THE AUSTRALIAN SNIPE. 97 



shooters say that they have killed them ; but I think 

 this was nothing more than a kind of little stint, which is 

 often found on the plains. Where the snipes spend the 

 winter and breed, no one seems to know. I have heard 

 that they breed on the high ranges at the head of the 

 Yarra, and a friend of mine has flushed them in June 

 in the Stringy-bark ranges, 200 miles up the country. 

 One thing is certain, they must breed very early ; for 

 when they came down to us in September, there was no 

 difference in the size of the birds that we killed ; and I 

 believe there can be no doubt that they did not visit our 

 parts till after the breeding season, for I never heard 

 of the nest being taken, and the habits of the snipe that 

 came to us were not those of breeding birds. They 

 appear in the districts round the coast in September, 

 remain throughout the suaimer, and leave in February 

 or the beginning of March. They come down by stages, 

 for we generally heard of the first snipe being killed 

 up country a fortnight at least before they reached us. 

 The first place that they visit in our district was the 

 Clyde, a low flat of wet pasture-ground, about fifteen 

 miles below Dandenong, towards "Western-port Bay. 

 This is the best and earliest snipe-ground that I know ; 

 but the water very soon goes ofl", and a man, to have any 

 good shooting, should be there when they first come. 

 They then take another flight, and, like the snipe at 

 home, following the flood, come into the Dardenong 

 country, and thence disperse themselves over the 

 swamps and low grounds, frequenting of course peculiar 



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