372 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



sand bars, at low water, in search of food ; while so engaged, 

 they can be approached more easily in a boat than on the 

 shore, and as they often settle very near each other, great num- 

 bers are shot down. Their breeding places must extend from 

 the northern shore of Lake Superior to the coast of the Arctic 

 Sea, but their nest and eggs have not yet been described. In 

 July, they return with their families, and are considered a great 

 luxury for the table. They find abundance of food, by insert- 

 ing their bills in the ground and drawing out the larvae of wa- 

 ter insects, which are hidden below. They also make use of 

 some plants and seeds ; and, like many other birds, swallow 

 gravel to aid in disposing of their food. 



The American Snipe, Scolopax Wilsonii, was first shown 

 by Wilson to be different from that of Europe, and is therefore 

 honored with his celebrated name. It is well known to sports- 

 men, who take advantage of its local attachment, and by ascer- 

 taining its favorite resorts, are able to shoot large numbers. 

 They arrive early in the spring, from their winter quarters in 

 the south, and are found on meadows and low grounds, when, 

 at evening and early in the morning, their peculiar murmur, 

 which cannot be described by words, is heard proceeding from 

 these birds, soaring high in the air. It does not seem to be 

 owing to the beating of the wings, as one might suppose from 

 the sound ; it is, no doubt, a call of love, since after the time 

 of incubation ceases, it is heard no more for the season. This 

 bird breeds in soft marshes, where man cannot easily disturb 

 it, laying its eggs in a hollow, loosely lined with grass. They 

 are four in number, of a yellow olive, speckled with light and 

 dark brown. The young leave the nest as soon as hatched. 

 Their bill is, for some time, soft and easily bent ; meantime 

 they feed on small insects, such as lie on the surface of the 

 wet soil ; as they grow older, they learn, like their parents, to 

 strike the bill firmly into the ground. When one of them 

 alights, it listens to see that all is safe, then strikes its bill into 

 the ground several times, in quick succession, till it is satisfied, 

 when it lies close till the evening. Their security and de- 



