BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 81 



with a pale buff' middle stripe, and a streak of same color extends from base of 

 maxilla back over each eye ; chin and upper throat yellowish-white ; neck and breast 

 spotted and streaked with black, dusky, and different shades of brown ; belly and 

 outer web of first primary, white ; back and upper parts generally blackish varied 

 with different shades of brown and whitish ; the pale yellowish edges of scapulars 

 form two long stripes on back, separated by a broader streak of black or blackish ; 

 axillars and lining of wings barred with black and white ; sides whitish with trans- 

 verse dusky bars ; tail feathers chiefly black, with a transverse and broad band of 

 bright reddish-brown, succeeded by a narrow black band, and the ends almost 

 white ; primaries mostly dark brown on upper surface and paler below. 



Habitat. North and middle America, breeding from the northern United States 

 northward ; south in winter to the West Indies and northern South America. 



This bird, usually, though improperly, called " English Snipe," ar- 

 rives in Pennsylvania about the last week in March, and is common 

 until about the middle of May, after which the species is seldom seen 

 until the fall migration occurs. Wilson's Snipe is not found in woods 

 or dense thickets, but at times, when sojourning here, is seen about open 

 places in wet meadows, swamps, and on the muddy banks of streams 

 and ponds, and in the early spring he shows a special preference for 

 spring-heads, about which, at this time, the tender blades of grasses 

 grow in abundance. These birds are found singly, or in small flocks of 

 three, five, a dozen or twenty each. According to my experience these 

 flocks, or " wisps" as they are often called, are much more frequently 

 met with in spring than at other times, in nearly every section of the 

 state, except in the vicinity of Erie city, where I have several times in 

 the late fall observed " wisps " of a dozen or more. They return here 

 from the northern breeding grounds in September, and individuals are 

 often seen as late as the middle of November, occasionally during "warm 

 spells " in December and January stragglers have been captured in the 

 counties of Chester and Delaware. Their sharp cry of scape, scape, is 

 uttered soon after they arise from the ground, and as they fly rapidly 

 off in a zigzag manner, which leads many sportsmen to consider them 

 as one of the most difficult birds to shoot. Wilson's Snipe is also found 

 in this state as a rare and occasional breeder. Mr. George B. Sennett 

 informs me it was found breeding, about ten years ago, in Crawford 

 county ; Mr. Samuel Thompson, of Erie city, reports having discovered 

 a nest and four eggs in June, 1889, in a swamp near the Erie county 

 poor-house. In Bradford county Mr. J. L. Camp, of Herrick, also Mr. 

 J. M. Ketcham, of Minnequa, have observed it as a rare summer resi- 

 dent. Dr. H. A. Tingley, of Susquehanna, says it has been known to 

 breed in his locality, and Dr. G. A. Scroggs, of Beaver, tells me it has 

 been taken in June and July in Beaver county. Individuals of this 

 species have been shot in summer near West Chester, also in Delaware 

 county, but on examining them I found that, although able to fly a 

 short distance, they were so crippled from wounds received during the 

 spring shooting season that they were unable to perform any extended 

 6 BIRDS. 



