RED-BREASTED SNIPE. 
51 
ries of the females before they depart, and the short period of 
time they are absent. Of all our sea-side Snipes it is the most 
numerous, and the most delicious for the table. 
From these circumstances and the crowded manner in which 
it flies and settles, it is the most eagerly sought after by our gun- 
ners, who send them to market in great numbers. 
