WOODCOCK 155 



Geog. Dist. — Eastern North America north to Labrador, west to Dakota and 

 Kansas, breeding throughout its range ; winters from Virginia and Illinois 

 southward. 



County Records. — Androscoggin; common summer resident, (Johnson). 

 Aroostook; common local summer resident, (Knight). Cumberland; com- 

 mon summer resident, (Mead). Franklin ; common summer resident, (Swain ). 

 Hancock; common summer resident, (Knight). Kennebec; summer resi- 

 dent, (Gardiner Branch). Knox; summer, (Rackliff). Oxford; breeds 

 commonly, (Nash). Penobscot ; common summer resident in suitable local- 

 ities, (Knight). Piscataquis; common, breeds, (Homer). Sagadahoc; com- 

 mon summer resident, (Spinney). Somerset; quite common migrant, rare 

 summer resident, (Morrell); common summer resident locally in northern 

 part of county, (Knight). Waldo; summer resident, quite common locally, 

 (Knight). Washington; plenty, breeds early, (Boardman). York; rare 

 breeder, (Adams). 



The Woodcock arrives from the south about April first, very 

 exceptionally in the middle of March, and remains until the 

 last of September or very exceptionally until November 30 

 (Bangor). Late in April or early in May visitors to the low 

 swampy woods at evening dusk may hear a strange "peep, peep" 

 sounding from the depths of the gray birches. Then without 

 other warning a strange bird (to them) springs above the birches 

 in ascending spirals with whistling wings. Finally reaching 

 the limit of flight far up in the air he descends headlong and 

 zigzag with a clear twitter of whistling melody, alighting at 

 the starting point to "peep, peep" several times and again 

 ascend in spirals. This is the "towering" or soaring of the 

 Woodcock, or in other words it is its love song, and is repeated 

 again and again during the mating season. 



Later on a nesting site is selected, generally on some slight 

 hummock or elevation in swampy land, and here the eggs are 

 laid at somewhat varying dates in May, usually during the early 

 part of the month. 



While engaged in botanizing in the rear of the Maine State 

 College, May 19, 1893, my attention was attracted to a pecu- 

 liar "glass bead" which shone near by on a hummock, and going 

 to pick this up found that it was a live Woodcock whose glis- 

 tening eye had resulted in betraying it in spite of its otherwise 



