9 o 



LAKES AND RIVERS. 



their feathers. The first plumage is darker than that 

 of the parents. The bills do not grow to the proper 

 length the first year. The birds sit so close that one 

 may be near without disturbing or perceiving them, 

 and when they are moved by the approach of danger, 

 they quietly glide through the marsh-plants, scarcely 

 showing themselves till they get quite off. They are 



GREAT SNIPE. 



not solitary like the bittern, though somewhat shy. 

 They often have a difficulty in finding their proper 

 food, but still their numbers do not much decrease. 



The snipe breeds in small numbers in the fens of 

 Norfolk and Suffolk, in Yorkshire, and some parts of 

 the Highlands. It lays four eggs, which are from i J 



