174 



CHAPTER VII. 



HABITS AND HABITAT OF SNIPE COIlthlUed, 



It will be noticed in the preceding descrip- 

 tion of some of the typical haunts of snipe 

 how very much the birds are inclined to 

 resort in numbers to the same spot, to the 

 neglect by even solitary individuals of less 

 favoured marshes and moors. This might 

 seem to imply that the snipe is a gregarious 

 bird, delighting to feed and sleep in com- 

 pany with its kind. This, in my opinion, it 

 certainly is not. Except on migration or 

 when pairing in the spring, I do not believe 

 that the presence of its kind in a certain place 

 is the least attraction to a passing snipe. It 

 is essentially a solitary creature, as is proved 

 by the constant discovery of single birds day 

 after day in an isolated patch of rushes or 



