_Nesting._--In the southern portions of Great Britain the woodcock is a very early breeder, many birds nesting in March and some in February. Late nestings in July indicate the probability that two broods are sometimes raised, though this is unusual among waders. Mr. Gordon (1915) describes the nesting habits as follows: The nesting ground is usually a wood, deciduous trees, being, I think preferred, owing to the soft layer of fallen leaves covering the ground. Close-grown plantations are rarely chosen as nesting sites, and small belts of birch and oak are favorite nesting grounds, provided that there is plenty of space between the trees. It is my experience that the birds dislike dense cover in which to nest; a few broken-down braken offer a suitable position, or the bird may scrape out a hollow amongst the deep layers of fallen beech and oak leaves which cover the ground beneath these trees. The eggs usually number four, but at times only three are found. Their ground color is normally buff colored, and they are liberally spotted and blotched by dark reddish-brown markings. Nothing more primitive than the nest of the woodcock can be found in the bird world. It is merely a slight hollow scraped in the ground and generally without intentional lining of any kind. The mother woodcock often sits very hard on her eggs, especially if incubation be far advanced, for she relies on the close harmonization of her plumage with her surroundings. Sometimes I have been able to approach to within a few feet of such a bird, and by not the slightest movement did she betray that she was alive. As the result of her early nesting, the woodcock has sometimes to cover her eggs when snow lies around to a considerable depth. Rev. Henry H. Slater (1898) says that the nest is "often at the foot of a young Scotch fir, or other tree." _Eggs._--The European woodcock usually lays four eggs, but as many as six and even eight have been found in a nest, probably the product of two birds. These are much like large eggs of the American woodcock. They are about ovate in shape and have a slight gloss. The ground colors vary from "deep olive buff" to "cream buff." They are usually sparingly, but sometimes quite heavily, marked with irregular spots and small blotches. The underlying markings, in light shades of drab are numerous and quite conspicuous. Over these are varying amounts of spots and blotches of light browns, ranging in color from "snuff brown" to "clay color." Occasionally there are a few spots or scrawls of "bister" or "clove brown" about the larger end. Herbert Massey (1913) describes the eggs as follows: