SNIPES 157 



motionless, and betrayed only by the large glassy eyes. Fin- 

 ally to remove the tension one approaches and with a whistle 

 up it goes, slightly circling, skimming over the tops of the 

 birches to drop again in a safer spot, or perchance to fall dead 

 or dicing at the report of the gun. 



There have been many arguments pro and con as to whether 

 or not the whistling sound is produced by the wing of the bird 

 or whether it is a vocal sound. I am inclined to the wing theory 

 but am able to prove nothing definite. The birds we get in 

 Maine in late fall are larger, slightly darker birds, which may 

 possibly represent a local northern race. 



Genus GALLINAGO Leach. 



•^230. Gallinago delicata (Ord). Wilson's Snipe; Jack 

 Snipe. 



Plumage : above blackish, the feathers more or less barred, edged and 

 spotted with buffy ; wings fuscous with outer edge of outer primary and tips 

 of greater coverts white ; top of head with paler line down the middle ; neck 

 and breast ochraceous with indistinct blackish streaks ; sides and under tail 

 coverts barred with black ; belly white ; outer tail feathers barred black and 

 white, inner ones black with white tips and rufous subterminal bars. Wing 

 5.00 to 5.40 ; culmen 2.85 ; tarsus 1.40. Tail feathers sixteen in number. 



Geog. Dist. — North America, breeding from Central Maine and southern 

 Minnesota to Hudson Bay; in winter from Illinois and South Carolina to 

 the West Indies and South America, also locally wintering in scant numbers 

 on Cape Cod. 



County Records. — Androscoggin; common migrant, (Johnson). Cumber- 

 land; rare near Bridgton, (Mead); common, (Brock). Franklin; common 

 migrant, (Richards). Hancock; migrant and quite common in the marshes 

 along the coast, especially in fall, also local breeding bird of inland meadows, 

 (Knight). Kennebec; common, (Gardiner Branch). Knox; migrant, (Rack- 

 liff ). Oxford ; breeds rarely, found a nest near Cold River in June, 1881, 

 (Nash). Penobscot; locally quite common in migration, especially fall, also 

 local through summer on certain meadows and interval lands, (Knight). 

 Piscataquis; common migrant, (Homer). Sagadahoc; rare in spring, com- 

 mon in fall, (Spinney). Somerset; common migrant, rare summer resident, 

 (Morrell). Waldo; locally common migrant, local and rare summer resi- 

 dent, (Knight). Washington; plenty, some breed, (Boardman). 



