40 THE OOLOGIST 
The next morning found us on the 
ground, which is an ideal locality for 
the nesting of this bird. The ground 
was then completely covered, with 
about five incbes of crusted snow. 
In company with our friends, we 
immediately began the search for the 
Woodcock. We soon found the tracks 
of a pair where they had been feed- 
ing cr trying to find food around part- 
ly frezen water holes. We flushed the 
birds and began looking the snow 
We were beginning to think that 
the bird had used this place, in a 
small clump of bushes as a refuge 
from the snow storms, when it was 
suggested that perhaps after all, the 
nest might be under the hard frozen 
snow. This was no sooner suggested 
than we were down on our knees, tak- 
ing turns at melting the snow with 
_ our breath. After a few minutes we 
were rewarded by the sight of one egg, 
ard ecntinuing our efforts we found 
Woodcock on Nest 
covered ground cver carefully for the 
nest, but found none in that vicinity; 
but following the back tracks of a 
single bird, which evidently were 
made the previous day, we came to the 
spot almost a quarter of a mile dis- 
tant, where the bird had started on 
its walk to the water holes. On exam- 
ining the place nothing but a slight 
depression was found appearing some- 
what dirtier than the otherwise clean 
snow. 
a fine set cf four eggs, the first lying 
directly in the middle and on top of 
the three cther eggs, and being sep- 
arated from them by a layer of at 
least one inch cf snow. From this I 
take it that when the first snow storm 
care, the bird had laid three .eggs 
and had found difficulty in keeping 
on them for any great length of time. 
The Woodcock lives on worms from 
the soft marshy ground, and conse- 
quently could not remain a long time 
