Chapter VIII: Introduction (7)

At the time I could not at all guess what it was--an extraordinary
sound unlike anything I had heard before. I could not tell from
what direction it came, and it filled me with a curious suspense.
My Finnish interpreter thought it was a Capercally (_Tetrao
urogallus_) and at the time I could not contradict him; but soon I
found that it was a small bird gliding at a wild pace at a great
height over the marsh. I know not how better to describe the noise
than by likening it to the cantering of a horse in the distance
over a hard hollow road; it came in fours with a similar cadence
and a like clear, yet hollow, sound. The same day we found a nest
which seemed of a kind unknown to me. The next morning I went to
Kharto-uoma with a good strength of beaters. I kept them as well as
I could in line, myself in the middle, my Swedish traveling
companion on one side, and the Finn talker on the other. Whenever a
bird was put off its nest the man who saw it was to pass on the
word and the whole line was to stand whilst I went to examine the
eggs and take them at once or observe the bearings of the spot for
another visit as might be necessary. We had not been many hours in
the marsh when I saw a bird get up before Herr Saloman, and I
marked it down. In the meantime the nest was found and when I came
up the owner was declared to have appeared striped on the back and
not white over the tail. A sight of the eggs, as they lay
untouched, raised my expectations to the highest pitch. I went to
the spot where I had marked the bird, put it up again, found that
it was indeed a jack snipe, and again saw it after a short, low
flight drop suddenly into cover; once more it rose a few feet from
where it had settled, I fired and in a minute had in my hand a true
jack snipe, the undoubted parent of the nest of eggs. In the course
of the day and night I found three more nests and examined the
birds of each. One allowed me to touch it with my hand before it
rose, and another only got up when my foot was within 6 inches of
it. It was very fortunate that I was thus able satisfactorily to
identify so fine a series of eggs, for they differ considerably
from one another.

The great German ornithologist Naumann (1887) also describes the nuptial flight, as observed by him in still weather on spring evenings; as scarcely audible at over a hundred paces and recalling the tapping noise made by the death-watch beetle. He writes the sound as "_Tettettettettett_," etc., and says each note lasts six seconds at a time, as the bird sweeps over the marsh now rising and then falling in tone as it is uttered.

V. Russon, the Estonian ornithologist, also observed the flight on a marsh near Kurkull, in Estonia, and noticed that the snipe rose high in the air and gradually descended again after a flight of several hundred yards. He compares the sound to the words: "_Lok-toggi, lok-toggi, lok-toggi_," which certainly agree with the impression given by Wolley's graphic description. He says the local names current in the district are derived from the resemblance the bird's notes bear to the rattle of a dilapidated wagon wheel. In the night the jack snipe is silent, but the display begins again with the first glimmering of dawn, but does not as a rule last long. The note described by Naumann he only heard on two occasions just before the bird settled in the swamp and believed it to be caused by rapid snapping of the bill.

_Nesting._--Like the common snipe, the jack snipe breeds in the marshes, choosing a slight hollow in a fairly dry, grassy, or sedge-grown spot, but close to open swamp. Wolley describes the five nests seen by him as being all alike in structure, "made loosely of little pieces of grass and equisetum not at all woven together, with a few old leaves of the dwarf birch." It is an extremely close sitter, not stirring from its eggs till almost trodden on, while one bird actually allowed Wolley to touch it with his hand before it flew. The breeding season is late, for eggs are rarely met with before mid-June and have been recorded throughout July and even in August.

Ralph Chislett (1927) has published his recent experience with the nesting habits of the jack snipe, from which the following is quoted:

The wide marsh stretched for a number of miles between the
birch-clad slopes of some low hills. From the hillsides, at
intervals, open sheets of water of varying dimensions could be
seen, and a fringe of the birch forest stretched almost down to a
small, peaty pool. Through the woodland fringe a stream hurried,
clear and cold with melted snow from the hill. Leaving the stream
at a place where yellow globe-flowers grew in profusion, we
followed the ridges of soft ground which intersected the marsh.
Progress was impeded by scrub-willow, while hummocks of moss and
mounds of crowberry and vaccinium overlay the peat foundation of
the ridge, many of the hummocks being white with cloudberry blooms.
Between the ridges in the marshy tracts grass grew thinly through
the moss, and still more thinly in the centers, where our feet were
brought up firmly at a depth of eighteen inches by the still frozen
bottom. Later in the summer the marshes would probably be deeper.

Not more than two hundred yards from the wood, a ridge sank and
allowed the surplus water from one flattened area of grassy marsh
to drain through to the next. On the north side of the trickle the
ground rose slowly to the full height of the ridge again, perhaps a
yard above the marsh-level. Midway up the little slope, on a dry
bit of ground, a few stalks of scrub-birch partially shielded the
jack snipe from view as it sat on the nest by the side of a
cloudberry plant. Not that shelter was needed. The nest would never
have been found had my foot not happened to drop within a few
inches of it. Then away the bird flew, with a low, almost direct
flight, without any sudden twists for some twenty yards, then down
into the marsh. When flushed it disappeared from view into the
marsh and was not seen again until within a few feet of the nest.
Once, when spotted a couple of yards away, it covered that short
distance a foot at a time, crouching down for a few seconds between
each very short journey; then, still crouching, it covered the eggs
and remained motionless.

The nest was found on June 12th, 1926, and it then contained four
eggs. The last time I inspected it was on July 6th, when the eggs
were cracking at their larger ends.

