272 FIELD-NOTES FOR THE YEAR. CH. XIX. 



The woodcock breeds every season in the north 

 of Scotland, not only in the large fir plantations, 

 but also in the smaller patches of birch, etc., which 

 fringe the shores of many of the most northern 

 lakes. That those bred in the country migrate I 

 have no doubt, as they all invariably disappear 

 for two or three months between summer and the 

 first frosts of winter. As I have seen their nests 

 at all times from March to August, it is natural 

 to suppose that the woodcock breeds more than 

 once in the season. 



I have again, this year, seen the old woodcocks 

 carrying their young down to the soft marshy 

 places to feed. Unfitted as their feet appear to 

 be for grasping anything, the old birds must have 

 no slight labour in carrying their whole family 

 (generally consisting of four) every evening to the 

 marshes, and back again in the morning. They 

 always return before sunrise. 



Occasionally I have come upon a brood of young- 

 woodcocks in a dark, quiet, swampy part of the 

 woods, near which they had probably been bred. 

 In a case of this kind we may suppose that the old 

 birds are saved the trouble of conveying their young 

 to a distant feeding-place ; but as the young birds 

 are frequently hatched in long heather, in dry situ- 

 ations, and far from any marshes, they would in- 



