260 THE PEEWIT. 



in its various results, it becomes rather a subject of 

 conjecture, than of explanation. Timid creatures 

 associate commonly upon the apprehension of dan- 

 ger, and, without yielding any mutual support, 

 become only the more obnoxious to evil ; and this 

 snipe, though its habits are the very reverse of con- 

 nexion with its species, yet affords no clue to direct 

 us to the causes of its unusual habits. These 

 associations of some, and retirement of others, are 

 not the capricious actions of an hour in a few in- 

 dividuals, but so regularly and annually observed 

 in the several species, that they are manifestly ap- 

 pointed provisions of nature, though the object is 

 unknown. This half-snipe, as our sportsman call 

 it, has rather generally been considered by our 

 young shooters as the male of the larger species, or 

 common snipe (scolopax gallinago) ; yet it is diffi- 

 cult to assign any reason for the prevalence of such 

 an idea, with those who have had many opportuni- 

 ties of observing the dissimilarity in the mode of 

 life, the manners, and plumage of the birds. I 

 know not any bird that lays so large an egg, in 

 proportion to its size, as the snipe. 



A few pairs of the peewit (tringa vanellus) visit 

 annually some of our larger ploughed fields to 

 breed j but they are so frequently disturbed by 

 those necessary processes of husbandry, hoeing and 

 weeding, that they seldom succeed in the object of 

 their visit. On our adjoining heath they escape 



