18 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING 
was doing so, but it seems more probable that he was 
waiting to see if he could perceive any movement in 
the earth near his bill. If none was felt, he would 
withdraw his probe and thrust it in again a little 
farther on. If, however, he detected any movement, 
the beak was hastily withdrawn, rapidly plunged in 
again in a slightly different direction, and the unfor- 
tunate worm was brought to the surface and devoured 
with evident satisfaction. When the supply of worms 
was exhausted the bird carefully cleansed the mud 
from his bill by means of his feet and, after giving 
himself a shake or two, retired to the farthest corner 
of his cage, buried his long beak among the feathers 
of his back and settled himself for a quiet after-dinner 
nap. Sometimes he would thrust his bill down among 
the moss once or twice, and then walking to his water 
dish would wash it by slowly moving his head from 
side to side. After he had been confined for over a 
month, the worms fed to the bird during twenty-four 
consecutive hours were counted and weighed, and he 
was found to have eaten two hundred worms, weigh- 
ing five and one-quarter ounces. At the end of this 
time he was still eager for food. Somewhat later 
he had increased one ounce in weight, and he now 
ate in twenty-four hours no less than eight ounces of 
worms. 
For nearly twenty years now the woodcock has 
been growing more and more scarce, and it has been 
generally accepted as true that it is on the way to ex- 
tinction. Not many years ago so distinguished a 
