COMMON SNIPE. 327 



coast, in the neiglibourliood of Holkliam, and being 

 met by a severe frost on landing, afforded extraor- 

 dinary sport for two or three days. On the first day 

 Lord Leicester killed seventy or eighty couples, either 

 flying overhead or out of the small drains; on the 

 next day his lordship and a gamekeeper shot about 

 seventy-eight couples, and having written for Mr. 

 Dowell, that gentleman on the third day killed 

 eighteen couples, but by that time the greater bulk of 

 them had left the neighbourhood. As a further 

 instance, also, of a sudden frost driving the snipes 

 in large numbers to the inland springs and drains, 

 Mr. Thomas Edwards informs me that some thirty 

 years ago, when residing at Hapton, he killed eighty- 

 four couples of snipes m two days, which were scattered 

 over the low lying meadows and common lands in that 

 neighboui'hood . 



The following returns from his game books of some 

 of the most favourable seasons for snipe in that neigh- 

 bourhood has been kindly supplied me by Mr. E. C. 

 Newcome, of Eeltwell: — In 1839 four hundred and 

 twelve snipes were bagged. In 1841, six hundred and 

 thirty- three — the best days in that year being September 

 6th, when Mr. Newcome and his brother killed fifty- 

 six snipes, and October 2nd and November 20th, when 

 the Rev. W. C. Newcome shot twenty-nine and forty- 

 nine snipes respectively. On the 14th of October, 1843, 

 the late Lord George Bentinck bagged twenty couples. 

 On the 28th of September, 1851, the snipes being 

 plentiful but very wild, the Rev. W. C. Newcome shot 

 forty-five snipes ; and in 1860 the total bag amounted 

 to three hundred and seven. 



From the Rev. J. Burroughes I learn that during 

 his long experience, both as a naturalist and sportsman, 

 of the habits of our marsh-birds, he has in two or three 

 instances known of extraordinary migrations of snipes. 



