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1901] Smith — The Woodcock's Love Song. 129 



THE WOODCOCK'S LOVE SONG. 



63- L. H. Smith 

 (Read before the Ornithological Sect, of the Entomolog-ical Soc. of Ont. ) 



The woodcock so much admired by sportsmen as a game 

 bird, has traits of character which have never been read either by 

 the sportsman or the naturalist. His habits being principally 

 nocturnal perhaps to some extent account for this. 



His peculiar shape and make up, so different to that of the 

 grouse or partridge family, or to any other game bird, mark him 

 as a strangely unique specimen. His long bill, peculiarly shaped 

 head, in which his large black eye is set so far back, his breast- 

 heavy body, and short excuse for a tail, all mark him as a delight- 

 fully curious and uncommon bird. His color is beautiful, velvet 

 and russet ; none of our game birds is clothed in richer plumage. 



The haunts of the woodcock are in keeping with his general 

 character. Our deeply shaded swales and glens are the places he 

 loves to make his home. He is seldom found unless in a spot so 

 beautiful that the sportsman-naturalist could imagine he is the 

 companion of " wood nymphs " ; no other birds frequent and live 

 in such lovely sylvan retreats. 



" The woodcock's love song " is a strange performance and 

 is known to com.paratively few. Any fine warm evening about 

 the middle of April, it you take your stand at dusk, by the side of 

 a good piece of woodcock cover, and remain perfectly still for a 

 few minutes, you will soon hear a sound, perhaps not twenty 

 yards from you, from some bird on the ground. If you never heard 

 the^ same before you would be inclined to think it was a nighthawk, 

 for the sound is a sort of drawn-out " pate" very similar to the 

 night-hawk when on the wing. The bird will emit this note 

 " pate," " pate," several times at short intervals, and then take 

 wing, when you will at once recognize the author of the weird 

 notes, for no one who has ever heard the wing-whistle of the 

 woodcock as he rises in cover can mistake him for any other bird. 

 The bird mounts in the air by a circular flight ; you can easily 

 keep track of him, although he is not visible to the eye, by the 

 incessant twittering noise he is making with his wings. When 

 he arrives at the summit of his flight, he commences a sharp 

 twittering whistle and after describing a few circles he commences 

 a rapid descent, and pitches to the ground very close to the spot 

 he ro e from two or three minutes before. He soon commences 

 his "pfite," "pate" again and repeats his aerial gymnastic flight 

 over and over again. By listening very attentively you will hear 

 a low gutteral note just preceeding the pating note; a note very 

 similar to the crowing note of a hen made just as she is getting 

 her chicks nestled snugly beneath her for the night. How long 

 on a fine spring night he will keep his antics up I cannot say, but 

 quite long enougti for you to get the whole performance thoroughly 

 engraved on your senses, so that at any subsequent time you 

 would not possibly mistake it for that of any other bird. 



