824 ifANUAL OF MODERN FARRIERY. 



a peculiar action of the wings ; as tne time this sound is 

 emitted is when he is descending and making a tremulous 

 motion with his pinions. The nest is very inartificial, con- 

 sisting of the materials around it, coarse grass, and some- 

 times heath. It is generally placed on a stump or dry spot, 

 near a splashy or swampy place : the eggs, like those of the 

 lapwing, are placed invariably with their ends inwards, being 

 much pointed ; they are generally four in number, of an oli- 

 vaceous colour, blotched and spotted with rufous-brown, some 

 having dusky patches at their larger end. The adult birds 

 are exceedingly attached to their offspring ; and if any one 

 approach near the nest they make a loud and drumming noise 

 above the head, as if to divert the attention of the intruder. 



The ordinary weight of the common snipe is about four 

 ounces. Its food consists of worms, insects, and small shells 

 with their animal inhabitants, and sometimes minute seeds. 

 The length of this bird is about ten inches and a half 



A Is'orfolk gentleman, who made some interesting observa- 

 tions upon the times of the snipe's appearance in the vicinity 

 of Norwich, says, " that their first coming is early in Septem- 

 ber, which is merely transitory, stopping for a day or two, or 

 perhaps only a few hours ; they are then often found in large 

 flocks, but lay very light ; at the end of October the greatest 

 number arrive, are found more universally dispersed, and 

 afibrd better amusement than earlier in the season ; but im- 

 mediately as the severity of the winter increases, they almost 

 entirely disappear, and return no more until March, pre- 

 vious to their final departure.^' The backwardness or for- 

 wardness of the season always regulates their return, and the 

 gentleman above alluded to remarked that the time of 

 flowering of wild plants and that of the re-appearance of 

 snipes are coincident. 



There are five distinct species of snipes which frequent 



