THE SNIPE 



SCOLOPAX OALLINAOO 



Gaelic names : — Butagochd, Meannan-adhair, Exjn-ghabhhao, Gabhar- 

 ADHAIR, Croman LdiN ; Bl!;CASSiNE ORDINAIRE {French ) ; MOOR- 

 SCHNEPPE {Oerman). Local names : — IMooR or Mire Snipe, Heather 

 Bleater, Full Snipe, Single Snipe, Snippack, Gowk, Hoube 

 Gowk. 



To this small wader are assigned in the Gaelic language 

 a number of imposing names : Meannan-adhair signifies 

 the " Small kid of the air," and a somewhat similar mean- 

 ing lies in Gahhar-adhair. Croman loin, again, has refer- 

 ence to the peculiar flight of the Snipe, for it may be 

 translated as the " Small crooked creature of the marsh." 

 The most interesting point in the natural history of 

 the Snipe is its peculiar, one might almost say unique, 

 habit of " drumming " during the nesting season. Both 

 sexes are said to indulge in this " drumming," but, person- 

 ally, I think that the cock is the more regular and profi- 

 cient performer, and that his evolutions are for the benefit 

 of his mate, resembling in this respect the spring song of 

 the Lapwing, or the slow soaring flight of the Golden 

 Plover. For long the precise location of this bleating 

 sound remained undecided — even at the present day all 

 naturalists are not agreed on the matter — but it is gene- 

 rally conceded that it has its origin from the rush of 

 wind acting on the stiff external tail feathers as the bird 

 descends rapidly. Formerly it was believed that the 

 wings of the bird produced the curious sound, and Mac- 

 Gillivary puts forward the statement that " from the 

 rapid beats of his wing the tremulous air gives to the ear 



