802 
BIKD-LIFE. 
not betrayed by its large brilliant black eyes. The bird 
will often lie close until the gunner is within a foot of it, 
when it will rise from under his feet and fly off, uttering 
a loud “katsch” or “dac,” or in some cases quite 
silently. 
Contrary to the nature of other members of the family, 
the Woodcock dislikes associating with those of its own 
species, and it is only during pairing time that one may 
see several males assembled about a female bird. The 
courtship is carried on after dusk, when the male bird 
bird becomes quite another being. He arrives, giving- 
utterance to a number of singular notes, resembling a 
shrill whistle or even a low murmur, which sounds 
somewhat like “ psziep” or “ yurrk ”: on these occasions 
the flight is lazy and slow, the beat of the wings being- 
languid, like that of an Owl, and the plumage much 
ruffled and puffed out; in this manner he roams from 
one place to another in search of his mistress or a rival. 
In the latter case a hot engagement immediately com¬ 
mences, the adversaries tumbling about in the air and 
making savage lunges at each other with their long bills, 
which elastic weapons, however, cause no serious damage 
to the combatants. In the heat of battle the two, and 
sometimes three, birds engaged form one whirling- ball, 
which is precipitated to the earth, and many a gunner 
has made good use of the opportunity to secure a pot 
shot highly conducive to the filling* of the game-bag. 
These tilting matches during paring time last as long as 
an unmated male bird remains in the neighbourhood of a 
breeding-place; they only take place, however, in fine 
weather. These fights precede the actual pairing off of 
the couples, and maybe compared to the “playing” of 
Black-game, “ drumming” of snipe, or the rival singing 
of small birds. 
