94 



ON THE WING. 



sal sound ; the knisp a short, fine, and sharp sort of 

 whistle, which, when one is accustomed to it, may be 

 heard at a distance. This note clearly appears to be 

 one by which the betrothed invite each other to pair- 

 ing, for the bird seems to pay but very little attention 

 to the knort, but always listens and looks about as soon 

 as it hears the knisp or pisp. 



When the male and female woodcock meet in their 

 flights, or come near each other, they chase one an- 

 other, and cast themselves with the rapidity of light- 

 ning among the trees and bushes to the ground, and 

 give quick and hurried utterance to their finer note of 

 pisp. Although one can seldom witness actual pair- 

 ing, it is certain that these actions are preparatory to 

 the matrimonial act, and are to be looked upon as an 

 evidence of the modesty with which the female bird 

 meets the bold advances of her lover, for when the 

 pairing season is over, one not unfrequently observes 

 the male and female birds meeting without pursuing 

 one another. 



The Scandinavian woodcock is also an early breed- 

 er. It pairs in the spring \ the female makes the 

 nest, a mere bit of moss or heather hollowed out un- 

 der a bush or tussock, and lays three or four eggs of a 

 dirty yellow-green color, marked with large and dark 

 brown spots, pretty equally distributed over the surface. 

 They are one inch in length and one inch and four 

 lines in thickness. This bird breeds but once a year, 

 and its young are usually hatched about the end of 

 May. 



The mother, as with the partridge, and some other 



