A Singular Habit of the Woodcock 丘鹬的奇特习性
Among several curious habits of the woodcock,described by the editor of the Zoologist,its practice of carrying its young is perhaps the most interesting.The testimony of many competent witnesses is cited to corroborate the statement.The late L.Lloyd,in his Scandinavian Adventures,wrote,“If,in shooting,you meet with a brood of woodcocks,and the young ones cannot fly,the old bird takes them separately between her feet,and flies from the dogs with a moaning cry.”
The same author makes a similar statement in another work,this habit of the woodcock having been observed by a friend.
One of the brothers Stuart gives,in Lays of the Deer Forest,a graphic account of the performance.He says,“As the nests are laid on dry ground,and often at a distance from moisture,in the latter case,as soon as the young are hatched,the old bird will sometimes carry them in her claws to the nearest spring or green strip.In the same manner,when in danger,she will rescue those which she can lift;of this we have frequent opportunities for observation in Tarawa.Various times when the hounds,in beating the ground,have come upon a brood,we have seen the old bird rise with the young one in her claws and carry it fifty or a hundred yards away.”
《动物学家》的编者描述了丘鹬的一些奇特习性，其中最有趣的也许就是它搬运小宝宝的绝活了。这可是许多人的亲眼所见。已故的L.利罗德在《斯堪的纳维亚历险记》一书中写道：打猎的时候，如果你碰到一窝丘鹬，里面还有不会飞的小丘鹬，大丘鹬就会用脚一个个地夹起小丘鹬，飞起来逃离猎狗的追捕，一边飞还一边凄厉地鸣叫。
这位作者在另一本书里也记录了类似的情形，是一个朋友的亲眼所见。
在《鹿林往事》一书中，斯图尔特俩兄弟中的一个对此也做了生动的描述。他说，“由于鸟巢筑在干燥的地上，离潮湿的地方有一段距离，所以，幼鸟一孵出来，大鸟就会用爪子夹着幼鸟飞到最近的泉水边或者绿地上。遇到危险，她也以同样的方式把能带走的幼鸟都带走。在塔拉瓦岛（西太平洋岛国基里巴斯的主岛）看到这种情形的机会比较多。很多时候，猎狗捕猎时会碰到一窝幼鸟，于是我们就看见大鸟用爪子夹着幼鸟飞起来，把幼鸟带到五十或者一百码之外的地方。”