268 OUTDOOR LIFE IN ENGLAND 



the upper parts are more finely marked (vermicu- 

 lated), the primary feathers being of a blackish- 

 brown, not barred. 



It was formerly very commonly believed that 

 the handsome little jack snipe was the male of 

 the common or full snipe. In these more en- 

 lightened days it is perhaps hardly necessary to 

 state that no relationship or affinity, save that of 

 name, exists between the two birds. 



Its name, doubtless, gave rise to this erroneous 

 impression. The other appellations by which it 

 is known, viz., judcock and half-snipe, are far 

 more appropriate. The jack snipe has never 

 been known to breed in the British Islands, whereas 

 the common or full snipe frequently does so, and 

 in some parts of England, Scotland, and Ireland 

 in considerable numbers. 



The jack snipe is more common in the earlier 

 and later months of winter than during the 

 actual winter months, resting as it were during 

 its passage on migration. It is supposed that 

 this bird is more difficult to shoot than any 

 other ; in reality it is one of the very easiest 

 of all birds to kill, and far more so than the 

 common snipe. Its flight, though twisting, is 

 feeble and slow ; whereas that of the common 

 snipe is equally peculiar, but very rapid. The 

 truth is that both birds have earned the reputation 

 of being difficult to kill, and so escape more 

 frequently than they otherwise would do were 

 the gunner a little more deliberate and cool. It 



