356 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. vi. 



or of the February sparrows' nests, leverets, etc., that 

 we have seen recorded lately. That the more northern- 

 breeding Snipe, which may also have wintered in these 

 parts and experienced equally easy conditions, should 

 still show no signs of sexual activity is in no way out of 

 keeping with the foregoing assumption, since the effect 

 of a similar acceleration superimposed on a state that 

 normally produces May or June breeding (as suited to 

 the climate of the nesting-area), would be merely a 

 latent one so early as February.* 



Another point worthy of notice is the fact that no one 

 ever seems to have recorded Snipe drumming at any time 

 of the year except at (or near) a district in which the 

 species is known to breed. Colonel Irby particularly 

 notes it in connexion with Spain {vide also Brit. Birds, 

 IV., p. 341). 



I have been out in many marshes with Snipe present in 

 quantities, either stopping or passing through on migra- 

 tion, in autumn, winter and spring, both in the Mediter- 

 ranean and China, and never met with a case of 

 " drumming " nor do I know anyone who has, and this 

 holds good, be it noted, whether the sexual organs are 

 enlarging or not {vide note for Yangtze, antea). 



The points that I would suggest about Snipe " drum- 

 ming " and which seem to be borne out by recorded 

 observation on the subject are : — 



(1) That normally it is a performance of the breeding- 

 season, and is directly connected with the seasonal 

 activity of the sexual organs. 



* Note. — Among many Snipe of tliree species, viz. O. gallinago, 

 steniira and megala, shot and examined by the writer when passing 

 through the Yangtze Basin in the beginning of last May, in only a 

 very small proportion was there perceptible enlargement of the .sexual 

 organs. G. stennra and megala were then about half-way between 

 their winter- and summer-quarters. G. gallinago probably about the 

 same distance from its summer-quarters, but with winter-quarters 

 in temperate as well as tropical zones. It appears that the two former 

 species are confined to tropical zones during winter-time, and that 

 the breeding-range of all three species lies to tlie northward of the 

 middle kingdom of China {i.e. China proper). 



