298 



VERTEBRATES. 



and white. There is a marked difference betwixt the young and 

 the old birds : the former having the crown of the head and the 

 cape furnished with long, pendent plumes. 



This bird sometimes lives in a solitary state, and sometimes 

 in small bands of eight or ten. In its flight it is vigorous and 

 lofty : its mode of flight is very peculiar : when on wing it 

 stretches out its neck and feet horizontally, like most of the same 

 genus, uttering from time to time a very hoarse, disagreeable 

 scream. They are often seen in groups, remaining together for 

 hours, on ground recently abandoned by the water, very busily 

 employed in exploring the mud with their bill. They do not hop 

 and run like the curlews, but walk slowly and deliberately, step by 

 step. Where they breed is not ascertained. They arrive in Egypt 

 when the Nile begins to swell, and leave when the waters subside. 



The Woodcock is a native of the northern parts of Europe 

 and Asia, and is common in this country. The Woodcock fre- 

 quents dense thickets during the day, but at night it leaves these 

 retreats, and visits the swamps and flooded meadows, where it finds 

 a sufficiency of worms and insects. 



The nest of this bird is a loose mass of grass and leaves, 

 gathered together in some sheltered depression. The eggs are four 

 in number, of a yellowish brown, blotched with dark brown and 

 grey. 



The Snipe. 



