576 
FOREST AND STREAM 
October, 1918 
No game bird in the world calls for such perfect dog work as the ground must be covered very thoroughly 
■ m'm 
killed a bird or two but the long billed wan¬ 
derers had wandered on. 
No bird in the world gives such perfect 
dog work, but one’s ground must be covered 
very thoroughly, as they “lie” very close, 
have little if any foot scent, and should be 
located accurately by the pointing dog to 
get the gunner a perfect flush from a de¬ 
sirable angle. 
A little twenty or twenty-eight gauge 
gun, two and a half drams, one ounce No. 
io shot, a good dog and a perfect October 
day, make up all the needs of the real lover 
of this old Bug Sucker. I love him; I be¬ 
lieve nature made in him the feathered aris¬ 
tocrat of the woods. Note the rich color¬ 
ings—the texture of the feathers—the trim 
figure—the wonderful eye—and last, but not 
least, that marvelous bill, with its intricate 
apparatus that probes and feels for the 
worm, its staple diet. 
The principal food of woodcock is the 
earth-worm, though they also devour many 
insects which are to be found in damp situ¬ 
ations which they affect, and have been 
seen to catch butterflies. The “angle- 
worm,” however, is the main reliance of 
this species, and the number of these which 
a single bird will devour in a given time is 
astonishing. 
Audubon says that a woodcock will de¬ 
vour in a single night more than its own 
weight in worms, and Dr. Grinnell men¬ 
tions some interesting experiments on this 
point, made on a captive bird, which en¬ 
tirely confirm the great naturalist. 
For nearly twenty years now the wood¬ 
cock has been growing more and more 
scarce, and it has been generally accepted 
as true that it is on its way to extinction. 
Until within a few years summer shooting 
of woodcock has been permitted in a num¬ 
ber of states, a practise which resulted in 
the practical destruction of almost all the 
birds breeding and reared in certain ter¬ 
ritories. So much shooting at a time when 
the birds were but recently from the nest 
and able to fly only short distances, was 
extremely destructive. Under present con¬ 
ditions, when woodcock are killed only in 
the autumn, they are usually fat, strong¬ 
winged birds, very different from the little 
cheepers of mid-July, and it is to be 
hoped that these protective measures will 
bring back the bird with us again in some¬ 
thing like their old-time abundance. 
And again let me plead for moderation 
in the kill when the flight is on; remember 
they only go away to come back again. So 
let this glorious russet colored friend of 
ours carry away with him our lasting and 
merciful regard. 
So long, old friend, the season’s end is told 
By painted leaves now falling fast. 
I count the full moons till your return, 
Make not this parting cry—our last. 
Woodcock have been found and identified 
from Labrador to the Gulf, although local¬ 
ly named blind snipe, bog bird, night part¬ 
ridge, whistling snipe, pewee and numerous 
other more or less descriptive names. Parts 
of Maine and Vermont are splendid flight 
grounds. In all the New England states 
good shooting can be found, and during the 
flight season, limit bags are readily made 
within twenty-five miles of New York City. 
I have found the bird in some numbers in 
parts of North Carolina, but always in poor 
condition and utterly unlike our grand, big 
birds of October in New England. The 
largest I ever weighed balanced the scales 
at eleven ounces. Once in Florida on the 
edge of the Everglades, back from Fort 
Pierce, I flushed several birds, the only 
specimens I ever identified in that state, al¬ 
though in Louisiana they are to be found 
in large numbers, and were formerly killed 
at night by the light of torches by market 
hunters for the New Orleans epicure. 
They are sure to locate a cornfield if such 
is anywhere near cover, as the growing corn 
shading the grounds keeps it in perfect con¬ 
dition for this expert borer. I have a piece 
of potatoes now that shows borings all up 
and down the field between the rows. On 
any moonlit night one can see the birds 
flitting along from nearby cover to drop in 
for a nocturnal feast. 
“Philohcla Minor” probably has caused 
more discussion as to habits and methods 
of feeding than any other game bird, bear¬ 
ing out my contention that he is more or 
less a bird of mystery. 
Twenty years ago there was much dis¬ 
cussion as to the manner in which the 
startled woodcock produces the whistling 
sound usually heard as it springs from the 
ground. The ranks of sportsmen were 
divided into two factions, one of which 
held that the whistle was vocal, while the 
other was as firmly convinced that it was 
produced by the wings. Oddly enough, 
able ornithologists, w'ho w'ere also sports¬ 
men, were divided on the questiton—and 
are probably still divided, for the matter 
has never been satisfactorily and conclu¬ 
sively settled. 
Whether the w'histling made when flushed 
comes from the wings or throat is one se¬ 
rious item of argument amongst men. That 
the bird is capable of making sound is shown 
by the call of the baby birds which is a dis¬ 
tinct “peep, peep” quite like barnyard chicks. 
I have heard and seen many a woodcock 
flush without making the slightest whistle, 
showing that if the sound is made with the 
winds it can be controlled. 
At one time it was feared the woodcock 
was doomed, but Federal Legislation has 
saved them. Let the good work go on. No 
one bird would be more sadly missed by 
sportsmen than tlTe little, old, brown 
feathered fairy of our birch and alder runs. 
