12 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING 
the American Woodcock,” by Ottomar Reinecke, of 
Buffalo, N. Y. 
Mr. Reinecke—as have many other people familiar 
with the bird—points out that it is one ‘of the earliest 
of the birds to nest. Sometimes this early nesting is 
followed by unhappy consequences, as in cases which 
took place in the spring of 1904. The author says: 
“In our locality the 13th of April is usually the time 
to look for full sets of woodcock’s eggs. That year 
was no exception to the rule, although at the time re- 
ferred to we had been visited by a heavy snowfall, 
which covered the ground to the depth of eight inches. 
The snow had been partially melted by the sun, but 
was frozen hard during the ensuing night. Two days 
later another snow storm occurred. The next morn- 
ing found us on the ground, which is an ideal locality 
for the nesting of this bird. The ground was then 
covered with about five inches of crusted snow. In 
company with several friends we immediately began 
our search for the woodcock. We soon found the 
tracks of a pair where they had been feeding or try- 
ing to find food around partly frozen water holes. 
“We flushed the birds and began looking the snow- 
covered ground over carefully for the nest. We found 
none in that vicinity, but following the tracks of a 
single bird, which evidently were made the previous 
day, we came to the spot at least a quarter of a mile 
distant where the bird had started on its walk to the 
water holes. On examining the place nothing but a 
