
SUMMARY OF WOCDCOCK, SNIPE AND RAIL INVESTIGATIONS FoR 1955 
John We. Aldrich 
Ue Se Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D. C. 
American Woodcock, Wilson's Snipe and the various North American 
species of rails are among the migratory birds classified as "game 
birds" under the provisions of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and thus 
are of special concern from the standpoint of their conservation and 
management. The Ue. Se Fish and Wildlife Service is the agency charged 
with the responsibility for management of these migratory birds in the 
United States, and the Canadian Wildlife Service performs a similar 
function in Canada. To eid them in this management these agencies 
conduct research and encourage investigations by others designed to 
obtain pertinent facts about these birds. Through this publication 
it is hoped to show the sort of information which is needed and the 
progress being made in getting it. Each year persons known to be 
actively engaged in this field are encouraged to contribute reports 
for this publication so that the information obtained can be dissemi- 
nated promptly and so aid and act as a stimulus to others working on 
these or related topics, The development of inventory methods for 
determining changes in populations of migratory birds on a large scale 
is extremely complicated. It needs accurate information on many facets 
of behavior and ecology of the species involved. It, therefore, re- 
quires the cooperative approach by many investigators and observers who 
are particularly qualified or so situated that they can attack these 
problems effectively. By this cooperative approach it is hoped that 
little by little we will be able to work out and bring together the 
facts that will make possible more reliable inventory methods and 
other requirements for management of migratory game birds. on both 
lecal and continental levels. 
Investigations of woodcock habitats and behavior pertinent to the 
problem of detecting and appraising changes in populations of this 
species have been active during the year, and it is believed that 
most of the more significant work is summarized in the ensuing 
articles. Special efforts have been made at the Maine and Massachusetts 
Cooperative Wildlife Research Units, at Louisiana State University and 
by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, to learn more about the exact 
habitat requirements of woodcock curing specific phases of its annual 
cycle. These studies are very significant at this stage of our progress 
in population research as we are searching for a key to the measurement 
of environmental changes which would modify the figures obtained from 
population counts. An important question now is: Will we be able to 
analyze and interpret this information so that favorable woodcock 
breeding or wintering habitats can be distinguished quickly from un- 
favorable habitats? What quickly discernible indicators could be used 
to distinguish different levels of suitability of habitat? Could some 
rule-of-thumb be devised for quick recognition of these habitat classes 
