HABITS OF WILDFOWL. 17 



since they lie ensconced in snug beds of grass and 

 brambles in the woods ; but if flushed, and it blows 

 a hurricane, their immense power of wing (unrivalled 

 almost) will carry them along in any direction as if 

 it were merely a " summer zephyr." 



Though Snipe have wonderful powers of flight, 

 they do not equal those of the Woodcock. Their 

 eccentric wheels and twists will now and then play 

 them false in a gale. The wind may be noticed to 

 get underneath the wings, and take them " aback," 

 as they dart upwards. Snipe, like Duck, will rest 

 and feed in prospect of disturbing elements. When 

 the gale comes roaring down, perhaps accompanied 

 by rain or sleet, these birds will rise from their 

 retreat, and whirl about like dead leaves in the 

 murky sky. 



I have heard them thus at night shrieking like 

 evil spirits overhead, now on this side, now on that, 

 next like a faint unearthly echo in the gloomy 

 curtain of cloud above ; but after such outburst 

 they soon settle down again in the shelter of their 

 favourite haunts. 



That tiny two ounces of fat, the Jack Snipe, is 

 rarely seen careering in a storm ; not he ; he sticks 

 like a limpet to the lee of a " tuft," his little body 

 crouched warm and low in the herbage. If disturbed 

 he will make for another shelter at a short dis- 

 tance, and even return to the same. Who has not 

 seen a butterfly at sea hovering about the rigging 

 in a breeze an object of surprise and pity ? A 

 Jack Snipe fluttering in the gale, and turned out 

 of his quiet corner, evokes almost a feeling of sym- 

 pathy. 



