SHORE BIRDS 125 



return to the Great Lakes region, resorting to cornfields, 

 marshes, and other places where black, rich soil is in evi- 

 dence. It feeds, after the manner of the woodcock, by 

 probing with the sensitive bill into the earth for worms and 

 tender rootlets. 



A startled snijie springs from the ground with a " yeip- 

 yeip-yeip," flying swiftly and irregularly, but usually drop- 

 ping into cover within a few seconds. After alighting it 

 runs swiftly over the ground for several yards and again 

 settles down to feed. This bird has been found breeding 

 about Salt Lake, Utah, and occasionally in the states 

 bordering Canada. The favorite breeding-grounds are from 

 the Atlantic to the Pacific through the southern half of 

 Canada. 



The nests are mere depressions in the soft soil near a 

 marshy place. Four beautiful eggs are deposited with the 

 small ends together on a little bed of dead leaves and grass. 

 The eggs are greenish-drab, marked with spots and lines of 

 rich brown and black. In April, M'hile searching for wood- 

 cock in the Great Lakes region, the writer has frequently 

 witnessed the song-flight of the Wilson snipe. The first 

 intimation that such a performance is contemplated is a 

 clucking which is uttered in the shelter of a few rushes or 

 a little grass. Presently a snipe rises and circles about 

 overhead. At intervals the bird darts obliquely through 

 the air, producing a whistling sound resembling the whiz 

 of a missile through space. Suddenly the bird drops to the 

 ground and resumes his clucking. He soon takes to wing 

 again, and this time maintains a horizontal course at a low 

 elevation until joined by the female. 



