THE BIRDS 223 



nests of grass and weeds on the ground in marshy placss. 

 The rails are more abundant, though rarely seen on ac- 

 count of their habit of skulking through the swamp 

 grasses. Only rarely do they take to the wing, and then 

 fly but a short distance, with their legs dangling awk- 

 wardly. Closely related to them are the coots or mud-hens 

 (Fulica americana), which may be distinguished, however, 

 by their slaty color, white bills, and lobed webs on the toes, 

 and consequent ability to swim. All over the United 

 States they may be seen resting on the shores of lakes or 

 quiet streams, or swimming on the surface gathering food. 

 The nest consists of a mass of floating reeds, which the 

 young abandon almost as soon as hatched. 



209. The snipes, sandpipers, and plovers (Limicolse). The 

 snipes, sandpipers, and plovers are usually small birds, 

 widely scattered throughout the country wherever there 

 are sandy shores and marshes. In most species the legs 

 are long, and in connection with the slender, sensitive bill 

 fit the bird for picking up small animals in shallow water 

 or probing for them deep in the mud. During the greater 

 part of the year they travel in flocks, but at the nesting- 

 season disperse in pairs and build their nests in shal- 

 low depressions in the earth. The eggs are usually 

 streaked and spotted, in harmony with their surroundings, 

 as are the young, which leave the nest almost as soon as 

 hatched. 



Fully fifty species of these shore-birds live within the 

 confines of the United States. Among these the woodcock 

 (PMlohela minor) and snipe ( Gallinago delicata) are abun- 

 dant in many places inland, where they probe the moist soil 

 for food, and in turn are eagerly sought by the sportsman. 

 Even more familiar are the sandpipers and plovers, which 

 are especially common along the seacoast, and are also 

 abundantly represented by several species far inshore. 

 Among the latter are the well-known spotted sandpiper or 

 " tip-up " (Actitis macularia) and the killdeer plover 



