SCOLOPACID^ — THE SNIPE FAMILY — GALLINAGO. 191 



By some it is suggested that tlie tameness of the birds may be accounted for by sup- 

 posing that their fatigued and liungry condition renders them tenacious of their good 

 feeding-ground, and reUu'tant to leave it. 



The Snipe is occasionally found in swampy thickets, but more generally in open 

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

 reaches its breinling-place early in iMay, where it remains until October. In the tall 

 it is much tatter and more tender than in the spring. Although thus concentrating 

 in rich feeding-grounds, yet the Snipe is by natiu'e a solitary bird, and in its move- 

 ments to and from its breeding-place it always proceeds singly. It spends its win- 

 ter in the Southern States, as well as in regions farther south, and congregates in 

 the Carolina rice-fields in immense numbers, and is much more confiding and tame 

 than at the Xorth. It commences its northern migrations in February, reaching 

 Delaware in March, and becoming abundant in Pennsylvania in April. Its stay in any 

 place during its spring migrations varies both in date and length, being controlled 

 by the season and the abundance of its food. This consists largely of worms, larva;, 

 small insects, and the tender roots of aquatic plants. In confinement this bird will 

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

 bread and milk. 



Lewis ('•■■ Anu'rican Sportsnmn,"' p. 184) describes some very singular manoeuvres 

 of tlie Snipe which he witnessed in the spring. At early dawn he saw a pair mount 

 high in the air, beating their wings and sailing around in ra]jid cii'cles, until they 

 had gained an elevation of a hundred yards or more : then, apiu'oacliing closely to 

 each other, they whirled around, flapping their wings with great rapidity, and sud- 

 denly dropped in mid-air, giving utterance at the same time to a low twittering, or 

 rather a rolling sound, said to be ^jroduced by 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 breeding-places ; but a few remain in the low marshy places 

 of Pennsylvania all summer, and even rear their broods. In May, 1846, as Mr. Lewis 

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

 of an oat-field ; and being attracted by its singular manoeuvres, made search for its 

 nest, which was found to contain four eggs. It was placed on a rising piece of 

 ground not far from a marshy meadow. 



The Snipe leaves its more northern breeding-places late in September with its 

 young, stojjpiug at favorable localities on the way. It remains several weeks in 

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

 tions these birds move with great rapidity, and spread themselves over a wide extent 

 of country in a very short space of time. They are voracious feeders, and obliged 

 to shift their ground with great frequency. From situations whei'e tlier(^ is a plenti- 

 ful supply of food, it is hardly possiljle to drive them entirely away. The Snipe is 

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



On Hudson's Bay — according to Hearne — the Snipe does not arrive until the 

 ice of the rivers is broken up, and it retires to the south early in the fall. During 

 its stay it always frequents the marshes near the sea-coast, as well as the shore;? of 

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

 European Snipe ; but its flesh he considered to be by no means so delicate. 



Captain Blakiston noted the arrival of the Snipe in the neighborhood of Fort 

 Carlton as never earlier than May, while the last were seen in the autumn on the 

 Lower Saskatchewan on the 1st of October. At the Red River settlement he found 

 it on the 29th of April, where it arrives even earlier. He noticed that it performed 

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



