observer of wild life, with whom I some- 

 times roam the woods, once stumbled upon 

 a mo ther woodcock and her brood by a little 

 brook at the foot of a wild hillside. One of 

 the chicks was resting upon the mother's 

 back, just as one often sees a domestic 

 chicken. At my friend's sudden approach 

 the mother rose, taking the chick with her 

 on her back, and vanished among the thick 

 leaves. The rest of the brood, three of them, 

 disappeared instantly; and the man, after find- 

 ing one of them, went on his way without 

 waiting to see whether the mother returned 

 for the rest. I give the incident for what it 

 is worth as a possible suggestion as to the 

 way in which young woodcock are carried to 

 and fro; but I am. quite sure that those that 

 have come under my own observation were 

 carried by an entirely different method. 



The young woodcock begin to use their 

 tiny wings within a few days of leaving the 

 eggs, earlier even than young quail, and fly 

 in a remarkably short time. They grow with 

 astonishing rapidity, thanks to their good 

 feeding, so that often by early summer the 



