8 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING 



unexampled for them to winter as far north as Con- 

 necticut, provided they can have a certain amount of 

 shelter and the weather is mild enough, so that their 

 feeding grounds are not sealed up by the frost. On 

 the other hand, the birds which do not go farthest to 

 the southward may occasionally suffer by unexpected 

 and severe freezes, such as took place in February, 

 1899, to be spoken of further on. Wherever it goes, 

 the woodcock starts early for its summer home and 

 is often found breeding in New Jersey in the month 

 of March. 



The woodcock is thus one of the early spring mi- 

 grants, and, soon after his arrival, which is usually 

 in March or early April, according to the weather, 

 he makes his presence known, to those who understand 

 where and when to listen for him, by the curious 

 night song with which he wooes his mate. This song 

 has been interestingly described by Walter H. Rich 

 in the Journal of the Maine Ornithological Society 

 for June, 1910. He says: 



"As we walked along in the dusk, . . . my com- 

 panion called my attention to a bird note which was 

 new to him. I listened a moment, and then said. The 

 first night hawk, I think/ An instant later I doubted, 

 and at once my doubt was confirmed when there 

 sounded again the nasal p-a-a-nck! p-a-a-nck! of a 

 woodcock. Soon we heard him whistle somewhere on 

 wing, and presently he appeared flying about, high up 

 under a particularly bright star, where he sang and 

 trilled and twittered. I do not remember having ever 



