126 BIRDS 



THE DOWITCHER* 



The range of the Dowitcher is limited to the eastern 

 part of North America. It has been reported as far west 

 as the Mississippi River. It breeds in the far North, 

 usually within the Arctic Circle. Its migration is exten- 

 sive, for it winters in Florida, the West Indies, and in the 

 northern portion of South America. 



The dowitcher is one of the best known of our coast birds. 

 It bears many popular names, such as Gray Snipe, Gray- 

 back, Dowitch, Driver, BroAvn-back, and Bay Bird. The 

 generic name Macrorhamphus is derived from two Greek 

 words — mdkros, meaning large, and rhamphos, meaning 

 bill. The specific name griseus means gray, and probably 

 has reference to the grayish color of the winter plumage. 



The dowitchers are the most numerous of the seaside 

 snipes. At the retreat of the tide, flocks will frequently 

 settle on the shore in such large numbers and so close 

 together that several dozen have been killed at a single shot. 



Mr. Chapman tells us that "they migrate in compact 

 flocks, which are easily attracted to decoys by an imitation 

 of their call. Mud-flats and bars exposed by the falling 

 tide are their chosen feeding grounds. On the Gulf Coast 

 of Florida I have seen several hundred gathered in such 

 close rank that they entirely concealed the sandbar on 

 which they were resting." 



In summer the general color of these birds is dark 

 brown and the feathers are more or less edged with a red- 

 dish tinge. Underneath, the general color is light cinna- 



