154 EGGS OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



placed obliquely, and many of them confluent ; sometimes they 

 form a broad irregular zone, and are often intermixed with very 

 dark brown streaks and scratches. The underlying markings are 

 large, numerous and very conspicuous. The eggs vary in length 

 from 1'65 to 1'5 inch, and in breadth from 115 to 105 inch. 

 The eggs of the Common Snipe very closely resemble those of 

 the Jack Snipe, but are on an average slightly larger. It is also 

 very difficult to distinguish some eggs of the Common Snipe from 

 certain varieties of those of the Purple Sandpiper. 



THE JACK SNIPE. 



(Scolopax ga llinu la .) * 

 Plate 41, Fig. 6. 



The Jack Snipe is a regular winter visitor to the British Islands. 

 It is a very local bird, but appears to be irregularly distributed in 

 the Arctic regions during the breeding-season, from the Atlantic 

 to the Pacific. 



A full clutch of eggs of the Jack Snipe is alw T ays four. The 

 ground-colour goes through precisely the same variations as that 

 of the Common Snipe's eggs, but the blotches and spots are a 

 richer brown, and not, as a rule, quite so bold. The underlying 

 markings are large and very distinct. The eggs are remarkably 

 large for the size of the bird, and vary in length from 1*56 to 1'45 

 inch, and in breadth from 1*1 to 102 inch. On an average, the 

 eggs of the Jack Snipe are a little smaller than those of the 

 Common Snipe, but it is impossible to give any character by 

 which they may with certainty be distinguished from them. 

 Some varieties of the Dunlin's eggs resemble those of the Jack 

 Snipe, but they may be distinguished by their smaller size. Eggs 

 of the Buff-breasted Sandpiper are absolutely undistinguishable. 



* Gallinago gallinula — Saunders, Manual, p. 559. Limnocryptes gaUinula- 

 Sharpe, Handb., III., p. 220. 



