208 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



would be not circular but triangular : a crouching bird (of any 

 species) habitually spreads out the flank feathers on each side, 

 with the efl'ect — whether intentional or not, I cannot sa}' — of de- 

 stroying the tell-tale shadows. The importance of this action can 

 only be appreciated bythose prepared to make actual experiments. 



The streaks on the head of the bird are vaguely in line with 

 the dorsal stripes, which are very conspicuous, and curved and 

 tapered like the faded leaves of the surrounding Carex curta or 

 similar marsh plant. The remainder of the bird has dis- 

 appeared ; not actually hidden behind any material screen, but 

 obscured by the glaring rivalry of the yellow plumes. There is 

 also a further aid to obliteration. In nine cases out of ten the 

 bird is crouching near a pool of water. This, of course, reflects 

 the light of the sky, and is almost or quite white against the 

 surrounding earth. While experimenting with dead birds, 

 playing a sort of hide-and-seek, I found that the simple act of 

 placing the Snipe at the edge of a tiny pool, or even close to my 

 handkerchief dropped (apparently casually) on the ground, 

 served to mislead my companion to a most gratifying extent. 



The explanation is, of course, that the gaze is attracted by 

 the patch of white and (if I may be allowed the useful exaggera- 

 tion) blinded by its glare to such an extent that adjacent incon- 

 spicuous objects pass unnoticed, and the eye roves on to another 

 part of the field. In a similar manner do we explain the value 

 and meaning of the dorsal stripes. The enemy (whatever form 

 this may take) is looking for birds, and not for a couple of dead 

 leaves of sedge, and the more noticeable these leaves can be, the 

 more will they monopolize the gaze of eyes that would otherwise 

 hardly fail to detect the delicate differences between the rest of 

 the bird and the bare ground on which it crouches. The 

 metallic purples and greens of the mantle, and the elaborately 

 designed colours of the rest of the plumage, all take definite 

 parts in the general scheme, either by matching the colours of 

 the damp ground, by simulating the fragments of dead stems 

 and grasses, or (by the action of the law of simultaneous 

 contrast) enhancing the brilliancy of the stripes on the back. 



Excellent as the livery is, it would be almost useless without 

 two important ancillary features. The Jack- Snipe has a perfect 

 (instinctive) confidence in its invisibility that places it in a 



