244 GAME BIRDS. WILD-FOWL AND SHORE BIRDS. 



years' experience, says that- in some years quite a flight goes 

 over in the evening. Some stop, but no hirge numbers. He 

 says that he shot four or five in the fall of 1908, that several 

 were shot in the fall of 1909 and that there was quite a flight 

 in November, all of which seems to indicate that a part of 

 the flight of Woodcock comes down the coast, crosses from the 

 entrance of Barnstable harbor over Yarmouthport, steers 

 southward to Hyannis and then follows the south coast of the 

 Cape Cod peninsula westward. Those which come down from 

 the outer arm of the Cape may cross here also. This seems to 

 indicate that the movement of native Woodcock southward 

 begins there in August, and the experience of western Mas- 

 sachusetts gunners indicates that the native birds have left 

 there by early October, although some may remain later in 

 the milder climate of the coast region. 



Our present law protects our own birds fairly well here, 

 except from lawbreakers who hunt before "the law is oft'." 

 Probably most of the Woodcock shooting that our gunners get 

 now is furnished by birds from farther north and northeast. 



The fate of the Woodcock rests largely with the people of 

 the United States, in which mainly it lives. Its range includes 

 part of southern Canada, but it is chiefly a bird of the eastern 

 United States. It is not disturbed by agriculture, and thrives 

 well on rich and cultivated farms, provided there are a few 

 boggy runs or small swamps where it can nest. Gardens and 

 cornfields are favorite hunting grounds of this bird. 



The food of the Woodcock consists largely of earthworms 

 and insects. The long sensitive bill is provided with nerves 

 and muscles and forms a very effective tool for exploring soft 

 ground or searching beneath the leaves, for in such situations 

 the bird gets most of its food. 



