26 FAMILIAR WILD BIRDS. 



sportsman who may have excellent sport one day, may, 

 on the (lay following, find the locality entirely deserted. 



When nndistui'bed the Snipe moves slowly and easily, 

 carrying- the head erect, and occasionally moving the tail. 

 When alarmed, the bird invariably squats until the daiiger 

 has passed, or takes jvhig at once, never running, as_i_s 

 the habit <»£ the other members <»f the sand piper tribe. 

 AVhen wounded, it has a curious habit ot" jumjiing^or 

 Hutt^'iug u^ from the ground. When it takes flight its 

 movements, for the first thirty or forty yards, are tortuous 

 and rapid in the extreme, and then it commonly soars to 

 a very considerable height, or flies straight off to some 

 distant feeding- place. Another peculiarity connected with 

 this bird is the strange humming noise it produces with 

 its wings, and this is more noticeable when it is endeavour- 

 ing to divert attention from its nest, or when choosing 

 a mate. 



This noise is generally attributed to a peculiar move- 

 ment of the wings, and has been likened to the bleating 

 of a goat ; indeed, in some parts of France the Snipe is 

 kno^yn as " Chevre volant.^' 



As the spring advances the Snipe gradually perfects 

 his summer plumnge, and towards the cud of March, or 

 the beginning of April, selects a spot for a nest, and 

 endeavours, by repeated calls, to obtain a mate. These 

 calls, or pipings, are always uttered during Hight, and are 

 accompanied by the humming noises already referred to. 

 At the time of nesting, and until after the young are 

 hatched, the male bird continually soars to a great height, 

 and utters its piping cries even when it has passed beyond 

 human observation. 



The nest is usually placed in long;_^rass by the sjdes 



