BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA 
81 
with a pale buff' middle stripe, and a streak of same color extends from base of 
. maxilla back over each eye ; chin and upper throat yellowish-white ; neck and breast 
spotted and streaked with black, dusky, and different shades of brown ; belly and 
outer web of first primary, white ; back and upper parts generally blackish varied 
with different shades of brown and whitish ; the pale yellowish edges of scapulars 
form two long stiipes on back, separated by a broader streak of black or blackish ; 
axillars and lining of wings barred with black and white ; sides whitish with trans¬ 
verse dusky bars ; tail feathers chiefly black, with a transverse and broad band of 
bright reddish-brown, succeeded by a narrow black band, and the ends almost 
white ; primaries mostly dark brown on upper surface and paler below. 
Habitat .—North and middle America, breeding from the northern United States 
northward ; south in winter to the West Indies and northern South America. 
This bird, usually, though improperly, called “ English Snipe,” ar¬ 
rives in Pennsylvania about the last week in March, and is common 
until about the middle of May, after which the species is seldom seen 
until the fall migration occurs. Wilson’s Snipe is not found in woods 
or dense thickets, but at times, when sojourning here, is seen about open 
places in wet meadows, swamps, and on the muddy banks of streams 
and ponds, and in the early spring he shows a special preference for 
spring-heads, about which, at this time, the tender blades of grasses 
grow in abundance. These birds are found singly, or in small flocks of 
three, five, a dozen or twenty each. According to my experience these 
flocks, or “wisps” as they are often called, are much more frequently 
met with in spring than at other times, in nearly every section of the 
state, except in the vicinity of Erie city, where I have several times in 
the late fall observed “ wisps ” of a dozen or more. They return here 
from the northern breeding grounds in September, and individuals are 
often seen as late as the middle of November, occasionally during “warm 
spells ” in December and January stragglers have been captured in the 
counties of Chester and Delaware. Their sharp cry of scape, scape, is 
uttered soon after they arise from the ground, and as they fly rapidly 
off in a zigzag manner, which leads many sportsmen to consider them 
as one of the most difficult birds to shoot. Wilson’s Snipe is also found 
in this state as a rare and occasional breeder. Mr. George B. Sennett 
informs me it was found breeding, about ten years ago, in Crawford 
county; Mr. Samuel Thompson, of Erie city, reports having discovered 
a nest and four eggs in June, 1889, in a swamp near the Erie county 
poor-house. In Bradford county Mr. J. L. Camp, of Herrick, also Mr. 
J. M. Ketcham, of Minnequa, have observed it as a rare summer resi¬ 
dent. Dr. H. A. Tingley, of Susquehanna, says it has been known to 
breed in his locality, and Dr. G. A. Scroggs, of Beaver, tells me it has 
been taken in June and July in Beaver county. Individuals of this 
species have been shot in summer near West Chester, also in Delaware 
county, but on examining them I found that, although able to fly a 
short distance, they were so crippled from wounds received during the 
spring shooting season that they were unable to perform any extended 
6 Birds. 
