
Lack of rejeats suzgests that few birds visit the same area each evening. 
There are undoubtedly many crepuscular congregation fields which are regu- 
larly visited, but have not been discovered by Unit personnel. 
There were considerably fewer birds observed in Area 1 in 1955 than 
during the two preceding years. Data presented elsewhere give evidence 
that the population on Area 1 has been steadily declining since 1952. 
A number of records of either catching birds in the nets which were 
banded in the spring as adults or catching adult males in the spring 
which had been banded in the nets the preious year suggest that the netted 
birds come from various parts of Prescott Peninsula within a radius of at 
least two miles and apparently represent the breeding population of that 
area which returns year after year, The precise records are as follows: 
4 female caught in a grouse clover leaf trap in the summer of 1953 was 
captured in the nets 3/h of a mile away in August 1954. Two males captured 
in a grouse clover leaf trap in July 1953, were captured in the pits ad- 
joining the nets two weeks later approximately a mile east of their original 
banding sites. Four males netted during the summer have been caught as 
Singing males at scattered points on Prescott Peninsula the subsequent 
spring. Two males banded in the spring of 1955 were captured after mid- 
August in the nets during the summer of 1955, 
Age and sex ratios.--The birds were aged by examination of the mark- 
ings on the back feathers, a technique described by Allen J. Duvall of 
the Fish and Wildlife Service, Each bird was sexed, aged, weighed and 
banded. Two back feathers and the tip of one outer primary were taken 
from each bird to confirm sex and age during daylight. 
By means of this technique, the age composition of the birds partak- 
ing in these evening flights was analyzed with extremely interesting 
results. The largest segment of the population was comprised of juvenal 
males. Adult and juvenal females made up the bulk of the remainder of 
the birds. Seventeen specimens sent to the Fish and Wildlife Service 
Collection in 195) were aged. Eight birds netted in 1955 could not be 
sexed with certainty. Combining the results of 195) with the 85 birds 
netted and aged in 1955, only 7 or slightly under 7 percent were adult 
males. Two of the adult males captured in 1955 were birds which had been 
banded as singing males during the spring. In contrast, 2 birds were 
identified as juvenal males comprising approximately 1 percent of the 
poration. The breakdown by age for the 17 birds collected in 195) and 
the 85 netted birds aged in 1955 is depicted in Table l. 
Table l.--Age ratio of 102 Massachusetts woodcocks netted in 
summers of 195] and 1955 
a? ene a eT * aa onosinates > au Tl 
Age Sex Number reentage 
>. So oO oe eee 
JUV. J h2 2 
Ad. 9 28 27 
Juv. 9 25 2h 
Total . 100 
37 
