178 SNIPE SHOOTING. 



and sometimes mottled with, black ; a deep and nar- 

 row band crosses the tip. The exteriors of the tail 

 are greyish black, and a reddish orange, shaded by the 

 dark ground colour of the feathers ; the outer feather 

 is white at the tip. 



This bird is common all over Great Britain and 

 Ireland. It breeds with us in partial numbers, and 

 regularly; but by far the greater quantity arrive in 

 this country with other early winter visitants, again to 

 migrate towards the spring. Formerly, these birds 

 were most abundant in Cambridgeshire, and would 

 sell from fourpence each ; of late years they are in- 

 finitely more plentiful towards the north ; yet wher- 

 ever the surface character of our counties permit their 

 resort, there will the snipe be found. Of course, as 

 we advance northward, among moors and marshes, 

 we shall find them increase in plenty, even to the 

 western isles of Scotland, and to the remotest of them. 

 They appear to breed in every suitable locality of 

 North Britain and Ireland. In the breeding season 

 they locate themselves on the edges of marshy grounds ; 

 or, should these be too swampy and extensive for their 

 purposes, they resort to the lowland moors, or to the 

 shores of the northern lakes. The ground nest is 

 merely a scooped-out cavity, lined with such materials 

 as are at hand : the position, a dry tuft, on raised 

 ground. In the southern districts, the fenny grounds 

 of commons, or the low moist grounds in forest tracks, 

 are selected. The young remain long after incuba- 

 tion, and as long as the weather permits, near their 



