304 The Woodcock, 



the same continuous manner within a few feet of the ground on 

 the roads or through the woods. AVhen the young birds are six 

 weeks old, it requires nearly as much skill to shoot them as if 

 they were much older. 



The Woodcock is a particular favorite of the sportsman, and 

 although the pursuit is laborious on account of the difficult nature 

 of the ground in which the bird is found, yet no other shooting 

 appears to be more fascinating. In Lewis' American Sportsman, 

 from which work we have taken the figure of the bird, it is stated, 

 with reference to finding Woodcocks, that " these birds, as before 

 observed, delight in a wet loamy soil, and are seldom or never 

 found in the upland districts, but most frequently locate themselves 

 along the marshy willow and elder borders and extensive flats of 

 our rivers. They also secrete themselves in the dense thickets of 

 underbrush along the margins of smaller streams, or hide them- 

 selves in the rank grass and luxuriant fern of our wet meadow 

 lands. In fact, wherever there is a good boring-ground, and a 

 certain degree of seclusion, there will be found Woodcocks in the 

 month of July, many or few, according to the nature of the ground 

 and the favorable or unfavorable state of the breeding season. 



When there has been a succession of dry weather, it is quite 

 useless to examine light and open coverts, or sparse woods, in 

 quest of Cocks, as at such times they will be found either on 

 the open wet bottoms, if such spots can then be come across, 

 or more likely in the deep, impermeable thickets and entangled 

 brakes, where the ground seldom or never entirely loses its 

 moisture. On the other hand, when the weather has been ex- 

 tremely wet for some days. Woodcocks will partake themselves 

 to the hill-sides or elevated grounds, as they are not by any means 

 partial to too much water, although a certain degree of moisture 

 is absolutely necessary for their very existence. When the weather 

 begins to get cool, they may also be found in the open woody 

 glens or clearings, enjoying, as it were, the mild warmth of the 

 autumn's sun, as the feeble rays from time to time pierce the 

 sparse foliage of the overhanging trees, or actively engaged boring 

 in the mossy banks of the warm rills, which so often spring up 

 from such sheltered situations. In sections of the country where 

 these birds resort, we can scarcely visit a spot of this kind early 

 in October without finding a couple or so of Cocks, provided the 

 ground is not too often overrun with shooters. 



