No. 58.] BIRD NAMES. 201 



" Horse-foot Marlin " of the Somers Point gunners (same county) 

 is the Marbled God wit, No. 60. 



At Eastville, Ya., STRIPED -HEAD, in which vicinity the spe- 

 cies is exceedingly numerous during its vernal migration ; ar- 

 riving from the South at the beginning of May, and congre- 

 gating in enormous flocks in and about the broad marshes. I 

 originally intended to print the number locally reported as 

 killed on New Marsh, between Cobb's Island and the mainland, 

 by one discharge of a gun held by Nathan Cobb (familiarly 

 known as " Big Nathan "), but my best friends strongly advise 

 me not to do so. "While on my w^ay through these marshes in 

 the spring of 1885 — frightening into the air clouds of these big 

 birds, more in a minute than I had seen before in my whole life — 

 it impressed me oddly to hear my old boatman complaining over 

 a yearly decrease. I forced him to confess, however, at one point 

 where the birds were particularly crowded, that " a right-smart 

 of curlews " was still left. 



For the name "Doe-bird" with which this species has been 

 credited, see note (f) under No. 59. 