_Eggs._--The eggs are extraordinarily large for the size of the bird, being but little smaller than those of the common snipe (_Capella gallinago_). They are, as a rule, more or less distinctly pyriform and are normally four in number. The ordinary types vary in ground color from "chamois" to "cream buff" in the buff types and "olive-lake" or "corn-olive" to "olive-buff" in the green types. As a rule, the markings are somewhat smaller and more uniformly distributed than in common snipes' eggs. They are in some shade of light or dark brown, such as "tawny," "russet-vinaceous," "chocolate," "liver," or "chestnut brown"; the underlying markings, which are numerous and conspicuous in some cases, are in various shades of "purple drab" or "drab-grey." The spiral smears, so frequently found in common snipes' eggs, seem to be absent from those of the jack snipe, and, though there are some cases of wide variation in coloring, a series will be found to be browner and less bold in markings than a corresponding number of the common species. The measurements of 146 eggs average 38.53 by 27.37 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure =44.5= by 28.5, 40 by =30=, =35= by 27 and 38 by =25.5= millimeters. Rey (1905) states that the shells are somewhat thinner and lighter than with the common snipe and gives the average weight as 660 grams.

_Plumages._--The downy plumage is described by Dresser (1871) as follows, from a nestling obtained at Muonioniska:

Entire upper parts richly varied, deep rufous and black, dotted
here and there with white; a buffy white streak passes from the
forehead over the eye; below this is a dark-brown streak covering
the lores to the eye; from the base of the lower mandible another
white streak passes below the eye and one also from the chin (which
is buffy white) along the side of the head to the nape; underparts
dark-reddish brown, slightly varied with blackish brown; bill and
legs much developed.

For descriptions of subsequent plumages and molts the reader is referred to "A Practical Handbook of British Birds," edited by H. F. Witherby (1920).

_Food._--Probably consists mainly of worms, with a considerable mixture of insects and some vegetable matter (seeds, etc.). Naumann (1887) remarks that he has several times found grass seeds in stomachs and believes that vegetable matter is taken as well as insects and worms. Newstead records Coleoptera (3 cases), Mollusca (_Tellina_ and _Helix_, 2 cases), vegetable matter (grass, etc.), sand, and pebbles. Cordeaux found fragments of fresh-water shells and a few bivalves (_Pisidia_), while Saxby met with plant fibers and mud.

_Behavior and voice._--The jack snipe is an extremely silent bird, and to a great extent, solitary, outside the breeding season. The noises made during the nuptial flight have already been dealt with, but it is characteristic of the species that when flushed, unlike the common snipe, it nearly always rises in silence. Naumann, however, writes that on rare occasions, generally toward evening, a weak, high-pitched note may be uttered, like "_Kitz_" or "_Kutz_," which he compares to a bat's squeak. One may, however, put up twenty birds one after another without hearing anything, though very rarely a single "_ahtch_" is uttered, much more softly than the corresponding note of the common snipe. On being flushed it dashes off quickly with unsteady flight, but pitches again before rising to any height, and, except on migration or on its breeding ground, usually flies low.

_Field marks._--Its solitary habits and small size are the best field characters, combined with the fact that it is not shy and usually rises at very short range, so that one gets a good view of it before it pitches again at no great distance, where it can be flushed again. The almost invariable absence of any note on rising is very characteristic.

DISTRIBUTION

_Breeding range._--Scandinavian Lapland and Finland south to about latitude 64°. In Germany it is said to have bred in various localities from Schleswig Holstein to East Prussia, but there is no doubt that most of these records, if not all, are not, and can never be, satisfactorily authenticated. It does, however, breed in the Baltic Republics (Estonia and Latvia) and apparently in North Poland, while in Russia it breeds on the tundra south to the Governments of Perm, Kazan, Vologda, Jaroslav, Vladimir, Orel, Tula, and Tver. In Asia, though absent from the extreme north of Siberia, it is found in the Arctic Zone south to Tobolsk and north to the Boganida (lat. 70°), while eastward it ranges to the Kolyma delta.

_Winter range._--While a few birds remain in favorable localities or mild weather at short distances south of their breeding quarters, the main body migrates through Europe south to the countries bordering the Mediterranean and its islands (Balearic Isles, Corsica, Sardinia, Malta, Sicily, Ionian Isles, Crete, Cyprus, etc.). In Africa it is met with in all the countries on the northern littoral from Morocco to Egypt; also up the Nile Valley to the Blue Nile (Lakes Nakuru and Naivasha), and sparingly to Kenya Colony. In Asia from West Palestine, South Iraq, Persia, Afghanistan, throughout India, Ceylon, Burma, China (scarce), Formosa, and Japan. In the Canaries it occurs only on passage in small numbers.

_Spring migration._--In south Spain, end of February and early March; Corsica, February (late date March 27); Greece, February (late dates March 2 and 19); Italy, April and early May (latest date beginning of June); Cyprus, end of March and early April (late date April 16). In the British Isles the passage lasts from the end of March to the third week of May (late date June, North Uist); in Denmark, April; south Sweden from end of March to middle of April; in Hungary they leave about the end of March; and have been noted in Russia in the Caucasus, the Kirghis Steppes, and the Urals. In Asia they remain in Iraq to April 7; Sind, early April. Arrival noted on the Boganida June 8. In Africa, Morocco (February), Tunisia (February, March), Abyssinia (February), and Egypt (March).

_Fall migration._--In the British Isles from mid September to end November (early dates, August 12, 1910, Norfolk; August 20, 1910, Essex; August 1, Norfolk). Heligoland (September and October); also met with in practically all European countries, reaching south Spain (November, end October, or early November). In Asia recorded from Asia Minor, Transjordania (October), arriving Sind (early October) and India (September-October).

_Casual records._--Once recorded from the Faeroes (1910); also on Madeira (March 15, 1889); Andaman Isles (once), as well as on the Pribilof Isles.

