Wilson's snipe. 199 



period of incubation. 



In the State of Maine and other portions of the country far 

 north, snipes are very numerous during the summer months. 

 They are also abundant in the Canadas and Nova Scotia, but are 

 not known in Newfoundland or Labrador. In these northern 

 latitudes, snipes inhabit the marshy portions of the hilly districts, 

 as the spots most secure and favorable for incubation. The nest is 

 constructed in a most simple manner, — being, in fact, nothing more 

 than a hollow made in the moss or grass, lined, perhaps, with a 

 few feathers. The brood generally consists of four, and, like the 

 young of the woodcock, are capable of motion as soon as sprung 

 from the eggs. At this tender age, owing to the softness and 

 delicacy of their bills, the young snipes are unable to probe the 

 slimy bogs for worms, and therefore are forced to content them- 

 selves with collecting the larvae, small insects, and snails, that are 

 found on the surface or hid away in the grass or moss. . At the 

 expiration, however, of a few weeks, they are sufficiently strong, 

 and their bills quite hard enough, to penetrate into the moist 

 grounds in search of more savory food. 



RETURN TO THE SOUTH. 



Snipes commence returning to the South in the month of Sep- 

 tember, accompanied by their young, and of course stop for a 

 while in all their old haunts along the route. They remain during 



