°,9o8 '] From Magazines, 6-c. 201 



noise made by this species is almost impossiljle to be dcscril^ed on jjaper. 

 As this Snipe quariers the sky in wide sweeps, it gives utterance to a very 

 curious rasping soiUid, which is increased in volume and considerably 

 changed as the bird suddenlj' dives downward preparatory to ' drumming.' 

 The tirst of these discordant cries is a harsh, grating K/iti, k/ia^ kha, and is 

 being constantly repeated during the roundabout flight ; but when the 

 bird is about to make its downward swoop this is altered to a still stranger 

 utterance — a curious Kee-oow^ kee-ooui,'d.'io\xr\^ which I can only liken to 

 the sucking noise sometimei produced by water passing through the narrow 

 waste-pipe of a bath. 



" The 'drumming" of the species does not differ materially from that of 

 G. galliiuigo, but the 'swishing' sound is perhaps louder, and on the whole 

 It is less like the bleating of an animal. I believe that both sexes take part 

 in the performance. 



" Owing to a mistake, the only clutch of eggs in my collection (with the 

 bird shot at the nest) was brought to me on igth May, and 1 was deprived 

 of the pleasure of actually taking it myself, although the site of the nest was 

 subsequently pointed out to me. But later on 1 was fortunate enough to 

 find young birds on two separate occasions. Taking into consideration the 

 habits of its allies, the breeding-ground selected by this .Snipe is very 

 remarkable. For instance, 1 found newly-hatched and almost helpless 

 young on the perfectly dry mountain side, at least a mile and a half from 

 the nearest water, which was in the form of a torrential stream, and 

 apparently never visited by these birds. The ground in question, being 

 composed largely of porous cinders and ashes (deposited during the 

 comparatively recent volcanic disturbances), dries up with astonishing 

 rapidity, even after a heavy downpour of rain. It is, therefore, very 

 difficult to understand how these waders obtam their nourishment, the 

 nearest marsh land or soft ground being many miles distant. 



'' For a usually shy species, the parents display much concern when their 

 progeny are in danger. In one case, on 6th June, while I was handling a 

 young bird three-parts grown, the female remained fluttering in the grass 

 within a few paces of me, feigning disablement, and uttering harsh cries of 

 distress, and seemingly quite regardless of her own safety. I fancy this 

 Snipe will remove its young if they have been disturbed in any way, like a 

 Woodcock, and the Japanese collector declared that he had i)roved this to 

 be the case. Certainly, the two apparently helpless young birds that I 

 found myself on 26th May diappeared in a very n^ysterious manner. After 

 having carefully examined them, I turned my attention for a short time to 

 another nest. Returning to the spot five or ten minutes later 1 failed to find 

 either of them again, although a very careful search was instituted. Now, 

 considering the ground for some distance round was tolerably bare of 

 vegetation, their disappearance could, I thmk, only be explained by the fact 

 that they had been removed by one of their parents." 



Reviews. 



[" Catal(jgue and Data of the 'Jacksonian Oological Collecliun,' illustrated by 

 numerous I'liol«)gra|jhs tle|jicling Various Inci.leiits and Items in Connection wiili 

 this Intcresliiig Study, wliicli has been the Life-work of the Author."] 



The author of this " Catalogue " i.s tlie collector, Mr. S. W. 

 Jackson, of Sydney. The collection is the result of continuous 

 field work for nearly a quarter of a century, commenced in 1883, 

 in the rich sub-tropical region of the Richmond and Clarence 

 Rivers district, New South Wales. 



Of the 526 species of eggs that grace the cabinets, the greater 