_Egg dates._--June 4 to 12 (2 records); 14 to 21 (8 records); 22 to 30 (2 records); July 1 to 14 (3 records); 15 to 28 (4 records); 29 to August 2 (2 records).

LIMNODROMUS GRISEUS GRISEUS (Gmelin)

EASTERN DOWITCHER

HABITS

The dowitcher, or, as I should prefer to see it called, the red-breasted snipe, occurs as a species entirely across the American continent. The long-billed dowitcher, the western form, was originally described as a distinct, full species; it has since been reduced to the rank of a subspecies, because of very evident intergradation; and now some very good ornithologists are in doubt as to the propriety of recognizing the two varieties in nomenclature at all, because no distinctly different breeding ranges for the two forms have been established, and typical (so-called) eastern birds have never been found breeding anywhere. What few breeding birds have come from Alaska and northern Mackenzie all seem to be _scolopaceus_, but _griseus_ may still be found breeding there when we have larger series. I have had considerable correspondence with Prof. William Rowan about the breeding dowitchers of Alberta, including interchange of specimens. He seems to think that the Alberta birds are constantly distinct from either _griseus_ or _scolopaceus_ and perhaps worthy of a name. It seems to me that they are strictly intermediate and should not be named. In a letter recently received from P. A. Taverner he seems inclined to recognize the Alberta bird as a "short-billed bird resembling the eastern most, but intermediate, and with spotting characters different from either."

On migrations, and in winter, both forms are found entirely across the continent. The best that can be said is that _griseus_ is more common on the Atlantic and _scolopaceus_ is more common on the Pacific coast. Dr. Louis B. Bishop, with whom I have discussed this question, is inclined to call one a mutant of the other; he has some 200 dowitchers in his collection, from all parts of the country, those from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts being about equally divided and the two forms being about equally represented. In analyzing his series, taking into account length of bill, length of wing and brightness of color, he finds that: of _griseus_, 86 per cent are from the Atlantic coast, 2 per cent from the interior, and 12 per cent from the Pacific coast; and of _scolopaceus_, 14 per cent are from the Atlantic coast, 30 per cent from the interior, and 56 per cent from the Pacific coast. While collecting near Pasadena, California, on April 25, 1923, he shot into a large flock of dowitchers and picked up nine birds, all but one of which were typical _griseus,_ in bill, wing, and color.

_Spring._--The last of the dowitchers which winter in Florida, or migrate through there, leave for the north during May, though a general northward movement has been going on during April. The earliest birds sometimes reach Massachusetts by May 1, but usually the main flight comes along about May 20 and lasts for about ten days. Audubon (1840) observed large numbers of this species flying eastward along the coasts of Louisiana and Texas during April. And Arthur T. Wayne (1910) says that "these birds migrate to their breeding grounds in the far north between May 1 and 15, and when the tide is low in the afternoon and a light southerly wind prevails, flock after flock can be seen migrating in a northwesterly direction. I have yet to see these birds migrate along the coast line in the spring." This would seem to indicate an overland route from South Carolina, in addition to the Atlantic coast route referred to above. Professor Rowan writes to me that dowitchers are common on both migrations in Alberta, and says:

In a long series of spring and fall skins, there is every gradation
from the supposed typical eastern form (_griseus_) to the so-called
long-billed form (_scolopaceus_). Bill lengths and colors do not
correspond as they are supposed to do. As far as this district is
concerned, there is absolutely no evidence in support of the
splitting of this species into two races. The only two really
long-billed birds that have been taken, were deliberately collected
from a flock as their bills were so obviously longer than those of
their companions even in life. Intermediate lengths, forming a
nicely graded series, have been secured. The colors and markings of
the spring birds are infinite in variety, and do not correspond to
the bill lengths that should go with them.

There is a northward migration through the interior, in which this form is undoubtedly represented, but to what extent it is hard to tell, as it is impossible to separate all the records. Both forms are recorded on migrations in California and British Columbia.

_Courtship._--Richard C. Harlow has sent me some brief notes on the courtship of this species, as seen on its breeding grounds in Alberta. There were at least eight pairs of birds in the vicinity and they kept up their courtships until he left on June 9. The males apparently outnumber the females, for at least two females were seen surrounded by little groups of three or four males, frequently singing and displaying. "The male frequently strutted like a woodcock and displayed, and several times arose and gave his flight song, a clear, liquid, musical, contralto gurgle." Professor Rowan thinks that both sexes indulge in this song.

_Nesting._--The breeding range of the eastern dowitcher is imperfectly known or not known at all, unless we include the birds which breed in Alberta under this form, where in my opinion they belong. Prof. Wells W. Cooke (1912) writes:

The nest and eggs of the dowitcher are not yet known to science,
nor has the species been seen in summer at any place where it was
probably breeding. The dowitcher is a common migrant on the coasts
of New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, and in
fall is sometimes very abundant. Farther north its numbers
decrease: New Hampshire, tolerably common in fall, no spring
records; Maine, tolerably common spring and fall; Quebec, rare
migrant; New Brunswick, no records; Nova Scotia, once (Sharpe);
Prince Edward Island, once; Ungava, a few in August, 1860, at
Henley Harbor (Coues), one June 10, 1883, at Fort Chimo (Turner).
North of Ungava, the only record is that of a single accidental
occurrence at Fiskenaes, Greenland (Reinhardt). Evidently the
dowitcher does not breed in any numbers, on the eastern coast of
Ungava. The probability that it does not breed there at all is
strengthened by the fact that several first-class observers, who
during the fall migration were in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, did not
see any of the birds. It undoubtedly does not go into northeastern
Keewatin and the islands of the Province of Franklin, for it is not
reported by the various expeditions that have traveled and wintered
in those districts, while the specimens taken on the west coast of
Hudson Bay belong to the form called scolopaceus. The only district
left for the breeding ground is the interior of Ungava and the
eastern shore of Hudson Bay.

