SHOOTING. 231 



open field, in a hedge row, in the pass of a wood, or an un- 

 frequented lane, he generally skims the ground slowly, and is 

 very easily shot ; in fact, thus circumstanced, he is the easiest 

 of all shots ; but it is occasionally otherwise, particularly when 

 he is flushed in a tall wood, where he is obliged to clear the 

 tops of trees before he can take a horizontal direction* 



There are three different sizes of snipes, the largest of which, 



running. As I approached, for the purpose of taking it up, its efforts 

 were again repeated, during which I distinctly observed that it did not 

 rise from its bill, but threw itself into the air in the same manner as a 

 crow or any other bird, by springing from its feet : but, in justice I 

 ought to remark, that the circumstance was first noticed by a much 

 younger sportsman than myself, with whom I happened to be in com- 

 pany, and but for him, in all probability, the bird would have been 

 pocketed, sans ceremonie, and the matter (trifling enough certainly) 

 still have remained enveloped in an ignorance equal to the mistaken 

 fancy which originally invented it. However, while I stood watching 

 the bird's attempts to escape, I noticed another peculiarity in it: ex- 

 hausted, as it soon became by its impotent efforts to fly, it then tried to 

 get away by running ; and, when we approached very near, it repeat- 

 edly spread out its little tail like a fan, and erected it after the manner 

 of a turkey cock ; at the same time, I was fully convinced, from the 

 length of its legs when it stood erect, that it was not at all necessary for 

 the snipe to put its bill to the ground in order to rise, had I not wit- 

 nessed its repeated attempts to fly. 



When seen en the ground, the snipe is a very pretty bird; and 

 though its bill, compared with its size, seems out of all proportion, yet, 

 from the manner in which it carries its head, it presents nothing of that 

 grotesque appearance which the enormous length of its bill would in- 

 duce one to expect. 



In the course of all my shooting excursions, I never recollect observ- 

 ing a snipe on the ground prior to its rising, though I have shot some 

 hundreds*. I am inclined to think they are scarcely ever seen till on 

 the wing, and this circumstance, aided by the coincidence of an enor- 

 mous length of bill, has, in all probability, given rise to the supposition 

 Before mentioned. 



u2 



