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hatched are black, soon after gray, then white, and gradually assume their red color; at the third year, their plumage is complete. They have frequently been domesticated,

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Is a well known bird, which in winter frequents seacoasts and marshes, feeding chiefly on frogs and marine insects. In summer they retire to the mountainous and unfrequented parts to breed. Their flesh is rank and fishy. Curlews differ much in size, some weighing thirty-seven ounces, and some not twenty-two; the length of the largest is twenty-five inches. Its bill is long, black, and much curved. The upper parts of the plumage are of a pale brown; the breast and belly white, marked with dark oblong spots. The female is somewhat larger than the male, which is commonly called the jack curlew, and the spots with which she is covered almost all over are more inclining to a red. Latham enumerates about eleven species, foreign and domestic.

THE SANDPIPER.2

Or the sandpiper, properly so called, there are about twelve species known in Europe, from the size of a thrush to that of a hedge-sparrow. The com

1 Numenius arquata, LATH. The genus Numenius has the bill long, slender, arched, compressed, point hard, and slightly obtuse; upper mandible projecting beyond the lower, rounded at the bud, and channelled through three fourths of its length; nostrils lateral, linear and pierced in the furrow; face feathered; legs slender; naked above the knee; the three fore toes united by a membrane to the first joint; the hinder articulated to the tarsus, and touching the ground.

The genus Tringa or sandpiper, has the bill middle-sized or long, very slightly arched, curved or straight at the tip, soft and flexible through its whole length, compressed at the base, depressed, dilated, and obtuse at the point; both mandibles channelled to near theit extremities; nostrils lateral, conical in the membrane which covers the nasal furrow; legs slender, naked above the knee; the three fore toes quite divided; but in a few species the middle and outer toe are connected by a membrane; the hinder articulated to the tarsus.

mon sandpiper, which is a solitary bird, is in weight about two ounces; the head is brown, streaked with black, the back and coverts brown, mixed with glossy green; the breast and belly pure white. Its note is louder and more piping than others of this genus. It frequents rivers, lakes, and meres, and is never found near the sea.

THE RED-BACKED SANDPIPERI

INHABITS both the old and new continents, being known in England by the name of Dunlin; and in the United States, along the shores of New Jersey, by the name of red-back. They frequent the muddy flats and shores of the salt marshes at low water, feeding on small worms and other insects which abound in such places. It has not till now been recognized by naturalists as inhabiting this part of North America.

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THE SOLITARY SANDPIPERS

INHABITS the watery solitudes of our highest mountains during the summer, from Kentucky to New York, but is nowhere numerous, seldom more than one or two being seen together. It takes low, short flights; runs nimbly about among the mossy margins of mountain springs, brooks, and pools, occasionally stopping, looking at you, and perpetually nodding the head. It is so unsuspicious as to permit one to approach within a few yards of it, without appearing to take notice, or to be the least alarmed.

THE RED-BREASTED SANDPIPER3

Is commonly called the gray back, or brown back, on our seacoasts. It is a particular favorite among gunners, being generally a very plump, tender, and excellent bird for the table. They usually keep in small flocks, alight on the sand-flats in a close body, where they search for small bivalve shells. On the approach of the sportsman, they frequently stand fixed and silent for some time; do not appear to be easily alarmed, neither do they run about in the water as much as some others, or with the same rapidity, but appear more tranquil and deliberate. They retire to the south in November.

The other individuals of this family, both American and foreign, are too numerous to be particularized.

1 Tringa alpina, LIN. Tringa solitaria, WILSON.

Tringa rufa, WILSON.

THE WOODCOCK.1

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THE Woodcock of the old continent inhabits and. breeds in the northern regions during summer; but on the commencement of the frost, it begins to migrate southward. The greater part of them leave England at the close of February, or the beginning of March, after having paired; but they are sometimes detained for a while longer by the wind being adverse.

The woodcock is about as large as a pigeon, with a bill three inches long. The crown of the head and back of the neck are barred with black, and a black streak runs from the bill to the eyes. It flaps its wings with some noise when it rises, and its flight is pretty rapid, but neither high nor long; and its descent is so sudden that it seems to fall like a stone. It flies very straight in a wood of tall trees, but in a copse it is often obliged to wind, and frequently drops behind bushes, to conceal itself from the eye of the fowler. It principally feeds on worms and insects, which it draws out of the mud with its long bill; and its flesh is universally admired. The female builds a rude nest on the ground, and generally lays four or five eggs. She is remarkably tame during incubation.