W. E. Clyde Todd, who has probably done more field work than anyone else on the east coast of Hudson Bay, writes to me:

Replying to your query about the dowitcher, it is my opinion that
this species does not breed in the interior of northern Ungava, but
I admit I have nothing to prove it one way or the other. It seems
to me, though, that if it did breed there, it would be far more
common than it is at the southern end of James Bay in migration,
instead of being one of the rarer kinds. I never saw it anywhere
north of this part, but then I have not been in northern Ungava in
the breeding season.

Turner's record of a single bird at Fort Chimo, on June 10, 1883, seems to be the only peg on which to hang the Ungava theory; and this may have been a straggler. The Alberta birds are somewhat intermediate; and probably typical _griseus_, if there is any such thing, will be found breeding somewhere in the muskeg regions of central Canada between Alberta and Hudson Bay.

There are several sets of dowitcher's eggs in collections, from this general region, collected in 1903 and 1906, which have been looked upon with some suspicion; one came from Hayes River Flat, 25 miles north of 55°, one from just south of Little Slave Lake, and three from Little Red Deer River, Alberta. Now that the dowitcher has been definitely shown to breed in Alberta, these records look authentic.

To A. D. Henderson and his guests is due all the credit for recent positive evidence. On June 18, 1924, he found a pair of dowitchers with two young, only a day or two old, "near a small lake in a muskeg about 17 miles northeast of Fort Assiniboine." The following season he found dowitchers again at three different places in the same region, "probably a dozen pairs in all"; and on June 2, about 35 miles northeast of Fort Assiniboine, he took his first set of three fresh eggs. The nest was "in a muskeg in open growth of small tamarac trees about 125 yards from a lake"; he describes it as "a hollow in a lump of moss, scantily lined with a few tamarac twigs, leaves, and fine dry grass, at the root of a small dead alder about 12 inches high"; it measured 1-3/4 inches deep and 4 inches across; the top was 4 inches above standing water.

Mr. Harlow, who was with Mr. Henderson the next year, 1926, took two sets of four eggs each. One "nest was in an extensive tundralike muskeg, very quaking and wet, and the nest was in a small bunch of dwarf birch, not over 12 inches high, on the end of a little ridge of moss and completely surrounded on three sides by water." The male was seen "singing" near the nest. He joined the female after she had fluttered off the nest and the pair were seen feeding together; several times they stood erect and rubbed their bills together. After the eggs were taken a set of phalarope's eggs was placed in the nest; the dowitcher returned took one look at the eggs and then flew away and was never seen near the nest again.

_Eggs._--One of Mr. Henderson's sets was apparently complete with three eggs, but four is the usual number. There is probably no constant difference between the eggs of this and its long-billed relative. One of Mr. Harlow's sets he describes as "light olive-green, rather lightly marked with pin points, spots, flecks, and a few blotches of dark umber and dark brown." The other set, he says, is slightly darker olive-green and is "much more heavily spotted and blotched with small and large spots of umber and brown and under shell markings of a lighter color." The measurements of 18 Alberta eggs average 40.8 by 29.2 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure =44= by 29.5, 41 by =30.3=, =38.2= by 28.5, and 38.7 by =27.7= millimeters.

_Plumages._--The plumages and molts, which are the same in both forms, are fully described under the long-billed dowitcher.

_Food._--The favorite feeding grounds of the dowitchers are the mud flats and sand flats in sheltered bays and estuaries, or the borders of shallow ponds on the marshes, where they associate freely with small plovers and sandpipers. Although not inclined to move about actively, their feeding motions are very rapid, as they probe in the mud or sand with quick, perpendicular strokes of their long bills, driving them in their full length again and again in rapid succession; while feeding in shallow water the whole head is frequently immersed and sometimes several strokes are made with the head under water. Dr. E. R. P. Janvrin writes to me:

Mr. J. T. Nichols and I watched three individuals feeding on the
salt meadows late in the afternoon, continuing our observations
until it was so dark that we could hardly distinguish the birds any
longer; at which time the birds were still feeding. The question
arose whether dowitchers might not be nocturnal in their feeding
habits, as is the case with the woodcock and Wilson's snipe, since
the sense of sight is certainly not essential to their probing for
food.

Various observers have noted among the food items of the dowitcher grasshoppers, beetles, flies, maggots, marine worms, oyster worms, leeches, water bugs, fish eggs, small mollusks, seeds of aquatic plants, and the roots of eelgrass.

_Behavior._--Dowitchers are the gentlest and most unsuspicious of shore birds, which has made them easy prey for the avaricious gunner. Their flight is swift and steady, often protracted and sometimes at a great elevation, when looking for feeding places. They usually fly in compact flocks by themselves, sometimes performing interesting evolutions high in the air. They often fly, however, in flocks with other small waders, but the dowitchers are generally bunched together in the flock; I once shot four dowitchers out of a mixed flock without hitting any of the smaller birds. When a flock of dowitchers alights the birds are closely bunched, but they soon scatter out and begin to feed. If a flock is shot into, the sympathetic and confiding birds return again and again to their fallen companions until only a pitiful remnant is left to finally escape. Such slaughter of the innocents well-nigh exterminated this gentle species; but, now that it is protected, it is beginning to increase again.

