570 WOODCOCK. 



The Woodcock has only once been obtained in the Faeroes and 

 has not occurred in Iceland, though met with as a straggler in New- 

 foundland and on the Atlantic coast of the United States. A 

 large proportion nest in the forests of Scandinavia and Russia ; a 

 smaller number breeding — up to the limit of tree-growth — in the 

 rest of Europe, down to Northern Italy, Transylvania, the Balkans 

 and the Caucasus. On both sides of the Mediterranean basin the 

 Woodcock is chiefly found in winter, when it is plentiful in suitable 

 localities ; but in the wooded mountains of the Canaries, Madeira 

 and the Azores it is resident. Southern Persia and India are only 

 visited during the cold season, but the bird breeds in Kashmir and 

 the Himalayas above 10,000 ft., and in the Japanese group as far 

 south as the great volcano of Fuji-yama ; while northward it passes 

 the summer in the forest regions of Siberia. 



The nest is merely a depression in some sheltered place, a lining 

 of dead leaves being added, usually during incubation. The 

 eggs — often laid by the middle of March, though more frequently 

 in April — are usually 4 in number ; they are slightly pyriform, 

 and of a yellowish-white colour, blotched with ash-grey and two 

 shades of reddish-brown: measurements 175 by i"3 in. Two 

 broods are sometimes produced in a season. The female often 

 removes her young, and the balance of evidence appears to be that 

 the nestling is clasped between the thighs of the old bird and pressed 

 close to her body, sometimes even up to the base of the bill. During 

 the day the Woodcock rests in dry grassy bottoms, or beneath thick 

 bushes, such as holly or laurel ; but at dusk and early in the morn- 

 ing, especially during breeding-time, the male persistently follows 

 certain tracks along glades in woods — often called ' cock-roads ' — 

 uttering a deep as well as a whistling note ; and similar routes are 

 also traversed by both sexes on their way to and from their 

 feeding-grounds. Worms, when procurable, are devoured in almost 

 incredible quantities, while beetles and other insects, small 

 crustaceans and even mussels, are also eaten. Few birds exceed 

 15 ozs. in weight, though such are on record. 



The general colour of the upper plumage is reddish-brown vermi- 

 culated with black, and that of the under parts wood-brown with 

 darker bars. Externally the sexes are alike. Length 14 '2 5 in. 

 (bill 2-9), wing 7-5 in. The second year's dress is paler than that 

 of the first year, but there is great individual variation. In the 

 young bird the outer webs of all the primaries show distinct fulvous 

 notches ; in the adult there are hardly any such markings on the ist 

 and 2nd outer webs. Partial albinisms are not uncommon. 



