296 WOODCOCK AND SNIPE 



We do not remember to have seen any other account of the way 

 in which the woodcock turns its eggs than Mr. Macpherson's. In this 

 operation, he tells us, the beak plays no part, but the egg is invariably 

 grasped and turned with the foot, aided by a shuffling movement of 

 the body. 



The whole work of incubation seems to fall entirely on the female. 

 At any rate, during the week's vigil just described, the male was never 

 once seen, though he may have visited his mate during the night. On 

 the other hand, Mr. de Yisme Shaw tells us that when resting during 

 the day he selects a position never more than a few feet away from 

 the nest. And this would seem to be further evidence that he takes 

 no active part in the work of incubation. But according to Naumann 

 (see p. 273) he relieves his mate for a short space during midday. 



The halcyon days of brooding over, the anxious work of provid- 

 ing food for the young begins. But as to the manner in which this 

 provision is made, the most widely divergent statements have been 

 made. Knowing this, it is somewhat remarkable that no ornitho- 

 logist has undertaken the task, albeit a hard one, of setting the 



* 



matter at rest. It is to be remembered that the woodcock commonly 







nests in areas more or less remote from its feeding-ground ; wherein it 

 differs from nearly all other birds whose young enter the world in a 

 precocious condition. According to some, one or both parents bring 

 food generally worms to the nest, or at any rate the nesting area ; 

 and Sir Ralph Payne Gallwey, according to Yarrell, 1 " has observed 

 that woodcocks have a curious habit of placing near the edge of the 

 nest a little bank of moss, on which they will at times deposit worms 

 as they bring them, that the young may learn to pick them out as they 

 quickly glide from their view." This may be so ; and the young may 

 also obtain a portion of their food, at any rate, under the guidance of 

 the parents, from among the dead leaves in the vicinity of the nest, 

 for we know that the adults, when need presses at any rate, contrive 

 to find food after this fashion. On the other hand, a number of 



1 British Birds, vol. iii. p. 329. 



