﻿564 
  

  

  Dr. 
  R. 
  W. 
  Shufeldt 
  on 
  the 
  Mechanism 
  of 
  

  

  My 
  friend 
  Mr. 
  Gurdon 
  Trumbull 
  has 
  very 
  accurately 
  

   described 
  the 
  act 
  performed 
  by 
  the 
  Woodcock 
  *, 
  and 
  he 
  

   says 
  that 
  " 
  I 
  had 
  heard 
  from 
  Dr. 
  S.^ 
  who 
  secured 
  this 
  

   Woodcock 
  for 
  me, 
  that 
  he 
  and 
  his 
  friend 
  Mr. 
  B. 
  had 
  seen 
  

   the 
  bird 
  turn 
  up 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  its 
  upper 
  mandible 
  in 
  a 
  verj"^ 
  

   peculiar 
  and 
  inexplicable 
  manner. 
  I 
  was 
  urged 
  to 
  watch 
  

   carefully 
  for 
  a 
  repetition 
  of 
  the 
  occurrence. 
  At 
  the 
  time 
  I 
  

   paid 
  but 
  little 
  attention 
  to 
  the 
  statement, 
  — 
  I 
  was 
  watching 
  

   for 
  so 
  many 
  other 
  events; 
  but 
  while 
  carrying 
  my 
  bird 
  out 
  

   into 
  the 
  country 
  that 
  last 
  day 
  of 
  its 
  confinement 
  my 
  friend's 
  

   remark 
  was 
  most 
  vividly 
  recalled. 
  I 
  was 
  holding 
  the 
  bird 
  in 
  

   my 
  hand 
  with 
  a 
  handkerchief 
  around 
  him, 
  covering 
  all 
  but 
  

   the 
  bill, 
  when 
  suddenly, 
  as 
  he 
  was 
  making 
  one 
  of 
  his 
  frequent 
  

   struggles 
  to 
  get 
  away, 
  I 
  saw 
  that 
  the 
  upper 
  mandible 
  was 
  

   thrown 
  upward 
  as 
  I 
  have 
  represented 
  it 
  in 
  the 
  lower 
  outline 
  

   of 
  the 
  accompanying 
  woodcut. 
  

  

  Elevation 
  of 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  upper 
  mandible 
  in 
  the 
  American 
  Woodcock 
  

   {Philohela 
  minor). 
  After 
  Trumbull. 
  

  

  "For 
  an 
  instant 
  I 
  thought 
  that 
  the 
  bird 
  must 
  have 
  met 
  with 
  

   an 
  accident 
  in 
  some 
  way, 
  but 
  as 
  I 
  touched 
  the 
  lifted 
  man- 
  

   dible 
  it 
  was 
  lowered 
  to 
  the 
  usual 
  position. 
  Twice 
  more 
  

   during 
  my 
  walk 
  he 
  threw 
  up 
  the 
  mandible 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  

   fashion, 
  and 
  each 
  time 
  I 
  held 
  him 
  directly 
  in 
  front 
  of 
  my 
  

   eyes 
  and 
  studied 
  most 
  carefully 
  the 
  exact 
  curvature. 
  There 
  

   was 
  no 
  ' 
  dilation,' 
  nor 
  any 
  change 
  of 
  form 
  other 
  than 
  that 
  

  

  * 
  'Forest 
  and 
  Stream,' 
  vol. 
  xxxv. 
  No. 
  21. 
  New 
  York, 
  Dec. 
  11, 
  1890, 
  

   p. 
  412. 
  

  

  