Vot.XH BREWSTER, Notes and Song- Flight of the Woodcock. 20 3 



1894 -I 



as Mr. Faxon had seen him do on a former occasion, but after 

 peeping about twenty times he made a crouching run of a few 

 feet in a half circle. When he stopped he was lost to my sight 

 behind a small bush. While under my observation I could not 

 see him very distinctly, owing to the fact that the light was dim 

 and on his further side, he being to the west of my position. 

 After peeping a few times more he rose, flying off up wind, 

 mounting at first very gently, in fact skimming close to the 

 ground for tire first twenty yards, but probably rising slightly 

 during even this distance. During the remainder of the ascent 

 he rose more and more steeply the further he proceeded. Mr. 

 Faxon tells me that on the two preceding evenings, as on this, 

 he closed by a long spell of peeping, and then flew oft* to cover 

 or feeding ground. 



Lexington, Mass., April 8, /^/.—Reached the hill-top at 

 4.25 this morning; sky overcast, wind northwest, moderate; 

 cold, the ditches and shallow pools covered with ice as thick as 

 window glass. The eastern sky was reddening but there seemed 

 to be less daylight than when our bird ceased singing last night. 

 Nevertheless he was already at his post, for we heard him 

 rise and sing before we had climbed halfway up the hillside. 

 During the next twenty-five minutes he sang nine times and 

 at theclose of the ninth song scaled directly over his peeping 

 place down the hillside into a piece of birch cover where he 

 doubtless spends the day. Mr. Faxon tells me that he ended in 

 the same way yesterday morning, that is, by flying to cover 

 without peeping. It was practically broad daylight during his 

 last ascent and I saw this performance, as well as the two that 

 preceded it, nearly or quite as distinctly as if it had been noonday. 

 The bird rose and descended precisely as he did last evening, but 

 once during the descent he made two rather steep pitches (while 

 singing) . His ascent was fairly regular but his descent decidedly 

 irregular. He sang last evening and this morning over nearly 

 the same spot. His total flight extended over a space of fully 

 five acres. During his last descent this morning I followed him 

 with my glass and made out distinctly that while singing he 

 alternately flapped his wings (several times in succession) and 

 held them extended and motionless. During one of the periods 

 when they were not moving the song was at its height and the 



