AMERICAN WOODCOCK 109 



leaves and soft grasses woven together in a 

 shallow depression, — at the foot of a dead stub, 

 it may be, — and lays its complement of four or 

 five dull clay-colored eggs, thickly speckled with 

 brown spots. It is said, and probably truly, 

 that the cock bird assists in the incubation and 

 in the care and up-bringing of the young. The 

 Woodcock has a healthy appetite and is a great 

 feeder, so that no short watch off the nest 

 would keep the female plump and round as is 

 her wont. 



Should spring rains or cold storms play havoc 

 with nests and eggs, with renewed courage they 

 try again, for this tenacity of purpose is neces- 

 sary for the continuance of the species, and the 

 birds, realizing the exacting demands of the 

 sportsmen of the country, are hard pushed to 

 meet their requirements. It may be that in 

 their southern breeding grounds two families 

 are sometimes raised in a season, but I much 

 doubt that such is the case at all in New Eng- 

 land. Would that it were ! 



How many of our sportsmen have ever 

 seen the Woodcock at his spring love-making? 

 It is certainly a curious performance and well 

 Worth a trip into the covers to see. With the 



