SHOOTING. 



shoot a basketful in a day. It is said, liowever, that the spori 

 here is fatiguing, from the light earth of the rice-grounds being so 

 deeply impregnated with water, that the shooter sinks at every 

 step he takes, and sometunes above Ins knees. Smpes arrive m 

 Lower Egypt at the beginning of November, and pass the entire 



winter there. ^ , . » -i nr i. t 



These birds begin to pipe in the first week m April. Many breeo 

 in this country. Then nests are composed of aried grass and 

 plants, and now and then an intermixture of feathers. They lay 

 four or five ejjgs— sometimes six are found— of a dirty ohve-colonr, 

 marked irregularly with dusky spots. The young seem ugly and 

 shapeless. It has been well ascertamed that the mother never 

 deserts them until their bills have become long, and of sufficient 

 firmness to enable them to seek and procure food for themselves. 

 When disturbed much in the breeding season, they soar very 

 hioh, and ihe male bhdAvill keep on the wing for an hour together, 

 mounting lOve a lark, and uttering a shrill and piping noise. It 

 then descends with great velocity, and makes a bleating sound, 

 resembling that of a goat, wliic his repeated alternately round the 

 spot which the female occupies, especially if she is then hatching 

 her e''''''s. 



Suipesof all kinds feed mostly on worms and insects, which 

 abound in moist grounds and marshy localities. Snails have oc- 

 casionally been found m their stomachs. Their flesh is rich and 

 savoui-y ; and tliey are cooked in the same maimer as woodcocks, 

 without extracting the entrails. . 



Erom observations made by a gentleman m JN ortolk, some years 

 ago, and fui'iiished by Mr. Daniel, it appeared that the common 

 snipe arrived in the vicinity of Norwich in the early part of Sep- 

 tember, and stopped for a day or two, or perhaps only for ^ few 

 hom-s. They often came in large flocks, and lay very light on the 

 ground. At the end of October the greatest number had made 

 their appearance; but as soon as the cold weather commenced, 

 they almost entirely disappeared, and returned no more until' 

 Marcli, previous to their final departure. During the frost the 

 spring ditches were carefully searched, which remained free of ice,| 

 and presented both food and shelter; but excepting on two or three 

 early days of frost, very few bnds were found. The forwardness 

 or backwardness of spring seemed invariably to regulate then 

 movements, which induced this gentleman to remark the co- 

 incidence of the time of the flowering of wild plants and that oi 

 the rc-anpearance of the snipes. In February a few punctually 

 arrived, but on frost setting in, drove them back again. The 

 marshes were searched, biit-iiot a snipe could be seen, In March' 

 they again visited the moist grounds and springs in considerable 

 numbers, m company with a large flock of lapwings ; but in a fev>^ 

 days they left for other countries. The next spring, being a verv 

 early one, many snipes made their appearance in the first week ol 

 March; they were in flocks, and lay very hght on the ground • bui 



