286 ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY. 



bird, as my cartridges were soaked, and my day's collecting 

 over; but I often look at the skin of my little friend in the 

 cabinet in the British Museum, and remember how well he 

 swam, and how bravely he dived, ere I was able, after being 

 half drowned, to capture him at last. 



The note of the Summer-Snipe is a somewhat shrill wheet^ 

 and is generally uttered as it rises, and develops into a piping 

 cry of several syllables as the bird hurries along, just above 

 the surface of the water, with rapid vibrating strokes of the 

 wing, this motion being sometimes exchanged for a steady 

 sail for a few yards at a time. 



Mr. Seebohm writes : " Shortly after their arrival at their 

 breeding-grounds the males are very demonstrative and ex- 

 cessively noisy. In early summer they may often be seen 

 running along the rough stone walls near the water, with 

 drooping wings, as if displaying their charms to the females 

 crouching amongst the herbage below. At this season the 

 cock birds sometimes soar into the air. and utter a short trill, 

 as is the case with most other waders. It is said sometimes 

 to perch on bushes ; and Mr. Carter informs me that he once 

 saw one perched on the top branch of an ash tree thirty feet 

 from the ground. The food of the Common Sandpiper is 

 composed largely of worms and insects, with their larvae. It 

 may sometimes be seen searching for beetles amongst the 

 droppings near water where cattle drink, and it also catches 

 many insects as they flit past, as well as takes them from the 

 water or the stems of plants. It is very possible that it also 

 eats mountain-fruits, such as bilberries, and small bits of gravel 

 are found in its gizzard." 



Nest and Eggs. Mr. Robert Read writes to me : "A sloping 

 bank near the shore of an inland loch or river is the favourite 

 breeding-place of the Common Sandpiper. Alongside Loch 

 Tay I found six nests one afternoon. I have known eggs to be 

 taken near Glasgow as early as May 6th. The weight of nor- 

 mal eggs of the Common Sandpiper is about 178 grains, but in 

 1891 I took a miniature set (still in my collection), complete 

 as to shell and markings, containing a yolk, and perfect in every 

 respect, averaging only 90 grains; whilst in Sweden, in 1894, I 

 took a large light-coloured set, averaging 202 grains per egg." 



Eggs. Generally four in number, varying in colour from pale 



