344 



GRALLATOEES, OR WADING BIRDS. 



generally preferring stormy, damp weather for performing its 



migrations. 



The Snipe is found in all latitudes in every part of the 

 globe. Some remain the year round in France and Ireland. 

 They make their nests among reeds in muddy, boggy places, 

 difficult of access to both man and beast, in which they lay 

 four or five eggs. The young ones leave the nest as soon as 

 they are hatched, and are fed by their parents for some time. 



Fig. 132. — 1. Jack Snipe. 2. Common Snipe (Scolopax gallinula, Scolopax gallinago, Linn.). 



the want of solidity in their bills not permitting them to bore for 

 their own food. 



The Snipe does not live so solitary a life as the Woodcock ; it 

 is occasionally seen in wisps or flocks. When flushed they utter 

 a shrill cry, which is easily recognised. They visit us in autumn, 

 coming from the marshes of Poland and Hungary, whither they 

 return again in the spring. The most common species are the 

 Common Snipe {Scolopax gallinago, Fig. 132, 2), the Great Snipe 

 {S. major), the Jack Snipe {S. gallinula, Fig. 132, 1), Sabine 

 Snipe {S. Sabini), and the American variety {S. Wilsonii). 



The Common Snipe is no bigger than a Thrush, and has a bill 

 longer in proportion than the Woodcock. It has on the head 