THE AMERICAN WOODCOCK,2

In its general figure and habits, greatly resembles the woodcock of Europe, but is considerably less, and very differently marked. This bird is univer

1 Scolopax rusticola, LIN. The genus Scolopax has the bill long, straight, compressed, slender, soft, with the tip turned; both mandibles channelled the half of their length, the tip of the upper, projecting beyond that of the under, and the turned portion being hooked; nostrils lateral, basal, longitudinally cleft near the edges of the mandible, and covered by a membrane; legs slender, with a very small naked space above the knee; the three fore toes quite divided, or rarely the outer and middle united.

2 Scolopax minor, WILSON.

sally known to our sportsmen. During the day they keep to the woods and thickets, and at the approach of evening seek the springs and open watery places to feed in. They soon disperse themselves over the country, to breed. In the hot weather, they descend to the marshy shores of our rivers, their favorite springs and watery recesses inland, being chiefly dried up. To the former of these retreats they are pursued by the merciless sportsmen, flushed by dogs, and shot down in great numbers. The woodcock is properly a nocturnal bird, feeding chiefly at night, and seldom stirring about till after sunset; at such times he rises by a kind of spiral course to a considerable height in the air, uttering at times, a sudden quack, till having gained his utmost height, he hovers round in a wild, irregular manner, making a sort of murmuring sound, then descends with rapidity as he rose. When utter

ing his note on the ground, he seems to do it with difficulty, throwing his head towards the earth, and frequently jetting up his tail. Their food consists of larvæ and other aquatic worms, for which, during the evening, they are almost continually turning over the leaves with their bill, or searching in the bogs. Their flesh is reckoned delicious and prized highly.

The head of the woodcock is of singular conformation, and the eye is fixed at a remarkable distance from the bill, and high in the head. This ⚫ construction was necessary to give a greater range of vision, and to secure the eye from injury, while the owner is searching in the mire. The flight of this bird is slow.

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SNIPES are migratory birds, which are supposed to breed chiefly in the lower lands of Germany and Switzerland. They visit England in autumn, and retire in the spring. Many, however, remain there the whole year, and make their nests of dried grass and feathers, in the most inaccessible parts of marshes. Our common snipe, usually called the English snipe, differs but little, if at all, from the European snipe. They are most difficult to shoot, of all our birds, as they fly very rapidly, in zigzag lines. They

1 Scolopax gallinago, LIN.

are very eagerly sought after by our gunners. Their food consists of small worms, slugs, and the larvae of insects. During the breeding season, while it plays over the moors, this bird makes a pleasing, humming, and piping sound. Their flesh is justly reckoned among feathered dainties.

From the point of the bill, to the end of the tail, the snipe measures about twelve inches, and from the point of each wing, when extended, about fifteen or sixteen; the head is divided longwise by a pale red line, parallel to which on each side, is a black line, and over the eyes there runs another line pretty much of the same color as that on the middle of the head. The feathers that spring from the shoulders reach almost as far as the end of the tail, the outward half from the shaft being of a pale red.

THE WILLET, OR SEMIPALMATED SNIPE,1 Is peculiar to America, and is one of the most noisy and noted birds that inhabit our salt marshes in summer. Its common food is willet. It arrives from the south on the shores of the middle states, about the beginning of May; and from that time till the last of July, its loud and shrill reiterations of pill-will-willet, pill-will-willet, resound almost incessantly along the marshes, and may be distinctly heard at the distance of more than a mile. Their nests are built on the ground among the grass of the marshes, and are composed of wet rushes and coarse grass.

The anxiety and affection manifested by this bird for its eggs and young, are truly interesting. A person no sooner enters the marshes, than he is beset by the willets flying around and skimming over his head, vociferating with great violence their common cry of pill-will-willet; and uttering at times a loud clicking note as he approaches nearer to their nest. As they occasionally alight, and slowly shut their long white wings speckled with black, they have a mournful note, expressive of great tenderness. They chiefly subsist on small shell-fish, marine worms, and aquatic insects. They have a summer and also a winter dress, in its colors differing so much in these seasons, as scarcely to be known as the same species.

There are other individuals of this tribe, common in the United States, which we have not room to describe.

1 Scolopax semipalmata, WILSON.

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