THE COMMON SNIPE. "i^T 



generally are governed by laws of Avliich we know little or 

 nothing. At one season they will be numerous in a cer- 

 tain marsh ; the next year perhaps not one will visit th^ 

 spot; to-day, they will swarm in a given locality; a night's 

 frost will drive them all away, and a change of wind a 

 few days after will bring them all back again. If very 

 severe weather sets in they entirely withdraw, but of this 

 the reason is obvious ; the frozen state of the marsh puts 

 a stop to their feeding. They then retire to milder dis- 

 tricts, to springs which are never frozen, to warm nooks 

 near the sea, or to salt marshes. Perhaps the majority 

 perform a second migration southwards ; for, as a rule, they 

 are most numerous at the two periods of autumn and 

 spring, that is, while on their way to and from some dis- 

 tant winter-quarters. After March they become far less 

 frequent, yet there are few extensive marshes, especially 

 in Scotland and the north of England, Avhere some do not 

 ]-emain to breed. At this season a striking change in their 

 habits makes itself perceptible. A nest is built of withered 

 o-rass, sometimes under the shelter of a tuft of heath or 

 reeds, and here the female sits closely on four eggs. The 

 male, meanwhile, is feeding in some neighbouring swamp, 

 and if disturbed, instead of making off with his zig-zag 

 winter's flight, utters his well-remembered note and ascends 

 al a rapid rate into the air, now ascending with a rapid vibra- 

 tion of wing, wheeling, fallmg like a parachute, mounting 

 again, and once more descending with fluttering wings, 

 uttering repeatedly a note different from his cry of alarm, 

 intermixed with a drumming kind of noise, which has 

 been compared to the bleat of a goat. This last sound is 

 supposed to be produced by the action of the air on his 

 quivering wings, for it has been observed to occur only 

 while he is making his descents. One of its French 

 names is Chevre volant, flying goat, and the Scottish name 

 " Heather-bleater," was also given to it as descriptive of 

 its peculiar summer note. The female sits closely on her 



