SCOLOPACID.E — THE SNIPE FAMILY — GALLINAGO. 



191 



Hy some it is suyj^'csti'd that tho tanieness of the birds miiy be acobunted for by snp- 

 j)()sin}^ that tliuir fatigued and liuiigry condition renders them tenacious of their good 

 I'ccdini^-grouiid, and reluctant to leave it. 



The Snipe is occasionally found in swaiupy thickets, but more geiun'ally in open 

 meadows with a soft bottom. Jt leaves the .Middle States by the end of April, and 

 reaches its breeding-place early in .May, where it renudns until October. In the fall 

 it is nuu'h tatter and more tender than in the spring. Although thus concentrating 

 ill rich feeding-grounds, ytit the Sniiu' is by nature a .solitary bird, and in its nu)vc- 

 mcnts to and from its breeding-phico it always proceeds singly. It spends its win- 

 ter in the Southern States, as well as in regions farther south, and congregat(>s in 

 tiie Carolina rice-lields in immense nunil)ers, and is much more contiding and tanu' 

 than at the North. It conunenees its northern migrations in Feiiruary, reaching 

 Delaware in .March, and liecoming abundant in Pennsylvania in A]tril. Its stay in any 

 pla<'e during its s|)ring migrations varies both in date and length, being controlled 

 liy tlu! season and the abundance of its food. This consists largely of worms, larva>, 

 small insects, and the tender roots of acpuitio plants. In conlinenu'nt this bird will 

 feed greedily ujjou corn-meal and worms, and can soon be accustomed to a diet of 

 bread and nulk. 



Lewis (••' Anu'rican Sportsman," p. 184) describes some very singular niano:,-uvres 

 of the Snipe which he witiu'ssed in the spring. At early dawn ho saw a jiair nunint 

 high in the air, beating their wings and sailing arcmnd in rajiid circles, until they 

 jiad gained an elevation of a humlred yards or nu)re ; then, ap])roaching closely to 

 each other, they whirled arouiul. Happing their wings with gi'eat rapidity, and sud- 

 denly drojjped in mid-air, giving utterance at the sanu' tinu' to a low twittering, or 

 rather a rolling sound, said to be produced 1 y the action of their wings upon the air 

 in their rapid descent. Toward the close of April all these birds that are mated 

 move northward to their brei'ding-i)laces ; but a lew remain in the low marshy ])laces 

 of Pennsylvania all sununer. and even rear their Ijro.ils. in May. 1.S4(), as Mr. Lewis 

 was crossing an estate in ^Maryland, he started up one of this species from the nudst 

 (if an oat-tield ; and being attracted by its singular nVina'uvres, made search for its 

 nest, whicli M-as found to contain four eggs. It was placed on a rising piece of 

 ground not far from a marshy nu'adow. 



The Snipe leaves its more northern breeding-i)laces late in Sejitendier with its 

 young, stoi)])ing at favorable localities on the way. It remains several weeks in 

 Pennsylvania and Delaware, and becomes very fat during its stay. In their migra- 

 tions these birds nu)ve with great rai)idity, and s])read themselves over a wide extent 

 of country in a very short s])ace of time. They are voracious feeders, and obliged 

 to shift their ground with great frecpiency. From situations where there is a plenti- 

 ful sup[)ly of food, it is hardly possilde to drive them entirely away. The Snipe is 

 said to be better eating in the autumn than in the spring. 



On Hudson's I>ay — according to Ileiirne — the Sni])e does not arrive until the 

 ii'c of tiie rivers is broken uj), and it retires to the south early in the fall. Diu'ing 

 its stay it always frecpu'nts the nmrshes lU'ar the sea-coast, as well as the shores of 

 the great rivers. In its manner and flight it seemed to him exactly to resemble the 

 European vSnij)e ; but its Hesh la^ considered to b(> by no means so delicate. 



Captain lUakiston noted the arrival of the Snipe in the lunghborhood of Fort 

 Carlton as never earlier than jMiiy. whihi the last weri> seen in the autumn on the 

 bower Saskatchewan on the 1st of October. At the lied Kiver settlement he found 

 it on the UOth of Ajiril, where it arrives even earlier. He noticed that it performed 

 the same aerial evolutions as the European bird, this usually occurring about sun- 



