SNIPKS, SANDIMPHIiS, HTC. 



l.-:} 



288« Philohela minor (^/mc/.). Amkimcan Wimix ock. .1'/. — Front 

 of till! crown .>liity, wioliol witli luitl, aii iiuli^tiiu't Mackisli line in its i-ciiliT, 

 uml unotlier from tlic fvc to the !)ill; Imck of tliu licatl Mack, with two or 

 tlireo l)arrt of ochracfoiirt-lmtf ; rest of thu iipiHr part.s hUiok, iiiartritu'il with 

 shity iiiul l)urrt'<l and iuottluil witli rufous or ochract'ous-hulf ; tip of tho tail 

 iisliy trniy ai)oVi', silvery l>oiu,'atii ; uiuKt parts lictwci'ii ochrac<'ous-l)Utf and 

 rufous; tlirci" outer iiriniarius very narrow and much siillcncil. L., ll'Oi'; 

 \V., 5-40; Tar., l-J.'); IJ.. -j-imi. 



Ritiiiji'. — Kastcrn North America nortli to Lahrador aiiil Maiiitoha, lireetl- 

 iii!,' lU'arly tliroui^hout its raiiire, l>iit not commonly in tiie soutiiern part of it; 

 winters from soutiiern Illinois and Virj^iniu southward. 



Washiiiirtoii, ratlu'r common from Feb. to Nov.; a few winter. Lonif 

 Island, common S. li. ; a fi'W winter. Sinj,' Sim,', common 8. U., Fel>. l',t to 

 Dee. 2. Cnnd)ridi.'e, S. K., fonnerly common, fjust heeomin^' rare ; Meli. to Nov. 



Xtxt, of a fi'W dry leaves, on the irround in the woods. Kijij", four, butly, 

 distinctly and obsi-urely spotted with shades of rufous, POO x \Si. 



Duriiif? the sprin;; and oarly siuniix^r this Owl ainoiij; Siii;)e haunts 

 h)W. wooded bottom-lands; in .Anefust, while mating;, il resorts toeorn- 

 fields near woods, antl in the fall niii;ratin^ birds frecjiient wooded up- 

 lands. But at nil times it re(iuires a soft, moist earth in which it may 

 easily probe with it.s lonjjj bill for its fare of earthworms. The holes 

 it makes are known as •'borin<^s." They are generally found in littlo 

 groups, and are. of course, certain evidence of the presence of Wood- 

 cock. It has recently been discovered by Mr. (iurdon Trumbull tliat 

 the Woodcock can move the tip of its upper mandible iiulependently 

 of the lower one, and this organ is made to act as a finger to assist tho 

 bird in drawing its food from tiie ground. 



Tho flight of the Woodcock is sometimes accompanied by a high, 

 whistling sound produced by its narrow, stitrened {)rimaries in beating 

 the air. When lluslied near its nest or young, the parent bird gen- 

 erally feigns lameness or a broken wing, and leads the intruder soino 

 distance from its treasures before taking wing. 



The cloak of night always lends a certain mystery to the doings of 

 nocturnal birds, and more often than not their habits justify our un- 

 usual interest in them. How many evenings have I tempted the; ma- 

 laria germs of Jersey lowlands to watch the Woodcock perform his 

 strange sky dance! lie begins (m the ground with a formal, periodic 

 jtevnt, ppcnt, an incongruous preparation for the wild rush that follows. 

 It is repeated several times before he springs from the ground and on 

 whistling wings sweeps out on the first loop of a sjiiral which may 

 take him ;}00 feet from the ground. Faster and faster he goes, louder 

 and shriller sounds his wing-.song: then, after a moment's pau.se, with 

 darting, headlong flight, he pitches in zigzags to the earth, uttering as 

 he falls a clear, twittering whistle. He generally returns to near tho 



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