supposed to be that of the Common Snipe, 

 and. to him belongs the credit of pointing out that one 

 of the Snipes, at least, possessed a syrinx so remarkable. 

 Apparently he was not sufficiently familiar witli the Jack 

 and Commou Snipes to enable him to distinguish between 

 the two species, hence his unfortunate mistake. He was 

 evidently unfamiliar with birds as seen from the field- 

 ornithologist's point of view, as the latter is, for the most 

 part, from that of the anatomist. Hence for years the 

 error and the discovery alike remained unnoticed. 



He was, however, profoundly impressed by the peculi- 

 arities which his dissection revealed. As he tells us : " Der 

 untere Kehlkopf dieses Vogels gehort zu den sonderbarsten 

 welche ich zu untersuchen Gelegenheit hatte. Fast drangt 

 sich Einem die Ueberzeugung anf dass man bier mit einem 

 Krankhaften Zustand zu thuu hat.'* But this specimen 

 was evidently a bird in good condition, and he speedily 

 came to the conclusion that '' ausser starker Fettdegenera- 

 tion war keine Spur einer Krankheit zu finden/* He 

 failed, however, to properly interpret the curious intercalary 



* Wiinderlicli, L., " Beitrtige zur vero'leichenden Anatomie und 

 Entwickelungsgescbichte des unteren Kelilkopfes der Vogel," Nova iicta 

 der Kais. Leop.-Carol. Deutscli. Akad. der Naturfors. xlviii., 1884, 



