440 



SCOLOPACID^. 



alight for a few moments in the smooth water of the 

 ship's wake. Their usual places of resort by day are woods 

 and coppices in hilly districts, whither they repair for 

 shelter and concealment. Disliking cold, they select, in 

 preference, the side of a valley which is least exposed to 

 the wind ; and though they never perch on a branch, they 

 prefer the concealment afforded by trees to that of any 



THE WOODCOCK. 



other covert. There, crouching under a holly, or among 

 briers and thorns, they spend the day in inactivity, 

 guarded from molestation by their stillness, and by the 

 rich brown tint of their plumage, which can hardly be 

 distinguished from dead leaves. Their large prominent 

 bead-like eyes are alone likely to betray them ; and this, 

 it is said, is sometimes the case. So conscious do they 

 seem that their great security lies in concealment, that 



