58 THE BIRDS OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



winged insects, and it is one of the rare true sayings 

 that come to us from Ireland, that a Snipe is good 

 for nothing till he has had a frost through him. 



A few days of stormy rain in October generally 

 bring in a flight of Snipes which as often as not 

 make their first appearance in a turnip-field, but soon 

 find out the soft places in our meadows, and remain 

 with us till the first marked change in the weather, 

 such as a sudden change of wind. A few nights of 

 light frost have only the effect of adding to the 

 weight of our birds and making them lie closer to 

 the gun, but if the weather becomes really severe the 

 Snipes gather for a few days at spring-heads or 

 running brook-sides, and are difficult of approach ; 

 the main body soon shifts its quarters, leaving a few 

 to be found singly or in couples in favoured spots ; 

 these lingerers are generally covered with fat and 

 afford the easiest of shots. In fine still winter 

 weather we usually find the Snipes very wild, but on 

 a cloudy day with a stiff breeze they lie very close in 

 this locality. Occasionally, at the first break up of a 

 long frost in December or January, a fresh arrival 

 of Snipes drops in at our river- and brook- sides, but 

 this is here a very exceptional occurrence, and 

 although, as I have previously stated, a Snipe or two 

 may be found in almost every month of the year, we 

 seldom see any great number after the departure of 

 the October flights till the following March, when 

 more or less of these erratic birds visit us on their 

 return towards their breeding-places. 



I may sum up the Snipe question in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Lilford in a general way by saying that 

 their numbers seem entirely to depend upon the 

 amount of late summer or autumnal rain. 



