400 



LAND-BIRDS AND GAME-BIRDS 



(In New England, most abundant as a migrant, but locally 

 common as a summer-resident.) 



Fig. 23. Woodcock (J). 



(a). About eleven inches long. Beneath, varying from 

 (very) pale reddish buff to ruddy chestnut, darkest on the sides, 

 whitening on the chin and cheeks. Above, varied with the 

 same tint, with black, and with grayish. Forehead scarcely 

 marked, but bordered by a dark, irregular (and often indistinct) 

 line from the bill to the eye. Immature specimens are paler 

 and gra3'er above, and have several white markings. 



(6). The eggs average about 1-50 X 1'20 of an inch, though 

 variable in size and shape, and are creamy, brownish, or clay- 

 color, spotted and blotched with lilac and rather dull or indis- 

 tinct browns. In Massachusetts, a set of four is usually laid 

 about the middle of April. The places chosen are swampy 

 groves, especially of alders or birches, and sometimes pastures 

 or clearings. There is but little or no nest. 



(c). A "game-bird," though exceptions may be taken to al- 



