220 WOODCOCK BREEDING CARRYING YOUNG. [P ART II. 



The Island, in proportion to its size, affords 

 probably more than its share of Woodcocks. Al- 

 though comparatively few of them remain to breed 

 there, yet such an occurrence is by no means un- 

 common. Indeed, I have scarcely ever known a 

 summer pass by, without hearing of one or more 

 of their nests. In April, 1834, a woodcock rose 

 before a keeper of ours in such a way that he 

 thought she was crippled, and consequently shot 

 her. He however found, too late, that this im- 

 perfect flight was assumed for the purpose of 

 diverting his attention from her young ones, of 

 which he discovered four by their "peeping," and 

 brought them up to the house. They might then 

 have been about a fortnight old. We tried to rear 

 them, and, from the readiness with which they fed 

 on worms, &c. thought we might have succeeded. 

 However, they unfortunately died one after the 

 other, the last survivor only living about a fort- 

 night. The fact of the Woodcock conveying its 

 young from place to place in its claws seems to 

 be now undoubtedly established. I know of two 

 instances where this has been seen to occur. One 

 of the persons who witnessed it is a keeper who 

 told me he was close to the bird, and could not 

 possibly have been mistaken. 



