The Common Snipe 



THE COMMON SNIPE 



Gallinago ccelestis (Frenzel) 



This bird is found wherever swamps, marshes, and damp 

 meadows suitable to its habits are still left, and is a common 

 resident throughout Great Britain, receiving large additions 

 to its numbers from the Continent every autumn. 



Very early in April it begins to nest, making a fairly 

 deep " scrape " in a damp spot, generally in some rough 

 grass or other cover, and lining it with a few bents and 

 leaves. The eggs, four in number, as is the case with all 

 wading birds, are greenish olive, spotted and blotched, often 

 spirally, with various shades of brown, and there are also a 

 few black markings near the larger end. The young when 

 first hatched are reddish chestnut, mottled with black and 

 white. 



During the breeding season this species may often be 

 seen " drumming " or " bleating." This is a sound much 

 like the " bleating " of a goat, and considerable doubt as to 

 how it was produced has long existed, although a Swedish 

 naturalist stated many years ago that it was brought about 

 by the rapidly vibrating tail feathers as the bird descended at 

 a certain angle through the air. This has recently been clearly 

 proved as correct by an English observer, Mr. P. Bahr, who 

 points out that the sound is produced by the two outer tail 

 feathers, which during the flight are held out widely separated 

 from the rest of the tail. The sound can be produced artifici- 



