AMERICAN SNIPE 35 



ago I called attention to a parallel name in Connecticut 

 and elsewhere in New England : "As the bird arrives 

 about the same time as the shad and is found on the 

 meadows along the rivers where the nets are hauled, 

 the fishermen, when drawing their nets at night, often 

 start it from its moist resting places, and hear its sharp 

 cry as it flies away through the darkness. They do 

 not know the cause of the sound, and from the asso- 

 ciation they have dubbed its author the shad spirit." 



In the same way, Krider, in his sporting anecdotes, 

 speaks of the snipe as called shad-birds by many of 

 the fishermen along the Delaware. 



Until the time of Wilson, the American snipe was 

 regarded as identical with the English snipe, and it is, 

 of course, from this similarity of appearance that one 

 of its common names is derived. 



Until within a comparatively short time, the snipe, 

 like many of our wild fowl, has been almost without 

 protection. To be sure, in the Northern States it was 

 not practicable to kill it in winter, but whenever to be 

 found it was fair game for the gunners of all the North- 

 ern States. On the other hand, it has always been 

 famous for the twisting flight, which renders it very 

 difficult for inexperienced gunners to kill; yet at 

 times, when the birds are fat, tame and unsuspicious, 

 this difficulty is greatly reduced, and great numbers 

 may be killed. 



The coloring of the snipe is markedly protective in 

 character. White below, barred on sides with black, 

 with a breast more or less streaked, and upper parts 



