10 



WOODCOCK— WOOD THRUSH-WOODPECKER 



northward. But I have rarely met with them along our Atlantic 

 shores until autumn, when the young, which, like those of all 

 other Terns with which I am acquainted, mostly keep by them- 

 selves until spring, make their appearance there. Nor did I see 

 a single individual when on my way to Labrador, or during my 

 visit to that country. Often have I watched their graceful, light, 

 and rapid flight, as they advanced and passed over in groups of 

 twenty, thirty, or more, during the month of May, when nature, 

 opening her stores anew, benignly smiled upon the favored land." 



PLATE IX. 



The Woodcock. {Rusticola Minor.) 



This bird, so universally known to our sportsman, is represented 

 at the bottom of the plate. It arrives in the Central States in 

 March, and if the weather is mild, even earlier, and stays till the 

 first frosts forbode the approach of winter. It is sometimes found 

 here in December, and it may be that in mild winters, some of these 

 birds remain until spring. During the day the Woodcocks keep 

 to the woods, or wooded swamps and thickets ; toward evening they 

 usually fly out to the broad open glades, which lead through the 

 woods, or to meadows and swampy places in the neighborhood. A 

 carefully hidden observer can see the Woodcock pushing his long 

 bill under the decayed leaves and turning them over, or boring one 

 hole close to another in the damp soft ground, as deep as his soft, 

 flexible bill will permit, to get at the larvae, bugs, or worms hidden 

 beneath. In a similar manner he examines the fresh cow-dung, 

 which is soon populated by a multitude of larvae of insects. He 

 never tarries long at any place. Larvas of all kinds of insects and 

 naked snails, especially angle-worms, form his principal food. 



If in hot seasons his favorite resorts in watery recesses inland 

 are generally dried up, he descends to the marshy shores of our 

 large rivers. 



The female Woodcock usually begins to lay in April ; the nest 

 is built in a quiet, retired part of the wood, frequently at the roots 

 of an old stump ; it is constructed of a few withered leaves and 

 stalks of grass put together with but little art. The eggs are four or 

 five in number, about an inch and a half long, and about an inch 

 in diameter, tapering suddenly at the small end ; they are of a dun 

 clay color, thickly marked with brown spots — particularly at the 

 large end the spots are interspersed with others of a very pale pur- 

 ple. The young Woodcocks, when six to ten days old, are cov- 

 ered with down of a brownish white color, and are marked from 

 the bill along the crown to the hind head with a broad stripe of 

 deep brown ; another line of the same color curves under the eyes 

 and runs to the hind head ; another stripe reaches from the back to 

 the rudiments of the tail, and still another extends along the sides 

 under the wings. The throat and breast are considerably tinged 

 with rufous, and the quills at this age are just bursting from their 

 light blue sheaths, and appear marbled as on the old birds. When 

 taken they utter a long, clear, but very feeble " peep," not louder 

 than that of a mouse. They are, on the whole, far inferior to 

 young Partridges in running and skulking. 



The Woodcock is a nocturnal bird, seldom stirring about before 

 sunset, but at that time, as well as in early morning, especially 

 in spring, he rises by a kind of spiral course to great heights, 

 uttering now and then a sudden " quack ;" having gained his ut- 

 most height he hovers around in a wild irregular manner, produc- 

 ing a sort of murmuring sound, and descends with rapidity in the 

 same way he arose. 



The large head of the Woodcock is of a very singular confor- 

 mation, somewhat triangular, and the eyes set at a great distance 

 from the bill, and high up in the head ; by this means he has a 

 .great range of vision. His flight is slow ; when flushed at any 



time he rises to the height of the bushes or the underwood, and 

 usually drops down again at a short distance, running off a few 

 yards as soon as he touches the ground. 



The Wood Thrush. (Turdus Mustelinus^) 

 Fig. i, Male. Fig. 2, Female. 



The Wood Thrush is one of our best and sweetest singers. Au- 

 dubon writes of him as follows : 



" The song of the Wood Thrush, although composed of but few 

 notes, is so powerful, distinct, clear, and mellow, that it is impos- 

 sible for any person to hear it without being struck by the effect 

 which it produces on the mind. I do not know to what instru- 

 mental sounds I can compare these notes, for I really know none 

 so melodious and harmonical. They gradually rise in strength, and 

 then fall in gentle cadences, becoming at length so low as to be 

 scarcely audible, like the emotions of the lover who, at one mo- 

 ment exults in the hope of possessing the object of his affections, 

 and the next pauses in suspense, doubtful of the result of all his 

 efforts to please. 



"Several of these birds seem to challenge each other from differ- 

 ent portions of the forest, particularly toward evening, and at that 

 time nearly all the other songsters being about to retire to rest, the 

 notes of the Wood Thrush are doubly pleasing. One would think 

 that each individual is anxious to excel his distant rival, and I have 

 frequently thought that on such occasions their music is more than 

 ordinarily effective, as it then exhibits a degree of skillful modu- 

 lation quite beyond my power to describe. These concerts are con- 

 tinued for some time after sunset, and take place in the month of 

 June, when the females are sitting." 



The Wood Thrush inhabits almost the whole continent of North 

 America, from Hudson's Bay to the Gulf. The very next morn- 

 ing after his arrival he will mount to the top of some small tree and 

 announce himself by his sweet song, which, although not contain- 

 ing a great variety of notes, is exceedingly mellow and melodious, 

 poured forth in a kind of ecstacy, and becoming more charming at 

 every repetition, especially if several of them are heard at the same 

 time, in different parts of the wood, each trying to outdo the other. 

 He is always in good humor, and his voice is often heard on rainy 

 days, from morning to nightfall. His favorite retreats are thickly 

 shaded hollows, through which meander small creeks or rills, over- 

 hung with alder bushes and wild grapes. It is in such places, or 

 near them, that he builds his nest, a little above the ground. It is 

 constructed outwardly of withered leaves to prevent dampness ; on 

 these are layers of knotty stalks of withered grass mixed with mud 

 and smoothly formed ; the inside lining consists of fine dry roots of 

 plants. -The female lays four, sometimes five, light blue eggs. 

 The Wood Thrush is a shy and unobtrusive bird, appearing either 

 single or in pairs, and feeding on different kinds of berries, as well 

 as on beetles or caterpillars. 



On his migration to the South he never appears in the open 

 plains, but hops and flies swiftly through the woods. Occasionally 

 he takes a rest on a low branch, uttering a low chuckling sound, 

 and jerking his tail up and down at each note ; then for a few mo- 

 ments he keeps perfectly still, with the feathers of his neck and 

 back a little raised. 



The Yellow-bellied Woodpecker. (Picus Varhcs.) 

 Fig. 3, Male. Fig. 4, Female. 



This is one of our resident birds, and is often to be met with in 

 the thickets of the woods in midwinter. It is generally considered 

 a handsome bird, and in its manners and mode of living resembles 

 the small spotted Woodpeckers. 



He is frequently seen in their company, especially in the fall, 



