392 RUSTICOLA SVLVESTMS. 



and at Castle Forbes, in Aberdeenshire. The Rev. Mr. 

 Gordon states that " some pairs breed in the larger woods 

 (of Moray), as at Darnaway and at Cawdor." At the latter 

 place a nest was found " on the ground at the foot of a fir 

 tree, formed of the leaves of the Scots fir, and with four 

 eggs." I have been favoured with interesting statements by 

 the Rev. Mr. Smith, and Mr. Burnet of Kemnay. 



" During the day-time," Mr. Smith writes, " the Wood- 

 cock repairs to the elevated and dry parts of the woods, 

 where it reposes snugly beneath the stunted Scottish firs, to 

 which it seems partial, — probably because the ground below 

 them is generally less damp than that below the spruce and 

 other kinds of fir. The Hill of Alvah, towards its summit, 

 is surrounded by a belt of stunted and bush-like firs of this 

 kind, beneath which the ground is dry and comparatively 

 warm. I recollect once accompanying Lord Fife's game- 

 keeper to this particular spot, and in the course of going 

 round the hill, in the line of these firs, we raised at least 

 twenty Woodcocks. On being alarmed, they uttered, if I 

 mistake not, a rather sharp quack, consisting of two notes. 

 During unusually severe weather, the Woodcock, contrary 

 to his habits when the season is of an ordinary character, 

 may sometimes be observed, during the day, feeding at such 

 small springs and boggy patches in the woods as have 

 yielded to the frost. This operation he performs by boring 

 to a great depth with his bill in the mud. While he is thus 

 employed, his head is driven backward and forward with a 

 rapidity which, to one who has not witnessed the perform- 

 ance, would almost exceed belief. So soon, however, as he 

 becomes aware of your presence, he ceases his efforts, draws 

 in his bill upon his breast, lowers his shoulders, squats close 

 upon the ground, and continues perfectly motionless. In 

 such a position, it is not a little difficult to distinguish him 

 from the hues of the surrounding ground, covered as it gene- 

 rally is by ferns, and such withered leaves as, in their 

 winter tints, harmonize remarkably with the colours of his 

 plumage." 



Mr. Burnet's statement is as follows : — " In my neigh- 

 bourhood the Woodcock is not uncommon, especially in the 



