184 JACK SNIPE SHOOTING. 



rise secretly, take a second flight, or a long run, and 

 afterwards get up behind you. The Jack comes to 

 us later, and leaves earlier, than the common snipe, 

 and has rarely been known to breed in this country. 

 Though a short flier, he knows how to take care of 

 himself, and will often set the best dogs and men at 

 defiance. 



The Jack Snipe (Scolopax gallinula): Linn. 

 This is the pet of the snipe genus, both for its 

 plumage and its flesh. As to the latter, let people 

 say what they will of the ortolan, we will back the 

 jack, half-snipe, or judcock, for a tit-bit, against any 

 ortolan in the world. It does not flock together like 

 the common snipe, but chooses in pairs, or singly, 

 its low woodland or marshy abode. If the jack comes 

 to us rather later than the larger snipe, it remains 

 with us longer than others, always staying through 

 March, when its feathers are approaching towards 

 their full beauty. At this time, indeed, it is far the 

 handsomest in dress of any species of the bird, either 

 known in Great Britain or foreign : its glossy back 

 so richly dyed in purples and greens, its delicately 

 distinct markings of wood brown, and the clearest 

 ochreous yellow, and the pure white underneath, 

 which so charmingly contrast these brighter hues, its 

 green grey legs, and dusky bill, and its plump but 

 elegant form, combining to render it one of our 

 prettiest visitants. When five or six are seen toge- 

 ther, they look like animated gems or jewels, as they 

 rise from covert, their wings quivering in rapid, 



