278 CHAKADRIID^E 



diately after it has been ' flushed ' from the marsh by the 

 sportsman's dog. I have seen a startled Snipe project itself 

 almost vertically upwards, like a rocket, from a bog over 

 which a Hen-Harrier was searching for its prey. 



In the pairing-season, the flight is accompanied by 

 a weird sound, called ' drumming,' which resembles the 

 puffing of a locomotive engine, heard in the distance. Most 

 Snipe commence to * drum ' about the end of March. The 

 sound, which first draws our attention, carries a great 

 distance, the bird, when first seen, often appearing as a 

 little speck in the sky. The ' drumming ' grows louder 

 as the Snipe shoots downwards, and softens oif as it stays 

 its flight before again ascending to repeat this interesting 

 aerial manoeuvre. The ' drumming ' is generally supposed 

 to be produced by the vibrations of those wing-feathers 

 which are directly concerned with flight. 



Nest. The nest, placed on the ground, is generally well 

 concealed from view, amid rushes, grass, or other vegeta- 

 tion ; it is a definite and well-scraped hollow, and, as a rule, 

 is lined with withered grass. In Ireland, where the bird 

 breeds freely, I have found nests both on low-lying and on 

 elevated marshes. 



The eggs, four in number, vary in the ground-colour 

 from very light olive to greenish-brown. The darker 

 markings consist of different shades of brown in the form 

 of blotches and streaks, Which in some cases form a zone 

 or even a confluent patch at the larger end of the egg, thus 

 effacing from that portion the lighter ground-colour. The 

 eggs of all the Snipes are very large for the size of the 

 birds. 



Incubation begins about the end of March, and two 

 broods are most likely reared in the season. 



Geographical distribution. Abroad, the Snipe breeds 

 over Northern and Temperate Europe and Asia ; in winter 

 it reaches North Africa and Tropical Asia, as far as the 

 line of the Equator. 



DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. 



PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial. Head, dark brown, 

 with a median stripe of light buff; stripe over the eye, light 

 buff; cheeks, light buff, minutely speckled with black 

 spots ; from the gape of the mouth to the front of the eye 

 is a dark brown stripe ; back of neck, spotted like the 



