BIRDS OF FIELD AND GARDEN. 337 



season. It feeds in low, swampy woodland, boring in the 

 mud for worms, and also in low pastures, where it destroys 

 many insects. In late summer it often goes to the uplands, 

 where it feeds in cornfields, asparagus fields, fruit gardens, 

 and pastures. At such times the bird may be seen among 

 the currant bushes or vegetables, where in early morning it 

 feeds with the Eobins. "When suddenly flushed it sometimes 

 rises with a tremulous whistling sound, similar to that made 

 by the wings of the Mourning Dove. Although in summer 

 it frequents fields, gardens, and pastures, it sometimes for- 

 sakes them in very dry weather for the wooded shores of 

 ponds or rivers. The Woodcock evidently feeds much at 

 night or during the dusk of morning and evening, when 

 it is almost always active. When startled in the daytime 

 it is normally sluggish, and rises just over the tops of the 

 bushes or undergrowth, flutters a short distance, and alights ; 

 but late in the fall a strong bird that has been hunted and 

 shot at will start up like a flash and fly wild high and far, 

 sometimes fanning.the air so rapidly with its wings that they 

 appear as a mere nebulous haze, like those of the Humming- 

 bird in flight. Its curious flight song is uttered in the 

 breeding season, when it rises high in the dusk of evening, 

 sending back a series of twittering and whistling sounds. 



The Woodcock is hunted throughout its range. As it 

 grows rarer in the north, gunners and sportsmen follow it 

 south in winter. Great numbers of Woodcock are slaugh- 

 tered there when all the birds of the species are massed 

 in a limited area. 



Wilson's Snipe. 

 Gallinago delicata. 



Length. — Ten and one-half to eleven and one-half inches ; bill about two and 

 one-half inches. 



Adult. — Upper parts brownish-black, varied with bay and tawny; crown black, 

 with a light central stripe ; upper tail coverts tawny, with dark bars ; tail 

 feathers above bright chestnut, with a black bar near the tip, which is 

 whitish ; beneath, white, but breast and sides tinted with brown, speckled 

 and barred with dusky. 



Season. — Spring and fall. 



The Snipe is a not uncommon migrant, and may be found 

 in favorable localities in late March and April, and again in 



