AMERICAN WOODCOCK 65 



whistles. These song notes vary in sweetness with different individuals, but are 

 often very clear and musical. Not the least interesting aspect of the wood- 

 cock's evening hymn is the fact that so stolid appearing a bird should be 

 moved by the fervor of courtship to execute so elaborate and exciting a per- 

 formance. The excitement attending the affair as far as the spectator, or 

 rather listener, is concerned lies to great extent in the wing whistling. When 

 the woodcock first rises, the whistle is comparatively low, but as he mounts, 

 the pitch rises and the rapidity of production increases. It is a steady 

 succession of very short whistling notes for some time, but, when the bird 

 and the whistle both reach their height, it comes in short groups of extremely 

 rapid whistles alternating w r ith brief intervals of motionless wings, as if 

 the performer were breathless with excitement and effort and could not 

 sustain his flight for long at a time. This is the effect, I mean. Probably 

 the bird finds it easy enough, for he makes his flight at comparatively short 

 intervals and during his periods of rest he is hard at work producing his harsh 

 and unmusical nighthawklike peent notes which involve a deal of muscular 

 effort. 



Lynds Jones (1909) says that "the bird floats downward by a 

 crooked path, the while calling in coaxing tones p chuck tuck cuch oo, 

 p chuck tuck cuckoo, uttered more slowly at first, regularly increas- 

 ing in rapidity until the notes are almost a wheedling call." Isador S. 

 Trostler (1893) describes a feature of the courtship which I have 

 not seen mentioned elsewhere ; he writes : 



The birds often play in a very droll manner, running round and round each 

 other in a small circle, their feathers ruffled, their wings lifted, and their 

 long bills pointing nearly directly upward, with their heads resting on their 

 backs. 



Sometimes they will hop on one foot, holding the other at a queer angle, as if 

 it had been broken or hurt. The male bird utters a low indescribable sound 

 during all the playing, and the sight of these queer antics is worth more than 

 to have seen Modjeska or Barrett in their celebrated plays. 



Nesting. — The nesting sites of the woodcock are almost as varied 

 as its haunts at other times. I have never known how or where to 

 look for its nest; in over 40 years of field work I have seen but one 

 nest with eggs. That was shown to me by Mrs. Mary M. Kaan, in 

 Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, on June 2, 1924. It was located where 

 I should never have thought of looking for one, in an open, rocky 

 hollow in open woods, within 50 feet of a bridle path on one side and 

 about the same distance from a swampy ravine and brook on the 

 other side. The nest was on a little hummock, surrounded by herbage 

 about a foot high; it was a mere hollow in the ground lined with 

 dead leaves. Although it was in fairly plain sight, it was a long 

 time before I could see the sitting bird, even when it was pointed 

 out to me. The bird sat like a rock, as this species usually does, 

 while I took a series of photographs of it, moving gradually nearer. 

 I even removed two leaves which were resting on her bill, and Mrs. 

 Kaan stroked her on the back before she left. The nest held only 

 three eggs, which were probably a second laying. 



