THE SHORE BIRDS OR WADERS 251 



frequently have a most disagreeable fishy taste. I 

 have shot the dowltcher or red-breasted snipe on the 

 grounds now preserved by the English Lake Club 

 (near Chicago), when the sport was similar to that of 

 snipe-shooting. The birds were feeding in the grass, 

 and I shot them while shooting snipe, and so closely 

 do they resemble the snipe in size and length of bill 

 that I had several in the bag before I noticed the dif- 

 ference. Their flesh was excellent. On the prairies 

 of Indiana and Illinois I have shot many golden plover 

 when they were plump to the bursting point, and their 

 flesh compared favorably with the delicious Bartramian 

 sandpiper or field plover. By eliminating the small 

 and undesirable varieties, the list of shore birds consid- 

 ered game would be reduced to about two dozen birds, 

 including the woodcock, snipe, upland plover, dowitcher 

 curlew, golden plover, dunlin, yellow-shanks willet, and 

 others of less importance. 



The three most important birds on the list are the 

 woodcock, the snipe, and the upland plover. We will 

 consider these in their order, giving them the space 

 they deserve. We then proceed to bay-bird shooting, 

 where all the other varieties may be taken in a day over 

 decoys. A descriptive list of all the shore birds is 

 given in the Appendix, from which the sportsman may 

 pick his game according to his taste or conscience. 



