354 GAME BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA 



The Snipe's manner of feeding has been described by Galloway 

 (1895, p. 86) essentially as follows: On April 18, 1894, a bird was 

 located at the edge of a pond near Montgomery, Ohio. For a time 

 the bird stood motionless, but before long it relaxed and began dabbing 

 in the mud and water with its long bill. It posed in all sorts of posi- 

 tions, at times standing knee-deep in water and fishing up prey from 

 beneath the surface, again facing the observer with its bill straight 

 down or turned rakishly to one side, an attitude which gave it an 

 air of shrewdness. Presently the bird flew across the pond and 

 alighted among some low clumps of sedge, where it stood at full height 

 in a recess in the bank, eyeing the observer suspiciously. It then 

 climbed up on a clod, stuck its bill over its back and down inside the 

 wing, and went to sleep for two minutes. Awakening, it dressed the 

 feathers of the breast with the bill, and again relapsed into repose. 

 Returning to the water's edge, and seemingly impressed with some- 

 thing, the bird stood with loosened wings, oscillated for a moment, 

 bent the legs so as to bring its body close to the ground, and walked 

 very carefully, bowing at every step as though wishing to tread lightly 

 and avoid being seen, till suddenly the head was thrust forward and 

 the bird began pulling an angleworm out from a hole. It would pull 

 and pull until the limit of its height was reached, then take a fresh 

 hold and pull again. The worm must have gone back into its hole 

 each time, else it is inconceivable how so much continuous pulling 

 could have been exerted on one ordinary worm. 



In their habits Snipe seem to be affected by climatic conditions 

 more than other species of shore birds. On warm sunny days when 

 little or no breeze is stirring the birds will remain quiet and can be 

 flushed only with difficulty. But cold windy, cloudy, or rainy days 

 seem to excite them, for they then flush wildly, at long range, and 

 zig-zag away at a rapid rate. On such days the hunter is apt to start 

 more birds, but they are much more difficult to shoot. The usual 

 practice is to hunt against the wind, as the birds when flushed usually 

 labor against the breeze or fly across it, in either case giving the hunter 

 a better chance than if he Avere pursuing the birds down-wind. Occa- 

 sionally they start off down the wind, and then are so quickly out of 

 range as to prevent an effective shot. When flushed on cloudy or rainy 

 days the birds may move out of the region to a distant meadow or 

 marsh too far to be pursued, or they may circle about and return to 

 cover within a few feet of the place from which they were flushed. 

 They also sliow marked irregularities in behavior as regards flushing. 

 Sometimes the rasping alarm note of the first bird put up will raise 

 the whole population in the vicinity, while at other times the birds will 

 flush one at a time. When they drop into the protecting grass it is 

 usually to remain in the same spot for a considerable time, so that 



