Kearctic, which comprises about all of North America, and a Palearctic sub- 

 region, the outhnes of which have already been sketched. Within the Nearctic 

 three minor regions are recognized. The Arctic "includes that part of the conti- 

 nent and its adjacent islands north of about the limit of forest vegetation" 

 (Allen). That is, extreme northern and northwestern Alaska, sweeping south- 

 easterly through British America to and including Hudson Bay, northern and 

 northeastern Labrador and northern Newfoundland. The Cold Temperate, which 

 lies next south, begins in the east near Quebec, then sweeps westward past the 

 Great Lakes almost to Winnipeg, thence in a northwesterly direction just west of 

 Lake Winnipeg: from there in a more westerly direction to the mountains, which 

 it follows even into northern Mexico as a narrow line ; from the west coast at the 

 north end of \""ancouver Island it runs cast to the mountains. Maine and Nova 

 Scotia are a part of the Allegheny belt which reaches to Alabama. Below this 

 southern limit of the Cold Temperate lies the Warm Temperate, extending almost 

 to Central America. But this is again subdivided into an eastern Humid Province 

 which ends at the Plains, and a western Arid Province. These are again sub- 

 divided into an Appalachian Subprovince and an Austroriparian Subprovince 

 for the Humid Province, and a Sonoran and Campestrian Subprovince for the 

 Arid Province. But the boundaries of these minor subdivisions are not yet defi- 

 nitely settled, nor are the characteristic specie? in each finally decided upon, so it 

 will not be profitable to carry our investigation further at this time. 



We learn from this that when we find that one region, be it large or small, is 

 unlike every other- region in some particulars of climate or vegetation or tempera- 

 ture, or when it is not easily accessible from other regions, we may expect to find 

 the animals somewhat different according to the conditions which prevail. From 

 this it is a clear step to the truth that an animal's environment exerts a consider- 

 able influence upon its life and through its life upon its form ; changing the form 

 in some particulars that make it different from all other animals. It is also true 

 of plants. Since, then, there are dififerent physical conditions in every country of 

 any considerable size, these changes in plants and animals are going on now, but 

 so slowly that we are not able to see them. At the end of another thousand years 

 or longer, the species of birds which we now know may be so changed that we 

 should not know them if we could see them. But that need not w^orry us ! 



Synonyms. — American snipe; jack snipe; ''English" snipe; bobsucker. 



Range. — Breeds from northwestern Alaska, northern Mackenzie, central 

 Keewatin, and northern Ungava south to northern California, southern Colo- 

 rado, northern Iowa, northern Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey; winters 

 from northern California, New Mexico, Arkansas, and North Carolina to 

 Columbia and southern Brazil. 



{Gallinago delicata) 



By C. Hart Merriam 



602 



