GREAT SNIPE. 337 



It is now known to be a regular visitant, although in fluc- 

 tuating and, generally, in small numbers ; its arrivals nearly 

 invariably taking place between the middle of August and 

 the middle of October, on the way to its southern winter 

 quarters. Almost all the examples obtained have proved to 

 be young birds of the year ; and it is evident that the line of 

 the return migration lies to the east of the longitude of the 

 British Islands, instances of its occurrence in spring being 

 exceedingly rare. Mr. Stevenson only cites one : an adult 

 bird, which, being observed by a fisherman making for the 

 land, was shot on its arrival on Yarmouth beach. On the 

 whole it has been more frequently noticed in the eastern and 

 southern portions of England than in the centre and west ; 

 and the same remark applies to Scotland, but irregular occur- 

 rences on the western side of the latter are not uncommon. 

 It is believed to visit the Orkneys, and Dr. Saxby shot 

 several in the Shetland Islands. Of late years it has been 

 recorded at intervals as occurring in various parts of Ireland, 

 and Mr. Harrington of Tralee, a noted Snipe- shot, informed 

 Sir K. Payne- Gall wey that he had killed eleven in ten years' 

 shooting. 



The Great Snipe, Woodcock Snipe, or Solitary Snipe, as it 

 is often called, appears to prefer drier situations than its 

 congeners, many examples having been shot from dry grass- 

 fields, heather, potatoes in a sandy soil, barley layers, and 

 turnips. Selby speaks of an unusual number of arrivals in 

 the dry warm autumn of 1826, and a similar coincidence was 

 remarked in 1868. On its habits as observed in Norfolk the 

 late Rev. R. Lubbock wrote to the Author : " This species 

 is very frequently found in pairs, and does not deserve to be 

 called Solitary. On the wing it looks but little larger than 

 the Common Snipe, and may be recognized at once by its tail, 

 spread like a fan. Its flight is steadier and heavier, which 

 may in some degree arise from the aptitude of the bird to 

 make fat. I have handled more than a dozen specimens ; 

 have shot the bird three times myself; and all I have seen 

 were loaded with flesh and fat. I find I have noted that 

 Richardson, the fen man, killed six of the Great Snipes in the 



VOL. in. x x 



