CATALOGUE OF BIRDS. 287 



and Ireland. The birds produced in the British 

 Islands are few, however, compared to those 

 which annually visit us in October and 

 November." 



There is something very interesting in connection 

 with the male bird of this species during the breed- 

 ing season ; this has been so graphically described 

 by Mr. W. H. Hudson in his book that I append 

 an extract : " Late in March or early in April the 

 Snipe pair, and it is then the male birds begin to 

 practice their curious aerial exercises, familiar to 

 anyone who studies bird life, and about which so 

 much has been said by ornithologists. The per- 

 formance takes place at all hours of the day, but 

 chiefly towards evening, the bird rising to an 

 immense height in the air and precipitating himself 

 downwards with astonishing violence, producing in 

 his descent the peculiar sound variously described 

 as ' drumming,' ' bleating,' ' scythe -wetting,' and 

 ' neighing.' As to how the sound is produced, 

 opinions differ ; still, although the question has been 

 discussed for over a century, probably it is in part 

 vocal and partly produced by the wing feathers." 

 The view of Meves of late, strongly supported by 

 the experiments of Mr. Bahr, is the more probable 

 — that it is produced by the tail feathers. The nest 

 of the Snipe, generally made in April, is a very 

 slight affair, " in a tuft of grass, a bunch of rushes, 

 or on the open ; the eggs — usually four in number, 

 and very large for the size of the bird, being- 

 yellowish or greenish-white, blotched somewhat 



