



SHORE AND MARSH BIRDS. Snipe 



Woodcocks are as nocturnal in their feeding-habits as the 

 Nighthawk itself. They may be frequently seen in April 

 and May, an hour before twilight, peeping out from the 

 margin of woodlands, picking their way in a leisurely man- 

 ner to their feeding-grounds, or you may hear their short 

 song either then or at dawn, and see them make beautiful 

 nights into the air, sweeping in great circles and rising 

 spirally like the Skylark, leaving behind a whistling sound, 

 as if the wind rushed through a sharp-edged reed. At this, 

 the breeding-season, the male does a great deal of strutting 

 and preening, as is the case with many so-called songless 

 birds, who make pose take the place of voice in gaining 

 the attention of the desired mate. 



The young are very attractive little chicks, following their 

 mother as soon as hatched. Early in May of last year I 

 happened to see the last of a brood of three emerge from the 

 egg. The callow little bunch had scarcely become accus- 

 tomed to the light and its down was moist and limp, yet 

 when the mother, on seeing me, gave tlie warning cry, it 

 disappeared from under my very eyes as promptly as if it 

 had studied wood tactics for a lifetime, and nothing re- 

 mained but some bits of shell, mingling with the dead 

 leaves, at the roots of a great tuft of evergreen ferns. 



Wilson's Snipe : Gallinayo delicata. 



English Snipe. 



PLATE XI. FIG. 2. 



Length: 10.50-11.50 inches. 



Male and Female : Straight greenish gray bill 2^ inches long ; eyes 



set far back, as in last species. Above reddish and dark brown ; 



sides of head and neck buff. Dark, plain wings, margined and 



tipped with white; tail bay and black, outer feathers dirty 



white, with brown bars ; feet greenish gray. 

 Note : A peeping cry and several rolling notes. 

 Season : In the migrations, March, April, October, and November. 

 Breeds : Northward from the United States ; also, casually, farther 



south. 



Nest : A hollow in ground or a bog tussock. 



237 



