and Partridge, birds three or four times its own weight and 

 size. The most usual character of the egg is as shown at 

 Fig. 1, with large dark blotches, principally at the tiiicker 

 end. Fig. 2, which closely resembles some eggs of the Red- 

 shank, is much less frequent. 1 have some in my collection 

 a good deal lighter and more sparingly spotted than either., — 

 Snipes lay their eggs in April or the early part of May : 

 those which I took in Shetland were fresh, though at the end of 

 June ; probably owing to the climate and very exposed situa- 

 tion, as I am not aware that the Snipe has more than one 

 brood in the year. 



