472 



[Jan, 1, 1891. 



THE WOODCOCK'S WHISTLE. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I have been much interested in all your woodcock bird 

 whistle papers, and as my experience has extended over 

 more than half a century of woodcock shooting) and 

 many seasons' shooting I have bagged from 100 to 150 

 birds) and the bird always interesting me, I have spent 

 many pleasant hours in studying its habits in spring as 

 well as in fall and summer shooting, I want you to put 

 down my vote to the wing theory. 



I know the bird has a little mouth talk, or note, which 

 I have often heard when the birds were mating and 

 strutting on the ground in the spring, and tbe same note 

 I have heard often from the old bird when I have been 

 catching the young chicks; but the sound or note is not 

 the same as the whistle of the continuous-flying, full- 

 plumaged bird, and I have so often had the slightly 

 wounded bird in my hand, and held by the bill or feet, 

 make, as I am sure, the same whistling -with his wings, 

 that I cannot be mistaken; and the bird when not in 



flumage, held the same way, does not make the whistle, 

 know we do not all hear, "see or think alike; but any 

 person who will take a full-plutnaged woodcock that is 

 lively, hold it by the bill or feet and let it have full use of 

 its wings, cannot but be convinced the whistle is made 

 with the wings, 



Audubon should be pretty good authority, and he 

 records the noise as* made by the wings: and among all 

 my bird acquaintance I do not remember one bird that 

 has a continuous mouth note when flying, but very many 

 have a wing whistle when flying, such as the golden-eye 

 duck, whistling swan and many others, that can be heard 

 a long distance. The drumming ruffed grouse, noise of 

 the wings of the flushed quail and many others talk with 

 their wings as well as their mouths. 



Geo. A. Boardman. 

 Calais, Maine. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I have read with great interest the many articles that 

 have appeared in your paper concerning the ways of the 

 woodcock and have added to the list myself. In looking 

 over your paper for the past year I find about three to 

 one in favor of the wing sound, and all give good reas- 

 ons, while a few who have had a woodcock in confine- 

 ment claim that the sound is produced by the bill. I 

 have also asked every sportsman (and they are many) 

 from Maine to Florida and have never fouud one who 

 did not think the sound was produced by the wing on its 

 flight. 



On looking over my paper on my return from the field 

 trials I find Mr. Trumbull out with an article in your 

 issue of Dec. 11, in which he contends that the woodcock 

 makes its sound by the bill or throat only. I think any 

 one who writes on this subject should find as near as pos- 

 sible the true habits of the bird, and if possible how the 

 sound is produced, and the last place to find the true 

 habits or nature of man, beast or bird is to confine them 

 in close confinement, which seems to be the only way 

 that Mr. Trumbull or any of his supporters have ever 

 studied them. 



I was very sorry that I was not at home to see my 

 papers so as to answer Mr. Trumbull before, but as Mr. 

 Brewster has already done this in your issue of Dec. 25, I 

 will content myself by writing now and trying to show 

 that Mr. Trumbull's article is misleading to the beginner 

 in ornithology. 



Now, I don't want Mr. Trumbull or any other man to 

 think that I deprive him the privilege to think as he 

 pleases, but I do think, as I say above, that treatment of 

 any subject of this kind should be as correct as possible, 

 as it goes as recorded fact, and his way of finding the 

 true habits of woodcock I think to be all wrong. 



It is time the sportsmen and the ornithologists of this 

 country came out in force to prove if possible which is 

 right. The expense would be light, and if every lover of 

 these birds (and their names are legion) would contribute 

 a small amount to pay a man or a committee of three 

 men to go South now and study them, I think it would 

 be a move in the right direction. They could follow them 

 from Florida to Maine on their trip north and east, and 

 by August we could get a full report of the woodcock, 

 his habits, mode of feeding, the way he produces the 

 sound, and mode of rearing the young. 



My article in your journal of Jan, 22, 1890, gives in a 

 rough way my idea of the woodcock. At that time I did 

 not claim he had a note by the bill, but after a close study 

 of them in Febuary I found they had, and wrote your 

 journal to that effect, which you published on March 6. 

