WOODCOCK, SNIPE, AND PLOVER. 275 



judiciously of course, before I could get others to look 

 at the peaceful side of the argument in the same light 

 as myself ; but those days are far away now — one can 

 only be young once. 



That dainty, smart, little fellow, the Jack-snipe, is a 

 rarer bird, so far as numbers go, than his larger relative 

 — though any little irregularity in the ground, a rise 

 or a depression, that will shelter a skylark, will hide 

 him from observation. The hollow left by the hoof- 

 print of horse or bullock in the soft turf is sufficient. 

 If a tuft of grass droops over it he is at home. When 

 he frequents the water-meadows, any one of the tiny 

 rills that intersect them in all directions — having just 

 enough water in them for a loach or a stickleback to 

 wriggle up — will provide him with food and a happy 

 hunting-ground. He will stick like a leech to a spot 

 that suits him. For a bad shot he is a most valuable 

 bird ; lads delight in Jack-snipe shooting — for he may 

 be fired at and missed for half a day, without desert- 

 ing his favourite bit of water-meadow or his splashy 

 rush-field. He is richer in colouring than his larger 

 relative, having beautiful bronze, green, and purple 

 tones in some of his markings. A small fellow truly 

 is little Jack, yet he manages to keep himself in good 



