312 The American Woodcock 



that a light tapping may bring the same worms 

 to the surface. A veteran poacher once told me 

 that when he wanted easy worms during a dry 

 spell, he first soaked a likely spot with a few 

 bucketfuls of water, then tapped the wet spot all 

 over with a light switch. The only reason he had 

 for the tapping was that his father always did it. 



This set me to thinking, and the natural solu- 

 tion of the apparent mystery was that the poured 

 water, percolating downward through the holes, 

 notified the worms that it was raining up above — 

 hence a good time for them to rise to the surface. 

 The tapping of the switch was an imitation of 

 the patter of falling drops and a confirmatory 

 message to the worms. Following this theory, 

 we boys of the old brigade never merely upset 

 our water pails, but held them high and caused 

 the water to spatter like rain ; and after that we 

 lightly and rapidly tapped the ground all over 

 with a switch. And we got woi^ms ! It may be 

 that the woodcock's instinct tells him to both 

 dance and tap the ground to induce the worms 

 to come within reach. Other creatures do stranger 

 things than this. 



To return to the newly arrived bird in early 

 spring. After a reliable food supply has become 

 assured, the next important business is to secure 

 a mate. Those who would study the wooing of 

 this bird must spend the April twilight and 



