The Bird Book 



twice the length of that of the Redshank. Its 

 plumage above is black, mottled with brown, but 

 four distinct lines of brown feathers, edged with 

 buff, running longitudinally down the back, are 

 readily seen. The crown of the head is blackish 

 brown, divided in the centre by a line of buffish 

 brown, and another band of the same colour com- 

 mences at the base of the beak and passes over 

 the eye. The underparts are white. 



Throughout the daytime the Snipe skulks in its 

 marshy retreats, only taking wing when its haunts 

 are invaded, and then it rises with a harsh scream 

 of alarm and makes off with wonderfully rapid 

 zig-zag flight till it supposes itself to be out of 

 danger. This peculiar flight ensures the bird's 

 recognition. The Redshank, as it rises, displays 

 a white patch on the lower back and tail, which 

 relieves its somewhat uniform colouring, for it 

 is greyish brown streaked with black on the upper 

 surface, and greyish white streaked with brownish 

 black below. 



The small ponds, the reservoirs, and the swampy 

 meadow lands do not, however, fulfil all the con- 

 ditions of marsh and mere, and, in order to know 

 the birds with which this chapter deals, a visit 

 must be paid to Broadland, with its large sheets 

 of water, its deep fringes of tall, rustling reeds, 

 and its attendant swamps of thick, tangled rushes. 

 King of the waters is the Great Crested Grebe, a 

 bird readily distinguished by the ease and grace 



78 



