HAUNTS AND HABITS. 9 
Virginia. They are plenty all winter on Savannah River 
and are there called “fish ducks” by the natives, but are not 
esteemed of value for table use. They feed there more on 
the marshes, and retire to adjacent islands to roost. Being 
heavy, clumsy creatures, they are, many of them, presumed 
to pass the winter within the territorial limits of the United 
States. 
Toward the end of May a few short-billed or jack curlew 
C Numenius Hudsonicus, Lath.,) may be seen, like their con- 
generic relative with the long decurved rostrum, running 
about on the high beach, picking up black crickets, small 
mails and crabs. Both species have been scarce for many 
pears. J 
Of the snipe family we have a beautiful representative in 
MacrorhamphuS' griseus , Leach). It is not numerous in 
pring, but is quite so in summer, and easily bagged. They 
.re not here generally called, red-breasted snipe, but “brown 
>acks.” They stick their long bills into the mud or sand 
lats presumably to frighten out the insects and worms that 
ie burrowed there, so that they may be easily captured. 
r ery likely their sense of smell is so acute that they are able 
p strike at once their prey. Their sojourn to their breeding- 
round is very, brief, scarcely more than six weeks. The 
dult males begin to return in considerable numbers about 
lelOth or 15th of July, and by the end of August, both 
oung and old have winged their way toward equatorial regions. 
There is another beautiful plump little bird (Tringa 
aculata, Vieill.) well-known on our coast in summer and 
ltumn under various cognomens, as “Jack snipe,” 
krieker,” “grass bird,” etc., but they are rarely, if ever 
:en in the spring. The advancing columns occupy the 
pad valley of the Mississippi, especially that portion of it 
ing nearest to sunset. As this interesting species is not 
spring visitant at Cape Cod it hardly comes within the 
ope of these notes, and yet we cannot refrain from a 
issing remark particularly as there seems to be a wide 
screpancy of opinion in relation to it. The best observers 
-thwhom we have come in contact declare there are two 
