104 A CATALOGtTE OF THE BIBDS 



the wood to the swamp, in her feet, and certainly the claws of a 

 "Woodcock appear to he little adapted to grasping and carrying a 

 heavy snhstance : yet such is most undonhtedly the case. Eegu- 

 larly as the evening comes on, many Woodcocks carry their young 

 ones down to the soft feeding grounds, and hring them hack again 

 to the shelter of the woods hefore daylight, where they remain 

 during the whole day. I myseK have never happened to see the 

 "Woodcocks in the act of returning, hut I have often seen them 

 going down to the swamps in the evening, carrying their young 

 with them. Indeed, it is quite evident that they must in most 

 instances transport the newly -hatched birds in this manner, as 

 their nests are generally placed in dry heathery woods, where 

 the young would inevitably perish unless the old ones managed 

 to carry them to some more favourable feeding ground." 



In 1849 I accompanied Mr. St. John to Sutherlandshire, on 

 an ornithological tour, and had the good fortune to observe the 

 Woodcock perform this feat. As we were rambling in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Dunrobin, where it nests regularly, we raised the 

 bird, and at once saw the young suspended beneath the body of 

 the parent. It was close to us when it rose, so that we had an 

 excellent view of both the young and the old bird. "JN'ow," 

 said Mr. St. John, "are you not convinced?" "Yes," I re- 

 plied, ' ' that the young is carried, but not in the claws which, I 

 have said, and still believe, are too feeble for the piu-posc." 

 I picked up one of the brood ; it was about the size of a Snipe ; 

 when I grasped it, it made a peculiar squeaking noise. In the 

 course of half-an-hour we returned to the spot, and again wit- 

 nessed the old bird carry off another of its chicks, and now be- 

 came quite satisfied of the modus operandi; the young bird was 

 pressed close up to the breast of the parent, as indeed was ob-s-ioiis 

 in the first instance. Hence the inference of us both, that the 

 young was held between the legs and not in the claws. 



The food of the Woodcock is the earth-worm, of which it de- 

 vours great numbers. Montagu, in his " Ornithological Diction- 

 ary'," Ed. 2, p. 562, says, "The enormous quantity of worms 

 that these birds eat is scarcely credible ; indeed, it would be 

 the constant labour of one person to procure food for two or 



