278 CHARADRIIDAi 
diately after it has been ‘ flushed’ from the marsh by the 
sportsman’s dog. I have seen a startled Snipe project itself 
almost vertically upwards, like a rocket, from a bog over 
which a Hen-Harrier was searching for its prey. 
In the pairing-season, the flight is accompanied by 
a weird sound, called ‘drumming,’ which resembles the 
puffing of a locomotive engine, heard in the distance. Most 
Snipe commence to ‘drum’ about the end of March. ‘The 
sound, which first draws our attention, carries a great 
distance, the bird, when first seen, often appearing as a 
little speck in the sky. The ‘drumming’ grows louder 
as the Snipe shoots downwards, and softens off as it stays 
its flight before again ascending to repeat this interesting 
aérial manoeuvre. The ‘drumming’ is generally supposed 
to be produced by the vibrations of those wing-feathers 
which are directly concerned with flight. 
Nest.—The nest, placed on the ground, is generally well 
concealed from view, amid rushes, grass, or other vegeta- 
tion; it is a definite and well-scraped hollow, and, as a rule, 
is lined with withered grass. In Ireland, where the bird 
breeds freely, I have found nests both on low-lying and on 
elevated marshes. 
The eggs, four in number, vary in the ground-colour 
from very light olive to greenish-brown. The darker 
markings consist of different shades of brown in the form 
of blotches and streaks, which in some cases form a zone 
or even a confluent patch at the larger end of the egg, thus 
effacing from that portion the lhghter ground-colour. The 
egos of all the Snipes are very large for the size of the 
birds. 
Incubation begins about the end of March, and two 
broods are most likely reared in the season. 
Geographical distribution—Abroad, the Snipe breeds 
over Northern and Temperate Europe and Asia; in winter 
it reaches North Africa and Tropical Asia, as far as the 
line of the Equator. 
DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. 
PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial—Head, dark brown, 
with a median stripe of light buff; stripe over the eye, light 
buff; cheeks, light buff, minutely speckled with black 
spots; from the gape of the mouth to the front of the eye 
is a dark brown stripe; back of neck, spotted like the 
