THE OOLOGIST. 



279 



The Woodcock usually lays four, 

 ■rarely five, creamy or buff colored eggs, 

 spotted with various shades of slate 

 and reddish brown. 



The nest is a slight depression or 

 hollow in the ground sometimes being 

 lined with vegetable down or some 

 such material. 



From a series of six sets in my col- 

 lection (four being of four and two of 

 five eggs each) the smallest eggs meas- 

 ures 1.05x1.59 inches and the largest 

 one measures 1.16x1.72 inches. 



A curious habit of the Woodcock is 

 that of removing their eggs to another 

 nesting site when they are disturbed 

 while incubating. I heard of this habit 

 from an old sportsman and afterwards 

 verified it to my satisfaction. 



Finding a nest one day I disturbed 

 the setting bird three times and again 

 four times on the next day and on the 

 morning of the third day I found that 

 the birds had removed the eggs during 

 the night and placed them in a new 

 nest about eight feet away where I 

 found the eggs. I had marked the 

 eggs to avoid any mistake. The second 

 nest was a mere hollow in the mossy 

 ground and was iu the middle of an 

 open place in tall marsh grass, while 

 the first was neatly cupped and lined 

 with the above mentioned vegetable 

 down. 



Another singular habit of the Wood- 

 cock that I have never seen noted is 

 that of both birds settiug upon the nest 

 in wet or cold weather. In doing this 

 they hnddle very close together and 

 face in opposite directions and I have 

 always noted that they have their heads 

 thrown back and their bills elevated to 

 an angle of about forty-five degrees. 



I have often seen the female bird 

 carry the young birds In her feet and 

 once saw a male biru doing this. 



Their feeding time is mostly at night- 

 fall (dusk) or on dark cloudy days, 

 when they may be seen moving about 

 in a quick jerky and nervous manner 



touching the ground with the bill and 

 using the wings and tail as if they were 

 drunk and were afraid of tumbling 

 over. 



The bill of a Woodcock is covei'ed 

 with a membi'aneous sheath or net- 

 work of tine nerves which enables it to 

 easily find its food, which consists al- 

 most entirely of slugs and worms, such 

 as are found in bogs or low pastures. 

 The nervous covering on the bill is so 

 sensitive that the bird can distinguish 

 with it, the slightest movement of a 

 worm or slug several inches below the 

 surface of the ground by simply touch- 

 ing the ground with its bill. Some- 

 times in "oozy" places where the sur- 

 face will shake I have seen them tap or 

 drum lightly upon the ground with 

 their wings to make the worms stir so 

 that they could tell where they lay and 

 afterward probe after them with their 

 bills. 



I have often read and heard that the 

 American Woodcock never alights up- 

 on a fence or tree, but I know of two 

 instances where the exception occured, 

 not by my own observations but by the 

 following which were noted by my 

 ' fellow-oologist, Prof. Geo. W. Sabine, 

 of this city. 



On Sept. 15, 1872, while out shooting 

 in a grove south of Utica, N. Y., he 

 saw aWoodcock perched upon a branch 

 about 15 feet up in a maple tree. 



On Oct. 1, 1875, he "put up" (flushed) 

 a Woodcock in Graefienburg Swamp, 

 N. Y. The bird flew about 25 yards 

 and alighted upon an old rail fence. 



Both of these instances are facts and 

 may be set down as such as I have 

 known the Professor for eleven years, 

 and his notebook substantiates both of 

 above statements. 



The above observations are taken 

 from my held notes, some of which 

 date back to July 3, 1878. 

 I am yours in the study of Birds, 



ISADOR S. TROSTLEK, 



Omaha, Neb. 



