396 Field Museum of Natural History — ^ Zoology, Vol. IX. 



Woodcock. 



A common summer resident in Illinois and Wisconsin, breeding in 

 timbered swamps and in the bottom lands along rivers and streams. 

 Its presence is often indicated by numerous holes in the soft ground 

 made by its bill when probing for its food. Arrives from the south 

 late in March or early in April. The w^histling sound made by this 

 bird when suddenly "flushed" is caused by the rapid movement 

 through the air of the stiff, narrow outer primaries and is not vocal 

 as some suppose. 



Mrs. Irene G. Wheelock whites me regarding the unusual occur- 

 rence of a bird of this species in Wisconsin in winter, stating that on 

 January 3, 1908, a Woodcock was flushed in a clump of spruce trees 

 on the grounds of Mr. Charles L. Hutchinson at Lake Geneva. The 

 mud in the sun w^armed hollow showed numerous "borings." 



The nest is usually a mat of leaves placed on the ground. The 

 eggs are four, pale buff color with more or less distinct markings of 

 rufous brown. They measure about 1.60 x 1.25 inches. The Field 

 Museum collection contains a set of four eggs taken by Mr. G. " A. 

 Abbott in Cook County, Ilinois, April 12, 1903. 