 Every observation reported in these two articles was 

 made on the bird in his natural element. I claim that 

 the woodcock does fan its tail and strut like a turkey 

 gobbler, and is one of the proudest things I ever saw, 

 notwithstanding Mr. Trumbull to the contrary. I also 

 say and know by observation, that they do in mating or 

 breeding season have a continuous twitter of the bill and 

 wings combined on their ascent, and that on their descent 

 they have as perfect a song as any lark or bird I ever 

 heard. Also that when on the ground after their ascent 

 and decent they make a very sharp spate five or six times, 

 as I described in issue of March 6, and which I cannot 

 describe as other than like that of a drake, only much 

 sharper, and it can be heard for a quarter of a mile on 

 still nights, and as I said in that paper, they keep it up 

 from early sunset until daylight in the morning. This is 

 the sound, as near as I can make it, that Mr. Trumbull's 

 bird made, wbich deceived the greenhouse man. 



But I do say, Mr. Editor, to you, to Mr. Trumbull, and 

 to all unbelievers, that I have on many occasions tried 

 the woodcock by holding it by the bill, also by the feet, 

 and have had it make the pure metallic jingle or whistle 

 with its wings which it invariably makes when flushed 

 by myself or my dogs in cover or open, and I can prove 

 it by plenty of men who would not perhaps wish their 

 names drawn into this controversy. 



I will now add to my letter of March 6, that after mat- 

 ing and hatching the young, the woodcock through May 

 and June cease their spiral ascent, also their song note, 

 and after the young bird gets large enough to feed and 

 take care of itself, the last of June or first of July, they 

 begin again the ascent and song, which lasts then until 

 the last of July or first of August, when they begin to 

 molt, Then they are quite dormant and stir very little; 



and from the middle of August to the middle of Sep- 

 tember they seek the most secluded spots on sidehills, in 

 briers and bramble, and a dog has to be an extra good 

 one and to know bis business to find them, as they will 

 he and let any one step within a few inches of them 

 without offering to flush, and when they do fly on this 

 occasion they produce no sound by bill or wing, which 

 goes to show that the feather that makes the whistle is 

 not there or is not strong enough to produce the sound. 



If I have added anything to the ways of tbe woodcock 

 I am very glad; and again, if I have hurt any one's feel- 

 ings by my way of putting things, I am sorry. I am 

 sorry I cannot handle this subject as Mr, Brewster has, 

 but will try to keep up my end in my way, and as I say 

 above I hope the sportsmen of this country will second 

 my motion and put out some men and make a close study 

 of the best bird I ever shot at, and one that is fading 

 away very fast, and l«t them say how the woodcock pro- 

 duces the sound, and if I am wrong I am willing to put 

 myself into bondage and let Mr. Trumbull study my 

 habits as he has the poor little woodcock, in a dungeon 

 cell'. T. M. Aldrich. 



Providence, Rhode Island. 



SURROUNDED BY SNOW BUNTINGS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



This afternoon while in pursuit of a large owl abont 

 the field just outside the city limits an immense flock 

 (at least 4,000) of snowflakes {Pleetrophenax nivalis) 

 came into a buckwheat stubble field, through which I 

 was passing. I was near the center and they settled 

 down to the east of me. I noticed that those furthest 

 from me would fly over the others and alight on the side 

 nearest to me, and concluded that if they were not dis- 

 turbed they would soon surround me. I sat down on my 

 heels in the snow, and keeping perfectly quiet awaited 

 their coming. I had not long to wait before I was com- 

 pletely surrounded and had an excellent opportunity to 

 watch them. There was a continual jumping up to 

 secure the heads of grapes, which they would hold down 

 with their long toes and claws while eating from them. 

 My position was not an easy one, and I finally had to 

 stand erect. My first motion was the signal for my sur- 

 rounding company and they seemed to rise as one. The 

 circling motion, which they always make when alight- 

 ing or starting, brought many of them over my head, 

 and so close were they that I felt the rush of the wind 

 caused by the motion of their wings. I thought I had 

 seen large flocks of snow buntings, but had never seen 

 any that compared with this. It covered acres. From 

 my position I have no doubt that I might have shot a 

 hundred birds with the two barrels of my gun. But I 

 was after a larger bird and knew that the report would 

 be the signal for him to take bis departure. 



I followed him around that farm of 192$ acres for three 

 mortal hours, and the last I saw of him was at five o'clock, 

 and so dark that I could just make him out as he passed 

 over the residences in the south part of the city. 



