siMtrrMi) sA\i)i'iri:u. ;103 



lias |)i*(>ln'(l for L': lit li won lis with his lonir, sensitive l)ill 

 the upper iii:iii<lil»le of wliicli, us Mr. (lordoii Truiiibull 

 lias discovered, the bird can use as a liiiirer. 



The Woodcock's nest is made of dried leaves, and the 

 four large, pear-shaped eggs are buff, spotted with shades 

 of reddish brown. The young are born covered with 

 rich chestnut and bulf down, and can run as soon as 

 dry. 



As a songster the Woodcock is unique among our 

 sunnner birds. Ordinarily sedate and dignified, even 

 pompous in his demeanor, in the spring he falls a victim 

 to the passion which is accountable for so many strange 

 customs in the bird world. 



If some April evening you visit the Woodcock's 

 haunts at sunset, you may hear a loud, nasal note repeated 

 at short intervals— /?t't';2^, jy^ent. It resembles the call of 

 a Nighthawk, but is the AVoodcock sounding the first 

 notes of his love song. lie is on the ground, and as you 

 listen, the call ceases and the bird springs from the ground 

 to mount skyward on whistling wings. He may rise 

 three hundred feet, then, after a second's pause, one hears 

 a twittering whistle and the bird shoots down steep 

 inclines earthward, [^idess disturbed, he will probably 

 return to near the spot from which he started and at 

 once resume his jhenttng. This, with the twittering 

 note, is vocal ; the whistling sound, heard as the bird rises, 

 is produced by the rapid passage of air through its stif- 

 fened primaries. 



Our only other common sunnner resident Snipe is the 



Spotted Sandpiper. It frecjuents the shores of lakes, 



Spotted Sandpiper, P^"<^'^i '^iid rivers, and is also found 



Artitis m,ui>inrin. ucar the soa, but wherever seen may be 



I'late XI. known by its singular tipping, teter- 



ing motion, which has given it the names of Tip-up and 



Teter Snipe. It is also called Peet-weet, from its sharp 



