3i8 The American Woodcock 



a keen eye upon the ground for the two infallible 

 signs, the borings and the droppings, the latter 

 showing distinctly like drops of whitewash on the 

 ground. 



In a corn-field the borings may be scattered or 

 in clusters, the latter arrangement suggesting that 

 the probing bill had found "pay dirt" — other- 

 wise, wormy ground. The appearance of the 

 borings is unlike worm-holes or any other holes, 

 of which many may show. The woodcock's sign 

 looks as though somebody had thrust a slim 

 pencil again and again — perhaps a dozen times 

 in a spot a foot square — into the ground. The 

 arrangement of the holes may be roughly circular, 

 in lines, or scattered, but their presence attests 

 that one or more birds spent some time at the 

 spot. Quite often there will be no borings what- 

 ever in the open spaces between the rows of corn, 

 while close about the roots the soil may be 

 riddled. And it is well to remember that one or 

 two birds sometimes make an astonishing num- 

 ber of holes, and also that birds 77tay feed in a 

 certain field, yet not remain there during the day. 

 I have seen ground riddled like the bottom of a 

 colander, yet never a bird in that field. Then is 

 the time to climb the fence and take a look at the 

 surroundings, for an adjacent bit of heavy woods 

 or a thicket may be well worth a visit. A useful 

 rule, too, when a heavy rain follows a dry spell, is 



