176 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 
the earth again with great velocity and alighting close to the point from 
which it started. 
The Woodcock has decreased in numbers very seriously within the past 
twenty years, and for a time was believed to be on the verge of extinction. 
Even at the present time it seems to be entirely absent from large sections 
of country where it was formerly abundant, and although believed to be 
again increasing in numbers it is nowhere so common as formerly. 
It arrives from the south almost as soon as the eround is free from snow, 
very frequently before the last snow storm of winter. Probal sly in the 
southern counties a few always arrive before the middle of March, and the 
greater part of the local birds by April first. Since the Woodcock nests freely 
Fig. 50. Nest and Eggs of Woodcock. 
From photograph. (Courtesy of Gerard Alan Abbott.) 
in the northernmost parts of the state, however, and since these regions are 
often covered with ice and snow until the last of April, or even the first of 
May, many migrants may be found in the southern half of the state all 
through April. The southward movement begins in early September 
and continues through October, but after the middle of the latter month 
very few are found. 
In Southern Michigan the first eggs are almost always laid in April. 
The nest is simply a hollow among the dry leaves, and the eggs commonly 
four in number, beautifully spotted and mottled with various shades of 
brown, and averaging 1.51 by 1.14 inches. Nests with eggs are found 
from the first week in April until well into May, but these later sets are 
probably second layings, the first having been destroyed by bad weather 
