274 



V E R T E B R A T A , 



iiig c«Ttaiiit_v into tho imul, wliorc its prey is liitldeii. It also devours snails, slugs, small beetles, 

 A'c. It iniirnites Lv night in March and A\n-\\, to high northern regions, where it breeds, and re- 

 turns in August. It is one of the most noted of game birds, and great quantities are killed in 

 the eountries where tiiey make a short stay in their migrations. It is eommon throughout 

 Europe; a few breed in (Jreat Uritain. The nest is loosely made of dead leaves in a dry, warm 

 spot among herbage. The female is attentive to lier young, and when surprised will often carry 

 tliem otl' in lur claws, one at a time, to a place of safety. 



The Amkkican Woodcock — S. minor of Bonaparte, Philohela minor of Gray — is but a trifle 

 smaller than the preceding, -which it greatly resembles in form and habits. It, however, does not 

 proceed so far north for incubation. It appears in the Middle and New England States in March 

 and April, and departs for countries south of the United States in October and November. 

 It breeds from Maryland to the St. Lawrence. As in the preceding species, they are able to select 

 their food by scent ; they often feed in the night, and their eyes arc set back in their head so as 

 liardly to be used for the purpose of seeking the objects on which they feed. Their haunts are 

 marshy thickets, where they turn over the fallen leaves and probe the mud, in pursuit of their 

 prev. Whenever surprised in their hiding-places they rise in a hurried manner, but soon drop 

 to the ground, then running along and lurking whenever they consider themselves safe. They 

 arc greatly esteemed as game, and are hunted with pointers or setters, and shot on the wing, 

 They are common in the markets of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia from August to the 

 1st of November. 



The Common Ei-ropean Snipe or EncxLish Snipe — Becassine of the French — S. gallinago, 

 is ten and a half inches long, the beak two and three-quarters; dark-brown spotted above; 



sides and neck pale-brown ; 

 breast and belly white. They 

 breed in fens and marshes, 

 and are migratory, moving 

 to the North in March and 

 to the South in November. 

 Many of them, however, re- 

 main and breed in inter- 

 mediate stations, througli the 

 summer. During incubation 

 the male bird is often heard 

 uttering a piping call to his 

 mate. lie also frequently 

 ascends in a circling flight to 

 an immense elevation, some- : 

 times beyond the reach of ' 

 vision, and then descends \ 

 with great velocity, utter- ; 

 ing, at the same time, a kind ; 

 of plaintive, whistling sound, 

 which is accompanied by a 

 trembling motion of the 

 wmgs. This takes place morning and evening, and sometimes during the day. It is found in all : 

 Northern Europe, Iceland, and Greenland ; in winter it migrates to Egypt and Asia Minor. ( 



^ Other foreign species of Snipe are the Great Snipe, Double Snipe, or Solitary Snipe, S. ma- \ 

 jor; twelve inches long; a fine species; habits like the preceding; found sparingly in various i 

 parts of Europe, from Italy to Sweden ; and the Jack-Snipe, S. r/allinula— Becassine soitrde of 

 the French— eight inches long ; solitary in its habits, and breeds as far north as Sweden, and I 

 visits the South of Europe in the winter. The Gray Snipe, Brown Snipe, or Red-breasted { 

 Snipe— ,S. noveboracensis of De Kay, Macroramphus griscns of Bonaparte, Becassine yrise of the 

 French— is ten to eleven inches long ; upper surface variegated with different shades of chestnut , 



THE COMMON KUROPEAN SNIPE 



