Birds of Massachusetts. 223 
shoot them, that dui are most frequently caught in 
snares. Their food consisting of insects, ground 
worms, and juicy roots, they grow fat, and are in 
great demand for the table. Many epicures are said 
to eat the bird with all that is in it when killed, 
making no selection; but, inasmuch as leeches are 
part of its fare, and are not considered luxurious food 
for man, it is as well to eat this game with more dis- 
crimination, and less gastronomical taste. 
The Amertcan Wooncock, Rusticola minor, is a 
very common bird, but not often seen in the fields, 
except by sportsmen, because of their nocturnal hab- 
its, in which they exceed the snipe, hardly ever 
flying in the day time, and travelling and feeding 
almost exclusively by night. They remain in woods 
and thickets till evening, when they proceed to the 
broken soil in search of worms and insects, and leave 
perforations made by their bills in the soft ground, 
showing where they have been. They have such 
delicacy of perception, by means of the bill, that 
they make but little use of the eyes in feeding ; 
they plunge their bills up to the nostrils, and suck 
up their prey. The eyes of this bird are placed 
high, and far back in the head, probably for the 
purpose of seeing enemies at a distance, and watch- 
ing their motions, without betraying the place where 
it lies, by any movement on its own part. 
"The woodcock returns from the south very early 
in the spring, and soon after selects a breeding place 
in the woods, where the nest is set on the ground, 
and formed of dry grass and leaves. The eggs are 
