LIMICOL^. ( 244 ) SCOLOPACWM. 



THE JACKSNIPE. 



JUDCOCK, JID. 



Gallinago gallinula. 



For I mine awn gain'd knowledge should profane, 

 If I would time expend with such a snipe, 

 But for my sport. 



SHAKESPEARE, Othello, Act i. Sc. 3. 



.THE Jacksnipe is a much smaller bird than its common 

 congener, 1 and generally arrives in the county from its 

 breeding grounds in the northern parts of Europe in small 

 numbers towards the end of September or in October. It 

 remains with us throughout the winter and early spring 

 until March or the beginning of April, when it leaves for 

 the arctic regions, where it spends the summer. 



In its general habits the Jacksnipe resembles the 

 Common Snipe, and is fond of frequenting marshy places 

 where the herbage is rough. Here it sits closely concealed 

 when not feeding, and is often difficult to put up, even with 

 the assistance of a good dog. When it rises from the 

 ground its flight is slow, zig-zag, and wavering, and on this 

 account it is sometimes missed by the sportsman who thinks 

 it is sure to fall to his gun. I have occasionally seen five 

 or six shots fired at a specimen which, with short flights, 

 kept moving from one part of the bog to another, and rising 

 each time close to the shooter's feet. The Jacksnipe does 

 not utter any cry when it is flushed, and although it is a 



1 From its small size as contrasted with the Whole, or Common Snipe, it is 

 called the Half Snipe in Norfolk. Swainson's Folk-Lore of British Birds , p. 169. 



