388 



PHILOHELA MINOR (Gray;. 



AMERICAN WOODCOCK. 



Specific Character. — Bill long, compressed, punctulated, and corrugated near 

 the end ; upper mandible longer than the under and fitted to it at the tip; wings 

 moderate, three outer quills very narrow ; tail short ; legs moderate ; eyes in- 

 serted unusually distant from the bill. 



Adult. — Occiput with three transverse bands of black, alternating with three 

 much narrower ones of pale yellowish rufous ; upper parts of body variegated 

 with pale ashy rufous, or yellowish red of various shades, and black ; large space 

 on front and throat reddish ashy ; line from the eye to the bill and another on 

 the neck below the eye, brownish black ; entire under parts pale grayish rufous, 

 brighter on the sides and under wing coverts. Quills ashy brown, tail feathers 

 brownish black tipped with ashy, darker on the upper surface, paler and 

 frequently white on the under ; bill light brown, paler and yellowish at the base ; 

 legs pale reddish. 



Total length about 11 inches ; wing, 4.80-5.70; tail, 2.25 ; bill, 2.50 to nearly 

 3.00 tarsus, 1.25 ; middle toe, 1.37. 



Habitat. — During the summer this favorite game bird is distributed pretty 

 generally over the southern part of Ontario. It is not common as far north as 

 Muskoka nor so far east as Ottawa. South it is found over the greater part of 

 eastern North America, and as far west as Dakota. 



The Woodcock is a migratory bird arriving in Ontario often early in April , 

 when it almost at once proceeds to take up housekeeping. Its lovemaking is 

 much the same as that of other birds of this family. While the female sits upon 

 the ground, the male proceeds to show his agility, etc., rising high in the air by 

 a spiral sort of motion, occasionally uttering its notes, and after soaring about in 

 an irregular manner, it descends rapidly, making a whirring noise like that of the 

 snipe or night hawk under similiar circumstances. The female chooses generally 

 a spot outside of the deep swamp for her nesting place, such as on the edge of a 

 clump of bushes or swale in a meadow, sometimes on the bare ground near a 

 stump or bush in a field where, with but little nest, she lays three generally, but 

 sometimes four eggs. Both birds take turns in " setting " and they will allow 

 themselves to be almost trampled upon before they will leave the nest. 



It seldom flies or feeds except at night. It is a ground bird and its food 

 is chiefly composed of earth worms, larvse and insects, which it procures by push- 

 ing into the earth its long and very sensitive bill, by which the least motion is 

 detected. It is a very voracious bird, and in confinement has been known to eat 

 its weight of angle worms in a day. 



It is much esteemed for the table and brings a high price in the markets, 

 hence the avidity with which it is hunted. Formerly it was very plentiful in 

 some of the southern counties of Ontario, but of late years is becoming very scarce, 

 and if not carefully protected, will soon be among the extinct birds. It is terribly 

 slaughtered during the winter in some of the southern states, where it is hunted 

 at night by means of torches. During October there is probably no game bird 

 which the real sportsman so loves to hunt, for what with its sudden rise, its 

 cheery whistle and erratic flight, it makes most exciting sport. Its weight is 

 never more than nine and one half ounces, seldom eight, usually not more than 

 seven. The usual weight of the European woodcock is fourteen ounces. 