Although all shore birds can swim, the dowitcher seems to be especially adept at it. Doctor Coues (1874) writes:

Being partly web-footed, this snipe swims tolerably well for a
little distance in an emergency, as when it may get for a moment
beyond its depth in wading about, or when it may fall,
broken-winged, on the water. On such an occasion as this last, I
have seen one swim bravely for 20 or 30 yards, with a curious
bobbing motion of the head and corresponding jerking of the tail,
to a hiding place in the rank grass across the pool. When thus
hidden they keep perfectly still, and may be picked up without
resistance, except a weak flutter, and perhaps a low, pleading cry
for pity on their pain and helplessness. When feeding at their
ease, in consciousness of peace and security, few birds are of more
pleasing appearance. Their movements are graceful and their
attitudes often beautifully statuesque.

W. E. D. Scott (1881) says:

A curious habit of this species was noted at the mouth of the
Withlacoochee, where I saw the birds alight in very deep water and
swim about for considerable time. This occurred in every instance
after a flock had been fired at, and I thought at first that the
birds had been wounded, but after observing the occurrence a number
of times and on watching the birds while in the water I concluded
that such was not the case. Those I noted were generally solitary
individuals, but twice I saw three, and once four, alight in the
water, swim lightly and gracefully about, and, when disturbed, rise
easily and fly away.

_Voice._--John T. Nichols has sent me the following notes on the characteristic calls of this species.

The flight note of the dowitcher resembles that of the lesser
yellow-legs but is recognizably different, less loud and more
hurried, usually suggesting the bird's name: _dowitch_, or
_dowitcher_, sometimes of a single syllable. This call is subject
to considerable variation. When used as a regular flight or
recognition note I believe it is most frequently two-syllabled,
clear and full. When the call becomes more abrupt and emphatic and
the last syllable is multiplied it seems to indicate that the bird
is excited rather than to have other especial significance; thus,
_dowicheche_.

This note appears to be identical in the eastern dowitcher and the
long-billed race which I have studied in Florida. Other minor calls
of the dowitcher are single, unloud, low-pitched _chups_ with which
a flock manoeuvred about decoys (Long Island, August) resembling an
analogous yellowleg note; a low rattle when dropping down to alight
(Long Island, May); a mellow, ploverlike _cluee_, suggesting a call
of single lesser yellow-legs when loath to leave a feeding ground,
calling to other more restless individuals of their kind. This was
heard from a single dowitcher on the ground when a flock of lesser
yellow-legs was flushed a little way off. When these departed it
took wing with more usual dowitcher calls and followed after (Long
Island, July). I have on record also a startled _chee_ from an
extra tame long-billed dowitcher in Florida, flushed by being
almost struck by something thrown at it.

While observing the shore bird migration on the coast of New Jersey, during the last week of May, with Dr. Harry C. Oberholser, we frequently heard the pretty and vivacious flight song of the dowitcher. It was a sibilant, whistling song, rather loud and with a staccato effect. Doctor Oberholser, whose ears are better than mine now are, wrote down his impressions of it for me. Three short notes were heard separately, _tíliloo_, _tídilee_ and _tíchilee_, accented on the first syllable; the last two were commonest. The complete song sounded like _tídilee-tí-tscha-tscha-tscha_ or _tíchilee-tí-tsocha-tscha-tscha_, with numerous variations and combinations of the above notes, a very striking song. This is somewhat similar in form to the song of the long-billed dowitcher heard on its breeding grounds and described by Dr. E. W. Nelson (1887); it is probably a courtship song.

_Field marks._--The dowitcher when standing is a fat, chunky bird, with short greenish legs and a very long bill, with which it probes perpendicularly. In flight it also appears stout and usually carries its long bill pointed slightly downward; in adult plumage it appears very dark colored. It has none of the slender appearance of the yellow-legs and its flight is steadier. When seen flying away from the observer the grayish white central band on its back is conspicuous, as are the black and white, barred tail feathers.

_Fall._--The dowitcher is one of the earliest of the fall migrants; probably the first arrivals are birds that, for one reason or another, have failed to raise broods of young, for the time elapsing between the late-spring migration and the early-fall flight is not sufficient for successful breeding. The first adults arrive on Cape Cod early in July; my earliest date is July 4. Adults are common all through July, and I have seen them as late as August 16. The young birds come along later, from August 8 to September 25. While with us they frequent the mud flats and edges of muddy ponds or bays in the marshes; they are seldom seen on the sandy beaches or far out on the sand flats. They associate freely with the smaller sandpipers, least, and semipalmated, or with the semipalmated plover and turnstones. Often in the great flocks of these small sandpipers a number of dowitchers may be easily recognized by their much larger size and very dark appearance, also by their much longer bills. They are then often concentrated in compact groups or strung out in a long line, close to the edge of the water, probing in the soft mud with quick strokes of their long bills. They are easily approached at such times, as they are almost as tame and unsuspicious as the little peep. When the flats are covered at high tide these birds resort to the salt marshes or meadows, where they rest and sleep; in such places they often lie very close and flush singly, much after the manner of Wilson snipe.

_Game._--Dowitchers, or "brown backs," as they are called on Cape Cod, have been popular game birds, and immense numbers have been shot in past years. Audubon (1840) says that "it is not at all uncommon to shoot 20 or 30 of them at once. I have been present when 127 were killed by discharging three barrels, and have heard of many dozens having been procured at a shot." Edward Sturtevant says that a market hunter near Newport, Rhode Island, shot 1,058 dowitchers during the years from 1867 to 1874. Their popularity and their tameness nearly caused the extermination of the species. Mr. John C. Cahoon (1888) wrote then:

They have decreased very fast during the last five years, and where
we saw a flock of several dozens then we now see them singly or in
bunches not exceeding 10 or 12. They are the least shy of any of
the shore birds, and it is due to this fact that they have
decreased so fast. They are easily decoyed, and although they fly
swiftly their motion is steady and they keep closely together. They
alight in a compact bunch, and the gunner usually shoots into them
before they scatter out. Many are killed by a single discharge, and
those that remain spring up with a sharp whistle and fly a short
distance away, when hearing what they think to be the call of a
deserted comrade they wheel about and come skimming bravely back to
the murderous spot where they were first shot at. Again they are
shot at, and again the remaining half dozen are loath to leave
their dead and dying companions, and return to share their fate.
One or two may escape, and as they drop silently down on some
lonely sand spit, sad relics of their departed companions, what
sorrowful thoughts must be theirs as they wait for their comrades
that will never come.

