THE JACK. SNIPE. 281 



near the village of Kilkelly in the same county, and also the pro- 

 perty of that nobleman. The old bird was first seen fluttering about 

 before the pointers to decoy them from the young. I have found 

 them, I think, in two or three other instances, but cannot fix the 

 time: the above I have noted in a diary I am in the habit of keeping 

 of any remarkable event." It was believed until the last few years 

 that the jack snipe did not breed in any part of Great Britain, 

 in the Orkney or Shetland Islands, but two or three instances 

 are said recently to have occurred.* I have not, however, met 

 with any statement so satisfactory on the subject as the last here 

 given. 



Mr. G. Matthews, during his tour in Norway, observed snipes 

 and jack snipes at all places as he moved northward. On the 

 19th or 20th of August, 1842, he shot some young jacks 

 at Alten. When returning down coast in autumn, the com- 

 mon snipe was not met with, though the jack was, being 

 often found on the small islands seaward, when the frost was not 

 so hard as on the mainland. He shot some of these in Sep- 

 tember and October, on the island of Loppen. 



The jack snipe is generally said by authors to be solitary, but 

 it is commonly as well as correctly remarked in Ireland, that at 

 all times where you find one, a second will not be far distant ; 

 although a " wisp " or small flock of common snipes may occasion- 

 ally be seen, I have never heard of the other so occurring. 



On January 28th, 1837, when passing a shop in Belfast where 

 a number of jack snipes were exposed for sale, I was attracted by 

 one with flesh-coloured legs and toes, and on inspection of the 

 whole lot, found the legs varying from the ordinary greenish-grey 

 to a decided flesh-colour : those exhibiting the latter were sup- 

 posed to be the young of the year — in other respects the birds 

 seemed alike, but the plumage had received too rough usage to 

 be properly examined. 



I do not find sufficient data with respect to the jack snipe in 

 England and Scotland, to enable a proper comparison to be iusti- 



* Yarr. ' Brit. Birds,' vol. iii. p. 36. 2nd edit. 'Zoologist,' June 18±'J, p. 2456. 



