130 FEATHERED GAME 
WILSON’S SNIPE. AMERICAN SNIPE. 
‘““ENGLISH SNIPE.” ‘‘JACK SNIPE.’’ 
(Gallinago delicata.) 
Through a common and widespread error. 
this American citizen is often called the ‘‘Eng- 
lish Snipe.’’ This last is one of the species 
of the Old World, an extremely rare visitor 
from Greenland, to which place it occasionally 
strays from Europe. The difference between 
the two birds is slight, however, and in size, 
form, habits and general appearance they are 
nearly identical. The distinguishing points, 
then, are these: the European species, poor 
thing, has only from twelve to fourteen feath- 
ers in his rudder, and the barrings on the flanks 
and axillars are much fainter than is produced 
under a republican form of government. Our 
own fortunate fellow citizen (as you have prob- 
ably noted a thousand times when they have 
risen before your gun) is the possessor of from 
sixteen to eighteen tail feathers and heavy black 
barrings on the flanks and axillars, but it is the 
fashion with some gunners to suppose when 
they have taken an exceptionally fine bird that 
