and the North of Lancashire. 527 



Gen. Scolopax. — Sub-gen. Scolopax. 



11. Scolopax rusticola. Woodcock. Common. 



12. Scolopax major. Solitary Snipe. Rare. The capture of three of 



these birds has come within my own observation. One was shot 

 on a piece of swampy ground close to Blackburn, on Thursday, 

 Sept. 25th, 1834, weight 8£ oz. avoirdupois : another was shot 

 about ten months previously, near Whitewell, in Bowland : and 

 a third specimen was killed about two years before, on the moors 

 near Haslingden, nine miles S. E. of Blackburn. 



13. Scolopax Gallinago. Common Snipe. Abundant. 



14. Scolopax Gallinula. Jack Snipe. Common; though nothing 



near so abundant as S. Gallinago.* 

 Gen. Limosa. 



15. Limosa rufa. Bar-tailed Godwit. Now only thinly scattered on 

 the coast, but I remember well the immense flocks I used former- 

 ly to meet with when shooting on the coast, as mentioned under 

 the grey plover. The ruff, I believe, is not now found in any part 

 of Lancashire ; though at no very distant date met with on the 

 borders of Martin Mere, an extensive lake or shallow piece of wa- 

 ter south of the Ribble, now drained and enclosed. 



Gen. Tringa. 



16. Tringa Canutus. Knot. Rare. 



* Scolopax Sabini. In the winter of 1823, I was shooting woodcocks 

 with a friend in the north of Lancashire, some three miles from the West- 

 moreland border. My friend was an old sportsman, and a dead shot ; for 

 my own part I possess no such dexterity. The ground we were shooting 

 over was an immense wood, upwards of a mile in length, traversed by nu- 

 merous little rills of water ; without the wood were small spots of swampy 

 ground, and here and there small patches of brushwood. The country ge- 

 nerally was hilly. Some of the swamps were literally alive with snipes ; of 

 their numbers some idea may be formed from the fact of our shooting four- 

 teen in a space of less than half an acre. In the wood we met with a con- 

 siderable number of woodcocks. I observed one bird which we flushed 

 three or four times, at a distance of not more than ten yards ; it attracted 

 my notice from its small size and dark colour : I was anxious to obtain it, 

 and at last my friend brought it down by a well-directed shot. It flew dif- 

 ferently from the other woodcocks ; only a short distance at a time, and 

 confined itself principally to the edge of the wood. To my surprise, when 

 I examined it I found it not above half the size of the common woodcock, 

 and of a much darker hue ; my friend said it was the small black wood- 

 cock, a very rare bird, which he had not met with above twice or three times 

 before, although hundreds of woodcocks and thousands of snipes had fallen 

 before his gun. With this explanation, though anything but satisfactory, 

 I was obliged to be content. What it was I had no means of ascertaining ; 

 I had neither figure nor description of anything like it : and truly I mig-ht 

 well be puzzled with the bird, for I am now quite satisfied that it was a 

 specimen of the Scolopax Sabini. At that period Bewick's figure, which 

 would have been a sufficient guide, was not published. When I set my 

 eyes on Gould's charming figure of Scolopax Sabini, I recognized my bird 

 in a moment. I skinned the bird, but as I only rubbed the skin over with 

 pepper, snuff, and alum, it went to decay. Of late years I have looked over 

 hundreds of woodcocks in the hands of the dealers, and made minute en- 

 quiries amongst my sporting friends, in the hope of meeting with a second 

 specimen, but in vain. 



