204 



THE BIRDS ABOUT Us. 



Woodcock. 



the sportsman, that the natural history of the bird 

 is very well known. In the Middle States it comes 



usually in February 

 if the weather is mild, 

 and in March if the 

 spring is backward, 

 and knowing the 

 country pretty well, if 

 an old bird, locates 

 about some bubbling 

 spring around which 

 the ground is soft 

 and warm, and where 

 the sun shines for a 

 good part of the day. 

 There are always 

 such places in every 



county, and the bird can thrive very well even if 

 there are a good many cold snaps after its arrival. 

 Quite early it has got through with its peculiar 

 courtship, and the eggs placed upon the bare ground 

 are a matter of great care to both parents. 



Nuttall's account of the courtship is as follows : 



" During the mating season, in the morning as well as evening, but 

 more particularly the latter, the male in the vicinity of his mate and 

 nest rises successively in a spiral course like a Lark. While ascend- 

 ing he utters a hurried and feeble warble, but in descending the tones 

 increase as he approaches towards the ground, and then becoming 

 loud and sweet, pass into an agreeable, quick, and tumultuous song. 

 As soon as the performer descends the sound ceases for a moment, 

 when with a sort of stifled utterance, accompanied by a stiff and 

 balancing motion of the body, the word blaik, and sometimes paip, 

 paip, is uttered." 



