USKFl’L I’.IRDS 
been found in its crop ; army worms, cut worms and wire worms 
form a portion of its diet. It apj)ears to be growing more abund- 
ant in the State from year to year, and Avorking farther north each 
season, yet its occurrence in any latitude in any year naturally 
depends upon the severity of the preceding wdnter and upon gen- 
eral climatic conditions. 
ddie Virginia Quail or Hob White is holding its own fairly 
well in Minnesota in spite of our severe wnnters, ])ushing its way 
farther north when conditions are favorable. This bird is such a 
good friend of the agriculturist that it deserves protection, although 
its fine qualities as a table bird make it an object of pursuit on 
the ])art of hunters. Potato bugs and even chinch bugs have been 
found in its crop and grassho])pers as well as many other varieties 
of injurious insects com])ose a large i)roportion of its bill of fare. 
THE AMERICAN WOODCOCK. 
A somewhat rare bird in Minnesota, frequenting the low, 
wooded, water-courses and generally resorting to the higher lands 
onh^ during the night. This beautiful game bird is pre-eminently 
a night-flier and a night-feeder. Its large eyes, placed well toward 
the top of its head, are not only enabled to gain impressions from 
above, when the bird’s soft beak is buried in the mud, but also 
are in a ])osition to receive all available light. A\ hen flushed, the 
bird rises softly, directly upward until clear of the brush and then 
])auses an instant before starting away from the intruder. Their 
four bufif-colored eggs spotted and blotched with brown, are laid 
on leaves on the ground in an excuse for a nest. This bird has no 
economic bearing upon agriculture. It is protected in Minnesota 
until 1918. 
