Painted snipe

A couple of months ago, I bought a taxidermy painted snipe with my pocket money.  It came from the same taxidermist as the stoat and wood mouse.  This type of snipe is native to Africa.  Mine is a female of the species, and though maybe not as colourful as the male, it is still very pretty.  It isn’t a very large bird, but quite dumpy with a long beak that is slightly curved down at the end.  It has a light gold eye-stripe, long legs, beautiful mottled brown-gold wings, a white underbelly and a short golden tail.  I think it is one of the best items in my collection.