Shore-bird Shooting 345 



first frosts start them along. They scatter over 

 the South, and we find them broadcast on the 

 rice-fields of the interior and the swamps through- 

 out the Gulf states, or close to the coast, wher- 

 ever their happy-go-lucky flight may chance to 

 land. Northern South America and West Indies 

 see them in winter, and also Mexico and Central 

 America. The migration north begins in April, 

 and the snipe drop into the same little nooks 

 year after year, staying a day or two, then push- 

 ing on. While occasionally this species nests 

 within our boundary, the breeding range is 

 farther north, and the large body pass into the 

 Canadian provinces, selecting the marshes on the 

 mainland and the islands about the Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence, the northern coast through Labrador 

 and the interior to Hudson Bay, and on the west 

 to Alaska. 



A fresh-water marsh is the site generally chosen, 

 and the nest is placed in a tussock of grass, likely 

 near a clump of trees. It is a mere depression, 

 lined with a few dead leaves. June is the incuba- 

 tion month. During the mating season the snipe 

 changes its habit and becomes very active, often 

 being long on the wing. Both sexes mount high 

 in air and perform curious evolutions, twisting 

 and turning about, finally dropping down a hun- 

 dred feet or more, the rushing of their wings 

 causing a peculiar roaring sound. The birds 



