AMERICAN WOODCOCK. 



2 ID 



Note ox the Turxstoxe. I found a few Turnstones on Iiiagua, in February, 18SS, and this is the 

 •only instance wliere I have seen the bird in any of the West Indies in winter. I have, however, found them 

 •commjn.and at times abundant, during the migrations, both on tlie Caymans and throughout the Bahamas, 

 in April and May. I also found specimens as late as June 7th, 1884. on Seal Key, Bahamas. 



Notes on the Bl.-vck-Necked Stilt. I found this species abundant on the Green Key to the eastward 

 ■of the Tongue of Ocean on June 6tli, lbS4, when they were evidently prejjaring to breed. There was a large 

 flock in a brackish water pond on Cayman Brae in April, 1888, and they were said to remain there all 

 summer. 



Notes ox Habits: 



Oil April lOth, IS9-"), 1 wjno-.tipped a female on Morritt's Island, Florida. This bird 

 I captured and .she became very tame, I'emaining in the tent, witlujut attempting to 

 escap.', althougli the door w.is constantly open. She ate bits of meat quite readily 

 which were placed in water for lier, but was especially fond of small fishes, catching them 

 quite expertly as they swam about in a basin of water. We succeeded in bringing this 

 bird north but sh.' did nor long survive the journey. In spite of her long legs this Stilt 

 was oae of the most graceful birds in movement that I ever saw, never appearing awk- 

 ward in any position that she assumed. 



Notes ox the Vocal Orgaxs of the American W'oodcock. The following notes appeared in Vol. 

 1, Contributions to Science, but are of sufficient interest to be reproduced here. For years there has been a 

 •controversy among sportsmen and ornithologists, as to whether the whistling notes of the Woodcock, made 

 when rising, are produced by the peculiarly attenuated first primaries, or in some other manner 

 with tlie wings, or whether this sound is vocal. Much evidence is given in support of both views, but 

 4dth lugh I JKivc nothing new to offer on either side, yet I may say, after carefully reading the testim my given 

 on the subject, that I am inclined to think the preponderance of evidence is in favor of the sound bein' 

 produced with the wings. 



I shall, however, add in the following article, a grain of evidence in favor of the voctl notes, as I can 

 prove uY)st conclusively tliat tlie notes can be produced by the laryngeal muscles and membranes. 



The main object of this paper is to illustrate how the fine warbli ig notes given during the breeding- 

 ■soason. s ) admirably describei] by Messrs. Nuttall, Brewster, Torrey and others, are produced. 



The trachea, or windjiijie, of this bird is considerably flattened and widened 

 at the superior, or upper, larynx becomes narrower and rounder as it descends, then 

 once more widens as it approaches the lower larynx, and here it is also flattened. 



The lower larynx is peculiar ; the sterno trachealis is present, and is well 

 developed and there are tympaniform membranes that extend the entire length of the 

 bronchial tulies. There is no os transversale and consequently no semiluna 

 membrane. Thus at first sight, it wouhl seem that all of the notes that this 

 species is capable of uttering must be caused by the vibrations of the tympanif )rms. 

 This was the view of the case that I took in an account of the structure of the 

 larynx of the Woodcock, published in the first edition of ray Birds of Eastern North 

 America, in 1881. In there making the statement that all of the notes given by the 

 Woodcock are produced by the tympanif irms. I overlooked an important factor which 

 I have since found plays a prominent part in the vocal apparatus of these birds. Tiiis 

 is a small vibrating membrane that lies on the side of the laryn.x. between the half 

 rings of the bronchial tubes and the lower bones of the larynx. See Fig. 41, where 

 .a life size, side view, of the apparatus is given ; t, trachea ; u, a portion of the 

 Lronchial tube, and the shaded portion between c and n is the laryngeal vibrating 

 surface. This surface is rendered tense or is loosened by the action of two pairs of 

 strap like muscles. One, the remnants of the broncho-trachealis, ib. b, is not well 



Fig. 41. 



