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PRJECOCIAL GRALLATORES — LIMICOIffiE. 
Mr. Batty writes us tliat, while the Snipe returns to Long Island from the north 
in September, it is most numerous in October, and that it sometimes remains until 
very late in the season. He killed seven on the 28tli of October, 1872, the ground 
being frozen hard at the time, and having been so for several days. The birds were 
in high grass, in an elevated part of the meadows. He also states that a few must 
breed in Connecticut and Massachusetts, as he has seen the young when only a few 
days old, early in June, near Springfield and New Haven. Mr. Boardman also in- 
forms us that he has found the Snipe near St. Stephen’s on the 14th of November, 
when the thermometer stood at 14° above zero. 
Mr. J. A. Allen found this species exceedingly abundant in September in the Valley 
of Great Salt Lake ; and Mr. Ridgway speaks of it as a common spring and autumnal 
bird over all the wet, grassy portions of the interior, both in river valleys and in 
mountain parks. According to Dr. Cooper, it is abundant in the middle and northern 
parts of California during winter ; but few go to the southern part of the State, on 
account of its greater dryness. He met with it along the Mojave and Colorado 
rivers as late as April, and thinks that this bird leaves the lower country about the 
1st of May. He saw it about Lake Tahoe in September, and was informed that it 
breeds there. He also saw this species at Cama, on Prairie Creek, on the eastern 
border of the Columbia Plains, about the end of September ; and Mr. R. Browne also 
includes this species in his list of the birds found on Vancouver Island. 
According to Giraud, this species is known on Long Island a,s the English Snipe. 
It arrives on that island early in March, and after spending a short time in the 
marshy groves in recruiting, it passes on to the north to breed. It returns . in Sep- 
tember with its young, and during the autumn gets into excellent condition, and is 
highly prized as game. It is usually found on low, wet meadows and boggy grounds. 
When Hushed it moves off in an irregular manner ; but having gone a short dis- 
tance, its flight becomes more steady. This is a somewhat difficult bird to shoot. 
It remains in the autumn until the ground becomes frozen, when it passes on to the 
south. In its migrations it flies high, and at intervals it is said to utter a peculiar 
cry, which is described as bleating. 
A writer in “ Doughty’s Cabinet ” (Vol. I. p. 87) states that near Philadelphia the 
Snipe season commences in March and continues until the middle of April. The 
birds are poor on their first arrival, but soon become fat on the rich feeding-grounds 
in that vicinity, in all the low lands that border the Delaware and the Schuylkill 
rivers. To shoot Snipe dexterously is a difficult art to acquire, and demands both 
cool judgment and some deliberation. The sudden and silent manner in which this 
bird rises from the ground, and the zigzag character of its flight, seem to make cal- 
culation almost impossible ; and an inexperienced sportsman is apt to fire too soon. 
In rising, the Snipe usually attains the height of about six feet, and then darts 
off in this uncertain manner, uttering a peculiar cry ; after continuing in this way 
about twenty yards, it follows a straight course, ascending until it reaches a certain 
height, when it gradually descends, when near the earth dropping suddenly into the 
grass. 
The true way to hunt the Snipe is said to be with the wind, as they lie closer 
to the sportsman, and will immediately after rising head the wind, and present a 
convenient cross-shot. It is also recommended that the shot be reserved until the 
irregularity of the bird’s flight is over, this rarely continuing for more than twenty 
yards. At times the Snipe is shy, and difficult to approach, springing up beyond the 
reach of shot ; and at other times it is so unsuspicious as not to fly until almost 
trodden upon. The reasons for this great difference are not satisfactorily explained. 
