SNIPE AND SANDPIPERS: Family Scolopacidae [ 145 ] 



more grayish than in winter adults and feathers of back edged with buffy. Length: 

 9, wing, 5.80-6.10, bill .85-1.00, tarsus i.oo-i.io." (Bailey) Nest: A shallow de- 

 pression in the dead grass, little or no lining. Eggs: 4, olive to buffy olive, marked 

 with various shades of olive gray and yellowish olive, with scattered spots and 

 streaks of brownish black. 



DISTRIBUTION. General: Breeds from Bering Straits south to Sitka. Winters on 

 coast south to Lower California. In Oregon: Common migrant and winter resident. 

 Arrives in August and remains until late April. Casual straggler away from coast. 



THE BLACK TURNSTONE is another species to which little attention has 

 been paid by previous workers. Woodcock (1902.) reported it from 

 Yaquina Bay on Bretherton's authority, but no one else has written 

 anything regarding it. We have found it to be a common and at times 

 abundant migrant and winter resident (earliest date, July zo, Lincoln 

 County; latest, May 2., Tillamook County). It usually reaches its greatest 

 numbers in September but is common through the winter on the rocky 

 reefs and headlands. There the birds feed on the rocks exposed by ebb 

 tide, being exceedingly expert at taking wing at the last possible moment 

 before being sent tumbling by the breaking surf. When startled, they 

 spring from the rocks, dive toward the water, and quickly gather into 

 a compact flock, wheeling and circling low over the water before again 

 alighting on the exposed rocks. We have specimens from scattered locali- 

 ties on the coast from Clatsop to Curry County, and they may be looked 

 for in rocky places anywhere along the shore. We consider it the most 

 common wintering shore bird in the State, with the single exception of 

 the Killdeer. 



The only inland record is of a bird killed at Wapato Lake, Washington 

 County, November n, 1913, by George Russell and now in Jewett's 

 collection. 



Snipe and Sandpipers: Family Scolopacidae 



Wilson's Snipe; Jacksnipe: 



Cap el I a de lie at a (Ord) 



DESCRIPTION. "Bill long and slender, mandibles grooved, roughened, and widened 

 toward end; tip of upper overreaching the lower mandible; nostril small and at edge 

 of feathers. Crown buff, with side stripes of black; back mainly black with 

 stripes falling into two middle lines of buff and two outer lines of whitish; neck 

 and breast spotted and streaked with buff, brown, and dusky; sides barred with 

 black and white; belly white." (Bailey) Downy young: "The young snipe in its 

 dark and richly-colored natal down is one of the handsomest of the young waders. 

 The upper parts, including the crown, back, wings, and thighs, are variegated or 

 marbled with velvety black, 'bay,' 'chestnut,' and 'amber brown'; the down is 

 mainly black at the base and brown-tipped; the entire upper parts are spotted with 

 small round white spots at the tips of some of the down filaments, producing a beau- 

 tiful effect of color contrasts and a surprisingly protective coloration. The head is 



