126 BIRDS OF NORTH CAROLINA 



eastern parts of the State it is a more or less regular winter resident, the severity 

 of the weather being the controlling factor. 



As a game-bird it is most satisfactory to the true sportsman. Usually flushing 

 quickly and unexpectedly, with a rapid, zigzag flight, the most experienced gunners 

 find it a difficult mark. As the birds usually rise against the wind, it is a good plan 

 to work the meadows and marshes down wind, so far as possible. An experienced 

 retriever is a good adjunct in this kind of shooting, as a fallen bird is difficult to 

 distinguish amid the marsh grass. It is very erratic in its occurrence, frequently 

 being abundant in favorite localities one day and totally absent the next. This bird 

 is often called "English Snipe" in North Carolina. "Jack Snipe" is another name 

 sometimes heard. 



Genus Macrorhamphus (T. Forst.) 



This genus contains Sandpipers having the general appearance of snipe, but the 

 eyes are not so far back. One species, with two subspecies, belongs to our list. 



KEY TO SUBSPECIES 



1. Length 11 or less, culmen averaging about 2J^. Dowitcher. 



1. Length 11 or more, culmen averaging about 2%. Long-billed Dowitcher. 



104. Macrorhamphus griseus griseus (GmeL). DOWITCHER: RED-BREASTED 

 SNIPE. 



Ads. in summer. Upperparts, tertials, and wing-coverts black, the feathers edged or barred 

 with ochraceous-buff or rufous; rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail barred with black and more 

 or less ochraceous-buff; primaries fuscous; underparts dull, pale rufous, whitish on belly, more 

 or less spotted and barred with black. Ads. and Juv. in winter. Upperparts brownish gray; 

 rump and tail barred with black and white; throat and breast washed with ashy, belly white, 

 sides and under tail-coverts barred with black. Juv. Upperparts black, the feathers edged 

 with rufous; rump and tail barred with black and white, and sometimes washed with rufous; 

 secondaries widely edged with white; underparts more or less washed wth ochraceous-buff 

 and obscurely spotted with blackish. L., 10.50; W., 5.75; Tar., 1.30; B., 2.05-2.50. 



FIG. 87. DOWITCHEB. 



Remarks. The barred tail and tail-coverts, with the peculiar flattened, pitted tip of the bill, 

 are characteristic of this species. (Chap., Birds of E. N. A.) 



Range. Eastern North and South America. Breeding range unknown, but probably far 

 northward; winters from Florida to Brazil. 



Range in North Carolina. Coastal region during the migrations. 



