
The Young Snipe 
Hiding behaviour.--As soon as the young are dried off - about an 
hour after hatching - they are inclined to crawl out of the nest. At 
this stage the female broods them under her wings. [It is doubtful 
that she can hold them in the nest very long, unless in the late eve- 
ning or in cold or wet weather. 
The tendency and ability of the chicks to hide, if not inherent 
are acquired quickly. One chick scarcely an hour old was thrown out 
of the nest when the female flushed. It immediately hid effectively 
under sedge roots at the base of the nest. 
There did not apnear to be any definite clue to the hiding places 
of young in the field. They took advantage of any cover. We were 
often able to recheck a brood quickly because the metal bands revealed 
their hiding places. Very young chicks may reveal their presence by 
cheeping when the parent bird returns. Also, on the second or third 
flushing they are likely to be found directly in the spot where they 
were being brooded. 
The following incident may illustrate how the young disperse 
when danger threatens. 
| I flushed a female on the day after she had hatched her brood, and 
hid under a near-by spruce canopy to await her retur. She soon came 
back, clucking softly. Two chicks appeared, one from a wet cow-track 
and the other from the base of a small clump of sedge, and were immedi- 
ately brooded. After watching for ten minutes, I made an inadvertent 
movement that gave me away. The female made a soft churring sound and 
vibrated so violently that every feather seemed in motion. With this 
movement, the chicks shot out from under her as if they had been cat- 
apulted. One landed on its back about a foot away and lay as it landed. 
The other dived into a tiny crevice under a tuft of grass. Ina 
flurry of wing-beats the female left the scene. 
Parental care.--As with most birds of the family, young snipe have 
rather large feet when hatched. This enabled us to band them soon 
after hatching, often right after they had struggled out of the eggs. 
As previously mentioned, they were banded in order of hatching for 
identification in the field. 
The following incidents may indicate the role of the sexes in the 
care of the young. 
A female was still brooding all the young at 9 p. m. on June 15, 
the day of the hatch (Nest No. 10, Table 1). Presumably she continued 
to do so through the night. At 8 a. m. on June 16, the male with the 
two oldest chicks was found about 20 feet from the nest in one direc- 
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