WILSON" SNIPE 85 



eggs, as in the case of all the ground nesting waders, were arranged with the 

 small ends inward 



A Colorado nest is thus described by Kobert B. Rockwell (1912) : 



This nest was located on (and above) the surface of slightly damp ground 

 at the edge of a good-sized area of very soft, boggy land formed by the 

 seepage under the dyke of the Big Barr Lake. It was built in the center of 

 a tussock of grass about S inches in length and was a very neat, well-shaped, 

 and cupped nest composed entirely of fine dry grass. In construction it was 

 far superior to any shore bird's nest I have ever seen, being so compactly 

 and strongly put together that it was possible to remove it from the nesting 

 site without injury. In general appearance the nest itself is not unlike certain 

 sparrows' nests. 



A nest photographed for me by F. Seymour Hersey, near the 

 mouth of the Yukon River, Alaska, was in a very w T et spot on the 

 border of a marsh; it was a deep hollow prettily arched over with 

 dry grasses at the base of a small willow bush. 



The Wilson snipe is often a close sitter and sometimes will not 

 leave the nest until nearly trodden upon. W. J. Brown (1912) 

 tells of a case where he stroked the bird on the back and had to 

 lift her off the nest to photograph the eggs. 



Mr. Sutton (1923) has published a full and very interesting ac- 

 count of the breeding habits of the Wilson snipe in Crawford 

 County, Pennsylvania, where he found several nests in a large, wet 

 swamp among cat-tails and grasses; of the first nest he says: 



The nest was beautifully situated in the center of a clump of dried fern 

 stalks — a clump similar to hundreds of just such little islands near at hand 

 but certainly admirably suited to such a nesting site, for the eggs were almost 

 completely surrounded at the short distance of 4 inches by a paling of dead 

 fern stalks. The eggs were about 9 inches above water at this time, although 

 the water's depth changed constantly with every rainfall, and five days later 

 the outer rim of the nest was only 2 inches above water level. Another was) 

 built upon a bit of decayed, sunken log and was composed entirely of grass 

 stems rather carefully laid together. The eggs were but a few inches above 

 the surface of the water, and although grass stems connected the nesting site 

 with other vegetation the nest was virtually on an island surrounded by 

 water 18 inches deep. 



And of still another he says : 



This nest was the only snipe nest I have seen which had any real protection 

 from above. The nest was so placed under a dead willow branch and some 

 leaning cat-tad stalks that it was really difficult to see it. The grasses com- 

 posing the nest had been placed with care and were somewhat woven about the 

 cat-tail stalks and other grasses standing near. 



Eggs. — Four eggs is the normal number laid by the snipe; rarely 

 five eggs are laid. They are about ovate pyriform in shape and 

 slightly glossy. The ground colors vary from " buckthorn brown " 

 or " Isabella color " in the darkest types to " deep olive buff " or 

 " dark olive buff " in the lighter types, which are much commoner. 

 54267—27 7 



