THE SNIPE OF AMERICA. 87 



The migration of this snipe, as well as of the 

 American woodcock, is peculiar; all appear to act 

 independently of the other. Dozens may be seen to 

 pass or light near you in the space of a few minutes, 

 yet each bird is alone. Many an evening, after sun- 

 set, have I watched their coming, yet never saw two 

 or more together. As a rule, these journeys by 

 both the above-mentioned take place before sunrise 

 and after sunset. This scattered mode of traveling, 

 and the hour at which it takes place, are doubtless 

 the reasons that none but close observers of nature 

 witness these flights. By the end of May the migra- 

 tion of this snipe has ceased, and their summer 

 quarters are reached, which are, as previously stated, 

 principally north of the Great Lakes and the St. 

 Lawrence ; although not a few spend the summer in 

 Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Maine. Early in 

 June they commence laying their eggs, four in num- 

 ber, in a nest of the most primitive construction, it 

 being simply an indentation in some trifling excres- 

 cence of the surfice. The eggs, which are of a 

 yellowish-brown color, blotched with dark markings, 

 taper very much toward the small end; they are 

 always placed in the nest with the larger end 

 outward. As* soon as the young are hatched, they 



