Jack Snipe. 431 . 



In France it is Btcassine ordinaire ; in Germany, Heerschneppe ; 

 in Italy, Beccacino reale; in Sweden, Enkel Beckasin, 'Single 

 Snipe ' ; in Spain, Agachadiza ; in Portugal, Narseja ordinaria. 

 To distinguish it from the succeeding species, it is in England 

 sometimes called the ' Whole ' Snipe. 



162. JACK SNIPE (Scolopax gallinula). 



This diminutive species might, with much more reason, be 

 denominated ' Solitary ' than its largest relative, inasmuch as it is 

 almost always found alone. ' He is rarely seen ' (says Sir R Payne- 

 Gall vvey) ' careering in a storm ; not he : he sticks like a limpet 

 to the lee of a " tuft," his little body crouched warm and low in 

 the herbage. If disturbed, he will make for another shelter at a 

 short distance, and even return to the same.'* But it utters no 

 cry when it rises from the ground ; hence known in Sweden as 

 Stum Beckasin, or ' Mute Snipe ' ; and it lies so close that you 

 may almost tread upon it before it will move, and, as Harting 

 says, really appears to be so deaf that the French name for it, 

 Btcassine sourde, is not an inappropriate one. When at rest, 

 the head reclines upon the back, between the shoulders, giving 

 the bird the appearance of having no neck : the bill rests on the 

 ground in front, the breast touches the ground, and the tarsus 

 and tibia touch, and are parallel. When, however, it is roused^ 

 the bird rises so suddenly as to cause an involuntary start on 

 the part of the observer,f but it does not fly with such twists as 

 does the preceding; and it invariably departs to northern 

 countries for breeding purposes. In general habits, feeding and 

 nesting, the Snipes are all alike. It is often called the ' Half ' 

 Snipe, in allusion to its size; and is said to have derived the 

 name of Jack Snipe from an old erroneous supposition that it 

 was the male of the ' Common Snipe. The provincial names of 

 these three species accurately describe their relative size; the 

 Jack or Half Snipe weighing about two ounces ; the Common, 

 Whole, or Full Snipe four ounces ; and the Great or Double Snipe 

 eight ounces. 



' The Fowler in Ireland/ p. 17. f ' Birds of Middlesex,' p. 194. 



