240 Wild Birds and their Haunts 



Strictly speaking, the curlew should be classed with the 

 longbills mentioned above, for their food is very similar, 

 though the habits and movements of this ' ' watch dog of 

 the moors ' ' are peculiar to itself alone. Long-billed birds 

 generally lay pointed eggs, and, with few exceptions, the 

 nests are made on the ground, and the materials used in 

 their formation are of the scantiest, consisting merely of 

 dry grass, hay, and a few odd pieces of straw, rushes, etc. 

 The curlew, however, only lays two, or at most three, 

 eggs, and it is exceedingly rare to find four in one clutch. 

 The woodcock lays four, beautifully mottled with rich 

 brown, while those of the snipe resemble the well-known 

 eggs of the lapwing on a smaller scale, being, however, 

 somewhat darker in shade. Woodcock often rear two 

 broods, and it is not uncommon to find incubation still in 

 progress at the beginning of August, especially when the 

 spring has been accompanied by late frosts and snow. 

 The diet of woodcock and snipe is of a varied nature, con- 

 sisting of insects, worms, and grubs of all descriptions, 

 which are located by the long and sensitive bill in the soft 

 ooze or marshes affected by the species at nightfall. On 

 a moonlight night the birds may be seen probing dili- 

 gently for their food, and the quantity thus obtained in 

 favourable localities is best shown by the speed with 

 which they recover from the effects of their long autumn 

 flight. 



Scandinavia is pre-eminently the home of the wood- 

 cock, though the species is distributed generally all over 

 Northern Europe. The American species is totally dis- 

 tinct, and, so far as I am aware, has never found its way 

 across the Atlantic. In the vast pinewoods of Norway it 

 breeds in peace and security, though large numbers are 

 caught for the market when gathering on the coast-line at 

 the first breath of winter. There they may be seen in 

 large parties, preparing for their autumn migration; and 

 it is probable that only a small proportion find their way 

 home again in the spring. Some travel as far as Spain 

 and the shores of the Mediterranean, being guided solely 

 by the instinct which prompts them to resort to milder 

 climates at the approach of winter. Their sensitive bills 



