AMERICAN WOODCOCK 115 
the flying form seen dimly as it dashes through 
the bending apple boughs into the darkness 
away. The bird may have been pulling angle- 
worms under the apple trees, for he is as fond 
of this kind of bait as is the Sunday trout- 
fisher. Mr. Longbill brings up in strange 
places when on his nightly rambles, even visit- 
ing the city gardens alongside some main 
thoroughfare of the town. He may be said to 
have some liking for civilization. Apparently 
he is more fond of a country partially under 
cultivation than of the solitary wastes yet un- 
reclaimed. The Woodcock is rarely seen west 
of the Mississippi except in a very few favored 
sections. 
What becomes of these birds during the hot 
days of July and August is an open question 
with many sportsmen. This is the moulting 
season, when it is probable that they leave the 
lowland bogs for the cool air of the hills and 
the never-failing springs which the ‘‘dog 
days’ ’’ heat cannot dry up. If so they show 
their usual good sense. Some sportsmen—and 
these mainly persons of veracity, that is, as 
gunners and fishermen average (for when the 
Wise Man says, ‘‘All men are liars,’’ it must 
