THE PIGEONS, GROUSE, AND SHORE-BIRDS. 233 



frequent uplands in search of bramble-berries, upon which 

 they get very fat. 



The Hudsonian and Eskimo Curlews are migrants only, 

 breeding in high latitudes and mostly passing beyond our 

 southern boundaries in winter. Their food habits are quite 

 similar to those of the sickle-bill. All eat more or less seeds 

 and berries, differing in this respect from the majority of 

 sand-pipers. All are excellent for food. 



There is quite a list of small sand-pipers which are very sim- 

 ilar to each other in economic value. Their diet consists chiefly 

 of aquatic insects, worms, and small mollusks. Their open 

 habits do not commend them to sportsmen and they are too 

 small to be of much consequence as food. The pot-hunter, 

 however, destroys numbers of them each season along the 

 beaches, preferring thus to earn a few pennies by a slaughter 

 of the innocents and to gratify a lust for murder rather than 

 to turn his hand to honorable labor 



THE PHALAROPES. 



The phalaropes are a family of small sand-piper-like birds, 

 having lobed toes and thick under feathers which enable them 

 to swim. They are usually seen floating lightly about upon 

 the water, catching flies in the air or gathering larvae from the 

 water ; on shore they take worms and various aquatic forms 

 found there. The best-known representative of the family is 

 Wilson's Phalarope, which is abundant in the Mississippi 

 Valley and westward, though rarely occurring east of Illinois. 



Two other species, the Red and Northern Phalaropes, 

 appear in limited numbers during migration, but they are of 

 comparatively little importance. 



THE RAILS. 



The rails are narrow-bodied birds of medium size which live 

 in reedy marshes. They are much sought by sportsmen and 

 are considered very good birds for the table. They are very 



