244 GAME BIRDS, WILD-FOWL AND SHORE BIRDS. 



years' experience, says that in some years quite a flight goes 

 over in the evening. Some stop, but no large numbers. He 

 says that he shot four or five in the fall of 1908, that several 

 were shot in the fall of 1909 and that there was quite a flight 

 in November, all of which seems to indicate that a part of 

 the flight of Woodcock comes down the coast, crosses from the 

 entrance of Barnstable harbor over Yarmouthport, steers 

 southward to Hyannis and then follows the south coast of the 

 Cape Cod peninsula westward. Those which come down from 

 the outer arm of the Cape may cross here also. This seems to 

 indicate that the movement of native Woodcock southward 

 begins there in August, and the experience of western Mas- 

 sachusetts gunners indicates that the native birds have left 

 there by early October, although some may remaiu later in 

 the milder climate of the coast region. 



Our present law protects our own birds fairly well here, 

 except from lawbreakers who hunt before "the law is off." 

 Probably most of the Woodcock shooting that our gunners get 

 now is furnished by birds from farther north and northeast. 



The fate of the Woodcocks rests largely with the people of 

 the United States, in which mainly it lives. Its range includes 

 southern Canada, and recent information seems to indicate 

 that it may penetrate as far west as Oregon; but it is chiefly 

 a bird of the eastern United States. It is not disturbed by 

 agriculture, and thrives well on rich and cultivated farms, pro- 

 vided there are a few boggy runs or small swamps where 

 it can nest. Gardens and cornfields are favorite hunting 

 grounds of this bird. 



The food of the Woodcocks consists largely of earthworms 

 and insects. The long sensitive bill is provided with nerves 

 and muscles and forms a very effective tool for exploring soft 

 ground or searching beneath the leaves, for in such situations 

 the bird gets most of its food. 



