BIRD NOTES 21 



time uttering a not unpleasant purring note. It 

 lived several days in my possession, and during that 

 time partook eagerly of Oniscidce, strips of fish, liver, 

 and meat. But it gradually pined and died. I 

 have always understood that the cock was difficult 

 to keep in confinement, and I took great pains to 

 prove the contrary. I have kept a great variety of 

 species in my time, but never an easier-managed 

 one, save for satisfying its hunger, and here I failed. 

 I am satisfied that it is next to impossible to succeed 

 in doing so, for it would require one man's time 

 devoted entirely to digging and otherwise collecting 

 worms for its sustenance. 



The following are varying weights of this bird, 

 which under ordinary circumstances is plump and 

 heavy : 



November 1881 . example . n ounces. 



January 17, 1890 . ,, 15 ,, 



3> 1897 . 7i 



November 2, 1902 . ,, , iz ,, 



u 2 > 5> >j 14 



Only once have I found an undamaged dead 

 migratory Woodcock washed up by the sea; this 

 was on 24th December 1899 it was a small dark 

 variety, and exceedingly fat. 



