68 
THE NATURALIST AND COLLECTOR 
Their capacity is simply amazing', and 
with a remarkable digestion, it is not 
to be wondered at that they are great 
destroyers of worms and insects. If 
we are to credit Audubon, that accur¬ 
ate observer and celebrated Naturalist, 
the woodcock will devour as many 
worms in a single night as its weight. 
On coming to a proper feeding place 
they thrust their long bills into the 
soft earth. This is done, it would 
seem quite at random, but the results 
are entirely satisfactory to the birds, 
for worms and insects of all sizes and 
conditions are hauled to the surface 
and swallowed with apparent relish. 
These holes, borings they are called by 
the hunters, are often made in great 
number in small spaces, with large 
areas of apparently equally good sur¬ 
face untouched. The birds evidently 
know as well where food is to be found 
beneath the surface as does the sound¬ 
ing woodpecker, as he thumps upon 
the dead branch. The sense of direc¬ 
tion, or instinct, as the sense or fea¬ 
ture was formerly called, seems to 
guide them in their searches. This 
may be considered an innate trait, 
but at least, whether acquired by prac¬ 
tice or not we may fairly call intuitive, 
and of equal rank with that discrimi¬ 
nation posessed by squirrels, which 
generally enables them to select and 
reject good and bad nuts. 
Mating having taken place after 
much flurry, in which the success of 
the favored male seems gained from 
the superiority of gyrating flight, as 
the birds certainly cannot fight well, 
the nesting site is chosen. The point 
decided on is nearly always, so far as 
my experience goes, near to trees or 
bushes, where some protection is of¬ 
fered, but the trees are often absent 
and the bushes may be few and much 
scattered, and I have met with nests 
almost entirely in the open. The spot 
where the eggs are laid is always ex¬ 
posed, and though the excuse of a nest 
be placed near or directly under a 
bush, yet it is always in plain sight, 
and in only one instance have I found 
the eggs really concealed. 
It is safe to say that in four cases 
out of five the nest is nothing, the eggs 
being deposited on the bare leaves of 
the previous year, in a small natural 
depression. In some instances there 
is evidenced more attention by the old 
birds, and in two cases which I have 
met with, there was proof of quite an 
amount of skill. One of these nests 
was two or more inches high at the 
edges, and formed artistically of dead 
leaves. The other nest was largely 
composed of twigs and substantially 
lined with dead grass and was placed 
between weed-stalks which supported 
it at several inches elevation. 
In the woods, where the sun’s rays 
cannot strike or only partially, and 
where the spring rains have soaked 
the low ground which the birds always 
select, the surface is generally wet and 
consequently the eggs are often found 
on moist leaves and grasses. 
The eggs, four in number, are gen¬ 
erally laid in late April or early May, 
but are often found by April 15th, and 
I have seen young in April, which led 
me to believe that the first egg must 
have been laid in March. Of course 
the season and locality have much to 
do with the time. There are many 
late nestings also, and I am satisfied 
that many young are hatched in July. 
At one time we had a ridiculous state 
law which opened the woodcock sea¬ 
son July 5th. When hunting on that 
date one season I found a brood of 
young but a few days old. 
The eggs are buff in their ground 
color or occasionally creamy, spotted 
