BIRDS HUNTED FOR FOOD OR SPORT. 259 



south to shoot it in July and August. But winter shooting 

 will follow it there. Absolute protection in the north, or the 

 abolition of all summer shooting for a series of years, is the 

 only possible chance for its salvation. 



The Dowitcher is a bird of the inner beach and still waters, 

 the tidal flat and the salt marsh; it frequents margins of fresh- 

 water ponds near the coast when the water is low, and fresh 

 marshes, where the mud flats are bare. It formerly flew, 

 and sometimes alighted, in immense compact flocks, thereby 

 exposing itself needlessly to the deadly discharge of the scatter- 

 gun. These flocks when startled often rose high in air and 

 circled about rapidly, with loud whistled cries, performing 

 startling aerial evolutions with the precision of drilled sol- 

 diery. This species sometimes mingles with flocks of Summer 

 Yellow-legs, whose notes slightly resemble its own, but it 

 readily may be distinguished by the shorter legs, longer bill 

 and the less amount of white on the rump and upper tail 

 coverts. It is fond of sea- worms and other forms of marine 

 life, for which it probes with its long bill. 



LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER (Macrorhamphus griseus scolopaceus) . 



Length. — 10.75 to 12.05 inches; bill 2.20 to 3.25. 



Adult in Spring. — Very similar to the Dowitcher, but slightly larger; bill 

 longer; more rufous below, and sides more heavily barred. 



Adult in Fall, and Young. — Indistinguishable from the Dowitcher, "except 

 those surpassing the maximum size of the latter." 



Notes. — A lisping, energetic, musical peet-peet; pee-ter-wee-too, wee-too, re- 

 peated (Nelson). 



Range. — Western North America and South America. Breeds from Arctic 

 coast to Yukon mouth and east to northwestern Mackenzie; winters 

 from Louisiana, Florida and Mexico south, probably to South America; 

 in migration most abundant in western Mississippi valley; casual on 

 Atlantic coast from Massachusetts southward and on northern coast 

 of eastern Siberia. 



History. 



The Long-billed Dowitcher is supposed to be a western 

 sub-species. It occurs regularly in New York, but is rated 

 as a mere straggler in Massachusetts; in fact, we know very 

 little about it here, as it requires an expert to distinguish it. 



