176 



MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 



the earth again with great velocity and ahghting close to the point from 

 which it started. 



The Woodcock has decreased in numbers very seriously within the past 

 twenty years, and for a time was believed to be on the verge of extinction. 

 Even at the present time it seems to be entirely absent from large sections 

 of country where it was formerly abundant, and although believed to be 

 again increasing in numbers it is nowhere so common as formerly. 



It arrives from the south almost as soon as the ground is free from snow, 

 very frequently before the last snow storm of winter. Probably in the 

 southern counties a few always arrive before the middle of March, and the 

 greater part of the local birds by April first. Since the Woodcock nests freely 



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Fig. 50. Nest and Eggs of Woodcock. 

 From photograph. (Courtesy of Gerard Alan Abbott.) 



in the northernmost parts of the state, however, and since these regions are 

 often covered with ice and snow until the last of April, or even the first of 

 May, many migrants may be found in the southern half of the state all 

 through April. The southward movement begins in early September 

 and continues through October, but after the middle of the latter month 

 very few are found. 



In Southern Michigan the first eggs are almost always laid in April. 

 The nest is simply a hollow among the dry leaves, and the eggs commonly 

 four in number, beautifully spotted and mottled with various shades of 

 brown, and averaging 1.51 by 1.14 inches. Nests with eggs are found 

 from the first week in April until well into May, but these later sets are 

 probably second layings, the first having been destroyed by bad weather 



