118 With Rod and Gun in New England 



"Usually, by the fifteenth or twentieth of August, it returns from the 

 north, sometimes in flocks of considerable size, and it remains sometimes 

 until late in October, and it has been shot in New Jersey in November. It 

 is not as sociable as are many of the other shore birds. I have not found 

 it as easy to decoy as many of the other waders, although it is indifferent 

 to the approach of the sportsman. I have had excellent sport on large 

 marshes in walking them up like common snipe. They move about in 

 loose flocks and when startled do not, as a rule, fly together, but scatter in 

 different directions. The pectoral sandpiper feeds on various aquatic 

 insects, worms and crustaceans, and is a favorite with epicures." 



"Yes," said the Judge," a fat, juicy jack snipe is a well-flavored bird, 

 indeed." 



" It has one curious habit," added the Doctor, "that is unique. An 

 ornithologist (Nelson) says that in the pairing season this sandpiper 

 inflates his throat until it becomes as large as his body, uttering at the same 

 time a note that is 'hollow and resonant, but at the same time, liquid and 

 musical.' He also says that the skin of the throat and breast becomes 

 very flabby and loose at this season, and when not inflated it hangs down 

 in a ' pendulous flap or fold, exactly like a dewlap, about an inch and a 

 half wide.' At times the male rises twenty or thirty yards in the air, and 

 inflating his throat, glides down to the ground, with his sack hanging below. 

 Again he crosses, back and forth, in front of the female, puffing his breast 

 out and bowing from side to side, running here and there as if intoxicated 

 with passion." 



"That is very curious," said the Judge ; " I have seen the woodcock 

 perform somewhat similarly and have more than once seen the male strut 

 like a cock turkey." 



" Speaking of sandpipers," he continued, " we used to get a great 

 many of the least sandpiper, commonly called the ' peep.' Although 

 they are small in size they are a bonne bouche not to be despised. Of 

 course they hardly pay for the ammunition used on them unless one has a 

 shot into a large flock. It seems almost incredible, but I once brought 

 down ninety-seven of them with one discharge of my double-barrelled gun ; 

 that was in old times. I doubt if such flocks are seen now." 



" No," added the Doctor, " the little ' peep ' is far from being as numer- 

 ous as it formerly was, but it is still quite abundant. It arrives in the 

 spring quite early but moves at once to its northern nesting place. It 

 returns, however, early in the summer and remains until late in September. 

 It is probably as well known as any of the shore birds, but most gunners 

 do not bother with it on account of its diminutive size." 



"There are two varieties of the peep, I believe," said the Judge, 

 "although they associate and feed together on the strand and in the 

 marshes, and they have the same habits, but their plumage generally is 

 quite different although sometimes similar." 



