THE OOLOGIST. 



173 



marsh; I think it was about the first 

 week in May. The nest was in a slight 

 hollow on one of those hummocks of 

 earth so common at the borders of 

 meadows and marshes, and was lined 

 with a few grasses, and well concealed 

 by arching grasses. A week later a 

 second nest was found about a hundred 

 yards from the first and exactly resemb- 

 ling it in situation and composition. 

 It contained four eggs as did the pre- 

 ceeding. Three year? later I ran across 

 another nest which was placed • on a 

 rise of ground in a meadow, like the 

 others it was well arched over and con- 

 tained a lining of grasses. This nest 

 contained one egg which was left in 

 the hopes of obtaining a set. After vis- 

 iting it twice more I was obliged to be 

 content with three eggs, for the nest 

 had been deserted. 



During the heat of the summer we 

 see very little of the bird in question, 

 for he is busied with the rearing of his 

 young and keeps well hidden in the 

 grass, but as soon as September comes 

 he puts in his appearance. 



Very early last fall while traversing 

 a lake in a boat, I caught sight of a flock 

 of waders rising from the floating slime 

 that had gathered at the borders. They 

 kept very close together, and at every 

 turn the white of the under part of the 

 wings shone so that I was reminded of 

 a flock of scurrying Snow Buntings. At 

 nearer approach I found that they 

 were a flock of the Wilson's Snipe, 

 which now and then rose and circled 

 apparently from no cause. 



They remained about this lake sever- 

 al days, and wei'e augmented by other 

 flocks, despite the shooting that went 

 on when several birds were often killed 

 at a shot I have never seen them float- 

 ing together like this except upon this 

 occasion, though later in the year they 

 are found in small groups somewhat 

 scattered in the meadows. 



Despite the wealth of larger game in 

 this state the gunner finds the Snipe 

 an attractive object, and the best mark 



pbssible on which to test his skill, and 

 if he treads the meadows hereabout dur- 

 ing latter September or in October he 

 is not likely to go unawarded. 



As they rise ahead of one they some- 

 times utter a harsh grating cry and sin- 

 uate so much for the first few yards of 

 their flight that it is hard to hit them, 

 though this is not always the case and 

 their flight may be even and straight 



The rule has been laid down that they 

 always fly against the wind which in 

 my experience is not the case. 



I have had the best luck hunting 

 them in dry seasons where the retreat- 

 ing water of the lakes had left a por- 

 tion of the muddy bottom bare, thus 

 forming an excellent feeding ground 

 where they might probe for the worms, 

 insects and small roots which constitute 

 their food. 



This bird was known as the English 

 Snipe before Wilson pointed out the 

 difference between our bird and the 

 true English Snipe In Nuttall's time 

 it was called the Alewife bird near the 

 Massachusetts coast— its arrival being 

 associated with the arrival of the shoals 

 of fish of that name. 



Others say that it was called the 

 Shad Spirit along some parts of the 

 New England coast, as that peculiar 

 twilight sound proceeded from an un- 

 known source and was said to accom- 

 pany the northward movement of the 

 Shad. At the markets here it is only 

 known as the Jack Snipe or simply 

 Snipe though most any wader may be 

 called a Snipe out of want of another 

 name. I have seen a Sand-hill Crane 

 hanging up for sale bearing a card 

 marked "Irish Snipe." 



The State Zoologist's Report quotes 

 someone as being confident that this 

 bird winters in South-western Minne- 

 sota. In the region about Minneapolis 

 an occasional bird may be found linger- 

 ing about some open spring very late 

 in the year, but early November sees, 

 the majority depart for a warmer cli- 

 mate. H. M. Guilford, 



Minneapolis, Minn. 