Before seeing the owl I saw another interesting occur- 

 rence. About a quarter of a mile from me I saw a black 

 object moving about on the snow, and turned in that 

 direction to ascertain what it was. "When within forty 

 or fifty rods the object disappeared. As the field was 

 level and free from stones, I could not understand what 

 had become of it. Keeping my eyes on the place where 

 I had last seen it, I approached the spot, only to find the 

 tracks of an animal which I thought to be those of a 

 skunk, but they looked too large. On following the 

 tracks about two rods, I found that they also disappeared 

 in a hammock of the snow. Passing within six feet of 

 it to the opposite side I found an opening, and looking in 

 saw the black fur of some animal, I was now convinced 

 that it was a skunk, and as I was not looking for " Sir 

 Mephitis," I did not walk up and give it a kick and shoot 

 at it as it ran away. I stopped back two rods, and mak- 

 ing a small ball threw it at the hammock, when, to my 

 surprise, out jumped a black and white cat, that bounded 

 across the field. I have seen cats crouch and hide in the 

 grass, but did not know they would force themselves 

 under the snow for concealment. J. D. Davison. 



Lockport, Dec. 6, 1890. 



^ e hear ' ^ is not at a11 Particular what it eats. 

 Like the bibulous individual who has recorded his later 

 Me preferences in not altogether faultless verse, it will 

 • take m . ost an y tnin g-" One day in '87, while the cook 

 m a Maine bark camp was out, one of these brutes 

 entered, rooted the lid off a butter tub, and when the 

 cook returned, was literally "up to his eyes" in the con- 

 tents. 



Mr. Samuel Pugsley, a gentleman living near here and 

 one whoso word passes at par with the writer every time, 

 assures me that he killed one in his hen house in the act 

 of destroying his poultry. Indeed, I saw one last summer 

 making very suspicious advances on a flock of youn° 

 turkeys, and had not the owner of them declined to 

 sacrifice a fowl in the interest of science, and insisted on 

 my shooting the marauder forthwith, I could probably 

 have offered some direct evidence on that point to-day. 

 As it is, it is an. open question whether he was rustling 

 for a dinner, or was under the impression that his 

 "plumage" entitled him to associate with fowls, and 

 engage with them in a one-sided game of "tag." 



It is a well known fact that one "quill pig" will do as 

 much injury in a field of buckwheat as anv like-sized in- 

 dividual among his shovel-nosed brethren, while the 

 damage these animals do in the State of Maine alone by 

 girdling trees amounts to so much that it is a wonder a 

 bounty is not offered for their scalps. Two years ago a 

 valuable horse pasturing near here was badly injured by 

 getting a blow on his nose from a porcupine's tail. The 

 number of dogs that get hurt in the same way is simply 

 enormous. When I state that the porcupine is on the 

 increase, in that vicinity at least, I have summed up the 

 case for the prosecution. Now, can any one tell us of 

 any good this animal does, or state any sufficient reason 

 why it should not be killed on sight ? L. I. Flower. 

 New Brunswick. 



A Queer Goose.— Editor Forest and Stream: Mr. 

 John H. Sherard, a planter of this county, described to 

 me a goose that he captured last Feburary or March on 

 his plantation, which was a unique bird for these parts 

 and defied the erudition of local sportsmen to determine 

 its status among the genus Anser. The colors of the body 

 were similar to those of the common wild goose that re- 

 sorts to this latitude in the winter months, but the head 

 and neck, down to the body, were perfectly white, with 

 pink bill, feet and legs, like the domestic goose. The 

 specimen captured was a solitary bird, and alighted in the 

 clover lot not far from the barn vard. Mr. Sherard made 

 a long shot at it with No. 2 shot, and "wing-tipped" it, 

 hurting it but slightiy. He placed it with the domestic 

 geese m the barn yard, but it showed no disposition to 

 affiliate with them, keeping entirely aloof. I believe it 

 died after a month's captivity. It is described as being 

 taller and more slender in its proportions than the wild 

 goose.— Coahoma. [You do not tell us what is the com- 

 mon wild goose of your neighborhood in winter. The 

 bird you speak of may have been a blue goose. The 

 description given is so vague and general that we cannot 

 conjecture as to the species of the bird. And guessing in 

 matters of science is not permitted.] 



THE PORCUPINE. 



J SING of arms and the hero," says the poet. He who 

 chooses for his subject the porcupine has abundant 

 excuse to sing of arms, for no legion of old time knights 

 had half so many lances at rest as he; but were one in 

 search of a hero he might go a long distance further 

 without much risk of faring any worse. True, I did once 

 read in a boy's paper, generally accounted one of the 

 best and most reliable in the country, a description of a 

 reckless and even heroic charge by a band of porcupines, 

 to avenge the death of one of their number at the hands 

 of a Maine hunter; but to say I believed it would be put- 

 ting a very heavy strain on the truth. I think the 

 author of the story went as far in the latter direction as 

 was desirable. 



