1907.] "bleating" OF THE SNIPE. 21 



{op. cit. p. 200). I can find no difference either in the length of 

 the feathers or in the intensity of the sound produced by the 

 feathers of either sex. I have received a letter from Mr. S. A. 

 Buturlin, in which he says that in 1905, on the Kolyma Delta, he 

 frequently observed both sexes of the eastern representative of 

 our species {Gallinago raddii) drumming. 



Since the two outer feathers are extended beyond the other 

 twelve during the descent, as I have described, I sought to find 

 by dissection a mechanism by which this might be produced. On 

 examining the tail of a freshly-killed bird, it is quite easy, by 

 spreading out the tail, to make it assume the arrangement shown 

 (text-fig. 3). I was unable, however, to find any special muscle 

 peculiar to the sjoecies controlling the oater two tail-feathers. 

 The muscle pubococcygeiis ext. (text-fig. 5, b) is inserted into the 

 base of the shaft of the outer two tail-feathers, and is quite capable 

 of performing this function. This muscle is to be found equally 

 well developed in the other species of Ploveis and Waders which 

 I examined. The nomenclature of the muscular system of the 

 tail is that of Gadow in Bronn's ' Thier-Reich.' 



I have tried the same experiments as I have just described with 

 the primaries from the Aving of the Snipe, and was not able to 

 produce any more sound with them than with others taken from 

 other kinds of Waders, Pigeons, &c. There seems to have existed 

 an opinion at one time that the bird produces two sounds, one 

 with the wings and the other with the tail, the former being- 

 known as humming or drumming, and the latter whirring or 

 bleating, produced while the bird is on the ground (cf. ' Zoologist,' 

 1881, p. 212, and 1846, p. 1501). I cannot say that this agrees 

 with my own experiences. 



An Examination of the Structtire of the Tail o/" Gallinago ccelestis 

 (text-figs. 6, A, and 7). 



The normal number of feathers in the tail of this species is 14. 

 It could hardly fail to strike the observer, on examining the tail, 

 that the outer two difier considerably from the rest. Fii-stly, 

 they are lighter in colour and their texture is firmer. On closer 

 examination the shaft is seen to be strong and firm, presenting a 

 decided outward curve towards its lower third. The outer web 

 is narrow, and formed of stifi'rami, which can easily be separated. 

 The inne?' web, on the other hand, is extremely broad, being six 

 times as broad as the outer, and formed of long stiff rami, of which 

 some reach quite three-fourths the whole length of the feather, 

 making a very acute angle at their insertion with the stem (text- 

 fig. 6). The individual rami adhere firmly to one another, and 

 can with difficulty be separated. These are provided with two 

 well-developed rows of radii, the distal and the proximal rows 

 (text-fig. 7, B), the former are twice the length of the latter. I 

 must here express my great indebtedness to Mr. W. P. Pycraft, 

 who has allowed me to make full use of his excellent paper, on 



