1 8 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING 



was doing so, but it seems more probable that he was 

 waiting to see if he could perceive any movement in 

 the earth near his bill. If none was felt, he would 

 withdraw his probe and thrust it in again a little 

 farther on. If, however, he detected any movement, 

 the beak was hastily withdrawn, rapidly plunged in 

 again in a slightly different direction, and the unfor- 

 tunate worm was brought to the surface and devoured 

 with evident satisfaction. When the supply of worms 

 was exhausted the bird carefully cleansed the mud 

 from his bill by means of his feet and, after giving 

 himself a shake or two, retired to the farthest corner 

 of his cage, buried his long beak among the feathers 

 of his back and settled himself for a quiet after-dinner 

 nap. Sometimes he would thrust his bill down among 

 the moss once or twice, and then walking to his water 

 dish would wash it by slowly moving his head from 

 side to side. After he had been confined for over a 

 month, the worms fed to the bird during twenty-four 

 consecutive hours were counted and weighed, and he 

 was found to have eaten two hundred worms, weigh- 

 ing five and one-quarter ounces. At the end of this 

 time he was still eager for food. Somewhat later 

 he had increased one ounce in weight, and he now 

 ate in twenty-four hours no less than eight ounces of 

 worms. 



For nearly twenty years now the woodcock has 

 been growing more and more scarce, and it has been 

 generally accepted as true that it is on the way to ex- 

 tinction. Not many years ago so distinguished a 



