390 



GAME OF THE UNITED STATES. 



rare trophy by sportsmen; the Virginia rail 

 (Ballus Virginianus, Linn.), found in abun- 

 dance in both salt and fresh water meadows, 

 known as the " long-billed rail," " corn crake," 

 and " red rail " ; the Carolina rail (Porzana Car- 

 olina, Cassin.), the most common variety of all 

 the EallidcK, called the "sora" and "ortolan"; 

 the Florida gallinule (Gallinula galeata, Bon.), 

 which occasionally occurs north to Massachu- 

 setts, and is called the "king rail"; coot (Fu- 

 lica Americana, Gmelin), "crow ducks," most 

 common in Western marshes. There are two 

 other varieties the yellow or little rail, and 

 the black rail but these are rare. 



Another bird met with by the rail shooter, 

 and held in high esteem in September as a bonne 

 louche, is the reed-bird (Dolichonyx orizyvorus, 

 Swainson) the " bobolink " of the North and 

 " rice bird " of the South. This bird is only 

 killed for its edible qualities. 



Snipe. There is an immense variety of dif- 

 ferent species of shore birds scattered over the 

 United States, which are commonly known as 

 " bay snipe," and all of them are migratory. 

 Those classed as waders, which can be de- 

 coyed by the sportsman, are : the long-billed 

 curlew (Numeniw longirostris, Wilson), known 

 as the " sickle bill " and " Spanish curlew " ; 

 the Hudsonian curlew (Numenius Hudsonicus, 

 Lath.), commonly called the " jack curlew " ; 

 the Esquimau curlew (Numenius lorealis, 

 Lath.), called the "fute" and "doe bird." 

 This bird is an associate of the golden plover, 

 and in some localities affects high table-lands. 

 The great marbled god wit (Limosafedoa, Ord.), 

 called the " brown marlin " ; the Hudsonian 

 god wit (Limosa Hudsonica, Swainson), known 

 as the "ring-tailed marlin" ; the willet (Tota- 

 nus semipalmatus, Temm.), a species very abun- 

 dant on the Atlantic coast ; the tell-tale snipe 

 (Totanus melanoleucus, Vieill.), locally called 

 the "yelper," "big yellow legs," "large cucu," 

 "tattler," and " stone snipe "; the little yel- 

 low legs snipe ( Totanus flampes, Vieill.) ; the 

 red-breasted snipe (Macrorhamphus griseus, 

 Leach), known as the " brown back," " gray 

 back," " dowitcher," and " driver " a very 

 gentle bird, and easily decoyed; the red- 

 breasted sandpiper (Tringa canutus, Linn.), 

 known as the "robin-snipe," "red breast," 

 "jcnot," "gray back," and "ash-colored sand- 

 piper " ; the red-backed sandpiper (Tringa Al- 

 pina, var. Americana), locally called the "black 

 breast," "winter snipe," and "red back" 

 known on the coast from Maine to Florida; 

 the long-legged sandpiper (Micropalama hi- 

 mantopus), known as the "stilt," "bastard 

 do witch," "bastard yellow leg," "wood snipe," 

 "blind snipe," "drum stick," "peep," and 

 "frost snipe"; the turnstone (Strepsilas in- 

 terpres, Illiger), known as the " brant bird," 

 " calico bird," " chicaric," " chickering," and 

 " sand runner." Besides the species enumer- 

 ated are the avocet, stilt, oyster catcher, pha- 

 laropes, and a large variety of sandpipers the 

 latter known as " sand snipe " and "ox eyes," 



which are either too scarce or too small to 

 occupy the attention of the sportsman. 



Another bird belonging to the wading family 

 is the Bartramian sandpiper (Actituru* Bar- 

 tramius). It is known all over the United 

 States as either the "grass plover," "upland 

 plover," " field plover," "gray plover" or "hu- 

 mility." Unlike its brethren, it does not come 

 to decoys. It is a very shy bird, and resorts to 

 high, dry plains. Its favorite food is the grass- 

 hopper, and, when it is fat, no bird in Ameri- 

 ca, not even the canvas-back duck, can com- 

 pare with it for delicious delicacy of flavor. 

 Sportsmen either shoot these birds out of wag- 

 ons, or stalk them. 



The last bird on the list is the pectoral sand- 

 piper (Tringa maculata), commonly called the 

 "krieker," "meadow snipe," "fat bird," 

 " short neck," "jack snipe," " marsh plover," 

 "grass snipe," "robin snipe," and "red back." 

 In autumn these birds become very fat, and 

 are then highly prized on the table. They 

 can seldom be enticed by either call or de- 

 coys. 



Squirrels. There are four varieties of squir- 

 rels that may be regarded as game : The gray or 

 black squirrel (Sciurus Carolinensix, Gmefin), 

 which is found through the wooded portion of 

 the United States east of the Missouri river; 

 the Southern fox squirrel (Sciurus tulpinw, 

 Gmelin), an inhabitant of the Southern States 

 from North Carolina to Texas; the cat squirrel 

 (Sciurus cinereus, Linn.), found in New Jersey 

 and Virginia, and west to the Alleghanies ; the 

 Western fox-squirrel (Sciurus Ludomcianus, 

 Custis), which occurs in the Mississippi valley. 

 Squirrels are either shot by still-hunting or 

 treed by cur dogs, and then killed on the limbs. 

 When fire-arms are not at hand, the cruel prac- 

 tice of smoking them out of their hiding-places 

 in hollow trees is often resorted to. 



The opossum and raccoon are pursued for 

 sport, and eaten, but they are not true game. 



Tnrkey. The wild turkey (Meleagris gallo- 

 pavo, Linn.) is distinctively American, and is 

 beyond question the most noble game bird of 

 this country. The range of the turkey is con- 

 fined now to the Southern and Western por- 

 tions of the United States. It is the most de- 

 licious as it is the largest of all our gallinaceous 

 game. At all times the turkey is a wary bird, 

 and difficult to approach. They are shot either 

 on their roosts, tracked on the snow and si- 

 lently stalked, or, the flock being scattered by 

 a dog, the hunter, by means of a " call," with 

 which he imitates the cry of the birds, entices 

 them within shot. All these various methods 

 require considerable patience and skill to ac- 

 complish successfully. In Kentucky the wild 

 turkey is being interbred with tame ones for 

 marketable purposes. 



Woodcock. The American woodcock (Philo 

 hela minor, Gray) is perhaps the most highly 

 prized of all game birds. It is more or less 

 abundant in all the States east of the Mississippi 

 river. In different sections it is known by 