Since that time the species has been saved by removing it from the game-bird list, and it has increased considerably until now it is again a fairly common bird. When flying in flocks it is too easily killed to offer the sportsman much of a thrill, but when flushed singly on the meadows it has more of a sporting chance for its life.

DISTRIBUTION

_Range._--Chiefly eastern North America, islands of the Caribbean Sea and central South America; casual in Greenland, Alaska, the British Isles, and France.

_Breeding range._--The dowitchers which have been found breeding in Alberta, from Little Red Deer River to Fort Assiniboine, are intermediate between _griseus_ and _scolopaceus_, but nearer the former. Eggs have also been taken at Hayes River Flat and just south of Little Slave Lake, which are probably of this form. The breeding range of typical _griseus_ probably lies between these points and the west side of Hudson Bay and perhaps extends north to the Arctic coast.

_Winter range._--North to Louisiana (State game preserve, and Marsh Island) and probably rarely to North Carolina (Fort Macon). East to rarely North Carolina (Fort Macon); South Carolina (near Charleston, and Frogmore); Georgia (Savannah and Blackbeard Island); Florida (Amelia Island, Orange Hammock, and Bassenger); Bahama Islands (Great Inagua); Jamaica; Lesser Antilles (Guadeloupe, Barbadoes and Grenada); Trinidad; and Brazil (Para and Bahia). South to Brazil (Bahia); and northern Peru (Tumbez). West to northern Peru (Tumbez); Colombia (Medellin); Cuba (Isle of Pines); western Florida (Key West, Fort Myers, Sarasota Bay, Tarpon Springs, and Pensacola); Louisiana (Marsh Island); and southern California.

_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival are: Virginia, Hog Island, April 15, Norfolk, April 17, and Locustville, April 25; New Jersey, Long Beach, May 6, New Brunswick, May 16; New York, Shinnecock Bay Light, May 15, and Long Island, April 19; Connecticut, Norwalk, May 15; Rhode Island, Newport, May 20; Massachusetts, Monomoy Island, May 1; Quebec, Green Island, May 25; Quebec, May 28, and Fort Chimo, June 10; and New Brunswick, Grand Manan, June 13.

Late dates of spring departure are: New Jersey, Long Beach, May 20, Cape May, May 20, New Brunswick, May 23, and Elizabeth, May 31; New York, New York City, May 30, Long Island, June 12, and Long Beach, June 23.

_Fall migration._--Early dates of fall arrival are: Massachusetts, Edgartown, July 4, Dennis, July 13, Monomoy Island, July 13, Marthas Vineyard, July 24, and Harvard, July 26; Rhode Island, Newport, July 10; Connecticut, Meriden, July 23; New York, Long Island, June 29, and East Hampton, July 1; New Jersey, Long Beach, July 6, and Cape May, July 10; Virginia, Cobb Island, June 19, and Bone Island, July 14; Georgia, Savannah, September 23; and Mississippi, Bay St. Louis, August 24. A few individuals may be found throughout the summer on the coast of Florida and other Southern States, but they are not known to breed in these regions.

Late dates of fall departure are: New Brunswick, Tabusintoc, October 23; Quebec, Labrador, August 23, and Montreal, September 27; Maine, Portland, August 13; Massachusetts, Harvard, August 25, Edgartown, September 4, and Cape Cod, October 23; Rhode Island, Newport, October 20; New York, Rochester, September 13, Orient, September 21, New York City, October 31, and Great West Bay Light, November 2; New Jersey, Long Beach, October 1; and Virginia, Hog Island, November 12.

_Casual records._--The dowitcher has many times been taken outside of what appears to be its normal range, in fact there are so many records for the interior that it seems certain individuals regularly follow the flyway of the Mississippi Valley.

Among these records are Bermuda, Harris Bay, September 26, 1847, and August 21, 1848, Pearl Island, September 10, 1874, and Peniston Pond, September 17, 1875; District of Columbia, Washington, September 1879; Pennsylvania, Erie, July 19, 1892, and Carlisle, August 12, 1844, and September 12, 1844; Tennessee, Reelfoot Lake, November 27, 1875; Illinois, Mount Carmel, October 9, 1875, Calumet, October, 1881, South Chicago, May 6, 1893, and Grand Crossing, July 19, 1893; Indiana, Liverpool, September 9, 1892; Ohio, Pelee Island, August 10, 1924, and September 3, 1910, and Columbus, October 16, 1921; Michigan, Wayne County, July 16, 1906, August 26, 1905, and October 7, 1890; Ingham County, August 26, 1897, and East Lansing, August 14, 1908; Ontario, Toronto, August 1, 1894, August 24, 1891, and September 15, 1889, and Ottawa, May 9, 1890; Iowa, Burlington, August 6, 1893, and August 16, 1893, and Marshalltown, August 10, 1914; Wisconsin, Lake Koshkonong, August, 1886; Texas, Corpus Christi, May 18, 1886, San Patricio County, June 11, 1887, Fort Clarke, April 26, 1882, Padre Island, August 26 and 27, 1891, Aransas Bay, August 14, 1905, and Rockport, February 3, 1909; Idaho, St. Joseph Marshes, September 12, 1895 or 1896; Mackenzie, Fort Rae, June 9, 1893; Greenland, Fiskenaesset in 1854; Ungava, Fort Chimo, June 10, 1883; and Alaska, Nushagak, September 24, 1882, and June 9, 1884.

