NESTS A.VD /-GGS 01- AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. 82J 



Seebohjn, in his splendid work, " The Geographical Disti'ibution of 

 Plovei-s, Sandpipers, and Snipes," states the Austi'alian Snipe " breeds 

 in both islands of Jap;ui, and passes the Philippine Islands and the coast 

 of China on migiation to winter (i.e., to escape the northern winter and 

 really to smniiier) in Anstralia and Tasmania." Colonel Lcgge observes 

 that although the Snijx; pas-ses over much latitude, its path is veiy naiTow, 

 as it does not touch the China coast on its flight from Japan to the north 

 of A\istraha. 



In Messi-s. Blakiston and Piyer's " Birds of Japan ' (1882), it is 

 stated that this Snipe was obtained on Fuji, when breeding, and that it 

 is common in Yezo, where it was first discovered to be a Japanese bird 

 in 1861. 



Mr. Blakiston, in his " Amended List of Birds of Japan," p. 37 (1884), 

 furnishes the following interesting account of the bird : " Regarding the 

 habits of this Snipe during the breeding season, I extract the following 

 from my notes m the ' Chrysanthemiun,' November, 1882, p. 524, 

 I'efemug to birds observed on the south-east coast of I'ezo in May : ' The 

 Common Snipe of Europe and the Great Australian Snipe were botli 

 tolerably niunerous. They were evidently prepai'iug to breed, so tliat 

 I had many opportunities of obsei-ving' the aeiial evolutions which they 

 go thi'ough at such season. Whether botli are alike in this I am 

 luicertain, but the AustraUan species acts veiy like the Snipe in North 

 America, but flying about pretty high and making sudden rapid descents 

 almost to the ground, which latter movement is accompanied by a loud 

 wiiisping noise. At evening, and during the day in did! weather, these 

 evolutions are commonly performed; and in dirty, rainy weather the 

 noise is frequently heard even in the middle of the night. There is 

 another singular habit which G. australis has, namely, that of perching 

 on the stumps of trees. I think this is done only at the season when 

 the pecidiar aerial evolutions are practised, but this I am not confident 

 about, nor am I sui'e it is a habit of tliis Snipe only. To be certain, I 

 shot two Great Austrahau Snipe the same day oft trees. ihe first was 

 on the top of a dead oak, the upper part of wliich had been broken square 

 off thirty-seven or thirty-eight feet from the ground. I am tolerably 

 near the exact height I know, because I placed a stick in a crevice in the 

 tree, and then going oh to some distance counted the number of fathoms 

 to the top. The other one I watched for some time going tlu-ough its 

 aerial evolutions, until after one of its rapid descents it alighted on the 

 head of a stump about ten feet high, when I shot it.' " 



The Japanese, who call the bird Yama-sliinja, take little interest in 

 the natiu'ai history of then- country. That is one reason why the nests 

 and eggs remained so long undiscovered, and why we know so little of 

 the domestic matters of this feathered migrant, so full of interest to 

 Australians. 



When Messrs. S. H. Rowe and J. Kelly, of the Customs Department 

 of Victoria, were deputed by the Government in 1894 to imdertake a 

 " Trade Mission " to the East, I very natui-ally thought of Snipe, and 

 Mr.Rowe kindly made a private memorandum in his pocket book. When 

 he reached Japan Mr. Rowe was introduced to Mr. Allan Owstoii, of 

 Yokohama, the only person there likely to prociu-e Snipes' eggs. 



