SCOLOPACID/K. 



557 



THE COMMON SXIPE. 



Oai.i.ixago C'KLkstis (Frenzel). 



This species still breeds in England and Wales wherever drain- 

 age has not abolished the localities suited to its habits, and it is 

 comparatively abundant in the marshes of Suffolk, Norfolk and 

 Lincolnshire, while generally distributed on the northern moorlands, 

 and up to a considerable elevation in Scotland and Ireland. The 

 birds produced in the British Islands are few, however, compared 

 to those which annually visit us in October and November, when 

 many are killed by striking against the lanterns of lighthouses. 

 These migrants, though they frequently shift their ground under the 

 influence of the weather, often remain through the winter till March. 



The Common Snipe is said to have occurred in South Greenland, 

 and is fairly abundant in Iceland and the Fa2roes, while in summer 

 it is met with throughout northern and temperate Europe ; its nest- 

 ing-range reaching to the marshes of Northern Italy. On passage or 

 as a winter-visitor it is found in the Atlantic Islands and down to 

 the African side of the Mediterranean basin, ascending the Nile 

 valley to Nubia and Abyssinia, and extending its range on the west 

 side to the Gambia ; while a distinct species, G. icquaiorialis, repre- 

 sents it in South Africa. In Asia, it breeds from 70° N. in Siberia 



