SCOLOPACID^ — THE SNIPE FAMILY — SYMPHEMIA. 287 



According to Dresser, it was not rare near San Antonio, Texas. He procured exam- 

 ples at the Boca Grande in July and August, and at King's Eanclio, between Mata- 

 moras and Victoria, in September. He saw several in June on Galveston Island, and 

 an example was sent to him from Fort Stockton. 



The Willet is also found in all, or nearly all, the larger West India Islands. It 

 is given by Gundlach as a bird of Cuba. March speaks of it as of irregular occur- 

 rence in Jamaica, where it is known as the " Spanish Plover,'* it being not uncommon 

 there, in some years, during and after the autumnal rains. He never met with this 

 bird in the summer, although he was told that it breeds in Saint Elizabeth. It is 

 referred to by Mr. Gosse, on the authority of 3Ir. Hill, as abundant on the island in 

 winter. In Trinidad, according to Leotaud, it is known as the " White-wing," and it 

 is said to arrive in that island in August, and to leave in October or before. It is 

 always seen in flocks, and these are sometimes of considerable size. It is not known 

 to leave the borders of the sea. The movements and manners of this species are simi- 

 lar to those of the Tofamis flavipes, with which it usually associates. Its flesh is 

 not regarded as generally excellent. A single specimen was shot in Bermuda, July 

 3, 1848. 



On the New England coast this bird occurs sparingly from Long Island to Calais. 

 Me., and along the coast of Nova Scotia at least as far as Halifax. I met with it 

 breeding on the small Island of ^Nluskeget, near Nantucket, Mass. ; and Mr. Board- 

 man informs me that it occurs in the neighborhood of Calais, Me., and that it 

 undoubtedly breeds there, but that it is not very abundant. Dr. Bryant noticed 

 it breeding on the coast of Nova Scotia near Yarmouth ; and I have received its 

 eggs from Mr. Andrew Downes, obtained near Halifax. It is more common on Long 

 Island, on whose shores, according to Mr. Giraud, it arrives about the 1st of May. 

 It is equally common along the coast of New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia at 

 about the same period. On Long Island it is said to be common, rather than abun- 

 dant, and it is also far from being so plentiful as it is at Egg Harbor, where it is 

 known to breed. IMr. Giraud was not aware that it had ever l)een positively ascer- 

 tained to breed on Long Island ; yet as it is known to nest in suitable places along 

 the entire coast from Florida to Halifax, it is hardly probable that this island, with 

 its favoring extent of sea-coast, is an exception. It builds its nest in New Jersey in 

 the latter part of May. in the salt-marshes, among the grass, using for that purpose 

 rushes and coarse herbage. 



In Florida, according to Mr. Moore, the full set of four eggs is laid as early as 

 April 25. He never found their smaller ends placed toward one another. These birds 

 have, as he states, the singular habit of alighting on trees during the breeding-season, 

 evidently for the purpose of viewing their nests and eggs. They perch on dead trees 

 or branches which are near the objects of their solicitude, fifteen or twenty feet from 

 the earth, and continuously pour out their notes of apprehension, many joining in 

 the clamor, so that the noise may be heard a half mile or more. 



If any one approaches the nest of the Willet during the season of incubation, it 

 is said to rise suddenly from the marsh, to fly Avildly around, and to fill the air with 

 its shrill cries, which consist of three notes, repeated with so much force as to be 

 audible for a distance of half a mile ; if not disturbed, however, the breeding-season 

 is passed in silence, without any such manifestations of uneasiness. On Muskeget 

 Lake the parent birds withdrew to a distance, and Avere not seen again, their nest 

 having been discovered and the eggs taken ; and on another occasion, where eight 

 or ten nests were found by me on an island near Cape Charles, Va., the birds were 

 silent, and were only noticed as they withdrew from the nests. 



