374 AMERICAN WOODCOCK. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Average measurements of specimens from Eastern North America. Length, Il'lO; stretch, 18'25; wing, 5'25; tail, 

 2 55; bill, 2'55; tarsus, 1-25. Longest specimen, 11-60; greatest extent of wing, 19'55; longest wing, 5 75; tail, 2'60; bill, 

 2-75; tarsus, 1'30. Shortest specimen, 10'50; smallest extent of wing, 17'00; shortest wing, 4'75; tail, 2'50; bill, 2'45; tar- 

 sus, 1-20. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 



Eggs, placed on the ground in a slight depression of thesoil, on a few leaves, etc., three or four in number, varying 

 from oval to pyriform in shape, and from creamy to buff in color, spotted, and blotched irregularly, and quite thickly, with 

 pale reddish-brown of varying shades. Dimensions from 1'lOx T65 to l'20x T70. 



HABITS. 



The frost has scarcely left the meadows in early spring, before the twittering notes 

 of the Woodcock can be heard as they emerge from some thicket in which they have been 

 hiding all day, and fly rapidly to the nearest bog, where they usually feed at this season. 

 Shortly after their arrival, they select a suitable locality for breeding, often choosing a 

 slightly elevated spot in some swamp, generally in a thicket, and the eggs are deposited by 

 the second week in April. In Florida, where, I am informed by Mr. Gr. A. Boardman, 

 the Woodcocks breed, the eggs are laid early in February. It is possible that two broods 

 are raised in a season in some sections, for Mr. August Koch showed me a nest containing 

 two eggs, built in a swamp at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on the twenty-third of May. 

 The female was sitting on the nest and although we approached within a few feet of her, 

 she did not attempt to fly but kept perfectly motionless, evidently trusting to her peculiar 

 colors which correspond quite well with her surroundings, for concealment. The young 

 make their appearance in about four weeks, and the little downy birds run as soon as 

 hatched ami are as well skilled in the art of hiding beneath leaves, as young Partridges. 

 They also fly early, so that by the time they are two weeks old, it is almost impossible to 

 take one alive. The adult and young remain in the low lands until after the moult which 

 takes place late in June. They then enter the corn fields and probe for worms, and later, 

 may be found in birch and other woods, even on hill-tops. 



The method by which the Woodcocks capture wornis, is peculiar and I once kept one 

 alive in a cage made of a packing ease, for some time, so that I had an opportunity of 

 watching it as it fed. At first it was quite wild and would rise every time I went near 

 it, striking its head with such force against the roof of its prison, that it would fall back 

 stunned. To prevent it from injuring itself, I removed the wooden top of the box and sub- 

 stituted some mosquito netting, against which it could fly without danger of being killed. 

 The floor of its house was covered to the depth of four or five inches, with dark-colored loam, 

 in which I planted a quantity of weeds, beneath which the Woodcock could hide. I would 

 drop a number of worms on this soil, which, as the bird was too shy to feed at first, had 

 ample time to bury themselves. At times, however, I was able to watch the bird unseen 

 by it; then the Woodcock which had remained hicklen in the corner behind the sheltering 

 weeds, would emerge cautiously and walk over the ground, slowly and deliberately, paus- 

 ing every instant or two as if listening intently. Then he would stamp with one foot, giv- 

 ing several sharp, quick blows, after which he would bow his hea-d near the ground and 

 again listen. Then, suddenly, he would turn either to the right or left, or take a step or 



