why the eyes are far back on the head, to be 

 out of the way, and also to watch for danger 

 above and behind while the bird's bill is deep 

 in the mud. And that also explains why the 

 tip of the bill is flexible, so that when the 

 bird bores in the earth and has failed to locate 

 the game accurately by hearing, the sensitive 

 tip of the bill feels around, like a finger, until 

 it finds and seizes the morsel. All this and 

 many things more he told me as we searched 

 through the swamp for the signs of Mother 

 Woodcock's hunting and made our way home 

 together in the twilight. Some things were 

 true, some erroneous ; and some were a curious 

 blending of accurate traditions and imagina- 

 tive folk-lore from some unknown source, 

 such as is still held as knowledge of birds 

 and beasts in all country places ; and these 

 were the most interesting of all to a child. 

 And the boy listened, as a devotee listens to 

 a great sacred concert, and remembered all 

 these things and afterwards sifted them and 

 found out for himself what things were true. 

 When I went back to the spot, a few days 

 later, the nest was deserted. A few bits of 



