CHAPTER XVI. 



Tlie Solitary Snipe. — Geographical Eange. — Two Speciesi — Flight. — 

 Retired Disposition. — Favourite Haunts. — Aversion to Wood. — 

 Food. — Feeds only at Night. — -Breeding Habits. — Migration. — Dish 

 for a King. — Shooting at the Paiiing-ground — To the Pointer. — 

 Capture in Nets. — Diminished Numbers. 



'^pHE Solitary Snipe, Double Snipe, or Great Suipe 

 -^ {Duhhel Bechasin, or double snipe, Sw. ; Dohbelt 

 Bekkusin, or double snipe, Norw. ; Stor Bekkasin, or 

 great snipe, Tredekker, or three-decker, Dan. ; Scolopax 

 major, Gmel.), the second in order of the Scolopax genus, 

 was likewise one of our summer visitants, and bred, it was 

 believed, near to Ronnum, and most assvxredly so on 

 Tjurholmen, an island in the river Gotha, at no very 

 great distance from the town of Gothenburg ; for only 

 last year an acquaintance of mine took its nest there. It 

 also breeds, though very locally as it would seem, through- 

 out a large portion of Scandinavia. As regards Sweden, it 

 is much more abundant in the central provinces, especially 

 in Upland, which would appear to be its head-quarters, 

 than in the more southern or northern. Its limits 

 to the north do not seem to be well ascertained ; but 



