THE SNIPE. 151 



Whole snipe Jack Winter-shooting. 



lines down the back, the covert feathers of which 

 are dusky with white transverse lines, and white 

 tips on some of the large wing feathers, the lesser 

 feathers being of a mixed colour of red, black, 

 and grey, beautifully variegated with white and 

 brown lines : the tail feathers are more red, with 

 black lines running across them. The bill is 

 black at the tip, and near three inches long, the 

 tongue is sharp, the eyes of a hazel colour. The 

 legs are of a pale greenish colour, the toes pretty 

 long and the talons black. 



There are two sorts, but they frequent the 

 same places, subsist on the same food and are 

 frequently found near to each other. The larger 

 is called the whole snipe, and the smaller the 

 jack. 



The flesh is exceedingly good, sweet, and ten- 

 der; it feeds in drains of water springs, and other 

 fenny places, on worms and other insects, and 

 upon the fat unctious humour that it sucks out 

 of the earth. 



Snipes are well known to the sporting world 

 in winter shooting; a jack snipe is not very 

 easily killed, at least by an indifferent shot, of 

 which some proof was recently given by a gen- 

 tleman of Easthampstead, in Windsor Forest, 

 who very warmly entertained his friend with a 

 description of a jack snipe he had found upon 

 the heath, which had afforded him sport for six 

 weeks; and he did not at all doubt but he would 



