d for
things to eat that other birds cannot find. The strangest thing about
his bill is, that the upper half of it can be bent at the end, almost as
much as you can crook the last joint of your fingers. Such a bill is of
the greatest assistance to him, as his eyes are set so far in the back
of his head that he cannot see what he eats."

"How queer!" said Nat; "what is the reason for that? I suppose there
must be a reason!"

"This is it. By being placed far back in his head his eyes become like
two watch-towers, from which he can scan the country behind as well as
in front, and be on the alert for enemies. Woodcocks are very cautious
birds, keeping well hidden by day and feeding only during the twilight
hours or at night.

"They do not pass the winter in the colder parts of the country, and so
escape the suffering that often overtakes Bob White and the Ruffed
Grouse. They must be able to brave snowstorms, however, at the latter
end of the cold season; for sometimes, when they begin to lay in early
April, winter changes its mind and comes back to give them a snow
blanket."

"You said that they are dancing birds," said Dodo. "When do they dance?"

"They dance in the sky in spring and summer!" cried Rap, unable to keep
still any longer. "I saw a pair of them doing it this year, when I was
out with the miller, looking for his colt that had strayed into the big
woods beyond the pond. He said he knew there must be a Woodcock about,
because he saw the little round holes in the mud, where they had been
boring for earthworms, and that is the way he knows where to find them
in the fall when he wants to go hunting."

"Yes, but how did they dance?" persisted Dodo.

[Illustration: American Woodcock.]

"Oh! like crazy things with wings! First one ran around a little and
whistled; then one jumped right off into the air, making a whirring with
his wings until he was way up out of sight, and then after a little
while he came pitching down zig-zag, like a kite that has lost its tail,
whistling something like the way a Swallow twitters, and making a queer
twanging noise. The other one stayed on the ground and jigged about all
the time. I would have liked to watch longer, but we had to find the
colt, you know."

"Now write your tables," said the Doctor, "for it is nearly
dinner-time."

Bob White.

Length ten inches.

Upper parts mixed reddish-brown, buff, gray, and black, with a white
line over the eye and a row of buff str