. The aquatic birds of Great Britain and Ireland . ow, without any lining ; or a ring-fence is formedof fir-needles and other dead material round the nesting-hollow ; but I have also seen well-formed nests madeof and lined with dead leaves, to which bits of brackenand stems were added. I have found, however, that it isalmost impossible to remove a nest and retain its contourperfectly intact, without digging up a portion of the sur-rounding soil. The eggs, four in number, vary from lightto dark shades of buff and stone-brown, blotched andspotted with grey and brown. The female sits closely onhe
. The aquatic birds of Great Britain and Ireland . ow, without any lining ; or a ring-fence is formedof fir-needles and other dead material round the nesting-hollow ; but I have also seen well-formed nests madeof and lined with dead leaves, to which bits of brackenand stems were added. I have found, however, that it isalmost impossible to remove a nest and retain its contourperfectly intact, without digging up a portion of the sur-rounding soil. The eggs, four in number, vary from lightto dark shades of buff and stone-brown, blotched andspotted with grey and brown. The female sits closely onher eggs, especially when they are nearly incubated. Theparent-birds display great affection and care for their brood,and show undoubted courage when an enemy appears onthe scene. Mr. Ussher states that when a former game-keeper of his was walking with beagles through a woodwhere these birds were breeding, one of them alighted infront of a dog and, running forward, flapped its wings atthe animal with loud cries (Birds of Ireland, p. 274). PLATE ./. Woods, Photo.] NEST AND EGGS OF Tyrone. WOODCOCK 271 It is a well-established fact that the female often bearsaway her chicks, one by one (held between her legs as sheflies), from the locality in which they were hatched. Ibelieve the young are thus conveyed to damper situations toenable them to learn to feed for themselves. In otherwords, the Woodcock transports its offspring to the hauntswhich it is wont to visit nightly in search of food. Forit should be borne in mind that this is primarily a wadingand marsh-frequenting species, which resorts to the driercover of wooded districts simply to sleep and rest. Theyoung are also carried off by the parent on the approach ofdanger, even when they are considerably grown. Incuba-tion begins in April, less often in the latter end of March ;two broods are usually produced in the season. Geographical )i.—Beyond our Isles the AVood-cock nests over the greater part o
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