THE GUN AT HOME AND ABROAD 
and to see her pick up one in each foot and fly off with them. He then hid 
and saw her return in a few minutes and pick up the remaining bird, also 
in her foot. 
The mode in which the young are carried has given rise to much dis- 
cussion, and some say that the mother carries the young between the 
thighs. No doubt this is true, but she also grasps them with her toes, 
and the legs which have been observed hanging down as she flies off, 
are not hers, but those of the young bird. 
That woodcocks carry their young is now a well ascertained fact, though 
there are still many who are sceptical on the subject. It is certain that the 
mode of carrying varies, and as it is chiefly done at dusk, or early 
dawn, when the light is bad, accurate observations are difficult. The 
best chance of observing is when the bird is disturbed with her brood 
in the daytime, but possibly on such occasions of hurry, abnormal 
methods are resorted to. That they will sometimes carry large 
young birds able to fly has been ascertained by Mr W. H. St Quintin 
on two occasions. When shooting a rather open birchwood at Inver- 
shin, on August 30, 1882, he came across a late brood of woodcocks, and 
shot an old woodcock carrying a young bird, and another of the young 
birds with his second barrel. He afterwards shot the young bird which 
the old one had been carrying, and which his retriever had tried, but 
failed, to catch. The young were fledged, but somewhat undersized, and he 
recollects well seeing the young bird between the parent’s legs as he fired. 
It is not known for certain whether the woodcock nests twice in a season. 
It may be that some birds do so, but it is more likely that those with late 
broods met with in August and September have lost their first set of eggs 
and nested a second time. 
General habits . — One of the chief characteristics of the woodcock is 
its nocturnal habits, which have already been referred to. During the 
day it retires to some dry and sheltered spot in the woods or on some 
hill-side covered with bracken and broom, where, if undisturbed, it re- 
mains till dusk. The birds display extraordinary partiality for certain 
woods, and shun others which appear equally suited to their needs. Why 
this should be so it is impossible to say, but it is a well-known fact that 
certain places are a sure find for “ ’cock ” if there are any in the neigh- 
bourhood, and that if the occupant of any particular spot is killed, its 
place is nearly sure to be filled almost immediately by another bird. 
Mr Hugh Wormald, who has had special opportunities of studying the 
240 
