86 BULLETIN 142, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



As a rule the eggs are boldly spotted and blotched, chiefly about the 

 larger end; but often they are spotted more or less evenly over the 

 entire surface. The markings are in dark shades of brown, "burnt 

 umber," " bister," or " bone brown." Often there are splashes or 

 scrawls of brownish black, or black, at the larger end. " Snuff 

 brown," " vinaceous drab," or " brownish drab " under spots or 

 blotches often occur. The measurements of 57 eggs average 38.6 

 by 28.1 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 

 42.4 by 29.5, 36.1 by 29.9, and 37.5 by 25.5 millimeters. 



Young. — The period of incubation is from 18 to 20 days, and it 

 is shared by both sexes. Mr. Philipp (1925) says that three birds 

 taken from the nest were all males. The young leave the nest soon 

 after they are hatched, and wander about in the long grass, where 

 their concealing coloration makes them very hard to find. One day, 

 while watching snipe with J. R. Whitaker on a large marsh near 

 the mouth of Sandy River in Newfoundland, I saw a snipe several 

 times go down into the grass at a certain place. Thinking to find 

 a nest there I made a careful search, and finally found one small 

 downy young ; but not another one could I find in a long hunt. This 

 moist meadow full of grassy hummocks is a great breeding place for 

 snipe. Here we frequently saw snipe sitting in trees, bushes, or 

 on telegraph poles, uttering their loud kep kep hep notes of protest. 

 On the girders of a steel bridge that spans the river at this point 

 Mr. Whitaker has seen as many as five snipe perched at one time. 



Mr. Sutton (1923) describes the behavior of an anxious mother 

 as follows: 



The mother's antics so claimed my attention that I did not keep close enough 

 watch of the young, and eventually was unable to find them. I hesitated to 

 tramp about much at the time for fear of stepping upon them. The mother 

 bird grunted and clucked incessantly and fell upon her side uttering weird 

 cries, and beating her wings pitiably. At times she would dart into the air 

 and circle about in great haste, very close to me and alight in the tall grass, 

 whence she would run gracefully away until she was again plainly in view. 

 As she ran about her head was held rather stiffly, and it seemed that moving 

 it from side to side much caused her inconvenience. In fact once or twice 

 a definite impression was given that she was carrying something in her mouth, 

 her head was held at such a strained angle. 



Plumages. — The young snipe in its dark and richly-colored natal 

 down is one of the handsomest of the young waders. The upper 

 parts, including the crown, back, wings, and thighs, are variegated 

 or marbled with velvetty black, " bay," " chestnut," and " amber 

 brown"; the down is mainly black at the base and brown-tipped; 

 the entire upper parts are spotted with small round white spots at 

 the tips of some of the down filaments, producing a beautiful effect 

 of color contrasts and a surprisingly protective coloration. The head 

 is distinctively marked with a white spot on the forehead, a black 



