THE AirSTEALIAN SKIPE. 99 



home. They are a larger object, fly much steadier, and 

 generally go away straight ; yet, owing to the places they 

 frequent, are often missed. They are very fond of lying 

 in the shade by day. If by chance any large gum-trees 

 stand in an open wet plain, they wiU generally get under 

 them, and I have often planted myself under a favourite 

 tree, and stood still while others were beating the ground 

 roimd me, and killed as many as all the other guns. They 

 usually rise quietly, but I have heard them " scape " 

 like the English bird, especially when coming down to 

 the feeding-grounds at night. I fimcy one wisp follows 

 another as they are travelling down, for in some days you 

 will find snipe in places where a week before there was 

 not one. Of course, this is much owing to the state of 

 the feeding-grounds and the season ; before the water 

 dries up, they are dispersed over the whole face of the 

 country ; but as it goes down, and many of the feeding- 

 grounds become parched up, they pack more. There are 

 then certain places where you are always sure to find 

 some, and a man must know the country well who can 

 make sure of a bag of snipe late in the season ; for I never 

 knew a bird that sticks to favourite localities more than 

 the Australian snipe. They shift their quarters in the 

 early part of the season very suddenly, and if a man 

 hears of a wisp of snipe in any particular place, he must 

 be of£ at once, or, upon reaching the ground, he will 

 probably have the mortification of seeing the feeding- 

 marks of hundreds of snipe, and find perhaps only a few 

 outlying birds. The Australian snipe is a terrible bird 

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