Inasmuch as he deals swift and sharp, as well as severe 

 punishment to any animal that meddles with him, the 

 porcupine has long been held up as an embodiment, as 

 well as an emphasizer of the great principle, that every 

 one should mind his own business and not meddle with 

 that of other people. But as example is better than pre- 

 cept, and he of all animals is oftenest found nosing 

 around hedges, orchards, outhouses, lumber camps and 

 back shanties— places where he would seem to have no 

 earthly call, I think it would be fitting to look elsewhere 

 for a practical illustration of that important truth. 



Some people speak of the porcupine as an animal that 

 "is always right side up." If by "right," they mean the 

 prickly side, many of us have seen them in another 

 position; and I for one believe that if the whole race 

 were "wrong side up" there would be no great hiatus in 

 the welfare of the world. To me a pocupine seems a sort 

 of an animated Canada thistle, or if you prefer it the 

 thistle is a vegetized porcupine. The beauty of both the 

 plant and the animal may very well be questioned, while 

 their utter worthlessness has never to my knowledgle 

 been a subject of dispute. 



"I first heard of the animal from the old settlers as hav- 

 ing the power of "shooting its quills." As it can strike 

 quick and dexterous blows with its tail, always planting 

 the harpoons where they will do the mcsfc damage, I can 

 readily forgive this inaccuracy. It is usually credited 

 with being a vegetarian in diet, but if we can believe 



How Two Fawns Took Their Eations.— Amos Pat- 

 terson, of East Valley, Wash., has two fine young deer 

 that he has raised on his place. He was out hunting one 

 day and killed a doe with two young fawns. The crea- 

 tures were very small and ran away in terror at the death 

 of their mother. In a few days Mr. Patterson caught 

 them and brought them home. They steadily refused to 

 imbibe the lacteal fluid through a regulation nipple at- 

 tached to a nursing bottle, and other artifices tried were 

 in vain. What was to be done? IE they were much 

 longer without food they would perish. A bright idea 

 struck Mr. Patterson. Taking the hide of the mother 

 that had been butchered previously he inserted the nip- 

 ples through the skin. When the 'fawns felt the warm 

 coat of the supposed mother, they commenced to drink at 

 once, and for a good while after no trouble was experi- 

 enced in giving them their regular rations.— Jo. (Seattle, 

 Wash.). 



Goldfinch in Captivity.— St. Louis, Mo., Dec. 21— 

 Editor Forest and Stream.: Being an interested reader 

 of your paper, I would like to ask you or some of your 

 readers for information. For years I have taken a great 

 interest in our American goldfinch yellowbird (Carduelis 

 elegans), but in spite of my efforts I have not succeeded 

 to keep them in captivity. I have used the various bird 

 foods, seeds, tonics, greens, etc., have taken the birds 

 before and after moulting, kept them singly and in num- 

 bers, inside and out, but to no use. I understand that 

 they can be kept in captivity if you know how to treat 

 them. Any information will be thankfully received 

 through your journal.— D. B. [We have seen many 

 yellowbirds (S. tristis) in confinement which seemed to 

 do well on such food as is given to canaries. Canary and 

 rape seed were the foundation of the diet, but of course 

 the greater the variety given the more likely the birds 

 are to do well and thrive.] 



Virginia Deer in Austria.— Berlin, Dec. 20.— The 

 Count Brenner, father-in-law of the hereditary Prince of 

 Ratisbor, some years ago imported six pairs of Virginia 

 deer and set them loose in his domain, Grafinegg, in 

 Austria. They have wonderfully increased, and at a 

 recent aristocratic hunt three of them were killed. This 

 meat is considered superior to that of the native animal. 

 — TJie Washington Post, Dee. 0i. 



Black Foxes.— Mr, Fred Burke, of Barronsfield, who, 

 as reported a few weeks ago in the Amherst Sentinel, 

 shot a black fox, was successful in capturing another of 

 those rare animals a few days ago. He has shot thirty- 

 one foxes this fall, and the other day sold the skins to 

 Messrs. Black & Co., of Truro, for about $225.— Truro, 

 Can., Sentinel. 



Snowv Owls.— Edgar, Neb., Dec. 5,— The snowy owl 

 has again appeared in this vicinity. A farmer brought 

 me a very large one yesterday, and another has been seen 

 east of here a few miles. — H. 



Names and Portraits or Birds, by Gurdon Trumbmi. A 



book particularly interesting to gunners, for by its use they can 

 tify without question all the American game birds which 



Identfi 



they may kill. Cloth, 330 pages, price 88.60. Wot sale by Fobbbi 



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