THE OSPKEY. 



The Sora. (From Audubon.) 



of them killed Reed Birds, English Sparrows 

 and Red-wing's. Yea, one boat even boasted of 

 a number of young Black Terns. 



It was interesting to see the tiny skiffs ply 

 through the tall wild rice. The tide was high, 

 and every part was accessible to the man with 

 the skiff, pole and brawn. Along the shore, and 

 among the nearer reed-beds, waded, struggled 

 and plunged the muddy and bedraggled urchin, 

 the negro, and the poor class of sportsmen who 

 could not afford to rent a boat, but had money 

 to feed their noisy musket with its charge of 

 powder and shot. Bang, bang, bang, all morn- 

 ing went the guns, and the frightened Reed 

 Birds could be seen, passing from one patch of 

 reeds to another, only to be frightened on by 

 the discharge of another fowling piece Now 

 and then a Sora would wing its sluggish flight 

 from some clump of weeds from which it had 

 been frightened, only to fall a victim to a charge 

 of shot. 



By far the greatest number of gunners fre- 

 quented the marsh between the B. & P. R. R. 

 Bridge and Bennings. In fact so many were 

 present here, that it seemed as though naught 

 could escape the mass of shooting humanity. 



Drs. Coues and Prentiss, in the Avifauna 

 Columbiana, describe a day at Rail shooting. It 

 pictures the hunt of the day, as well as it did 

 that of twenty years ago. I cannot do better 

 than to echo it in part, that the vicissitudes .>f 

 our marsh birds, may be known from the mouths 

 of such eminent authorities as these. 



"If any interested reader wishes to get a good 

 days Rail shooting in the District of Columbia, 

 let him make his arrangements to try it upon 

 the 1st of September. On this day the law pro- 

 tecting the birds expires; up to this time they 

 have not been disturbed, and are consequently 

 very abundant upon the open marshes. Wait 

 for one week and it will be as difficult to secure 



one dozen birds, as it is on September 1 to 



bag ten dozen. The boat and pusher must be 



engaged a week or two before the appointed 



time." 



* * * * * * # 



"The boat which is used in Rail shooting is of 

 peculiar construction, and especially adapted to 

 forcing a way through the tangled reeds. In 

 local vernacular it is a 'skiff', and is a ticklish- 

 looking affair for two men to navigate in stand- 

 ing up. And indeed it is a ticklish affair, as 

 the greenhorn will be likely to learn in his first 

 attempt at Rail shooting." * * * 



"In getting into one of these little crafts for 

 the first time the sensation is one of insecurity, 

 and the feeling is well expressed by the phrase 

 in common use, that "you must part your hair 

 in the middle" to avoid an upset. The sports- 

 man gets in first and sits upon the middle seat, 

 with his guns and ammunition in front of him. 

 He should have two guns and not less than 300 

 loaded shells; two guns, to change when one 

 becomes too hot to handle, 

 ■x- # * -x- * * * 



"When the birds have not been much disturbed 

 they will be found feeding all over the marsh; 

 ami as the centres are more easily accessible 

 to the boat these are first gone over, and as 

 many birds secured as possible. This drives 

 them to such shelter as they can find in thick 

 patches of tall reeds and tangled saw-grass and 

 wanquapins usually found along the edges of the 

 river and of the guts. These covers must then 

 be beaten as the tide begin-, to fall. The boat 

 is run along the edges and the reeds beaten 

 willi a pole, by which means many birds are 

 frightened into taking flight and secured. 



So they go. gliding through the marsh, and 

 the birds begin to rise. Now both the pusher 

 and the shooter have all they can attend to. 

 Birds rise in front, to the right, to the left, 



