BRITISH BIRDS. 131 



Although it is well known that numbers of 

 Snipes leave Great Britain in the spring, and return 

 in the autumn, yet it is equally well ascertained, 

 that many constantly remain and breed in various 

 parts of the country, for their nest and young ones 

 have been so often found as to leave no doubt of 

 this fact. The female makes her nest in the most 

 retired and inaccessible part of the morass, gener- 

 ally under the stump of an alder or willow: it is 

 composed of withered grasses and a few feathers : 

 her eggs, four in number, are of an oblong shape, 

 and greenish, \vith rusty spots. The young ones 

 run off soon after they are freed from the shell, but 

 they are attended by the parents until their bills 

 have acquired a sufficient firmness to enable them 

 to provide for themselves.* 



* The Snipe is a very fat bird, but its fat does not cloy, and very 

 rarely disagrees even with the weakest stomach. It is much esteem- 

 ed as a delicious and well-flavoured dish, and is cooked in the same 

 manner as the Woodcock. 



