brighter brown of the upper parts and the distinct- 

 ness and size of the black spots on the clear white 

 of the underparts, including the sides. 



BIRDS OF DISTINCTIVE OUTLINE 

 OR FORM. 



228. American Woodcock — Philohela minor. 



Length 11 inches. 



Very long, straight bill ; very short tail ; a buffy 

 or brownish bird. Upperparts mottled black, 

 slaty and buffy; back of head black, crossed by two 

 or three narrow buffy bars; a blackish line down 

 the center of the light forehead; a black line from 

 eve to bill. Underparts rich buff. 



This snipe, unlike its near relatives, is a bird of 

 the alder thickets and other bushy places, where 

 the ground is low and wet. Here it probes in the 

 mud for worms with its long bill. It is seldom 

 seen until it rises on its whistling wings, often 

 almost at your feet; then it appears as a brown 

 bird about the size of a robin, which darts up- 

 ward above the bushes, then straight off over their 

 tops. 



261. Upland Plover — Bartramta longicauda. 



Larger than robin. Length w 1 /* inches. 



A long-winged, long-legged bird of the open 

 fields. Belly white or whitish, breast and sides 

 buffy, barred with black, back and wing-coverts 

 buffy, barred with black; main wing-feathers 

 blackish, outer one barred with white; head and 

 neck finely streaked with black and buffy. 



Has striking call-notes, one a long drawn weird 

 whistle, one a frog-like bubbling call. In the nest- 

 ing season it often soars at a great height and there 

 utters its far-reaching whistle. Like some of its 

 relatives, it has the habit of holding its long wings 

 extended over its back for awhile after alighting. 



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