The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-09-06
TINE FOR SNIPE soon.
The Shy BIRDS In Pursuit Of which II ID
Worth While to Tramp the March.

The Shy Birds In Pursuit Of which II ID
Worth While 70 Tramp the March.
With the coming Of the first sharp days
Of autumn. sportsmen may 10 on the look
out for the appearance Of the jack snipe
on the marshes When the September
storms have cooled the air and . few frosty
nights have crisped the grass. they come
out OF the North in scattered hocks and
during the Indian summer weather linger
about the wet pastures and bogs Of marshy
districts until the ice begins to form On
pools and ponds, when they continue the
journey South.
In the East the gunner may stir up jack
snipe along the sea marshes and the bays
and inlets Of the coast, and may And him
along sluggish streams Of the lowlands.
especially in the Piedmont regions. The
species is found in great abundance along
the shores Of the Great Lakes, and about
the sloughs and bayous of the Mississippi.
The Kankakee Marsh near Chicago, and the
stretches of low prairie full Of ponds and
winding streams in the lake country OF
Wisconsin. are famous snipe grounds.
Where green pastures and weedy meadows
alternate with fields Of marsh hay, muddy
bitches and black bogs studded with grassy
tussocks, there the snipe usually resort in
large numbers. The bird is restless
transient, however, and where one day the
gunner may find the game In abundance,
the next he may tramp the marshes in vain.
Sometimes the jack loves solitude, yet
again twenty or thirty may be found In Q
small field.
The Jack snipe, or Wilson's snipe. Il well
marked. His long, pliable bill, Get At such
a peculiar angle to his head; his compact
body sprinkled with brown, black, gray
and tawny; his bright, beady eyes yet feF
trio fight, easily distinguish him from
other birds of the marsh.
This peculiar zigzag flight makes him q
difYicult mark to hit until the gunner has
become we'll accustomed to 1t. As the bird
almost always dies into the WIND when
flushed it Is best to enter the field or marsh
on the windward side and hunt down the
wind He then offers good quartering
shots, whereas when flying away from the
gunner in a jerky line he presents difh-
cult target
As the hunter splashes and stumbles
through the bogs, the snipe keeps close
hid behind the tussocks or IN among the
into the air with a harsh Scalp, scaipl.
If the man with the gun is experienced ne
will get in his right barrel as soon as eho
bird leaves the ground, and then II ne iaiis
to score, he will wait until the snipe settles
somewhat in his ight before giving him the
left.
A wounded bird will often betray his
whereabouts by hopping about in an eaors
to fy, but dead one ia very hard TO md
in the weeds and grass and muck OF the
marsh, as his protective oolorlng makes
him almost invisible. good retriever,
which will follow closely at heel until called
to bring in ali the birds he kills. The gun
should be light in weight and callbre, and
light clothing and boots should DO worn.
Tramping over marsh country ID strenuous
exercise.
The best time to reach the snipe grounds
is on bright autumnal day atter nignt
of frost. The marshes arc then IN their
glory. Under the wind-swept turquoise
sky the air is pure and keen; here and there
in the meadows the oaks have decked
themselves in wine color, and the naples
are arrayed in gold; the willows along the
brookside culver in the mellow light, ana
the fields Of reed and marsh grass bend
and sway in the breeze. The snipe seem
then rather indolent and may even be seen
summing themselves along some muddy
stream, and flying lazily from field TO field.
Later, when the cold increases, they are
wilder, and spring from the ground and
dart through the air with astonishing swift
ness.
Under November's lowering skies, when
the leaves have gone, all save the sombre
brown foliage of the oaks, when the sedge
and grass are yellow and gray and sere, a
few scattered 4wisps' Of the birds may be
picked up on the barren marsh, and around
the springheads and running brooks they
11, in orlry
winter.
The woodcock is first cousin to the jack
snipe-they both belong to the family Scolo-
paride; but while the snipe haunts the
wide marsh under the open sky. the wood.
cock hides away In swampy thiokets amid
dark woods. He has larger body and
His beautifully notified upper feathers
Of blended black. brown, gray and russell
are somewhat like those Of the snipe; but
his un.ersides are a uniform reddish brown,
while the snipe is barred with black and
white.
The snipe rarely breeds in the United
States, hut the woodoock remains all sum-
mer in the Northern States. IIe Is almost
universally solitary, while the snipe IL
often gregarious, especially in spring and
fall Both birds bore with their sensitive
bills in the soft mud for worms, insects
and seeds, leaving little round holes or
DOrlngs nenCe tHe IaTnleFs cHu Jn6 WOG0-
cock the bog sucker
The woodoock il nocturnal In his habits
and the snipe partly 20. On the marshes
at night weird noises may be heard made
by the snipe mounting and dropping in
the air.
On account OF his habitat the met he'd
Of finding and shooting the woodcool is
quite different from sniye shooting A
good pointer or setter is needed to fl d
and flush the birds. When flushed from
ais dense covert the woodcock rises 1T raight
up into the air to the height 81 the tree
tops, ana then carts away TO some OF her
copse not far on The gum er's chance
comes when the bird has reached the top
Of his ascent and pauses for tract ion OF
second before decidi' on his course
When rising or scurrying through the
close thickets he is usually safe from the
flying shot
WOodoock Shooting lends the hunter
through TIE depths of the autumn woods.
w hill ard uown dale, over rocks and
through tangled jungles aud swamps into
the most remote corners Of the country
SIDE The bird Is found pretty generally
throughout the country where there are
damp, secluded woods There " good
woodoook shooting IN New York State.
even In places 80 near the city as Vest
l(,aatar raIinty