194 PR^COCIAL GRALLATORES — LDIICOLiE. 



move from place to place ; so that it is quite common for the sportsman to find tliem 

 abundant one day, and that the same place is entirely deserted the next. 



Their summer or nuptial plumage is put on about the last of March or the first of 

 April, and the male begins his calls of invitation to his mate. These are always 

 uttered when the bird is on the wing, and are said by Yarrell to consist of piping or 

 clicking notes, often repeated, and accompanied at intervals by a humming or bleat- 

 ing noise. This latter sound is supposed to be produced by a peculiar action of the 

 wings, and is said to be not unlike the cry of a goat, for which reason this bird is 

 known in France by the name of chevre volant. Whenever this sound is heard, the 

 bird is observed always to descend with great velocity and with a tremulous motion 

 of the wings. At this season it is also said to soar to an immense height, remaining 

 long upon the wing, its notes being frequently heard when the bird itself is out of 

 sight. These flights are performed at intervals throughout the day, but are more 

 common toward the evening, and are continued as long as the female is engaged in 

 incubation. Sir Humphry Davy states that the old birds are greatly attached to 

 their offspring, and that if any one approaches the nest, they make a loud and drum- 

 ming noise over the head of the intruder, as if to divert his attention. 



The feeding-ground of tliis Snipe is in the vicinity of springs and in freshwater 

 meadows. It feeds by thrusting its bill into the thin mud or soft earth up to the 

 base, and drawing it back with great quickness. Yarrell states that the end of the 

 bill of a Snipe, when the bird is living, is smooth, soft, and pulpy, indicating great 

 sensibility. When dry it becomes dimpled like the end of a thimble. If the upper 

 mandible be macerated and the cuticle taken off, the bone laid bare will be found 

 presenting on its external surface numerous elongated hexagonal cells, Avhich furnish 

 space for the expansion, and at the same time protection for minute portions of nerves 

 supplied to them from the fifth pair. In consequence of this provision, the end of 

 the bill becomes a delicate organ of touch, enabling the l:)ir(l to perceive the pres- 

 ence of its food, even when this lies so deep in the ground as to be entirely oiit of 

 sight. The food of this Snipe consists of worms, insects, small shells with their 

 inhabitants, etc. Minute seeds are sometimes found in its stomach ; but these are 

 supposed to be swallowed accidentally, and when adhering to the glutinous surface 

 of its usual food. A Snipe kept in confinement by Mr, Blyth Avould eat nothing 

 but earth-worms. 



The nests of this Snipe are placed on the ground, and are very inartificial. They 

 are usually among the long grass, by the side of small ponds, or amidst the long 

 heather which grows upon the sides of the hills. Mr. Hewitson met with several of 

 its nests on the Shetland Islands, in the dry heath on the side of a steep hill, at 

 an elevation of a thousand feet above the marshy plain. The nest is always very 

 slight, consisting only of a few bits of dry grass or herbage collected in a depression 

 on the ground, and sometimes upon or under the side of a tuft of grass or bunch of 

 rushes. 



The eggs are said to be four in number — occasionally less — having a pale yellow- 

 ish-white ground, and being marked with elongated blotches of several shades of 

 reddish and yellowish brown ; these markings are chiefly about the more obtuse end. 

 The eggs are pyriform in shaj^e, and quite pointed at one end. They measure 1.50 

 inches in length by 1.08 in breadth. 



The young birds are carefully tended, and grow with great rapidity ; and before 

 they can fly are larger than their parents. 



