GREAT OR DOUBLE SNIPE 
Seebohm, who had many opportunities of observing this bird in Siberia, 
writes as follows : “In the pairing-season the males are gregarious, 
and have a sort of ‘ lek,’ like that of the ruff, or of many species of grouse. 
Late one evening as Harvie- Brown and I were drifting down the Petchora, 
we came upon a large party of these birds, making curious noises with 
their bills, in the long grass on the banks of the river. Sometimes as many 
as half a dozen were on the wing at once, but their flights were very short, 
and we succeeded in shooting ten of them, which all proved to be males. 
I saw the same remarkable performance in Siberia, where they were very 
common in the valley of the Koorayika, and soon after their arrival I 
used sometimes to watch them in the evenings through my binocular. 
With a little caution I found it very easy to get near them, and frequently, 
as I sat partially concealed between a couple of willow bushes, I was able 
to turn my glass on two or three pairs of these birds all within fifteen or 
twenty yards of me. They had one very curious habit which I noted : they 
used to stretch out their necks, throw back the head almost upside down, 
and open and shut their beaks rapidly, uttering a curious noise like that 
produced by running the finger along the edge of a comb. This was some- 
times preceded by a short flight, or by the spreading of the wings and 
tail. I have never heard the great snipe utter any other call or alarm -note. 
During the breeding -season it is not at all shy, and allows of a near 
approach ; and when resting it almost permits itself to be trodden upon 
before rising, which it does with a whirr of the wings, like that of a grouse, 
but not so loud. . . . 
“ On the ground it is a very comical looking object : plump, short -legged, 
it shuffles about, half walking, half running, its bill always depressed, 
and, however intent it may be on feeding, it is ever on the v/atch for danger, 
and always tries to keep behind a bunch of rushes or a clump of sedge. 
It hides in the long coarse grass on the banks of rivers and lakes during 
the day, and comes out on the open in the evening, if there be any evening 
where it happens to live, to feed on worms and various small insects.’’ 
Dr P. H. Bahr, who has made a special study of the breeding-habits of 
the snipe, in comparing the display of this species with that of the jack 
snipe, has made the following remarks : “ We have records, made by 
such excellent observers as Professor Collett, that the great snipe 
(Gallinago major), though an allied species, has an entirely different 
nuptial display. The males, it is said, meet together on common ground, 
and there, in much the same manner as the blackcock, display before 
275 
