140 WILD LIFE AND THE CAMERA 



is presumably the desire for warmth from the sun. 

 Every nest found by the writer has been situated so 

 that during the greater part of the day it had the 

 benefit of the sun's rays ; but whether the warmth is 

 desired by the bird itself or for her eggs, or in order 

 that the ground immediately surrounding the nest 

 should be kept dry, it would be difficult to say. As 

 has been said, the colour of the bird is pre-eminently 

 protective, so much so that even when we know 

 within a few feet where she is sitting, it requires 

 keen and observant eyes to discover her. Were it 

 not for this fact the number of woodcock in the 

 country would rapidly decrease, for their enemies 

 are many. Boys would take the eggs, and the 

 hawks, apparently numerous in the early spring, 

 keep up such an incessant search that they would 

 have little difficulty in detecting the sitting bird 

 during this bleak season of the year. Few birds 

 are more devoted to the cares of incubation, both 

 the male and female taking part in that painfully 

 patient duty, and it is seldom indeed that the eggs 

 are left exposed to view. The coldness of the season 

 may possibly have something to do with this, for 

 the eggs wovild quickly spoil were they not kept 

 constantly warm. When, however, it happens that 

 the old bird is flushed, we notice how nature has pro- 

 vided for the safety of the eggs by tinting them with 

 a drab colour freely blotched with dull brownish 

 marks ; thus is the egg rendered inconspicuous, as 

 its colours blend to perfection with the immediate 

 surroundings. The nest itself does not betray its 

 precious burden, for in the strict sense of the word 

 there is no nest, that is to say, none is built. The 



