142 



NOTES ON THE AMERICAN WOODCOCK 



deceptively the colors of the bird harmonize with those of the 

 ground about the nest is well illustrated by the picture on 

 page 145. 



Sometimes the weather is very unfavorable for them as in 

 the spring of 1904 when we found the Woodcock in hard luck. 

 In our locality the thirteenth of April is usually the time to 

 look for full sets of Woodcock's eggs. That year was no excep- 

 tion to the rule, although at the time referred to we had been 



F7-om Photo by James Savage 



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 morning 

 found us on the ground, which is an ideal locality for the nest- 

 ing of this bird. The ground was then completely 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 feed- 

 ing or trying to find food around partly frozen water holes. 



