WOODCOCK 297 



crouching on the dry, open common. Visible it may be, but not dis- 

 tinguishable as a bird amid such surroundings unless the large, 

 lustrous black eyes are caught sight of. When flushed during day- 

 light its flight is owl-like, and its appearance somewhat singular. 

 In the dusk of evening, when seeking its feeding^ground, it flies in a 

 curious manner, darting rapidly this way and that through the glades 

 and open spaces. It obtains its food by probing deep in the soft, 

 damp soil, or in bogs, with its long bill, but how it finds the earth- 

 worms and grubs on which it feeds would be hard to say. There is 

 no doubt that the end of the beak is an exquisitely delicate organ 

 of touch, but it is hard to believe that it is thrust deep into the soil 

 merely on the chance of finding something edible. 



The woodcock breeds in suitable localities throughout Great 

 Britain and Ireland, but in limited numbers, and not very regularly ; 

 but whether the birds that breed with us remain all the year, or 

 migrate to more southern latitudes in autumn, is not known. Most, 

 if not all, of the birds that winter in our islands are visitors from 

 northern Europe. They begin to arrive, chiefly on the east and 

 south-east coasts, about the middle of October, travelling by night, 

 usually in calm, hazy, or foggy weather, and sometimes arriving in 

 immense numbers. As a rule the females arrive first, the later 

 flights being composed of males. It is only when migrating that 

 woodcock are seen in any number together, and at such times 

 their gatherings are probably accidental. On their arrival they 

 quickly scatter over the country, and for the rest of the time are 

 solitary in their habits. The migrants from the north take their 

 departure in March. In this country nesting begins at the end of 

 that month, and in the pairing season the male woos his mate with a 

 curious and pretty performance, not at all like the wild celestial love- 

 antics of his relation, the common snipe. For a time he abandons 

 his shy, skulking habits a hermit in love, he comes out morning 

 and evening, and for the space of half an hour continues flying to 

 and fro, with a singularly slow flight, and with plumage puffed out, 

 so that he looks twice his ordinary size. Flying, he emits two pecu- 

 liar notes, one deep and hollow, the other sharp and whistling. 

 This performance of the woodcock is called * roding ' in East Anglia. 

 The nest is a slight hollow, placed among dead ferns and fallen leaves 

 in a sheltered situation in a wood. The eggs are four, pale yellowish 

 white, the larger end spotted and blotched with ash-grey and brown 

 of a reddish yellow tint. 



A little over a century ago it was discovered that the female 



