702 REPOKT OF STATE GEOLOGIST. 



they remained with us as late as May 6. Mr. Buthven Deane says 

 more or less of Wilson's Snipe breed at English Lake, every year. Mr. 

 G. Frean Morcom has a set of eggs taken at the Macsauber Club, 25 

 miles farther up the Kankakee River. It has also been reported as 

 breeding in the following other counties: Lake (Meyer and Parker); 

 Miami (Cunningham). They have been observed in midsummer in 

 Wabash County (Wallace). They vary much in numbers and time of 

 appearance in spring. The same thing is noticeable in fall. They are 

 very peculiar in their movements and in the selection of a feeding 

 ground. Some days they lie close, and others rise almost out of range 

 of the gun. They utter, as they arise and fly against the wind, a note 

 commonly called "scape," from its resemblance to that sound, and 

 move away rapidly in a zigzag flight, that is very perplexing to the in- 

 experienced sportsman. 



In the fall, they usually begin to arrive in northern Indiana from 

 the north, early in September, but are not common until later in the 

 month. They remain about the marshes through October and often 

 till late in November. The fall of 1889 was notable for the unusually 

 early appearance of these birds in numbers on their favorite grounds. 

 This was noted by all collectors and sportsmen. 



Mr. Parker observed it in Lake County and Mr. Ruthven Deane 

 wrote me as follows concerning them: "On September 1st they were so- 

 numerous a good shot could have killed forty or fifty birds in many 

 localities in Indiana and Illinois. Of course a number breed every 

 year but something has driven them by thousands from the north, 

 some claiming it is due to very dry weather north of us/' The earliest 

 record I have for southeastern Indiana is Sept. 23, 1884. From that 

 time they are passing through October and November. The latest 

 record at Brookville is November 17, 1894, but elsewhere it has been 

 reported later, and in some localities as stated, winters. "'Morning and 

 evening and throughout cloudy days in the early part of the breed- 

 ing season the male has a curious habit of mounting high overhead, 

 then descending obliquely for some distance, and as it turns upward, 

 strikes rapidly with its wings, producing a loud whistling sound with 

 each stroke. This maneuver is repeated again and again, and appears 

 to be performed for the same purpose as is the 'booming' of the 

 night-hawk. Besides this sound Wilson's Snipe has a peculiar sharp 

 cry during this season, which is uttered when the bird is disturbed. 

 I first became acquainted with this note in May, 1876, when, while 

 walking along a marshy strip of land, I was surprised to hear a loud 

 ka-ka-ka-ka-ka, uttered with great force and in a rather loud, harsh 

 tone. Turning quickly I was still more astonished to find the author 



