Daily Yellowstone journal., 1889-09-12
WoopcocKs ANp WORMS.
HAsy rnitsssd the Sound OF Rain Upon
~ Ground and the Worms Came Up.

Hsy missssd the Sound OF Rain Upon
Ground and the Worms Came Up.
When the moon rose l took a DO
ition near one Of the moist places,
where the borings were freshest and
most plentiful, and awaited develop
ments. For a long time the bright
light OF the moon fell upon the spot
i wished 10 observe, and / could see
everything with the utmost plainness.
At about s o'clock a woodcock drop
ped down silently beside the brook.
Presently another bird walked out Of
the shadow and joined il. Both began
TO bore" for worms, an operation !
had never seen before, and a curious
performance it was. The birds would
rest their bills upon the mud and
stand in this position for several sec
onds, as il listening. Then with a sud.
den, swift movement they would
drive the bill its entire length in the
soil, hold it so for a second, and then
as swiftly withdraw il. Though !
watched the birds carefully with the
glass, | could not detect the presence
of a worm in their bills when they
were withdrawn.
But the subsequent process gave me
the clew TO their method of feeding.
After having bored over q consider.
able piece of grounds square foot or
more-they proceeded 10 execute what
looked ~comically like a war dance
upon the perforated territory. They
also occasionally tapped the ground
with the tips Of their wings. My in
tense curiosity to know the possible
utility of this process was at length
gratitied by seeing a worm crawl, half
length, from m of the borings, when
it was Immediately pounced upon and
devoured by one of the woodcock.
Presently another worm made its APP
pearance, and so on until the wood
cocks had devoured as many as a doz-
en- Of them. Then the wen" seemed
exhausted. and the birds took their
leave.
l have subsequently studied the
philosophy Of this method of digging
bait, and have come % the conclusion
that certain birds arr a great deal wis
er than certain bipeds without feath-
ers. II you will take a sharpened
stick and drive il INTO the ground a
number of times, in a spot which is
prolific with worms, and then tap on
the ground with the stick for a few
minutes, you will find that the worms
will come 10 the surface, and that they
will come up through the holes which
you have made. i account for it by
the superstition that the tapping of the
stick somehow affects the worms the
same as the patter of rain, and il is a
well known fact thai worms come 10
the surface Of the ground when Il
rains. The antics OF the woodcocks
after they had made their borings.
then, were simply mimetic, and in
tended 10 delude worms into the be-
lief that il was raining in the upper
world. The worms, being deceived,
came up and were devoured. All
this may seem ridiculous, but, il il is
aot true, will some naturalist please
state how a woodcock can grasp and
deyour a worm when its bill is con-
fined in a solid, tight fitting tunnel of
soil, and also how it is enabled TO
know the exact spot where it may
sink its bill and strike the worml And
further, of all those who have seen a
woodcock feeding, how many ever
saw il withdraw a worm from the
ground with its billl-Forest and
Stream.