WIL — WOODCOCK. 259 



WiTCHUCK : The SAND-MARTIN. (Orkneys.) 



WiTwoLL WiTWALL, or WiTWALE : The GREAT SPOTTED 

 WOODPECKER is called WitA\ oil by Willughln-. Turner's 

 " Witwol," however, is the GOLDEN ORIOLE. Bewick 

 (1797) gives "Witwall" for the Great Spotted Woodpecker, 

 and Wit\\ale (corrupt I v Whetile and Woodwale) seems 

 to be properly the GREEN WOODPECKER. 



\VoH Snatch (=Wall Snatch) : The REDSTART. (Longdcn- 

 dale, Cheshire.) 



WOODCHAT SHRIKE [No. 109]. First appears in Ray's 

 "Synopsis Meth. Av." (1713). Newton thinks it may be an 

 erroneous rendering of the German name Wald-Kalze, 

 lit. " Wood-Cat." Occurs in Pennant (1766) and succeeding 

 authors as " Woodchat " simply. Yarrell (1st ed., 1843) 

 calls it Woodchat Shrike. It is the " another sort of 

 Butcher bird " of Willughby and Ray (p. 89) and the 

 Red-headed Butcher-bird of Albin. 

 WooDCHUCK : The GREEN WOODPECKER. (Shropshire.) 

 WOODCOCK [No. 411]. The name is from A.Sax. Wude-coco, 

 Wudu-coc and Wudu-snile. " Woodcock " appears in 

 Merrett's list (1667) : he remarks that it migrates out of 

 Ireland. Turner (1544) spells it " Wod-cok." Willughby, 

 who calls it " Woodcock," says " these are birds of passage 

 coming over into England in Autumn, and departing again 

 in the beginning of the Spring ; yet they pair before they 

 go, fl^ang two together, a male and a female," and he adds 

 that " They are said both to come and fly away in a mist." 

 The ^A''oodcock has ah\'a3'S been highly esteemed for the 

 delicate flavour of its flesh. The leg especially was com- 

 mended, in contradistinction to the Partridge's tit-bit. 

 which rtith epicureans was the w ing, hence the origin of the 

 old couplet — 



If the Partridge had the Woodcock's thigh, 

 ' Twould be the best bird that ever did fly. 



Willughby says that in England it is " infamous " for its 

 simplicity or folly, so that the term " Woodcock " is 

 proverbially used for a simple, foolish person. 



NV^ooDCOCK Owl. A provincial name for the SHORT-EARED 

 OWL. (England and Ireland.) Because it comes to us 

 in October, about the time the Woodcock makes its appear- 

 ance, and departs at the same time as the latter in March. 

 (Montagu). In use in Nottinghamshire and elsewhere. 



Woodcock Pilot: The GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN. 

 (Yorkshire coast.) 



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