646 THE WILSON SNIPE. 



Iiuff. tiiu'h' ^piittcil and >lrcakcil. or indistincth liarrcd with l)lacki^li: hcllv white, 

 the axiliars, sides and flanks strongly barred, — hhiekisii and wliite ; both tail- 

 coverts and exposed tip of tail strongly ochraceoiis-lnilT. or rufous, linely barred 

 jv'ith black: tail-feathers black basally, some of the lateral ones white or white- 

 tijjped. Length 10.00-12.00 (254-304.8); wing 5.00 (127); tail 2.40 (61): bill 

 2.50 (63.5) : tarsus 1.23 (.^.8). The female averages smaller than the male. 



Recojcnition Marks. — Kobin size; general mottled and streaked appearance; 

 long bill Used as nuid-]H'obe ; marsh-skulking hal)its, and jade, jack notes on 

 rising. 



Nesting. — Nest: on the ground. Bygs: 3 or 4. clay-color, olive, or ashy- 

 brown, s])ottcd and blotched with reddish brown or umber. Av. size, 1.58.x 1. 14 

 (40.1x29). Scasdii: c. June ist; one brood. 



General Range. — Xorth and middle America, breeding from the northern 

 United States northward; south in winter to the \\'est Indies and northern South 

 America. 



Range in Washington. — Si)ring and fall migrant and winter resident in 

 suitable localities thruout the State; lireeds sparingly east of the Cascades. 



Authorities. — [Lewis ancl Clark, llist. Ex. 1 1814) Ed. Biddle: Cones. \'ol. 

 11. p. iSf). I (;. Kiilsoiiii (Temni. ) Hon.. Baird, Re]). Pac. R. R. Surv. IX. 1858, 

 p. 711. T. C&-S. L'. Rh. D'. Sr. Kb. D--. Kk. J. P.. E. 



Specimens. — V. of W. Prov. P'. P. E. 



\V'HKNFA'I'".R the word "sni|)e" is uttered we think most iiaturall)- of 

 this recluse of the inland fens, for he is tlir Snipe of America. Altlio pos- 

 sessing much in coininoii with the luiropean Sni]3e fC. (/alIiiia(/(>) and sc^nie- 

 lliing witlt the Woodcock 1 1 'liilnlwld minor j of the Eastern states, his wa\'s are 

 peculiar eiioiigli to make hini distinctlx' known to every sjiortsnian. He is 

 rather a disreinilable looking fellow, a tatterdemalion in fad. as he bursts out 

 of his liog with an exultant cr\ of "rsciif^r, (•scii/^r." and lluttcrs his rags in the 

 wind. And as he ])ursiies his devious way thru the air, jerking liithct" and 

 thither in most lawless fashion, the gunner coulil easih- belie\-e him an escaped 

 jail-bird if the strijies of his garments onl\- ran the other wn\-. 



The Wilson Snipe is a bird of the open marsh, a fre(|uenter ol the grassy 

 border stretches, or of the boggv margins of the "spring branch." Here he 

 lies pretty closely li\- daw but as dusk comes he bestirs himself and goes pat- 

 tering about in the sh.allow w.ater ny o\er tlie weedy scnm-slrewn muck, 

 thrusting his beak down ra])idly into the ooze and extracting worms or stic- 

 culent roots. If danger ai^iirfiaches b\' dav, the bird's first instinct is to crouch 

 loAV. If the sk\- is clear, it is ilifl'icult to dislodge him, for the light blinds him 

 in the air, and he knows that his ragged blacks and browns exactly match the 

 criss-crossed \'egctation and interlacing shadows of his present siu'roimdings. 

 If, howe\'er. the clav be o\-ei'cast and wind\ , tlie bird springs u]) (|nickd\- against 

 the winil, shouts "Jack. Jack." twice, pursues a bewildering zigzag until out of 



