THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 171 



climbing a mountain gradient. They make about two or three 

 downward dives during each circuit." 



The handsome clutch of eggs I am indebted to Mr. Owston 

 for was accompanied by the following data : — " 363. Scolopax 

 australis. Nest on ground, among grass. Harasatomura, 

 Cotemba. 17th May, 1897. Contained 4 eggs." 



The Snipe has been observed in Japan from April to August. 

 When they take their great southward flight, as soon as Australia 

 is reached some probably land, others go south-west, but the bulk 

 of migration continues down the eastern portion of the con- 

 tinent to Tasmania, the southern limit. 



My record (assisted by Mr. P. N. Jenkins, fish salesman, &c, 

 Swanston-street, who generally exhibits the first bird shot) for 

 the last nine years of the annual arrival of the advance-guards ot 

 snipes in the vicinity of Melbourne is as follows : — 



1889, 5th or 6th September ; 1890, 3rd September ; 1891, end 

 August ; 1892, middle August ; 1893, 30th August ; 1894, 1st Sep- 

 tember; 1895, 22nd August ; 1896, 4th August; 1897, 27th July. 



For an early arrival the last date is a " record." I thought that 

 bird might have been maimed, or had remained during winter in 

 Australia, but I ascertained that several birds about that time or 

 soon after were seen in the same locality, which was Heatherton, 

 between Cheltenham and Dandenong. 



By September and October the majority of the snipes have 

 arrived, and may be found in favoured swampy situations, feeding 

 on worms and aquatic insects. When flushed the snipe utters a 

 prolonged " scrape-scrape," and, not being of extraordinary rapid 

 flight, offers a good mark to a sportsman. A brace of birds in 

 good condition should turn the scale at 1 1 ozs. 



Towards the end of the Australian autumn the snipes — those, 

 at least, that have happily'missed being shot or otherwise killed — 

 turn their long bills northward again, and the exodus from 

 Australia is probably complete by March or April (Mr. Keart- 

 land's latest record was a brace and a half of birds shot at 

 Clayton, Victoria, on 12th March), when the land of the 

 eucalypts is deserted in favour of the upland marshes of the 

 snow-clad peak of Fujiyama, and other similar places in Japan. 



The eggs may be thus described : — Pyriform, or pear-shaped ; 

 texture of shell comparatively fine ; surface glossy; colour, warm 

 stone-grey, boldly blotched and spotted, especially round the 

 upper quarter, with rich umber and dull or cloudy purplish- 

 brown ; some of the heavier markings have the appearance of 

 having been wiped on with a brush. Somewhat large compared 

 with the size of the bird, and except for their larger size come 

 nearest in likeness to those of the Turnstone, Arenaria interpres. 

 Dimensions of a clutch in inches: — (1) 177 x 1*2, (2) 173 x 



1-22, (3) 171 X I'22, (4) 17 X 121. 



