ROCK MEADOW AT NIGHT. 177 



due north of him. His head, neck and shoul- 

 ders were plainly visible. I settled myself into 

 a comfortable position and watched him closely 

 through my glass. Except when pumping or 

 preparing to pump he was perfectly motionless, 

 his beak pointing well upward. I knew when 

 he was about to begin his music by the slow 

 lowering of his beak. This was followed by the 

 agitation of his breast and the first sounds from 

 his throat. Then came his spasm, his neck and 

 head being thrown up and snapped forward so 

 violently that it seemed that the head must suf- 

 fer dislocation. With these contortions came 

 the noises which are so difficult to explain or 

 describe. In this instance it seemed as though 

 water was being shaken violently in a skin bot- 

 tle. Listening intently, the sounds seemed best 

 expressed by the syllables " kung-ka-unk," re- 

 peated three, four or five times. To the demor- 

 alization of my throat I repeated these syllables 

 loudly, making them as nearly as possible as the 

 bird did. He replied promptly and betrayed 

 interest by more rapid and longer performances. 

 This continued until it was so dark that I could 

 only just discern him with my glass, when sud- 

 denly my attention was distracted by the sound 

 of snipe flying overhead. Their performance 

 is similar to that of the woodcock, but less elab- 

 orate. Rising to a considerable height above 



