Thursday, November 16, 2006
'tis the season
Snipe [snahyp] noun, plural snipe, (especially collectively) snipe for 1, 2; verb sniped, snip‧ing. Any of several long-billed game birds of the genera Gallinago (Capella) and Limnocryptes, inhabiting marshy areas, as G. gallinago (common snipe), of Eurasia and North America, having barred and striped white, brown, and black plumage.
Snipe are widely known for being slow-moving nocturnal birds, ranging in size from a small chicken to a school bus. One of the species' defining characteristics is its inability to fly or defend itself. The bird walks mainly in open fields, and is thought to be extremely dim-witted.
The bird is a delicacy and is frequently hunted for its meat. Experienced snipers report that the bird can be captured in a canvas sack or even a paper bag. During the rut, male snipe will respond to loud whooping noises. Some old-timers claim that the preferred method of attracting snipe is to run through a field waving aluminum pie plates while making whoops.
Snipe were thought to be extinct in the lower 48 because none had been caught in a number of decades. However, researchers funded by an NSF grant recently recorded the unmistakable snipe mating song while tracking the birds in the prairies north of Dallas.
Snipe hunting season peaks in mid-November, as the birds migrate in all directions.
¶ 10:39 PM 
Snipe are widely known for being slow-moving nocturnal birds, ranging in size from a small chicken to a school bus. One of the species' defining characteristics is its inability to fly or defend itself. The bird walks mainly in open fields, and is thought to be extremely dim-witted.
The bird is a delicacy and is frequently hunted for its meat. Experienced snipers report that the bird can be captured in a canvas sack or even a paper bag. During the rut, male snipe will respond to loud whooping noises. Some old-timers claim that the preferred method of attracting snipe is to run through a field waving aluminum pie plates while making whoops.
Snipe were thought to be extinct in the lower 48 because none had been caught in a number of decades. However, researchers funded by an NSF grant recently recorded the unmistakable snipe mating song while tracking the birds in the prairies north of Dallas.
Snipe hunting season peaks in mid-November, as the birds migrate in all directions.
¶ 10:39 PM
