JACK SNIPE. 249 



Poor WoUcy! he had no kindred spirit at his side to sliare his triumph, 

 to appreciate its magnitude, or with whom he might discuss every detail 

 of the discovery. It was not until a year later that he was able to tell 

 his story, in the far-away little town of Vadso, to ears which were able to 

 appreciate the intense interest of it. After WoUey and his party on the 

 great marsh had all shared in the gratification of the discovery, the line 

 was again formed ; the search continued all that day and throughout 

 what represents the night (for Muonioniska lies in the land of the 

 " nightless north ^^), with the fortunate result that three more nests 

 were found, and the birds belonging to each examined : one was so tame 

 that it allowed Wolley to touch it with his hand before it rose, and 

 another only got up when he was within six inches of it. The nests 

 were all very similar — a mere depression in the dry sedgy or grassy 

 ground close to the open swamp, lined with little pieces of grass and 

 horsetail, with a few dead leaves of the dwarf birch. 



It is very difficult to tell from Wolley ^s journal whether the curious 

 sound which he described was supposed by him to represent the drumming 

 of the Common Snipe, or whether the Jack Snipe can drum in addition. 

 Naumann only knew the one note, but it must be remembered that he 

 never saw the bird at its breeding-grounds. 



A full clutch of eggs of the Jack Snipe is always four. The ground- 

 colour goes through precisely the same variations as that of the Common 

 Snipe's eggs, but the blotches and spots are a richer brown and not, 

 as a rule, quite so bold. The underlying markings are large and very 

 distinct. The eggs are remarkably large for the size of the bird, and 

 vary in length from 1-56 to 1-45 inch and in breadth from I'l to 1-02 inch. 

 On an average, the eggs of the Jack Snipe are a little smaller than those 

 of the Common Snipe; but it is impossible to give any character by which 

 tbey may with certainty be distinguished from them. Some varieties of 

 those of the Dunlin resemble those of tlie Jack Snipe, but may be distin- 

 guished by their smaller size. Eggs of the Buff-breasted Sandpiper are 

 absolutely indistinguishable. It is not known that the Jack Snipe rears 

 more than one brood in the year. 



In its winter- quarters in India the Jack Snipe is described as being very 

 capricious in its choice of an abode, abounding in its favourite corners and 

 avoiding other less favourable localities. It is said to require thicker cover 

 than the Common Snipe, to sit closer, to be even more solitarv in its 

 habits, to be more silent, and less rapid in its flight. 



The Jack Snipe is a much smaller bird than the Common Snipe, varyino- 

 in weight from one ounce to two ounces and a half, whilst the Common 

 Snipe varies from three ounces to five ounces and a half. The difference 

 in colour is comparatively small. The chief points in which the Jack Snipe 

 differs from the Common Snipe are as follows : — it has no pale mesial line 



