SXIPE. 
were forced to alight on the small patches of surrounding reeds. A punt carefully worked is the only 
means of approaching one of these large flocks marked down on a hover: though repeatedly obtaining 
a view through the rushes of wisps numbering from twenty to thirty resting on these spots, I met with 
one ciance of examining a large flock quietly settled. A light breeze was blowing, and the rustle of 
le reeds prevented the sound of the punt slowly quanted through tlie cover from raising an alarm ; 
some suspicion of danger had, however, apparently put the whole of the birds on the alert *. A few 
Snipes at the outskirts of the throng could be detected standing or moving slowly near the water’s edge, 
loug i tlm mam body were packed so thickly, squatting on the hover, that the rich brown colouring of 
^ stretched over the ground. An attempt to make use of the glasses 
up^'^ Though alM ° outsiders, and rising on wing with shrill calls the assemblage broke 
up 1 hough alighting in company, these large bodies when disturbed usually go off in small partL each 
fo..o,„„g ,3 o™ course. On this occasion, after the departure of the flrs/^Ms the pu ”t T:! woZd 
up to the hover when several more birds rvere flushed : for some minutes the shooting was fast and furious 
as the latest stragglers sprang one or two at a time from the outlying clumps of rushes This is tlie 
only ms ance where I found the birds composing one of these large gatherings so eo„fidi„:. though it " 
frequently a matter of some diffleulty to put up small parties when scattered over the rush- 
portion of the ground. Owing to tlie amount of mud and dirt brought into the boats I seldom used a 
dog on such spots. Tlie full birds can generally be flushed by splasliing the water with a stroke of the 
quant; Jacks, however, occasionally drop on the hovers, and are by no means easily forced on wim-. 
avmg earne y e.vperience that the attempt to shoot across one of these floating liovers on foot was 
no un requently followed by a drenching in the highly odoriferous swamp, I have latterly taken up a 
pos t on „ the punt where the sight was uniuterrupted by high reeds, and despatched a man to brush the 
covei with a quant. The safety and rapidity with which a native will make his way across the wavin.> 
crust avoiding dangerous spots and marking as well as recovering any number of birds knocked dow.r 
would scarcely he credited by those who have never witnessed the proeLdings. A few shol may hMost 
by this plan ; but a somewhat lighter bag is decidedly preferable, in my own opinion, to the chance of 
g ting one shoote filled and garments saturated with the slime and filth of the decomposing vegetation 
It hen the tides are high, very fair Snipe-shooting may be obtained from a punt about the 'hovers 
ud maesh walls on many of the Norfolk broads. The birds seldom rise wild and,^wing ^ t a sen 
of all inconvenienee as to standing-ground, usually present exceedingly easy shots. A welbhuilt and oomv 
craft however, is needed, and a man well up to his work, otherwise little succL can be expected 
to a„"tf “n “scape” uttered on wing, the Snipe gives vent during the breeding-season 
0 ler ca consisting of two notes. This somewhat monotonous cry is often repeated loudlv""f 
several seconds, the bird at the time being invisible among the rushes on a marsh. 
ve been written on the drumming of the Snipe and little remains to be added concerning this stran-elv 
ptive performance. I have passed hours in watching the birds during the still evenin-s of elrlv 
summer while soaring and darting through the air, and it appears obvious that the tremulous sound is 
pro uce y le feathers of the wings or tail. The names of “Air-Goat” and " Ileather-bleater ” bestowed 
n 1 I.S species in the Highlands indicate the notion formed by the natives concerning the soiinrl e -ft l 
by the bird. The Norfolk title of “ Summer Lamb ” is also by no means inappropll “ 
n spite of the almost universal reclaiming of meres, bogs, and waste lands, there are still many out. 
le-way istricts in which fair Snipe-shooting can at times be obtained where the ground is cither free 
or permission is readily procured. As the birds found in such quarters are princi^lly, VL? enttrely! 
* I frequently remarked while watching Snipe searching for food on a bog or by the water-side that on ihn fir f • c a 
wodU i„„e,li.tcly sqaat. i„ ..at ^ th, Wd 
