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THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SNIPE. 

 By F. J. Stubbs. 



The informed ornithologist rarely finds himself pleased with 

 a mounted Snipe, or with the picture of one. Even such 

 masters of ornithological art as Wolf or Keulemans have failed 

 with the Jack-Snipe, and one searches in vain through the 

 ornate literature of birds for a faithful portrait. It is now 

 many years since naturalists first began to notice the orderly 

 arrangement of the roots of a bird's feathers, but apparently 

 few appreciate the value of the order prevailing in the disposition 

 of their distal ends. Several modern artists since Wolf have 

 seen their models intelligently, yet the work of the average taxi- 

 dermist is still a disappointment, although better results might 

 have been expected from the general example set by such men 

 as Pickhardt and Ward. 



This is not the place to demonstrate the errors appearing in 

 stuffed birds, but one or two examples will be noted as having a 

 bearing on my further remarks. For instance, the spots on the 

 breast of the Common Flycatcher are, in life, arranged to form 

 distinct streaks. This is so with many other birds, but after 

 passing through the hands of the stuffer the pattern is an 

 inextricable tangle. The streaks have vanished, and the out- 

 ward pattern or feather mosaic of the bird is distorted beyond 

 recognition. Now, I hasten to add that this result is not in- 

 variably the fault of the taxidermist, for rearrangement of the 

 feathers is always very difficult and is often impossible. 



In the living, healthy bird the feathers are as definitely 

 arranged as are the scales on a reptile. In some of the smaller 

 perching birds this is not always evident, particularly on the 

 back; but in such as the Grouse or the Pheasant, and in 

 hundreds of other birds, the markings of the feather-tips follow 

 in regular succession to form a special design that is unques- 

 tionably of importance to the wearer. Each feather stands in a 

 settled relation to its neighbours, and the general pattern de- 

 pends on the proper arrangement of these elements of colour. 

 Spots, as I remark, collect in ranks to form stripes, and such 

 marks as the eyes on a Peacock's train, instead of being scat- 



