﻿2Qg 
  NEV\' 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  now 
  have 
  difficulty 
  in 
  securing 
  30 
  birds 
  each 
  fall; 
  and 
  I 
  have 
  little 
  doubt 
  

   that 
  in 
  the 
  State 
  as 
  a 
  whole 
  we 
  have 
  no 
  more 
  than 
  i 
  Woodcock 
  where 
  there 
  

   were 
  50 
  in 
  i860. 
  V/oodcock 
  still 
  breed 
  sparingly 
  in 
  all 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  State, 
  

   and 
  are 
  fairly 
  common 
  on 
  good 
  grounds 
  during 
  a 
  short 
  period 
  in 
  October, 
  

   when 
  the 
  northern 
  birds 
  are 
  migrating, 
  or, 
  "coming 
  in," 
  as 
  the 
  sportsmen 
  

  

  call 
  it. 
  

  

  Migration. 
  This 
  species 
  sometimes 
  appears 
  in 
  southern 
  New 
  York 
  as 
  

   early 
  as 
  February 
  22, 
  but 
  usually 
  arrives 
  from 
  the 
  loth 
  to 
  the 
  15th 
  of 
  

   March, 
  and 
  from 
  one 
  to 
  two 
  weeks 
  later 
  in 
  the 
  interior 
  and 
  northern 
  dis- 
  

   tricts. 
  There 
  are 
  very 
  few 
  reliable 
  data 
  before 
  me, 
  most 
  records 
  of 
  "first 
  

   seen" 
  being 
  when 
  nests 
  with 
  eggs 
  were 
  found. 
  In 
  the 
  fall, 
  northern 
  wood- 
  

   cock 
  arrive 
  after 
  the 
  first 
  sharp 
  frosts 
  in 
  October, 
  usually 
  from 
  the 
  ist 
  to 
  

   the 
  15th, 
  and 
  the 
  last 
  are 
  seen 
  from 
  November 
  ist 
  to 
  20th, 
  although 
  stragglers 
  

   occasionally 
  remain 
  about 
  warm 
  springy 
  places 
  through 
  December 
  or 
  even 
  

   throughout 
  the 
  winter 
  in 
  the 
  southern 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  State. 
  

  

  Haunts 
  and 
  habits. 
  The 
  Woodcock 
  is 
  not 
  by 
  any 
  means 
  confined 
  to 
  

   swampy 
  ground, 
  but 
  often 
  seems 
  to 
  dehght 
  in 
  wooded 
  slopes 
  and 
  hilltops. 
  

   Alder 
  coverts 
  along 
  ponds 
  and 
  streams, 
  rich 
  bottom 
  lands 
  grown 
  over 
  with 
  

   Avillow, 
  soft 
  maple, 
  elder 
  and 
  dogwood, 
  low-lying 
  cornfields, 
  hill 
  slopes 
  

   covered 
  with 
  low 
  second 
  growth 
  of 
  maple, 
  hickory 
  or 
  oak, 
  and 
  the 
  edges 
  

   of 
  wooded 
  swamps 
  are 
  its 
  favorite 
  haunts. 
  Thick 
  coverts 
  and 
  a 
  moist 
  

   soil, 
  well 
  suppHed 
  with 
  earth 
  worms, 
  are 
  its 
  delight. 
  They 
  do 
  not 
  thrive 
  

   on 
  "sour 
  bottoms" 
  or 
  where 
  the 
  soil 
  has 
  been 
  flooded 
  so 
  long 
  that 
  the 
  worms 
  

   are 
  driven 
  out. 
  In 
  upland 
  coverts 
  they 
  often 
  feed 
  by 
  searching 
  under 
  the 
  

   leaves, 
  or 
  on 
  the 
  worms 
  that 
  come 
  out 
  at 
  night, 
  but 
  also 
  travel 
  considerable 
  

   distances 
  at 
  night 
  to 
  seek 
  well 
  known 
  banquet 
  grounds 
  in 
  the 
  valle}^ 
  or 
  

   along 
  the 
  streams. 
  AVhen 
  camping 
  on 
  the 
  uplands, 
  and 
  when 
  joui-neying 
  

   through 
  the 
  country 
  at 
  dusk, 
  I 
  have 
  frequently 
  seen 
  woodcock 
  darting 
  

   past 
  on 
  their 
  foraging 
  excursions. 
  They 
  migrate 
  and 
  feed 
  at 
  night. 
  Dur- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  day 
  the 
  Woodcock 
  sits 
  quietl)^ 
  amid 
  its 
  coverts, 
  or 
  stands 
  sleepily 
  

   at 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  swamp, 
  or 
  beside 
  some 
  path 
  or 
  opening 
  in 
  the 
  woods, 
  

   his 
  head 
  drawn 
  down 
  upon 
  his 
  "shoulders" 
  and 
  his 
  bill 
  pointing 
  downward, 
  

   appearing 
  more 
  like 
  a 
  ball 
  of 
  brown 
  leaves 
  attached 
  to 
  a 
  slender 
  stick, 
  than 
  

  

  