Drumming 
of . 
,7 ifft>n ’ s 
Snipe 
has never failed, to do ever since I first heard it in the 
Fresh Pond Swamps upwards of forty years ago. Although I 
have been accustomed to refer to it in my notes as "drumming" 
this term is really inappropriate. Nor do I like "bleating" 
much better. "Winnowing" is perhaps the most suitable name 
of all (I think I originated it when a boy) for the sound 
is not unlike that of a Dove’s wings, yet different in some 
respects, being very much louder for one thing and altogether 
more interesting and impressive.,; having an eerie quality 
peculiarly its own and perhaps due in part to the conditions 
under which it is most commonly heard. 
Drumming 
of . 
NiifPon 1 s 
Snipe 
