584 COMMON AMERICAN SNIPE. 



could be heard uttering his curious notes in circles high up in the sky, 

 beyond the reach of sight, and at night, even as late as eleven o'clock, 

 I have heard him serenading his beloved with as much ardour as any 

 lover who ever tried to win his way by music to his mistress' heart. 

 The Snipe flies low at night, and in circles, as in the day ; but it is only 

 in particular spots and at short intervals that the sound is heard. The 

 note is exceedingly like the winnowing noise which the wings of Pigeons 

 make when alighting on the ground, and I have never yet been able to 

 determine whether it is actually the voice of the Snipe which is heard, 

 or whether it is produced by the bird's stopping in certain parts of his 

 course and beating the air in some particular way with his wings." 



In an adult male, the mouth is excessively narrow, its breadth being 

 only 2 twelfths ; on the palate are three longitudinal ridges of strong 

 reversed papillae, terminating anteriorly in a single ridge of similar pa- 

 pillae. Both mandibles are moderately concave, with very thick sloping 

 edges. The tongue is 1 inch 8 twelfths long, very slender, induplicate, 

 so as to be deeply channelled in its whole length, emarginate and pa- 

 pillate at the base, tapering to a narrow, horny point. The oesophagus 

 is 9 inches 9 twelfths long, 2^ twelfths in width ; the proventriculus 3^ 

 twelfths in breadth. The stomach of moderate size, roundish ; its la- 

 teral muscles large, the inferior prominent ; its length 9 twelfths, 

 its breadth the same ; the epithelium thin, dense, with niunerous 

 longitudinal rugae, and of a reddish colour. The right lobe of the 

 liver is 1 inch 8 twelfths, the other only 10 twelfths in length ; gall- 

 bladder ovate, 4 twelfths long, 2^ twelfths in breadth. Intestine 14^ 

 inches, its greatest width 1^ twelfth, the least 1 twelfth; the coeca 

 7 twelfths long, | twelfth in breadth, 1^ inch from the extremity ; the 

 cloaca ovate, 6 twelfths in width. The intestine curves at first in the 

 usual manner, at the distance of 1 inch 4 twelfths, then advances toward 

 the right lobe of the liver, proceeds backward, forms a single convolu- 

 tion, and terminates in the rectum over the stomach, making altoge- 

 ther only 5 turns. 



Trachea 2 inches 10 twelfths long, from 1| twelfth to 1^ twelfth 

 in breadth, flattened, like that of every other species of the family ; the 

 rings very narrow, completely unossified, 108 in number, with 2 addi- 

 tional dimidiate rings. Bronchial half rings 15. Muscles as usual in 

 this family. 



