346 The Water-fowl Family 



are often seen perching on trees and bushes in 

 the vicinity of their nest. The young are cov- 

 ered with whitish down, and run soon after they 

 are hatched, hiding quickly at the approach of 

 danger. At first feeding on little larvae, worms, 

 and grubs, on the surface, they soon learn the art 

 of boring. The little family remain together 

 through the summer months, and early in Sep- 

 tember congregate in flocks. When startled they 

 do not often take flight all at once, like the other 

 Limicolae, but in small bunches. With the gener- 

 ous distribution of the Wilson's snipe, and breed- 

 ing-grounds secure in the bogs and morasses of 

 the North, it would seem as if this bird might be 

 spared for his friends ; but the inevitable threatens 

 him, and now along our eastern coast the old- 

 time haunts are poorly patronized. 



GREAT SNIPE 

 (Gattinago major) 



Male and female in breeding plumage Upper parts, black, mottled 

 and barred with sandy buff; scapulars, bordered with whitish ; 

 rump and upper tail-coverts, sandy buff, barred with dusky; 

 tail-coverts, tipped with whitish ; wing-coverts, bordered with 

 whitish, and inner, with black subterminal bar ; primaries and 

 secondaries, dark brown, the latter tipped with white; tail, 

 rufous, barred with black and tipped with white, the white tips 

 increasing until the four outer tail feathers are chiefly white ; 

 centre of crown, superciliary line, and sides of face, whitish ; 

 rest of crown, line from bill to eye, spot on ear-coverts and on 

 the feathers of face, black ; hind neck and sides of neck, sandy 

 buff, streaked with dusky ; chin, breast, and abdomen, white ; 



