62 1872 April 30 Carlyle, Mass. Song of the Woodcock. Highest joint soaring a few moments & descends; the whistling whistle perfectly even uniform soon becomes broken or divided into syllables like chipchippchipppu -- chipchiclipu rapidly increasing in quickness & volume (all this probably produced by rapid beats of the wings the pause representing interval of sailing) soon with a short cut (from the throat, like the commencement of Mr. Baldwin's tone) begins a rapid ecstatic warble much like that of the canary but more liquid and sweet burning still spiritual and now powerful as the bird approaches the ground till it ends in perfect tumult of capricious coos & bidding out short chipchipships to the earth in silence. Then follows a few minutes interval of silence; an interval of a few seconds follow, then you hear a sound like a lazy drop of water falling into a cistern repeated twice or thrice, jet, jet, jet, jet, jet and in the same breath with the last uttitable a broad harsh pra-a-rr sounding at a distance like the cry of the Night hawk, but nearer with a strange dratiny tone and repeated at intervals of about five seconds; always followed with the jet.ul preceding. Sometimes the prap was suddenly checked in the middle of its utterance as if by the bird swallowing something. This harsh cry should be repeated about thirty times when the Woodcock would rise and sing again. As soon as the light faded from the West the song ceased though the other notes were kept up almost without intermission. Mr. Baldwin informed me that they make still another sound by coming down with out wings, a kind whinnoing whoo whoo whoo who something like the drumming of the Saps: this is boldris heard but seldom & only in the warmest weather, indeed on very cold nights they add no song; about the 12th Apr. he could hear as many as 45 at one,