33 



SNIPE. 



COMMON SNIPE. WHOLE SNIPE. SNITE. HEATHER BLEATEB. 

 PLATE CLXXIII. FIG. I. 



Scolopax gallinago, PENDANT. MONTAGU. 



Scolopax gallinaria, GMELIN. 



Gallinago media, SHAW. 



TOWARDS the end of March, or beginning of April, the male Snipe 

 begins to call for a mate. 



The nest is commonly placed in the middle of a tuft of grass, rushes, 

 or heather, in a shallow depression in the surface; by the side of water, 

 as also among the heather where watery spots abound on the hill side, 

 often at an elevation of from five hundred to a thousand feet above 

 the level of the plain. A few chance stalks furnish its lining, if any 

 be provided at all, which is not always the case. 



The eggs are four in number, and of a very large size in proportion 

 to that of the bird; their colour is pale yellowish, or greenish white, 

 blotted at the larger end with two or three shades of brown. Some 

 are spotted all over with small spots; some are of a clear green ground, 

 some light blue, and others olive brown. Six eggs have several times 

 been found in one nest, as mentioned by the Rev. G. Low, in his 

 'Fauna Orcadensis/ but they doubtless must have been the joint con- 

 tribution of two birds. 



One is a bright green ground, blotted over with many brown and a 

 few dark grey spots. 



A second is a dull reddish brown ground, with large and small 

 darker blots of the same colour, chiefly at the base, where they are 

 run together. 



A third is a bluish green ground, with markings of rust-colour, and 

 brown, green, and grey spots and blots. 



VOL. in. p 



