SNIPES 9T 



DOWITCHE'R: Limnodromus griseus gyiseus (Gmelin).* 



State records. — The dowitcher, or red-breasted snipe, is a 

 common migrant along the coast, particularly in summer and 

 fall. Outsell observed small flocks at Bayou Labatre, August 

 13 and 14, and others on Dauphin and Petit Bois Islands, 

 August 18 and 24, 1911. Four specimens collected by him 

 and one by the writer (Dauphin Island, May 18, 1911), are 

 referable to this subspecies. I saw about 10 on Dauphin 

 Island, July 5, 1913, and Holt saw about a dozen at the same 

 place, July 30 ; four specimens, all adults, were collected on 

 these dates. Peters saw two individuals there, June 8, 1914 ; 

 and I shot a pair on a mud bar at Coffee Island, near the 

 mainland, November 12, 1915. 



General habits. — Dowitchers resort mainly to mud flats, but 

 are occasionally found on the sand beaches. They travel in 

 compact flocks and associate freely with yellowlegs and other 

 species of snipe or sandpipers. They utter in flight a series 

 of mellow whistles. 



Naturally unsuspicious, they easily fall prey to the gunner. 

 In early times they migrated along our coasts in immense 

 flocks, but in recent years have been greatly reduced in num- 

 bers. 



Food feafciis.— rStomachs of seven individuals taken in Ala- 

 bama contained marine worms, flies, water boatmen, an<J 

 masses of eggs — probably fish eggs. Nuttall states that the 

 dowitcher consumes leeches, beetles, moUusks, and occasional- 

 ly seeds of aquatic plants and the roots of eelgrass (Zostera 

 marina). -f 



LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER : Limnodromus griseus 

 seolopoiceus (Say) .J 



The western form of the dowitcher is apparently less com- 

 mon in Alabama than the eastern form, only two occurrences 

 being known. A specimen was killed at Leighton, May 15, 

 1891, by F. W. McCormack and carefully identified with the 



*Macrorhanipha8 griseus of the A. O. IT. Check-list; for change of name see The 

 Auk, vol. 37, p. 442, 1920. 



tNuttall, Thos., Manual of ornithology (water birds), pp. 181-183, 1834. 



$Macrorhampbus srrssetis scolopaccus of the A. O. U. Check-list; for change of name, 

 see The Auk, vol. 37, p. 442, 1920. 



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