DRUMMING NOISE OP THE SNIPE 193 
to be in tremulous motion. It comes on the ear 
soon after the bird commences its descent, and 
ceases when, having gained the lowest part of the 
curve, it recovers itself, and ascends with a 
different and ordinary motion of its wings. I have 
never heard it under any other circumstances. 
Were it produced by the voice, it might be emitted 
when the bird is on the ground, or during its 
ordinary flight; but should one hear it on the 
moor, he will invariably find that it proceeds from 
on high. In this manner the snipe may continue to 
amuse itself for, perhaps, an hour or more; and 
sometimes, in the clear sky, one may trace it until 
at length it mounts so high as to be no longer 
perceptible. 
This drumming noise of the snipe commences 
in April and is continued through the summer. It 
is altogether a solitary act, although several indi¬ 
viduals may often be heard at the same time, and 
may be an expression of the happiness of the bird, 
or an intimation of its presence to its mate while 
sitting upon her eggs. We have no means of 
ascertaining its object, nor has it been determined 
whether it be performed by the male only, or by 
the female also. When the bird has gone through 
his evolutions, he descends, often with astonishing 
velocity, on partially extended and apparently 
motionless wings, diminishes his speed a little as 
he approaches the ground obliquely, and alights 
abruptly .—British Bivds, vol. iv., p. 371. 
N 
