WOODCOCK
Rubicolor minor (Gmelin)
Other Names.—Wall-eyed Snipe; Bog Snipe.
Description.—Appearance snipe-like, with very long bill and large eyes in back of the head, but feet very short, more as in gallinaceous birds; sexes similar, the female larger; three outer primaries narrow and stiff. Adults: Back of crown black, crossed with buffy bars; upperparts dark brown and black, the feathers barred, margined, and speckled with buffy brown and gray; wing coverts buffy brown, barred with darker brown; underparts buffy, tending toward rufous; tips of tail-feathers gray above, silvery white underneath; eyes dark brown; bill and feet pinkish flesh color. Downy young buffy brown considerably marked with blackish. Length: 11 inches.
Range in Pennsylvania.—A rather uncommon and somewhat irregular migrant and summer resident, coming sometimes as early as the first week of March and remaining until the middle of October. It is sometimes common during migration, particularly in the fall.
Nest.—A mere depression in the leaves, usually in more or less open woodland, sometimes concealed from above by brush or a bush or tree. Eggs: 3 or 4, buffy brown, spotted with darker brown.
Woodcock
In spring the Woodcock must be sought in some bushy swale, along the borders of a marsh, or near a small stream where the low banks are constantly moist and where brush and old logs give this retiring species a retreat. Here the nocturnal birds bore in the mud with their long bills, searching for food which they may grasp with the mobile tips of their mandibles. When disturbed they fly up rapidly, their wings whistling musically as they make off, somewhat erratically, through the undergrowth.
The spring courtship flight of the Woodcock is remarkable. On warm evenings the males bleat in their favorite haunts, then, as darkness descends, mount on whistling wings higher and higher, until they are far above the earth. They then hurl themselves back and forth as they start pitching toward the earth, the while producing a twittering sound with their throats as they drop at considerable speed, to alight not far from the point at which they started. Courting Woodcocks will sometimes alight within a few feet of a quiet observer.
Because the incubating bird is quiet and her back so perfectly resembles the leaves and twigs near her, she is very difficult to see. She so implicitly believes that she cannot be seen that she is not often flushed from her nest; sometimes she will permit her back to be stroked or her whole body to be lifted from her eggs.
WILSON’S SNIPE
Capella gallinago delicata (Ord)
Other Names.—Jack Snipe; English Snipe (erroneous).
Description.—A little heavier than a Robin, but with short tail, very long bill, and moderately long feet; sexes similar. Upperparts black, plumage edged, barred, and variously marked with white, buffy, and grayish; a light line through middle of crown, another over eye; wings dark brown, outer edge of outer primary and tips of greater coverts, white; tail black, tipped with orange-buff and white, the outer feathers white, barred with black; throat and belly white; neck and breast buffy, indistinctly barred with dark brown; sides barred with black; under tail-coverts buffy, barred with black; bill greenish dusky; feet dull green; eyes, which are placed rather far back in the head, dark brown. The female is somewhat browner than the male; immature birds are sometimes quite brownish, especially in the region of the head and neck. Length: 11 inches.
Range in Pennsylvania.—As a migrant, rather regular and common, particularly in suitable marshes or along the margins of streams, from March 15 to May 20 and from September 15 to November 10; as a summer resident, local, known to nest at Pymatuning Swamp, Crawford County, and presumably in other northern counties where there are suitable marshes.
Nest.—A shallow cup made of dead stalks of various plants, placed on a small island or a water-soaked log, or in a low, moist, field, among the grass. Eggs: 4, olive-brown, spotted with rich dark brown, chiefly at the larger end.
