IV.— THE COMMON SNIPE. 

 (Gallinago Ccvlestis, Frenzel). 



The Common Snipe {Scolopax Gallinago of Linnaeus and Gallinago 

 coelestis of Frenzel and most modern writers) is a bird with a very 

 wide geographical range, covering almost the entire Paljearctic 

 region in the summer, and extending into the Indian region and 

 beyond in winter. 



In summer, it occurs as a straggler in Greenland : is abundant 

 in Iceland, the Faeroes, the British Islands, and the whole of northern 

 and mid Europe as far as the north of Italy. 



South of 70° N., it is common in Scandinavia, Russia, Siberia, 

 and the whole breadth of Asia ; the southern breeding range being 

 limited by Lat. 40°. An occasional straggler reaches Japan. 



In the winter, its migrations extend to both sides of the Mediter- 

 ranean basin, Asia Minor and Persia ; enormous numbers winter in 

 China, Burma, and India, the southermost flocks reaching Ceylon, 

 the Phillipines and ^lalaysia. 



In America, our bird is replaced by Wilson's Snipe [G. Wilsoiii), 

 a species so closely allied as to be scarcely distinguishable from the 

 old world form. 



In the British Islands, the Snipe is common both as a summer 

 resident and a winter migrant. Most numerous in Ireland, it breeds 

 freelv throughout the length and breadth of Scotland, including the 

 Orkneys and Shetland, is common in Wales, and nests in greater 

 or less quantity in most English counties, excluding some of the 

 Midlands. 



On the east coast, Norfolk and Suffolk are exceptionally favoured 

 — the low-lying marshes, broads and fens in close proximity to the 

 sea, offer a more or less ideal summer home for the Snipe, even in 

 these days, when so much bog and waste-land has been drained, 

 reclaimed or otherwise rendered sterile for this class of bird. 



The majority of mv observations on Snipe in the breeding 

 season have been made on the Suffolk coast, where the bird still 

 nests rather commonly. The particular ground with which I am 

 most familiar has a sea frontage of about five miles. The marsh 



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