AMERICAN WOODCOCK 109 
leaves and soft grasses woven together in a 
shallow depression,—at the foot of a dead stub, 
it may be,—and lays its complement of four or 
five dull clay-colored eggs, thickly speckled with 
brown spots. It is said, and probably truly, 
that the cock bird assists in the incubation and 
in the care and up-bringing of the young. The 
Woodcock has a healthy appetite and is a great 
feeder, so that no short watch off the nest 
would keep the female plump and round as is 
her wont. 
Should spring rains or cold storms play havoe 
with nests and eggs, with renewed courage they 
try again, for this tenacity of purpose is neces- 
sary for the continuance of the species, and the 
birds, realizing the exacting demands of the 
sportsmen of the country, are hard pushed to 
meet their requirements. It may be that in 
their southern breeding grounds two families 
are sometimes raised in a season, but I much 
doubt that such is the case at all in New Eng- 
land. Would that it were! 
How many of our sportsmen have ever 
seen the Woodcock at his spring love-making? 
It is certainly a curious performance and well 
worth a trip into the covers to see. With the 
