GREAT SNIPE. 
178 
flying far. The cry is described as different from 
that of the Common Snipe. 
The Great Snipe, Scolopax major. — Scolopax 
major, Gmel. — Grande ou Double Becass'ine, Temm. 
— Great Double or Solitary Snipe of British authors. 
— This species occurs, as a straggling bird of pas- 
sage, chiefly in the south of our island, where, in 
some seasons, its occurrence is pretty frequent; but, 
as we reach the borders of Scotland, and proceed 
northward and westward, or into Ireland, it becomes 
more rare in its appearance. In Continental Europe 
it is also migratory ; appears to be most common 
and to breed in Norway and Sweden, occurring in 
Central Europe only at uncertain periods, but also 
incubating in scattered localities in Holland. Spe- 
cimens were sent from Trebizond to the Zoological 
Society, by Messrs. Dickson and Ross, but its extra 
European range is not ascertained ; some of those 
foreign specimens, which were considered identical 
(that from America for instance), being found to be 
distinct. 
It is remarkable, that in Britain the specimens of 
the Great Snipe have been almost all met with in 
autumn, comparatively few being found in the spring, 
or on their return northward. When found, it is ge- 
nerally alone, or in pairs, which has gained for it the 
appellation of “ Solitary Snipe,” and it is said to be 
not shy in approach. It is at once distinguished by 
its heavier flight, and by its out-spread tail. 
