THE OOLOGIST. 



279 



The Woodcock usually lays four, 

 ■rarely five, creamy or butV colored eggs, 

 spotted with various shades of slate 

 ;and reddish brown. 



The uest is a slight dej^ression or 

 hollow iu the grouml sometimes b»'ing 

 lined with vegetable down or some 

 [ fiiich material. 



From a series of six sets in my col- 

 lection (four being of four and two of 

 five eggs each) the smallest eggs meas- 

 ures l.Ooxl.SJ) inches and the largest 

 one measures 1.16x1.72 inches. 



A curious habit of the Woodcock is 

 that of removing their eggs to another 

 nesting site when they are disturbed 

 while incubating. I heard of this habit 

 -from an old sportsman and afterwards 

 [ verified it to my satisfaction. 



Finding a nest one day I disturbed 

 the setting bird three times and again 

 four times on the next day and on the 

 morning of the third day I found that 

 the birds had removed the eggs during 

 •the night and placed them in a new 

 nest about eight feet away where I 

 found the eggs. I had marked the 

 eggs to avoid any mistake. The second 

 nest was a mere hollow in the mossy 

 ground and was iu the middle of an 

 open place in tall marsh grass, while 

 the first was neatly cupped and lined 

 with the above mentioned vegetaijle 

 jIowu. 



Another singular habit of the Wood- 

 cock that I have never .seen noted is 

 that of both birds setting upon the nest 

 in wet or cold weather. In doing this 

 they huddle very close together and 

 face in opposite directions and I have 

 always noted that they have their heads 

 thrown back and their liills elevated to 

 iin angle of about forty- live degrees. 



I have often seen the female bird 

 carry the young birds In her feet and 

 once saw a male biru doing this. 



Their feeding time is mostly at night- 

 fall (dusk) or on dark cloudy days, 

 when they may be seen moving about 

 in a riuick jerky aijd nervous manner 



touching tlie ground with the i)iil and 

 using the wings and tail as if they were 

 drunk and wert; afraid of tuml)ling 

 over. 



The bill of a Woodcock is covered 

 with a membraneous sheath or net- 

 work of tine nerves which enables it to 

 easily find its food, which consists al- 

 most entirely of slugs and worms, such 

 as are found in bogs or low pastures. 

 The nervous covering on the bill is so 

 sensitive that the bird can distinguish 

 with it, the slightest movement of a 

 worm or sing several inches below the 

 surface of the ground by simply touch- 

 ing the grouud with its bill. Some- 

 times in "oozy" places where the sur- 

 face will shake I have seen them tap or 

 drum lightly upon the ground with 

 their wings to make the worms stir .so 

 that they could tell wliere they lay and 

 afterwaril probe after them witli their 

 bills. 



I have often read and lieard that the 

 American Woodcock never alights up- 

 on a fence or tree, but I know of two 

 instances where the exception occured, 

 not by my own observations but by the 

 following which were noted by my 

 fellow-oologist, Prof. Geo. W. Sabine, 

 of this city. 



On Sept. 15, 1872, while out shooting 

 in a grove south of Utica, N. Y., he 

 .saw a Woodcock perched upon a branch 

 about 15 feet up in a maple tree. 



On Oct. 1. 1875, he "put up" (flushed) 

 a Woodcock in (iraefienburg Swamp, 

 N. Y. The bird flew about 25 yards 

 and alighted upon an old rail fence. 

 H(jth of these instances are facts and 

 may be set <lown as such as J liave 

 known the Professor for eleven years, 

 and his noleijook substantiates both of 

 aitove statements. 



The above observations are taken 

 from my field notes, some of which 

 date back to July 8, 1878. 

 I am 3'ours in the study of Hirds, 

 I.SA1JOU S. 'J'ko.stlek, 



Omaha, Neb. 



