SCOLOPACID^— THE SNIPE FAMILY. 63 



Total length, about 8.00-8.50 inches; extent, 15.50-16.50 ; wing. 5.00-5.40; oulmen, 1.16-1.30; 

 tarsus,!. 25-1.30; middletoe,1.00. Bill greenish brown (in lite), dusky torminaUy; iris brown; 

 legs and feet olive-greep in adult, more grayish in young. 



W^th the exception of the Spotted Sandpiper this is the only 

 species of the smaller ScolopacidcB which breeds throughout the 

 State. Yet, notwithstanding this fact, its eggs have never yet, 

 so far as is known to the writer, been taken.* 



"In Long Island, according to Giraud, it is no: very abund- 

 ant, yet by no means rare. It is distributed singly or in pairs 

 along such creeks as are reached by the tide; and it is also ob- 

 served about pools and rivulets more remote from the sea. It 

 seldom visits the beach, and is very rarely met with in the salt- 

 marshes on the bays. It often takes up its abode near the 

 habitations of man, preferring his society to ^at of the numer- 

 ous species of shore-birds frequenting the seaside. It is not con- 

 sidered game, and is not hunted, and thus becomes quite famil- 

 iar. When nearly approached it flies but a short distance before 

 it re-alights, to resume its occupation of probing the soft mud 

 for worms and minute shellfish, which abound in its favorite 

 haunts. It also resorts to decayed' logs for the purpose of pro- 

 curing grubs, and from this peCuharity of habit it is by some 

 known as the "Wood Tatler." When surprised it utters a 

 sharp whistling note, raises its wings, and runs nimbly over the 

 miry ground". If closely pursued, it retreats to, the opposite side 

 of the pond, arranges its feathers, and soon resumes its usual 

 gentle manners. This bird is very active on the wing, and may 

 sometimes be seen darting after winged insects, which it is very 

 expert in catching; and when flying, its long and gracefully 

 curved wings add greatly to the effect of its neat plumage. It 

 arrives on Long Island in May, and is not seen |there after Sep- 

 tember. 



"Wilson states that thjs species is found in the summer in 

 damp meadows among our highest mountains, from Kentucky 

 to New York, on the mossy margins of mountain springs. He 

 found it unsuspicious, and permitting a near approach without 

 appearing to be in the least alarmed ; he had no doubt that 

 these birds regularly bred on Pocono Mountain, near Easton, 



*Itis not improbable that this species, like its European relative, the Green Sandpiper 

 (T. ochropus), deposits its eggs in deserted nests of other birds, such as the Wood Thrush 

 and other species which nest in moist woodlands. ' 



