146 



SNIPES, SANDPIPERS, ETC. Family Scolopacidae 

 AMERICAN WOODCOCK 



228. Philohela minor. 11 in. 



Bill very long; eyes very large and located near the 

 top of the head; form heavy; legs short; plumage much 

 mottled with black, brown and gray. These peculiar 

 birds are very well known throughout their range, to 

 gunners and sportsmen, who have been the means of 

 almost completely exterminating them in some locali- 

 ties. They are found in runs along the edges of brooks, 

 where the mud is soft. Their food is of worms, insects 

 and their larvae, which they get from the ground by 

 boring with their long bills. Their flight is very rapid, 

 and when startled they double and twist in their haste 

 to get away, their three narrow outer wing feathers 

 producing a peculiar whistling sound. 



Notes. A low peep, and a twittering. 



Nest. Simply a hollow amid the surrounding leaves; 

 the 4 eggs are buff, with yellowish-brown spots (l.SOx 

 1.15) ; April, May. 



Range. Eastern N". A., breeding chiefly from Ohio 

 and New Jersey, northward; winters in southern U. S. 



