THE WADERS. 269 



snipe, and is the largest of the three found in these 

 islands, having .a good deal of white in the tail; the 

 latter, moreover, has sixteen feathers, being two more 

 than in that of the common snipe, and four more than 

 in that of the Jack-snipe. 



The Snipe is one of those j^artly resident birds, the 

 numbers of which are, after breeding, replaced by autumn 

 Common visitors. There is a black variety, practically 

 Snipe. confined to these islands, and formerly dis- 

 tinguished as a species under the name of " Sabine's snipe." 

 The bird breeds near bogs, and is perhaps more generally 

 distributed in Ireland than in any other part of these 

 islands. It is a shy bird, and is often surprised tripi^ing 

 about the mud in search of worms and other soft food, 

 but is rarely hard to jDut up. It squats low, and is occa- 

 sionally successful in baffling a dog in this manner. The 

 " drumming " of the snipe in the breeding season, as he 

 drops into cover, is among the most extraordinary of bird 

 sounds, and there seems reason to suppose that it is caused 

 by the action of the air rushing through the feathers of 

 the wings. Sir E. Payne-Gallwey gives a very interesting 

 account of this in his 'Letters to Young Shooters' (1896, 

 pp. 348-352). It makes a slight nest. Eggs^ 4, if inch ; 

 yellowish, with brown blotches. 



The " Half -snipe" is found on our foreshores and among 

 the swamps in the vicinity from October until April. In 



t Jack- spite of a few having been, on what appears 



Snipe. loose evidence, known to stay the summer 



year after year, there seems no reason to suppose that 



it has ever bred in these islands. This is the smallest of 



our snipes. 



Red -breasted Snij^e. — A straggler, mostly in autumn, 

 from North America, which has occurred about a dozen 

 times in England, twice in Scotland, and once in Ireland. 



