12 



SNIPE— SAND PIPERS— SEA SWALLOW-ORIOLE. 



PLATE XI. 



The Yellow-shanked Snipe. (Gambetta — Scolofax —flavipes.) 



Fig. i. 



The Yellow-shanked Snipes arrive in the Northwestern States 

 between the middle of April and the early part of May, on their 

 way to the North, where they breed ; and return as early as the 

 latter part of August, or the beginning of September, making only 

 a short stay. All the birds of this genus seem only to go northward 

 to breed, and to return southward as soon as the young are able to 

 fly. Single ones are to be met with in summer, or at almost any 

 season ; but as all of them are male birds, it is to be presumed they 

 are either old bachelors or widowers, who can not bear to see the 

 happiness of those who are mated, and therefore wander off toward 

 the sunny South. There is more dignity in the manners and hab- 

 its of the Snipes than in those of the Sand-pipers. Their flight 

 is easy, and when they alight they flap their wings, and before lay- 

 ing them together, stretch them straight up , so that the tips touch 

 each other. In case of need they swim and dive tolerably well. 

 Their chief resorts seem to be the sea-coast and salt-marshes, as 

 well as the muddy flats at low water, where they delight to wade in 

 the mud ; but it is rather the abundance of food they find there 

 than the mud, that attracts them. They live on insects and all kinds 

 of larvae. You may sometimes meet with single ones, which show 

 no shyness at all ; but when in flocks they shun the gunner care- 

 fully and seem to distinguish him from less dangerous persons. It 

 may be on account of these qualities that numbers of different kinds 

 of Sand-pipers are found in their company, and seem to follow them 

 as their leaders with great confidence. As a delicacy for the table, 

 they are held in high esteem. 



The Semi-palmated Sand-pipers. (Tringa — Actitis Semi-palm ata.) 



Fig. 2. 



The principal places which these neat little birds inhabit, are the 

 sea-shores. Their legs are rather short in proportion to the size of 

 the bird. They live on the same food as the Yellow-shanks. These 

 birds inhabit almost every part of the North American continent. 

 They migrate North in the spring, and should the season be open, 

 remain quite late in autumn, when they depart for their winter- 

 quarters at the South. They congregate in large flocks on the 

 beaches and sand-bars, and meadows, along the sea-coast and on 

 the shores of the interior lakes and streams. When feeding, they 

 scatter about in small parties ; when surprised, they run with a 

 rapid movement, collecting in such close bodies that as many as 

 twenty, and sometimes more, are killed at a single shot. When 

 closely pursued, they run off in one mass uttering a chirping note. 

 If this note be imitated, they will shortly obey the call. They breed 

 at the far North, the female laying four or five white eggs, spotted 

 and blotched with black. 



On their wanderings southward they sometimes penetrate far in- 

 land, following the sandy and muddy banks of rivers. In swim- 

 ming they constantly move their heads backward and forward like 

 Ducks. 



A heavy down under the feathers of the breast makes them ap- 

 pear round and plump. In the fall the male and female are 

 marked exactly alike. 



The Great Tern, or Sea Swallow. (Sterna kirundo.) 



Fig- 3- 



The Sea Swallows inhabit the northern parts of the temperate 

 zones. They are found in great numbers on the North American 

 lakes. In their wanderings they fly, at a considerable height, from 



one sheet of water to another, following, when it is possible, the 

 course of rivers, and occasionally coming down to feed or rest. 

 Their voice sounds like " kraa," and when frightened, like "kick" 

 or " krick." Their food consists of small minnows, young frogs or 

 tadpoles, worms, crickets, etc. They catch their prey when it is 

 in the water by suddenly plunging down upon it ; when they find 

 it on the ground, they pick it up while on the wing. They build 

 their nests on low islands, the shores of rivers, or the coast gener- 

 ally, but not on sandy ground. They make small holes, or use 

 such as they happen to find, for their nests, without lining them. 

 The eggs are laid about the last of May, and are of a light yellow- 

 ish brown color, speckled with purplish, reddish, and dark brown 

 round or oblong spots. The female sits on them during the night, 

 and the male occasionally in the daytime. During the warm sun- 

 shine the eggs are left uncovered. The young, which are hatched 

 in about sixteen or seventeen days, soon leave the nest, hiding 

 themselves, in case of danger, among the pebbles, and only betray- 

 ing their presence by their melancholy piping, when the parents are 

 shot. The upper part of these birds is covered with a grayish white 

 down, and on the lower part the down is white. 



They always turn their heads toward water when sitting on the 

 nest. Their flight is extremely graceful. 



The young grow rapidly, and when only three weeks old are 

 able to follow their parents. 



PLATE XII. 



The Baltimore Oriob. (Oriolus — Icterus Baltimore.) 



Fig. i, Male. Fig. 2, Female. 



The Baltimore Oriole inhabits North America as far as the fifty- 

 fifth degree of latitude. It is chiefly found in the vicinity of rivers, 

 and seems to prefer a hilly country. It is only a summer visitant 

 in the Northern States, where it makes its appearance in pairs, 

 during the latter part of April or the beginning of May. It com- 

 mences at once to build its nest, the material and construction of 

 which vary according to climate and circumstances. In the 

 Southern States, it consists of " Spanish moss," put together so 

 loosely that the air Gan pass through it ; it is never lined, and is al- 

 ways placed on the north side of a tree. In the Northern and 

 Western States, it is hung on such twigs as are most exposed to the 

 rays of the sun, and lined with the warmest and finest material. 

 The bird, in constructing the nest, ties the material to the twigs with 

 his bill and claws, weaving it strongly together, and giving the 

 whole the shape of a hanging bag, as shown on the plate. 



In constructing its nest, he makes use of any material he deems 

 suitable. A lady in Connecticut, while sitting at an open window, 

 engaged in sewing, was called away for a few moments. A Balti- 

 more Oriole, in the meantime, entered the window, and carried off 

 her thread and several yards of small tape to the nest he was then 

 building. The lady suspected the mischievous bird, and, on going 

 to the nest, found him weaving in her tape. This she succeeded in 

 recovering ; but the silk thread was so perfectly wound in that it 

 could not be disentangled. 



The female lays four and sometimes five or six eggs, of a light 

 gray color and marked with dark spots, dots, and lines. The young 

 are hatched in a fortnight, and in three weeks more are fully 

 fledged. Before they fly out they often hang or climb around the 

 nest like Woodpeckers. They are fed by their parents for a couple 

 of weeks, and then left to take care of themselves. The food of 

 the Baltimore Oriole consists of mulberries, cherries, and similar 

 fruit. In the spring they chiefly subsist on insects, which they 

 pick up on leaves and branches or catch flying. Toward fall they 

 commence their return southward, flying high in the air, and al- 

 ways in the daytime. They generally fly singly with loud cries, 

 and apparently in great haste. At sunset they alight on a suitable 



