86 SHORE BIRDS. 
names it from that peculiarity. If we are to instruct and 
raise a higher standard of sport—and this, as sporting writers, 
is an aim that we shall not lose sight of—we must dot down 
our experiences in a way that can be readily understood by 
all, and preach our sermons with “simplicity” for our text. 
Therefore, we shall begin by giving a list of the birds worth 
shooting commonly called “Bay Snipe” and, as far as pos¬ 
sible, the names of each species used in the districts where 
they are shot. By this, the sportsmen of our coast, from 
New Hampshire to North Carolina, will be able to distin¬ 
guish the same bird under its guise of many local aliases , and 
the list will act as a key for the subject on which we are 
about to write. The following is such a list of birds shot 
over decoys or stools, including the waders and plovers com¬ 
monly called 
BAY SNIPE. 
Long-billed curlew {Numeniua longirostris ), sickle-bill; sabre-bill. 
Sickle-bill is tbe name almost universally used. It i3 simple and 
descriptive. 
Hudsonian curlew ( Numeniua hudsonicus ), Jack; short-billed cur¬ 
lew. The Long Island baymen term this bird the Jack, while to both 
the eastward and southward he is more often called the short-billed 
curlew. 
Esquimaux curlew {Numeniua borealis ), fute; doe bird; little cur¬ 
lew. In the Eastern States it is called the doe bird; on Long Island 
the fute, and in parts of the South the little curlew. The origin of 
ihe first two names we have failed to ascertain; the third speaks for 
itself. 
Black-bellied plover ( Squatarola helvetica ), black-breast; bull-head; 
beetle-head; ox-eye; bottle-head; pilot. On Long Island this bird 
is generally known as the black-breast, on account of the black 
markings of its plumage. The young in August are, however, gray 
on the belly and are often mistaken for a distinct species. In new 
Jersey and Pennsylvania it is called both bull-head and beetle-head, 
and also, in the latter, ox-eye. On the coast of Virginia, about 
Cobb’s Isiand, the name cf pilot has been given as it is always seen 
leading the large flights of birds which the rising tides drive from 
the shoals and oyster rocks, and it is supposed to direct the flocks 
“ to pastures new.” This, however, is not the case. It is the fastest 
flying bird of all the bay snipe, and it cannot fly slow enough for the 
other species. 
Golden plover {Charadrius fulvus var. virginicus ), golden-back 
green-back; frost bird; whistling plover; bull-head. On Long 
1 
