THE WOODCOCK. 
Am Christiansburg, Ohio. 
Editor American Field ‘—•In the American Field of 
January 28, Mr. John Bolus asks a question and I think to 
all lovers of woodcock shooting, an important one. I fully 
agree with Mr. Bolus in saying that he would rather give 
up the entire month of July than one week of October. I 
presume the gentleman who made the proposed amendment 
to our game laws was looking after the interests of our 
quails during the month of October, for hundreds of them 
are killed during that month by presumed woodcock 
shooters. 
I also read, in the same paper, Mr. Bolus’ very interesting 
article on the habits of the woodcock. Brother Killbuck 
must be a student of nature as well as a woodcock shooter 
to produce an article so true to life ; and if sportsmen would 
remember some of the ideas advanced in Mr. Bolus’ article 
TEey would have better luck woodcock shooting! It fe an 
evident fact that the mother bird of the woodcock family 
will carry her young from one feeding ground to another, 
but will she ever carry them away from danger ? Twice in 
my life have I seen the mother bird fly away from a point 
with a young bird between her feet. The first time I ever 
saw a woodcock fly away with her young was on July 10, 
1883. I was shooting woodcocks over an Irish setter puppy 
and birds were plenty. I was beating an open, grassy place 
when the puppy came to a stanch point some fifteen yards 
from me. After admiring the point for a few minutes, I 
walked up and flushed the bird. As it arose out of the grass 
not over five yards from me, I noticed something was wrong 
with it, and, instead of shooting at it, stopped to look and 
could plainly see the little downy fellow between her feet. 
I met with the same kind of a circumstance last season 
only it was before the open season. My explanation of the 
reason that those two birds carried their young away from 
danger is that they only had the one, for a thorough search 
of the ground failed to reveal another young one. In both 
cases had there been more than one in the brood, the 
mother bird would have done everything in her power to 
entice us away from her treasure. 
Now, brother woodcock shooters, have any of you met 
with similar circumstances. If so, let us hear from you. 
A. Guthrie. 
Woodcock in New York City. — On March 10, Mr. Louis H. Schorte- 
r brought into the office of the National Association of Audubon 
sties a Woodcock, Philohela minor , which he had picked up in Maiden 
s, New York City, that morning (March 25, 1911). The bird appeared 
ie in good condition, save that it was probably weak from hunger, 
as sent to the New York Zoological Park. Mr. Crandall informs me 
the bird refused all food and was kept alive for about a week by stuffing 
ith worms and maggots, when it died. This has been the previous 
srience at the Park with these birds and is in line with one experience 
I had. Although Mr. Crandall even secured earth worms for this 
> and buried them in soft earth, the bird refused to eat voluntarily. — 
I. Bowdish, Demarest, N. J. , x x ff't- ?> -3& 
NOTES. , iW/- P 5 7 b ' 
y 
On last Friday I had the pleasure of seeing a woodcock 
carrying its young to a place of safety. It was not the first 
time, but I had a clearer view than I ever had before. I 
have a pointer puppy nine months old, a great-grandson of 
Waddell’s Old Phil, and on that evening my wife and I 
went where I knew a woodcock had nested, to determine 
whether the youngster would point a game bird. Shortly 
after entering a piece of low ground bordering on the Tip- 
pecanoe River the puppy came to a stanch point. I called 
my wife’s attention to the point, and while we were talking 
about his pretty position, a woodcock flushed with a young 
one between her thighs. We were not more than ten feet 
from her and had an unobstructed view. The little one was 
held tightly between the thighs of its mother, while she was 
j al most doub led up, and kept the little one in position with 
her bill and tail. Her flight was slow and labored. She 
flew about thirty yards behind some brush, placed her baby 
in a safe place, and returned and picked up another one 
and carried it in an opposite direction. The legs and feet 
of the little one were plainly visible. During this time 
three or four more woodcocks flushed about the same 
place. When we turned to look at the puppy he was still 
standing, and I doubt not if we had game upon which to 
educate him, he would be an honor to Old Phil. Hay. 
Warsaw, Ind. 
70 
