56 BIRDS OF LOCH AND MOUNTAIN 



mid-July, their flight is quite different from what it 

 is during the autumn and winter months. During 

 this latter period one rarely sees them on the wing 

 unless flushed, and then their flight is a zigzag one, 

 much the same as the Snipe's. In the spring and 

 early summer, however, they appear as dusk is 

 coming on, and for several hours fly backwards 

 and forwards over large stretches of country, 

 though they seem to prefer to fly a little distance 

 above the forests where they nest. Their wings are 

 moved very rapidly, and their flight is absolutely 

 different from that during the winter. Every 

 hundred yards or so they utter a sharp "Chisik," 

 which is heard a long way off, and gives warning 

 of the bird's approach. 



I think this particular note is the male bird's 

 love-song, and it is extremely interesting to observe 

 his special note and flight at this season of the 

 year. Sometimes I have seen one bird chasing 

 another, and then their cry is louder and shriller 

 than is usually the case. If a Woodcock is flushed 

 from the ground during the spring months, its flight 

 is exactly the same as in winter, and it seems to 

 be only during the evening hours that this special 

 flight is made use of. 



During May and June one can count on seeing 

 the birds any evening, but before darkness has set 

 in they have disappeared, having probably gone 

 off to their feeding ground, where they spend most 

 of the night. 



By the month of May most of the young Wood- 

 cock have been hatched, and, like all the birds 

 of their family, are able to run almost immediately 

 after breaking the shell. When they are small 

 and little able to look after themselves, the parent 



