COMMON SNIPE. 315 



Gould, in his " Birds of Great Britain/' is assumed by 

 this species in the breeding season. 



Often have I watched by the hah hour together, 

 till my eyes fairly tired of looking up into the 

 bright sunny sky, the strange "play" of the snipes in 

 spring and summer. Sometimes one only, at others 

 several may be seen at a considerable height, now 

 curving upwards with a wide circling flight, now rapidly 

 falling from their highest pitch with quivering wings 

 and outspread tail, whilst simultaneously with the 

 downward movement, and then only, a tremulous buz- 

 zing sound falls upon the ear, which ceases the moment 

 that the bird, recovering itself, ascends once more. 

 The same performance is repeated again and again, 

 sometimes for hours, and occasionally the snipe takes 

 so lofty a flight as to be scarcely visible to the naked 

 eye ; but in the final descent the flight is extremely 

 rapid and making a slight detour as it nears the ground, 

 the bird drops abruptly into the sheltering herbage of 

 the marsh or reed-bed. From the earliest dawn this 

 sound, so peculiar to our marshy districts, and asso- 

 ciated always with the wail of the lapwing and the 

 redshank's whistle, may be heard at intervals through- 

 out the day, but towards evening many more seem to 

 indulge in this resonant flight ; and still more strange 

 is that buzzing in the air, if heard after dark, with 

 the birds of course invisible even in a starlit sky. 

 I was first aware of this nocturnal habit when staying 

 near Horning Terry, in the middle of April, 1860 

 (an unusual number having, as before stated, remained 

 to breed in this county), but then, every evening, as 

 late as nine or ten o'clock at night, the noise of the 

 snipes was as incessant, and remarkable, as a frogs' 

 concert. It is noticeable, however, that this peculiar 

 action is not altogether confined to the breeding 

 season. Mr. Blofeld, of Hoveton, an unquestionable 

 2s2 



