34 ox THE "bleating" of the snipe. [Jan. 15, 



thought to have some influence in the production of the sound, 

 independently of the rays or web. Wei-e these feathers sonorous 

 instruments, we shoukl expect to find a greater uniformity in 

 their structure. But, in fact, the tail-feathers of the true Snipes 

 are remarkable for their divei-sity, so much so that the birds have 

 been divided into four groups, and this mainly on account of a 

 difference in the number and form of these feathers." 



I have tried to show that the mechanism differs considerably in 

 different species, just as the sound varies. 



For reasons stated before, I believe that the bleat of G. coelestis 

 is produced by- the vibration of the inner web as a whole; in 

 the case of G.frenata, nobilis, and australis by vibrations of the 

 individual rami ; while G. megala and soUtaria produce sounds of an 

 entirely different character by vibi-ation of the f eatlMr- as a whole. 



Finally, I will but briefly mention two species belonging to 

 closely allied genera : — 



Scolopax rusticola. — The Wopdcock is known to perform certain 

 evolutions during the breeding-season, producing at the same 

 time a curious sound, which is acknowledged to be vocal. 

 Certainly there is no evidence from examining the twelve feathers 

 of the tail that any of them are specialised structures. The outer 

 ones do not differ materially either in size or structure from any 

 of the others. Microscopically the outer web is composed of plain 

 rami provided with but rudimentaiy radii. The hamuli are four 

 in number and their terminal portion is badly hooked. 



Philokela minor (Gmel.). — -The American Woodcock has 14 

 tail-feathers, of which the outer ones are decidedly shorter than 

 the others; they produce no sound in experiment and are in 

 macroscopical and microscopical structure similar to the last-named 

 species. A good account of the habits of this bird in the breeding- 

 season is to be found ih Chapman's 'Birds of Eastern North 

 America,' p. 153: — "He begins on the ground with a formal, 

 periodic, jyeent peent, an incongruous preparation for the wild 

 rush that follows. It is repeated several times befoi-e he springs 

 from the ground, and on whistling wings sweeps out the first loop 

 of a spiral, which may take him 300 feet from the ground. Faster 

 and faster he goes, louder and shriller sounds his wing song ; then, 

 after a moment's pause, with darting headlong flight, he pitches 

 in zigzags to the earth, uttering as he falls a clear, twittering- 

 whistle. He generally returns to near the place from Avhich he 

 arose, and the peent is at once resumed as a preliminary to another 

 round in the sky." 



Certain of the primaries of the wing of this species are 

 characteristically attenuated, for what purpose I am unable to 

 discover, as they certainly do not produce any sound by any 

 means I have employed. 



I do trust tha,t in the enquiries I have made I may be followed by 



