44 KRIDER'S SPORTING ANECDOTES. 



English snipe, once so called, but now, by gene- 

 ral consent, named after the great American 

 ornithologist who first pointed out the difference 

 between it and the European variety. This 

 difference, though apparently trifling, was suffi- 

 cient, in the judgment of Temminck, Bonaparte, 

 and other distinguished writers, to entitle it to 

 the rank of a distinct species, universally known 

 among naturalists of the present day as Wilson's 

 snipe. 



The other American varieties possess nothing 

 to attract the pursuit of the sportsman, and are 

 therefore abandoned , sans ceremo?iie, to the mar- 

 ket shooter. The history of each will be found 

 well marked and interesting in its place ; but. 

 ne sutor ultra crepidam, as a sophymore would 

 say ; w r e have no room for it here. 



Wilson's snipe has been so often described in 

 books, from the tip of the bill to the ends of the 

 tail feathers, and is so well known, that we 

 might almost forego the minute details of its 

 dimensions and markings. 



From the uncertainty attending its move- 

 ments on the feeding grounds, the swiftness and 

 eccentricity of its flight, the exposure and hard 

 hunting required in its pursuit, the rare sport it 

 often affords when found, its game-look as it 



