Democratic messenger., 1889-09-28
woopcocKs AND WORMS.
They Initiated the Sound OF Rain Upon
tho tirounsi and the worma camo Up.

They Initiated the sound of Rain Upon
tho Ground and the worma cano Up.
When the moon rose took po-
siti0n near one Of the moist places,
where the bOrings were freshest and
most plentiful. aud awaited develop
mcnts. For u long time the bright
light of tho moon fell upon the spot
wished 10 observe. and ! could see
everything with the utmost plainncSs.
Al about 4 o'clock u woolCrk drop
lcd down silently beside the brook.
Presently another bird walked ont ~
the shadow aud juimcd IT, Both bcgin
10 "bOIc for worms. an operation ]
had never seen before, aud u curious
performance il was Tue birds would
resi- their bills upon the mud and
stand in this position for several sec
on,ls. IN il listening. Then with sud
den, swift movement. they would
drive The bill its entire length in the
soil. hold il So for u second, and then
ts swiftly withdraw il. Though ]
watched the birds carefully with the
glass. | could not detect the presence
Of worm in their bills when they
were Withdrawn.
But the subsequent process gave me
the clcw to their nctiicd Of feeding.
After having bored over II consider
able piece of ground II square foot or
mor-tlcy prrrc,lctl 10 execute what
lmkul coiniyally like a war dance
upon the perforated territory. They
also occasionally tapped the ground
with the tips oi their wings. My IN
tense curiosity io know the possible
utility of this process was at length
gr,tiiicd by seeing worm crawl. half
length. from one of the borings. when
il WAS immediately pounccd upon and
dcvourcd by one OF the wOotlcock
Presently another worm made its ap
lc:,rslncc, and So on until the wood.
cocks had ,lcyourcd ms many Us II ,loz.
cn Of them Then the vein" seemed
exhausted. and the birds took their
leave.
have subsequently studied the
philosophy Of this method of digging
bait. and have come la the conclusion
That certain birds are Il great deal wis
cr than certain bipctls without fc;ith-
crs. Ii you will take u sharpcncd
stick and drive il iutu the ground u
number Of times. in spot which is
prolific with worms. and then tap on
the ground with the stick for few
minutes. you will iiiid that the WORMS
will come To the surface. and that they
will come up through the holes which
you have made | account for il by
the superstition that the tapping Of the
stick sniIcllnw affects the WORMS the
same as the lr,itrr of rain. and il is II
well known fact that worms come 10
the surface Of tho ground when il
rains. The antics OF tho woodcocks
after they had made their borings.
then, were simply mimciic, and in
tended Ia dclude worms into the be.
lief that it was raining in the upper
world. The worms. being deceived.
came up and were ,lcvourcd. All
this may seem ridiculous. but, il it is
not true. will some naturalist please
state how woodcock can grasp and
dcvOur worm when its bill is con.
fined in u solid. tight lifting tunnel Of
soil. and also how il is enabled to
know the exact spot where it may
sink its bill and strike the wormi And
further. Of all those who have seen u
woodcmk feeding. how many ever
saw il withdraw Il worm from the
ground with its billf-Forcst and
Strran.