The Birds and Poets 193 



I cannot say ; but this I know, that, when this noise 

 happens, the bird is always descending, and his 

 wings are violently agitated." 



Wilson's snipe are small birds less than twelve 

 inches in length, including three inches of bill, and 

 their plumage is dark brown or black mottled with 

 cream bufif, and as they skim rapidly over the 

 brown fields they can scarcely be seen. 



Another peculiarity which fortunately makes 

 their slaughter difficult is that, like the woodcock, 

 they usually feed and migrate at night or on heavy, 

 dark days. 



In the latitude of Northern Illinois the herring 

 gull and the ring-billed gull are winter residents 

 arriving from the north in November. Bona- 

 parte's gull is a transient that may be looked for in 

 April and again in the fall, sometimes as late as 

 the middle of November. These beautiful little 

 gulls frequently visit the lagoons in the Chicago 

 parks, adjacent to Lake Michigan, where they feed 

 upon minnows, diving after them tern-like. They 

 may also be seen frequently on all our large lakes. 

 They are easily distinguished from the common 

 herring gull by' their small size and the black tips 

 of the wings, so conspicuous as they fly overhead. 

 The herring gull measures two feet in length, 

 while the Bonaparte is only about fourteen inches 

 long. The plumage of these two species is similar, 

 being gray above and white beneath, although the 

 head and neck of the Bonaparte is much darker, 

 sometimes almost black. 



