OLOGIST 
[Vol. 7-No. 18 
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through an old pasture Thursday, May 4, 
I started up a Woodcock from a small 
thicket, which was immediately followed 
by four more, an old bird and four young, 
the latter so large as scarcely to be distin- 
guished from the mother bird, except that 
she flapped her wings as if flying with 
difficulty and made a sort of whining cry. 
I don’t think I ever saw young of that 
species so early before and very mature- 
eggs must have been laid exceedingly 
early, perhaps before April, though I do 
not know how long time is required for 
their incubation. I 
also found a W oodcock’ s nest containing 
one egg, just as we were going to leave. 
I left it in order to get the full set, and 
went down again on Wednesday, the 24th, 
and got the set of three. Incubation was 
just begun. This is very late for Wood- 
cock’s eggs and must have been a second 
set. ft. ***-”*• 
O.&O. Vlll. Dec. 1883. Pfi- 
Early Nesting of the Woodcock. 
On March 30, 1889, a friend of mine found a 
nest of the American Woodcock (Philohela 
minor), containing four eggs. The nest, which 
was a mere depression on the top of a small 
moss-covered mound, measuring about five 
inches in breadth by one in depth, was situated 
in a thicket of briers and bushes on the south 
side of a piece of woods near a small stream of 
water. He discovered the nest while engaged 
in cutting bushes, and had cut them all from 
off the mound on which the nest was made, 
his scythe passing directly over the sitting 
bird’s head two or three times in the operation. 
It was not until the bushes fell across her 
back that she moved at all, and then it was 
only to go a foot or two from the nest. The 
eggs were of the usual color, but were a little 
larger than the average. They measured as 
follows in hundredths of an inch: 1.57x1.22, 
1.55x1.23, 1.57x1.19, and 1.53x1.18. 
G. L. n. 
Bethel, Conn. 
o &0. XIV. June. 18b9 p.88 
Early Woodcock. — Mr. R. G. Hazard, 
2d, found a Woodcock’s nest, April 16th, 
that the young had just left, and he col- 
lected the shells. , ,, , . t , ■ . , 
A Series of Eggs of the American 
W oodcock. 
The eggs of the American Woodcock ( Philo- 
hela minor) are almost always four in number, 
and are laid on a few leaves on the ground. 
They are rounded ovate or short ovate in form, 
although occasionally a set is found that 
are ovate. The ground color is subject to 
considerable variation as well as the mark- 
ings. 
Set I. June 3, 1875. Ledyard, New London 
County, Connecticut. Collected by “ J. M. W.” 
(C. L. Rawson). Eggs on old leaves, among 
white birches, on ground sloping toward 
swamp. Female feigned lameness, almost 
touched. Pointed by dog. Male near. Four 
eggs, incubation begun. Ecru drab, spotted 
with fawn color and lavender-gray: 1.49 x 1.21 ; 
1.44x1.19; 1.50x1.21; 1.49x1.19. 
Set II. March 29, 1889. Wake County, 
North Carolina. Collected by H. H. & C. S. 
Brimley. Nest, a mere depression in dead 
leaves in mixed woods, on hillside sloping to 
creek, just above flood mark. Bird on nest. 
Four eggs, incubation far advanced. Buffy, 
spotted with russet and fawn color: l.liOx 1.09; 
1.58x1.09; 1.51x1.07; 1.50x1.09. 
Set III. April 15, 1883. Preston, New Lon- 
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Nesting of the American Woodcock 
in North Carolina. 
On March 29, 1889, a young friend of mine 
was returning home from fishing and had just 
| started up a sloping hillside covered with bush- 
es, that led down to the creek bottom, when his 
bird dog came to a dead stand. On investigat- 
ing the matter he flushed a female woodcock 
(Philohela minor) from her complement of four 
eggs. Overjoyed at his find he brought the 
eggs home to us, two in each hand, and we 
were equally glad to receive them, and to re- 
ward him for his kindness. 
The nest was a mere depression on a hill- 
side leading from the pine woods to creek 
lowlands, and close by a lane leading up the 
hill from the creek meadows. The eggs 
j were about three-quarters incubated, but we 
I saved them with some trouble. 
The Woodcock is a rare resident about here, 
although sometimes abundant in their migra- 
tions. I suppose about a dozen pairs may nest 
in this neighborhood. C. 8. Brimley. 
Raleigli, N C. 
O.&O. XIV. Nov. 1889 p.10^ 
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