SCOLOPACID.K — THli SNIPE FAMILY - TKINOOIDKS. 



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liartUy ili«tinj,Miisli;il)l(' From tlic tiill v( ice ol' tlic iiiiiciits; uiid tlicy iilso at a very 

 early period ^Iw tlic iicculi.ir iiiDvcmciits of llifir tiiil-tVatlicrs tor whidi tlif siu'cica 

 i> iiiiti'd. 'j'lif tli,i;lit of tliis liird is vi-ry uiifvcn, lu'iiif,' sridoiii for any coiisidcralilo 

 dislaiici' ill a sti'ai|,dit line. In tin- love si-ason it oltcn pcrlorins arrial ^'andiols just 

 aliovc tlu' siL'l'iicf oi tht' ground. WIhmi wounded it will take to tlic water and swim 

 liciieatli tlie siirl'aee with eoiisidenilde swiftness. In tlic spiiiij,' it takes pos.session, in 

 pairs, of the muddy margins of wateieoiirscs. niakiiii,' excursions from tlience into the 

 udjoiniiig iields. It is exclusive in haliit. never scekin,!,' the society of other species. 



Mr. J. A. Allen found this species ipiitc common in Eastern Ivaiisas in the early 

 part of May. He afterward noticeil it more or less frequently aloii.i,' the streams of 

 Western Kansas, near Fort Hays, and in Colorado he traced it uii to tiie very souico 

 of the South riatte, on Aloiiiit Lincoln. He also met with it occasionally in tlio 

 \'allcy of (Ireat Salt Lake. J )resser obtained in Auj^ust a single immature specimen 

 near Matamoras. and in Septemher and Octolicr found the sjiccies ahiindant near San 

 Antonio. Mr. IJidgway states that, next to the Kildeer. he found this liird the most 

 aliundant and generally distrilmted Wader in the (Ireat liasin. He saw it hreediiijj 

 Ironi an altitude of four thousand feet or less to ahove seven thousand. At (Jarson 

 City it arrives alioiit the L'Kth of April. 



Althougli not met with i)y Sir .lohii Hichanlson. this l)ird has a high nortliern 

 range, reiicliiiig almost to the holders of the Arctic (ti'can. liermird Ko.ss found it 

 aiiundant along the lianks of the .Mackenzie ; Kennicott mentions it as hreeding near 

 i"nrt Kesolution; and in eaidi instance the nests are described as having i)een mero 

 depressions in the ground, with a few bits of grass or a few dry leaves phuM'd there- 

 in. Mr. Dall obtained a b'W specimens at Nidato from the KJtli to the otttli of .May; 

 Mr. Iiannister found it common on the Island of St. .Michacd's in the fall ; uiid it wa.s 

 taken by Misehoff at Sitka. Mr. ^MacFarhuK? found it breeding and cpiite e.oiinnon in 

 tlic neighborhood of Fort .Vmh-rson. It is abundant along the Anderscm Jiiver, and 

 al>ii on the Mai'ken/ie from l"'ort (lood Hope to l'"ort Simpson. The nests are all 

 spoken of as being mere depressions, scantily lineil with leaves and grass; they con- 

 tained eggs ill the latter part of .June. .Mr. Audubon b>uiid it breeding in Labrador 

 on tile 17th of .rune, and iiy the l.".(tli of duly the young were fully tiedged. 



in favorable seasons the I'eet-W'eet appears in .Massatdiusetts during the last week 

 in April, and in some seasons nearly a fortnight later. It conies at first in small 

 niving flocks, and b)r a wdiile moves about in a britd'aiid even sportive manner, flying 

 hack and ibrtli along and across the smaller streams. |performing strange aerial evolu- 

 tions, seemingly more for its own enjoyment than in (jucst of food. As these birds 

 move about — and iinu'e e.s])eeially when they meet other small flocks of their own 

 species — they give utt<'rance to their cheerful and lively whistle, which is loud and 

 shrill, and not unlike the .syllables jicrt-arct several times repeated. Toward the. 

 close of the nd'rain the notes are lower and the soniul more plaintive. A little later 

 ill the season they separate into ])aii's along the banks of smaller streams, and usually 

 nest in fresh-water meadows or in low u))laiids not far from water ; occasionally 

 tliijy nest on uplands not far from the sea. Sometimes this bird is so familiar as to 

 make its nest within a garden, and not far from the house. In one instance Mr. 

 Xuttall found its eggs in the strawberry beds of a resident of Belmont, Mass., while 

 young and old familiarly fed on the margin of an adjoining duek-pond. 



This species has a very characteristic habit of vibrating its tail and moving its 

 head and body, as if balancing itself, the head and tail being alternat(dy depressed 

 and elevated. When excited, and anxious for the safety of its young, this vibratory 

 inotion is especially noticeable, and is joined with plaintive cries oi peet^weet-tveet. 



