3 
Philohela minor. 
1891 Mass. 
iovv 
V 
Apri I 13. Lexingt en-r 'My subject to-night did not once 
vary his attitude nor turn his head e«er so slightly to one 
or the other side. It is not uncommon, however, for him to 
change his position after peeping a few times by turning part- 
ly around and facing in a different direction, and Faxon has 
repeatedly seen him move from place to place, over a space 
of a few square yards by quick, short runs, stopping to peep 
a number of times in succession on the top of each little 
mound that lay in his track and facing in different directions 
Once to-night he faced all four quarters of the compass in sue- 
cession, mak ing a quarter turn each time without changing his 
ground. Each change of position produced a marked change in 
the sound of his voice. When his back was turned towards me, 
the paap sounded muffled and much more distant, while I could 
hardly hear the jot-ul at all, although the bird was within 
thirty yards. Faxon has seen him descend from the air to ex- 
actly the same spot three or four times in succession, but to- 
night he alighted in a different place after each flight. F . 
thinks that this was because he had seen me the first time. I 
had only one good view of him on the ground. 
y Faxon to-night devoted his entire attention to studying 
the aerial flight. His conclusions are that during the pro- 
duction of each set of musi cal (water-whi sties ) notes, the 
bird holds his wings extended an d get , whether he be sailing 
or pitching down sharply at the time; and further that the 
wings invariably move rapidly and continuously in a whirrigl 
manner during the intermittant periods of twittering. 
This morninggF .'Nfomnd the bird already peeping at 4.15. 
He watched him through' one peeping spell at a distance of 
feet( measured) from behind a small leafless bush. 
April I.. 
_/ "The Davis Hill Y/oodcock did not show up to-night. 
Last night I did not go there. It rained to-night, but I fear 
that was/ not the cause of his absense ,"( W. Faxon, Letter Apr. 
15— 189 J . ) 
j / 'h ^ # ) 
April' 1 7 . Ho .bird peeping at Warren Run* to-night . I now 
believe that both this and the Davis\Hill Y/oodcock were mi- 
grants . f~ 
T f \ 
