- \ Mil'll-KHiS, ETC. 153 



888. Philohela. minor AMERICAN WOODCOCK. Ad.~Yr\\\ 



of the crwn nUty, wafthud with buff, un imlitiin-t Mx-kinh lino in iU center, 



and *n"ther from the eye to the Mil ; l-m-k "f the head black, with two or 



tnree ban of ovhraceou-butT; rwl f tin- upper part* black, margined with 



laty and barml and im>ttli-<l with rufoux <>r hr.i.-r<iu-buff; tip of the tail 



thy (?ray above, silvery beneath ; under part* between ochracvouA-buif and 



three outer primaries very narrow and much stiffened. L., 11-00; 



, ; Tar. 1 "-'.; H., *1K>. 



Knn n N"rth Amerii'ii north to Labrador ninl Manitoba, breed- 



ing nearly throughout its niiiire, but not eoinmiily in tin- southern part of it; 

 winter* from .southern Illinois iiixl Virginia southward. 



Washington, rather foinmon from Feb. tii Nov.; a few winti-r. 

 Inland, coiiimon S. \i. ; a tVw winter. Sinu Sine, "ininon S. K.. Frb. 19 to 

 Dec. 2. Ciiiiibri'lu'f, *. U., formerly eoiimioii, tk-t be<-..miin: run- ; Meh. to Nov. 

 f ti few .Iry l.-avi-s. ..n the ground in the wood*. Kyy*, four, butiy, 

 tly uii'l olweurely >|-tt.-.l with hadca of rufoun, 1-60 x 1 



During the spring ami early -iimm.-r this Owl among Snipe haunts 

 low, wooded bottom-laixls ; in August, while molting, it resorts to corn- 

 fields near woods, and in the fall migrating birds frequent wooded up- 

 latt'U Hut at all times it requires a soft, moist earth in which it may 

 easily probe with its long bill for its fare of earthworms. The holes 

 it makes are known as Imfing*." They are generally found in little 

 groups, and are, of course, certain evidence of the presence of Wood- 

 cock. It has recently been discovered by Mr. Gurdon Trumbull that 

 ixlcock can move the tip of its upper mandible independently 

 of tin- lower one, and this organ is made to act as a finger to assist the 

 bird in drawing its fcxxl from the ground. 



The flight of the Woodcock is sometimes accompanied by a high, 

 whUtling sound produced by its narrow, MiuViied primaries in beating 

 the air. When flushed near its ne-t or young, the parent bird gen- 

 erally feigns lameness or a broken wing, and leads the intruder some 

 distance from its treasures before taking wing. 



;...ik <>f ni_'ht always lends a certain mystery to the doings of 

 nocturnal birds, and more often than not their habits justify our un- 

 usual interest in them. How many evenings have I tempted the ma- 

 laria germs of Jersey lowlands to watch the Woodcock perform his 

 strange sky dance! He begins on the ground with a formal, periodie 

 pcent. peeni, an incongruous preparation for the wild rush that follows. 

 It is repeated several times before he springs from the ground and on 

 whistling wings sweeps out on the first loop of a spiral which may 

 take him 300 feet from the ground. Faster and faster he goes, louder 

 and -hriller sounds his wing-song: then, after a moment's paiiv. 

 darting, headlong flight, he pitches in zigzags to the earth, uttering as 

 he falls a clear, twittering whistle. He generally returns to near the 