There also are 15 records of its occurrence in the British Isles; one each near Havre, and Picardy, France, and northeastern Siberia, near Jakutsk.

_Egg dates._--Alberta: 9 records, June 1 to 16.

LIMNODROMUS GRISEUS SCOLOPACEUS (Say)

LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER

HABITS

This is supposed to be a western form of the species, characterized by an average larger size, a decidedly longer bill, and more uniformly rufous under parts in the adult spring plumage. It was first described and long regarded as a distinct species, but later developments have shown intergradation and it has been reduced to sub-specific rank. The above characters seem to hold good in all specimens collected on their breeding grounds in Alaska and northwestern Mackenzie; and these characters are distinctive and well marked. But in immature and winter plumages the form can be recognized only by size; and, as the measurements of the two forms overlap and intergrade, only the extremes can be positively named. The matter is further complicated by the fact that the migration and winter ranges of the two forms overlap. This form, _scolopaceus_, is by no means rare on the Atlantic coast, and _griseus_ occurs regularly on the Pacific coast; intermediates are most abundant in the central valleys, but occur on both coasts.

_Spring._--The long-billed dowitcher is a rather early spring migrant; the migration starts in March; the main flight through the United States is in April; and it reaches its northern breeding grounds in May. Dr. E. W. Nelson (1887) says of its arrival in northern Alaska:

In spring, the middle of May, as the snow disappears, and the first
pale leaves of grass begin to thrust their spear-points through the
dead vegetable mat on the ground, or as early as the 10th on some
seasons, this peculiar snipe returns to its summer home. At the
Yukon mouth I found them on May 12, when they were already engaged
in love-making, though the ground was still, to a great extent,
covered with snow, and only here and there appeared a thawed place
where they could feed. Toward the end of this month they are
plentiful, and their curious habits and loud notes make them among
the most conspicuous denizens of the marshes.

_Courtship._--Doctor Nelson (1887) writes:

These are very demonstrative birds in their love-making, and the
last of May and first of June their loud cries are heard everywhere
about their haunts, especially in morning and evening. Two or three
males start in pursuit of a female and away they go twisting and
turning, here and there, over marsh and stream, with marvelous
swiftness and dexterity. At short intervals a male checks his
flight for a moment to utter a strident _pe-et u weet_; _wee-too,
wee-too_; then on he goes full tilt again. After they have mated,
or when a solitary male pays his devotions, they rise 15 or 20
yards from the ground, where, hovering upon quivering wings, the
bird pours forth a lisping but energetic and frequently musical
song, which can be very imperfectly expressed by the syllables
_peet-peet_; _pee-ter-wee-too_; _wee-too_; _pee-ter-wee-too_;
_pee-ter-wee-too_; _wee-too_; _wee-too_. This is the complete song
but frequently only fragments are sung, as when the bird is in
pursuit of the female.

Herbert W. Brandt says in his notes:

The male long-billed dowitcher pours forth his wild musical song as
he hovers in the air with raised vibrating wings, perhaps 50 feet
above the object of his rapturous outburst. The female, from her
retreat on the cozy border of a lowland pool, modestly watches the
ardent lover as he renders his melodious homage. In common with
many others of the shore dwellers, the most conspicuous courting
action is the pursuit race by a number of males for their desired,
but elusive, lady love. It is then that one marvels at the speed
and agility displayed by apparently awkward birds, as they twist
and dodge in their aerial wooing. Even during his swift flight the
suitor tries, but with poor success, to continue his musical
efforts for the benefit of his larger paramour.

_Nesting._--MacFarlane's notes record brief descriptions of some half a dozen nests found in the Anderson River region and on the borders of the wooded country. These were all located on marshy ground near a swamp or small lake. One is described as "a mere depression in the midst of a tuft or decayed grass, lined with a few withered leaves." A set collected for me by F. S. Hersey, near St. Michael, Alaska, June 9, 1914, was taken from a hollow in the moss between two clumps of grass on the tundra; the female was flushed and shot. Mr. Brandt says in his notes:

The nest of the long-billed dowitcher is a mere depression
scratched out on a small eminence on a wet moss-covered meadow
through which short sedges grow sparingly to a height of about six
inches. The nest, the bottom of which was usually wet, was in every
case surrounded by shallow fresh water and the basinlike cavity was
meagerly lined with grass and small leaves. In two nests the eggs
rested on the cold wet moss foundation still frozen a few inches
underneath and the scanty nesting material was all deposited on the
rim of the nest. In every instance the female was conducting the
incubation, but the male was in close attendance. The bird is a
very close sitter and must be almost trodden upon before it will
rise, wings spread, from its duties.

_Eggs._--Four eggs seems to be the invariable rule for the long-billed dowitcher. In shape they vary from ovate pyriform to subpyriform; some are quite rounded and others are decidedly pointed. They have only a slight gloss. Mr. Brandt in his notes describes his four sets, as follows:

The ground color has considerable variation and shows two distinct
types: The commoner one, the brown type, of which we found three
sets is "Saccardo's olive"; and the other type, represented by a
single set, is "greenish," shading to "bluish glaucous." The
markings are bold, slightly elongated and seldom confluent, so that
blotched markings are unusual. The eggs are medium to heavily
spotted, causing the ground color to be conspicuous, and, in
consequence, the underlying markings are very noticeable. The
primary spots are in various shades of brown, namely: "Vandyke
brown," "seal brown," and "Saccardo's umber," which make the egg
one of unusual beauty. The underlying spots are "drab gray" to
"light grayish olive" and are larger and more numerous than are
found on the other limicoline eggs we collected at Hooper Bay.

