468 BIRDS — SCOLOPACID^. 



migrant on Lake Michigan. It appears to be more exclusively maritime 

 than other species of this family. 



The eggs of the Red Phalarope cannot with certainty be distinguished 

 from those of the last species. 



FAMILY SCOLOPACIDJ];. SNIPE, ETC. 



Legs moderate. Tarsus shorter than tail, soatellate. Hind toe present (except in 

 Calidris). Bill long, equalling, or often exceeding, frequently several times longer than 

 the head, softish and membranous to the very tip, without oon^triotion in its oontinaity ; 

 straight or variously curved. 



Genus PHILOHELA. Gray. 



Wing short ; first three primaries attenuate; tail feathers IJ ; tibiai feathered to the 

 joint ; taisi shorter than the middle toe ; toes slender, unwebbed ; bill much longer than 

 the head, stout and deep at base, grooved nearly the whole length, the tip knobbed ; 

 gape very short and narrow ; ear under the eye, which is set in the upper back corner 

 of the head. 



Philohela. minor (Gm.) Gr. 



^^mericaix "Woodcoclj:. 



ScoJopax minor, Kirtlaxd, Ohio Geolog. Surv., 1838, 165. 



Thilohela minor, Whbaton, Ohio Agrio. Kep. for 1860, 363; Reprint, 1861, 10; Food of 

 Birds, etc , Ohio Agrio. Eep. for 1874, 572 ; Reprint, 1875, 13. — Langdox, Cat. Birds 

 of Cin., 1877, 14; Revised List, Jonrn. Gin. Soo. Nat. Hist., i, 1879, 180 ; Reprint, 16 ; 

 Summer Birds, ib., iii, 1880, 226. 



Woodcock, Chubb, Forest and Stream, liv., 1880, 307. 



Scolopax minor, Gmelin, Syst. Nat., i, 1788, 661. 

 Philoliela minor, Gkay, Gen. of Birds, 1849. 



Above variegated and harmoniously blended blaok, brown, gray and russet; below 

 pale warm brown of variable shade. Length, male, 10-U ; female, 11-12 ; extent, 16-18 ; 

 wing, 4i-5 ; bill, 2^3 ; tarsus, IJ ; middle toe and claw, IJ ; weight, 5-9 ounces. 



Habitat, Eastern United States and British Provinces. North to Nova Scotia and 

 Canada. Northwest to Fort Rice, Dakota. West to K insas and Nebraska. 



Very common summer resident from March to October. Breeds. 



The Woodcock, one of the most, if not the most highly esteemed of our 

 game birds, may be found at almost any season of the year when the 

 ground is not frozen. I have seen them the first of March, when the 

 ground was covered with snow, turning over the wet leaves in high wood- 

 lands. Also in the latter part of November when the ground was frozen 

 hard except about boggy springs, where they lingered probing the moist 

 earth for insects. On their arrival in spring they appear to bs already 

 mated. Mr. Chubb has seen the young at Cleveland on April 9. Some, 

 however, are not hatched until the middle of May. 



