1879 Carlisle, Mass.
April 8 with a preliminary pt-ul
uttered his harsh pa-a-p. Then he
ran a few steps more and again gave
his singular cry. After three or
four runs he seemed to find a
spot to his liking and would then
remain nearly motionless, bleating
however at intervals of about fifteen
seconds, until he again took flight.
Just before each cry his tail was
jerked up with an automat[?] like
motion, and as the sounds followed
his head was suddenly thrown
back and his throat perceptibly
swelled. Mr. Robbins told me that he
alighted regularly in nearly the same 
spot each evening. Mr. R. also thinks
that this nightly song ceases as soon 
as the eggs are laid. He has never
known it continued after the light
had entirely faded from the
western sky except on one occasion,
a moonlight night, when it
1879 Carlisle, Mass.
April 8  was protracted until
nearly 9 P. M. With the first 
faint streaks of dawn it is again
resumed and continues until
broad daylight.
  We hear another Woodcock rise
from the run just before our
songster took his first upward
flight. It was probably the
female. And later while the 
male was [delete]uttering[/delete] bleating in 
the open field within a few
yards of us, a Woodcock passed
swiftly within a few feet of
my friend's head.
  The course described by the bird
while in the air would cover
several acres. He seems [delete]to[/delete] fairly
to exult in his free upward
wanderings and his descent
is one joyous tumult of ecstatic
melody. He looks like a small
black ball in the dusky sky.