FETCH OR A 345 



Golden Plover. — We saw just one pair on the ploughed 

 land behind the village. 



Bingecl Plover. — A few were on the ploughed fields 

 with the last species, a few more on the river edge, and 

 one or two on the margin of one of the pools in the forest 

 hollows. 



Great Snipe. — One of a pair was shot at night on the 

 mixed forest behind the village on comparatively dry 

 ground. 



Common Snipe. — We have not secured a specimen of 

 the Common Snipe, but have heard the drumming and 

 ' tick tjuck, tick tjuck ' several times. The first time we 

 heard it Seebohm said, * What is that ? ' and I at once 

 said, ' That's a Common Snipe.' I mention this now as 

 every single recognition of it, as will be seen later, is of 

 value. Afterwards, on two separate evenings, we both 

 heard a Snipe drumming, and also again uttering its ' tick 

 tjuck.' On the last occasion, while Seebohm was in 

 pursuit of a Woodpecker, I followed up the sound of the 

 * tick tjuck,' and saw a wader perched on the tip-top of 

 one of these gaunt branchless blasted larches, and when I 

 got him nicely in range of my binocular, could not believe 

 my eyes or ears, when I saw the long bill and heard him 

 distinctly uttering his almost unique note. I went nearer, 

 looked again ; not a doubt remained. As I still stared 

 through my glass he saw me, and dived down almost 

 perpendicularly, and I saw him alight in the marsh about 

 twenty paces from the foot of the stump. Again I doubted 

 if my identification was correct, as the same day we had 

 shot a Wood Sandpiper, which had behaved in an exactly 

 similar manner. I walked up, gun on cock. He rose 

 within range and twisted away rapidly. I had not got 

 over my astonishment and did not even lift my gun to 

 shoot. He was a Snipe, no white whatever showing, and 

 in every way behaved like our Common Snipe at home 



