133 



I have seen young birds as early as the begin- 

 ning of April, when snow was on the ground, and 

 the nestlings in the case were taken as late as the 

 9th of July, having been only hatched on the 

 previous day. 



The male and female were shot on the Fendom, 

 near Tain in Ross-shire in the spring of 1869 ; the 

 young, as stated above, being procured on the same 

 ground in July. 



WOODCOCK (Summer). 

 Case 187. 



The Woodcock breeds abundantly in the south 

 of England; and there are, indeed, but few 

 counties in which the bird is not occasionally seen 

 during the summer months, though the nest itself 

 may escape observation. 



Its curious habit of carrying its young has 

 given rise to innumerable discussions in the natural 

 history columns of the sporting papers, each writer 

 asserting that the operation was performed in a 

 different manner. There is however but little 

 doubt that the young bird is firmly pressed 

 between the thighs of the parent, and so trans- 

 ported from one spot to another. 



In addition to those bred in this country large 

 flights arrive from the north of Europe during the 

 autumn, the birds being occasionally found in a 

 very exhausted condition. 



The case is copied from a sketch taken in the 

 Tarlogie Woods near Tain in Ross-shire, at which 

 place the female and eggs were obtained in June 

 1869. 



See " Kough Notes," Vol. II., Plate 23. 



During the nesting season the Woodcock may be 

 observed flying at dusk with a peculiar flapping, silent flight, 

 uttering a note similar to that of the large bat, V. nodule. 

 Ed. 



