374 BIRDS OP MASSACHUSETTS. 



movement of the body, and then waits to see if his call is an- 

 swered. The woodcock, unlike the snipe, which never flies 

 through the woods, often goes into the depth of the forest, and 

 turns over the dead leaves with its bill, like the pigeon, in 

 search of the insects that may lie below. 



Toward the last of October, as their food begins to fail, the 

 woodcocks leave the interior, and move toward the sea, in 

 preparation for their migration to the south. They take the 

 journey in the evening, not in flocks, but following each other, 

 in close succession, so as to make almost an unbroken line. 

 They do not leave the coast, however, till winter begins. 

 From August till their departure, they are in good order for 

 the table, and are shot in great numbers by those who are 

 versed in this kind of sporting. In Louisiana they are killed 

 by men with torches, which the birds stand gazing upon, till 

 the fowler knocks them down with a stick. 



The VIRGINIAN RAIL, Rallus VirginianuSj spends the win- 

 ter in the southern states, and returns to us in May. It hides 

 in swamps and marshes, in the day time, and only ventures 

 abroad at night ; but it feeds both by night and day, on water 

 insects, worms and seeds. It is extremely swift in running, 

 and if pursued by a dog, will change its direction so often, ris- 

 ing on its wings at times, that he soon loses its track, as it es- 

 capes among the weeds. When on the wing, it can be shot, 

 as it flies low and heavily, and only a short distance at a time. 

 The nest is not easily found, being generally placed in a tuft, 

 in soft meadows, where it is not easy for a man to go. It is a 

 little raised by means of the stalks of grasses, with a shallow 

 cavity, lined with dry weeds, to contain the eggs. These are 

 from four to seven in number, of a dusky white, with specks 

 of brown red and pale purple, thickest toward the larger end. 

 Dr. Brewer succeeded in finding one of these nests in a small 

 meadow near Jamaica Plain, and within a few yards of the 

 Providence rail-road. 



The SORA RAIL, Rallus Carolinus, which was formerly 