In my set the ground colors vary from "dark olive buff" to "olive buff." Two of the eggs are irregularly spotted and blotched with spots of various sizes; one is quite evenly marked with small elongated spots; and another is sparingly spotted and blotched, chiefly about the larger end. The colors of the markings are "Saccardo's umber," "bister" and "warm sepia," with underlying markings of "deep" to "pale brownish drab." In other collections I have seen a number of sets that matched almost exactly certain types of heavily blotched eggs of the Wilson snipe; these may be within the normal range of dowitcher's eggs; but I have always been suspicious that some of them were wrongly identified. The measurements of 79 eggs average 41.8 by 28.9 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measures =45.5= by 30.5, 44 by =32=, =37.5= by 29.2 and 39.4 by =26.3= millimeters.

_Young._--H. B. Conover has sent me the following interesting notes:

Newly hatched young were found June 22nd. The incubation period
seems to be about 20 days. A nest found by Murie on May 31 with two
eggs, had four eggs on June 2, and on being visited the evening of
June 22, was found to contain two young and two pipped eggs. The
colors of the soft parts of a downy young several days old were as
follows: Tarsus olive with blackish stripes down the sides, bill
black, iris brown. In the newly hatched young the tarsus is much
lighter. On June 23 while visiting the nest of a black-bellied
plover, I came across a pair of dowitchers that from their actions
appeared to have young. Not wishing to stop at the time, I passed
on, but on returning several hours later, found them again in a
marsh at the foot of a long, low hill. When I sat down to watch,
one bird wheeled about me calling, and then flew off down the
valley. The other bird at first I could not locate, but soon saw it
flying about the hillside chirping. I noticed that as this bird
passed over a certain spot, it would hover about 15 feet above the
ground, giving a whistling trill. After a few minutes it dawned on
me, that each time it hovered to give this call, it was a little
farther up the hillside. When I moved up toward the top of the
hill, the bird alighted close by, scolded for a while and then
commenced the same performance as before. In this way in about half
an hour the dowitcher and I had crossed the hill from one marsh to
another, a distance of about 600 yards. During all this time its
mate had appeared only twice, when it flew by calling and then
disappeared again. Finally the bird I was following alighted in the
marsh at the far side of the hill from where we had started, and
began running short distances, stopping and then running on again.
Watching through some field glasses, I soon saw a young one
following at its heels. Rushing down suddenly, three downies were
found hiding with their heads stuck into holes or depressions in
the moss. They appeared to be several days old. Evidently the old
dowitcher had led these young ones across the hill by simply
hovering over or in front of them and calling. The bird was
collected and proved to be a male. Just what the relation of the
male and female to the eggs and young is in this species it is hard
to say. From the experience above I believe the male does
nine-tenths of the work in caring for the chicks. I think this will
probably prove true as to the incubation of the eggs as well, but
that the female takes some share in the hatching seems probable, as
one collected in the vicinity of a nest showed incubation patches.

_Plumages._--The downy young dowitcher somewhat resembles the young snipe, but has a somewhat different pattern of similar colors. The large central crown patch is black, clouded, or overcast, with "chestnut" tips and with two indefinite spots of whitish tips; the black extends down to the bill; a broad, black loral stripe extends from the eye to the bill, and a still broader postocular stripe from the eye to the nape; these two stripes are separated from the dark crown patch by a stripe which is "tawny" above the lores, buffy white over the eyes, and white around the posterior half of the crown. The chin is buffy white, and the throat and breast are "ochraceous tawny," becoming lighter and grayer on the belly. The upper parts are much like those of the snipe, variegated, or marbled, with black, "chestnut," and "umber brown," and spotted with small round white spots, terminal tufts, which are very thick on the wings and form roughly two rows down the back and two rows on each thigh.

In fresh juvenal plumage in July in Alaska, the crown, back, and scapulars are black, broadly edged with "cinnamon rufous" or "hazel"; the throat, breast, and flanks are gray, the feathers broadly tipped with "ochraceous tawny" and streaked with black or spotted with dusky; the tertials, innermost greater coverts, and the median coverts are edged with "cinnamon buff." These edgings are much browner in _scolopaceus_ and paler buff in _griseus_.

A postjuvenal molt, beginning in September and lasting until December or later, involves a change of the body plumage, sometimes the tail and some of the wing coverts and scapulars. This produces the first winter plumage, which is like the adult winter plumage, except for the retained juvenal scapulars, tertials, and wing coverts. The first prenuptial molt is limited to a few scattering feathers in the body plumage, above and below, some of the scapulars and wing coverts, and the tail; these are like corresponding spring feathers of the adult. There is considerable individual variation in the amount of new feathers in this first nuptial plumage. I have seen birds in this plumage from March 28 to September 9. They do not go north to breed, but remain in the South during the summer. At the first postnuptial molt, in August, they assume the adult winter plumage. In some young birds the prenuptial molt seems to be omitted and the postnuptial molt seems to be a change from one winter plumage to another.

Adults have a partial prenuptial molt from February to May, involving all the body plumage, most of the scapulars, some of the tertials, the central pair of rectrices and the wing coverts. I have seen adults in full nuptial plumage as early as March 4 and as late as August 21. July and August birds are very black above, due to the wearing away of the buff edgings. There is much individual variation in the extent and intensity of the rufous and in the amount of black spotting on the breast. The complete postnuptial molt of adults begins in August and is often finished in September. I have seen several birds in which the primaries were being completely renewed during both months.