4 SCOLOPACID^. 



1-06 inch, to 1-53 by 1'08 inch. No. 9 : 2 eggs; olive-yellow with bright brown 

 and blackish-brown blotches, sparsely distributed; a 1"53 by 1*14 inch, 5 1-49 

 by 1'06 inch. 



" The nests were mostly found on large marshes, during the hay-cutting. The 

 bird is said to sit so closely, that it is often wounded by the scythe." 



To this description Mr. E. F. von Homeyer adds the following note, which I 

 translate * : — " I have already spoken of the extraordinary tameness of this bird 

 at the nest. I found a nest in a marshy peat-moor on a bank between the pools, 

 and later in the same locality I found young not quite fledged, and still having 

 much down, especially about the head, and which today, after 43 years, still adorn 

 my collection," 



From Mr, Meves's description it will be seen that these eggs varied in length 

 from 1'57 to 1"45 inch, and in breadth from 1-14 to 1*02 inch. 



Mr, H. Seebohm writes f : — " 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 they may with certainty 

 be distinguished from them. Some varieties of those of the Dunlin resemble 

 those of the Jack Snipe, but may be distinguished 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," % 



* Loc. cit. p. 26.3. 



t ' History of British Birds,' vol. iii. p. 249, 



J Mr. E. F, von Homeyer, however, states that eggs of this species found iu August belong to a 

 second brood (' Ornis,' II. Jahrgang, 1886, p. 262).— F. P. 



