Volume 34, Plate XII / Ornithology (Birds)

Jack Snipe

Scolopax gallinula

Generally dispersed over the British Islands as a winter visitant, the Jack Snipe is smaller and less numerous than the common species but exceeds all in beauty when its glossy green and purple back contrasts with clear ochreous-yellow in spring. A solitary, far from shy bird that lies squatted close to the ground, it bears pale ochreous-yellow head stripes and a black back undulated with chestnut-red, its nest never traced in Britain.