pale yellow brown in winter, are in this Bird 'of a rich reddish
•brown; the first new inter-scapular feather on each side has
just appeared, with its usual: broad, buff-coloured margin,
affording a striking contrast to the narrower-white margins
of the feathers lower down on the body.
The whole length of a Common "Snipe is about ten inches
and a half; the length- of the beak about two inches and
three-quarters ; from the carpal joint, to the end of the' first
quill-feather, which-is the,longest in the wing, fiye^ inches 4
the sexes are alike in plumage, but the female exceeds the
male in Size, ■
A young bird about two-thirds grown, with the beakrbnly
one inch long, and with down still adhering about the head,
has the narrow, light-coloured margins., Snd the > rich red
brown on the feathers of the upper surface of the-body, and
wings, as in the old bird in summer.
The vignette below represents the young of the? Common
Snipe.
GRALLATORES. SCOLOPACIDÆ.
T H E JACK SN IPE .
§çoljQpax gailinula,. Jack Snipe, _ P e n n . J i r i t . Zool. vol. i i . p . 6 3 .
„ „ M o n t . O r n i t h . B 'i c t .
The Jwdcock, B e w ic k , Brit. Birds, vol. ii. p. 59.
JiachSnipe, F l e m . Brit. An. p. 106.’
' S e l b y -, B r i t . O r n i t h . v o l . i r i p . , 1 2 5 . ,
,, ,, J enyns, B r i t . V e r t . p . 2©6>!
,»-• » îr 'liv J P o tÛ 'D » .flf Europe*• pt,.xvi.
Bécassine sowt£26«m" T e m m . Man. d’Qrnith. vol. ii. p. 678.
T h o u g h allied to: the Snipes in its haunts and general
habits, the Jack Snipe is still distinguished by various peculiarities.
I t is more decidedly a winter visiter only, the instances
of its remaining through the summer in this country
being very rare. It ,is more s&litary than the Common Snipe,
though sometimes found in pairs, but these seldom get up
together, or go far before they settle again; and although
it feeds, on. bare, boggy ground, yet when not searching for
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