110 A CATALOGUE OF THE BIKDS 



in some way or other apparently thought to have some influence 

 in the production of the sound, independently of the rays or 

 web. "Were these feathers sonorous instruments, we should ex- 

 pect to find a greater uniformity in their structure. But, in 

 fact, the tail-feathers of the true Snipes are remarkable for their 

 diversity ; so much so, indeed, that these birds have been divided 

 into four groups, and this mainly on account of a difference in 

 the number and form of these feathers. 



The first group has from sixteen to eighteen tail-feathers ; the 

 four lateral ones being narrow. The Great Snipe belongs to this 

 division. 



The second has from twenty to twenty-eight feathers in the 

 tail, the lateral feathers, five to ten on each side, being highly at- 

 tenuated and stiff. Scolopax stenura and S. Jmensis are types. 



The third has from fourteen to sixteen caudal feathers, of 

 nearly uniform width. The Common Snipe belongs to this 

 group. 



The fourth is characterized by twelve uniform tail-feathers; 

 the type being the Jack Snipe. 



If these feathers had been modified for the production of 

 sound, surely there must have been a greater similarity of plan 

 and structure. 



But the Snipes are not the only birds that produce this pecu- 

 liar tremulous murmuring sound. The "Woodcock, in spring, 

 during the breeding season, makes two very strange sounds, 

 which I have frequently heard both in Norway and in Scotland. 

 One of these sounds is a shrill chirp produced twice, or rather a 

 sort of squeak, like that made with a corkscrew when entering 

 the cork, a noise to set the teeth on edge. The other sound is 

 a kind of croaking, of no long duration, but repeated at inter- 

 vals. These sounds are chiefly heard in the evenings while the 

 birds are flying. On one occasion, in Norway, we heard them 

 most distinctly; the Woodcocks all the time flying to and fro, 

 in tlu; twiliglit, about ten o'clock p.m., over the tops of the trees 

 of tlic wood Avhcre they were nesting. On another occasion, we 

 licard them with equal distinctness near Lunrobiu, in Sutherland- 

 shire. Tliis was on the 19th of j\Iay, 1849, and likewise in the 



