272 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE. 



that soaring is the bird's regular mode 

 of flight. 



Rarely does this bird exceed ten 

 inches in length. In a few cases the 

 female, which is invariably larger than 

 the male, attains a length of eleven in- 

 ches. Indeed one on record measured 

 twelve, but such instances are rare. 



In the summer months the woodcock 

 is found as far north as Labrador, and 

 the Hudson Bay, but as fall approaches 

 it migrates further south until it 

 reaches southern Virginia and North 

 Carolina. Here it winters, and it is 

 here that the bird has been so greatly 

 reduced in numbers. In 1835 it was 

 not an uncommon sight to see a hunter 



return from the woods with as many 

 as twenty woodcocks in his game-bag. 

 Woodcock hunting was, some years 

 ago, an every day occurrence, and even 

 a business ; the markets abounded with 

 them, and now, as a sad result, a rapid- 

 ly diminishing number exists. 



The woodcock arrives in our north- 

 ern latitude, about the first of April. 

 At this time they are gregarious, and 

 may be seen flying by night, one after 

 the other in quick succession. Their 

 flight is direct but low, rarely above 

 four feet above the meadows where 

 they congregate. In June they mate, 

 and seek the thick brush, in prefer- 

 ence to the field. 



GAINING INTIMATE FRIENDSHIP WITH THE WOODCOCK. 



