SiV/PES. 



371 



" ruff" of feathers is retained by the males only during the short breeding 

 season, being in the greatest perfection about the beginning of June ; from July 

 till August or September it gradually falls off, after which time the plumage of 

 the male differs in no respect from that of his modestly-attired mate, who, in 

 popular language, is generally called a "reeve." It is during the night that 

 these birds obtain their food, which consists of worms, insects, and grubs. 

 Their nest is formed of coarse grass, placed in a hollow of the ground. The 

 eggs are generally four in number. 



Sub-Family V. 



THE SNIPES PROPER. SCOLOPACIN/E. 



General Characteristics. — Bill long, straight, rather slender, compressed on the 

 sides, and rather depressed and turned down near the tip, which is obtuse and bent 

 over that of the lower mandible ; the nostrils placed in a narrow longitudinal groove, 

 with the opening linear and covered by a membrane ; the wings moderate and 

 pointed ; the tail short and rounded ; the tarsi more or less long, and covered in 

 front with narrow transverse scales; the toes long, rather slender, with the hind toe 

 short, elevated, and reaching to the ground. 



These birds frequent swampy woods, marshes, morasses, and 

 the borders of rivers. Their usual time for seeking their food is 

 early in the morning and during the twilight of the evening. 

 They subsist principally upon insects and worms ; for these they 

 search among the decayed leaves, and probe the mud and ooze 

 with their lengthened bills. When alarmed, they generally lie 

 close to the ground, or among the grass, or, suddenly starting on 

 the wing, escape by fliglit, which is short but elevated, rapid, and 

 irregular. The eggs, which are four in number, are deposited on 

 the ground. In the Snipe, and all its immediate allies, the bill is 

 thickened, soft, and very tender at its extremity ; so that this part, 

 which is richly supplied with nerves, serves as a delicate organ of 

 touch, and is used for searching in the soft ground for the insects 

 and worms that constitute the food of these birds. They arc 

 migratory in their habits, and generally breed in high northern 

 latitudes'; nevertheless, the common snipe is truly indigenous in 

 this country, in all parts of which it is known to rear its young, 

 but more especially towards the north. 



The Common Snipe {Scolopax gallinagd) is a small bird, weighing about 

 four ounces. The bill is nearly three inches long, rather flat, and very smooth 

 at the tip in the living bird, but after death it soon beconies shrunk and corru- 

 gated. This snipe frequents marshy places and wet meadows, and in frosty 

 weather the edges of rushy hills, where it is almost constantly probing and 



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