190 •, PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



Though we had during the winter fewer Woodcocks on 

 our ground than for several years past, which we consider the 

 mild wet weather fully accounted for, strange to say we have 

 far more birds remaining than we have ever had; in fact, in one 

 <30ver they are quite numerous. Whether these birds are all or 

 most of them breeding, I do not know, but I should expect so. 

 Kobert Patrick, our head keeper, has already seen two young 

 broods of these birds, one on the 25th of April, and the other 

 about five days later, and had a good opportunity on both 

 occasions of watching them. They were about the size of large 

 snipe, and each time the old bird picked up one of the young 

 ones and flew off with it, she seemed to catch it in between her 

 legs and feet, and almost held it under her tail, and flew with a 

 very peculiar sort of side motion of the wings. Following it once, 

 he saw the young one dropped, and as soon as he came near it 

 picked it up and flew away again. There must be a considerable 

 diff'erence in the time of hatching of these birds, for the nest we 

 found a few years ago Avith four eggs was on the 21st of April, 

 and it was not hatched for some time after tliat, while these 

 young birds were well grown on the 25th of same month. I 

 am glad to say that if we have dry weather now for a time there 

 is a prospect of having better luck with our AVild Turkeys than 

 last year. On Sunday, when walking along the road to church, 

 I heard the "chuck, chuck" of a Turkey hen, and just fancying 

 from her call that she had chicks with her, I went quietly through 

 the bush, and, though I saw her quite well, I had to wait quietly 

 for some minutes before seeing any of the little ones; but she 

 began to walk slowly away, giving a call as she went, and then 

 one by one the wee things followed her, till I counted seven, and 

 I think there were more, but they are so cunning in lying hid 

 that they are not easy to see. It was a pretty sight; they were, 

 I should think, four or five days old, and seemed strong and 

 active. Coming home, Eobert Patrick showed us one of the 

 hens on her nest on the top of a dry bank, in among the old dry 

 brackens, and this nest will probably be hatched in a day or two. 

 There are also two other hens that must have nests somewhere 

 in the woods, but he has not been able to find them yet, and, as 

 the woods are now getting thick, until they appear with their 

 famihes, we do not expect to see them. Surely we will manage 

 to bring some of these to maturity, but we are not going to 



