nesting preferences subject it to many natural enemies and to the vaga- 

 ries of weather conditions* It has a somewhat limited range, chiefly 

 east of the Mississippi River* Although known to breed in Louisiana 

 and other southern States, most of the birds are produced on nesting 

 grounds in Pennsylvania, New York, New England and the Maritime Prov- 

 inces* It is an anomaly of distribution, probably not generally known, 

 that during the winter months this species is heavily concentrated in 

 Louisiana and western Mississippi* A few may be found at that season 

 also in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and even as far north as the 

 Potomac River, but probably as much as 75 percent of the population is 

 concentrated in the lower Mississippi Valley* The situation is parallel 

 to that of the blue goose, and Louisiana is the custodian of both these 

 valuable species in winter* 



The fall flight of woodoook, in 1939, was good and it appeared that 

 the supply of birds was up to, or even above, the average for the past 

 few years* Then came the abnormal weather conditions of January 1940, 

 with snow and freezing weather extending deep into the South, even to 

 the Gulf coast* In southern Louisiana the ground was reported frozen in 

 many plaoes to a depth of 3 inches, and this condition persisted for 10 

 days or longer. For a bird that obtains its food by probing in soft 

 ground these conditions oould only prove disastrous* Unfortunately, this 

 occurred at the time of the open season in that State, January 1 to 31. 

 As a result, in addition to untold numbers of birds that unquestionably 

 died of starvation, hundreds were killed in bag limits by hunters* When 

 they learned of the condition of the birds, many sportsmen refrained from 

 further shooting, but many others, disregarding the ethics of sportsman- 

 ship, continued day after day to shoot the weakened birds* lfifhile Federal 

 game-^aanagement personnel was not adequate to cover the entire area, bi- 

 ologists of the Survey, game-^oanagement agents, and the regional director 

 concentrated their activities in Louisiana* Very little of the killing 

 was found to be illegal, although reports were received that the birds 

 were being sold on the streets* 



It was obvious, however, that the loss was very heavy, and as the 

 northward migration got under way all field personnel of the Bureau were 

 instructed to maintain a close watch and to report their findings* Re- 

 ports to the number of 72 were reoeived from the Atlantio and Mississippi 

 Flyways, Only 9 of the observers could detect any inciease^over the spring 

 flight of 1939, while 29 reported deoreases, usually heavy. The remaining 

 34 observers could detect no change but, significantly, most of them are 

 situated in areas where the species is never common* 



Particularly important are the May reports from the cooperative re- 

 search stations in Pennsylvania and Maine, where the woodcock is a major 

 subject of investigation. The breeding grounds studied by these units 

 showed deoreases of 40 and 37.5 percent, respectively, under the popula- 

 tions of 1939. The biologist of the Atlantio Flyway, working in New 

 Brunswiok, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, reported a somewhat 

 reduoed population in that important breeding district* 



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