WOODCOCK 133 



Africa, and southern Asia, inclusive of India and Burma. Althoui^li 

 in Scandinavia this species ranges to the Arctic Circle, elsewhere in 

 Europe it does not extend beyond lat. 65 , while in Asia it seems to 

 be limited by lat. 60'. As a breeder it is thus in no sense a bird 

 of the extreme north ; and, what is more remarkable, while it does 

 not nest in the Orkneys and Shetlands, it breeds commonly in such 

 southern islands as Madeira, the Azores, and the Canaries. In wooded 

 localities it breeds sparingly throughout the British Isles, but apparently 

 more frequently at the present time than in former days. An im- 

 portant fact in the history of the species is that during the great 

 spring-migration, when large flights of these birds pass over Great 

 Britain and Ireland, nesting has already commenced in many localities. 

 This suggests that some of the British-breeding birds, which occupy a 

 point near the middle of the north and south range of the species, do 

 not migrate, although it is practically certain that others are migratory. 

 Of the migrants, even larger flights are met with in autumn than in 

 spring, the autumnal "rush" taking place in October and November. 

 In America the woodcock is represented by a species regarded by 

 some ornithologists as forming a genus by itself, under the name of 

 PJiilohela minor. 



Alike as regards size, weight, and colour, the woodcock is an 

 extremely variable bird. As a rule, the hen appears to be rather 

 larger than the cock ; but the average length may be put down at 

 14^ inches, and the weight at 12 oz., although much heavier birds 

 are on record. As regards colour-variation, pale phases and pied 

 individuals are by no means uncommon, while pure white examples 

 are occasionally obtained. In normal birds, which have the winter- 

 plumage somewhat darker than the summer-dress, the general colouring 

 of the upper-parts is reddish brown, variegated with dark umber-brown 

 or black ; the back of the head and adjacent part of the neck show 

 three nearly equal-sized patches of rich dark brown, separated by the 

 aforesaid yellowish-brown transverse bars ; and the whole under surface 

 is pale wood-brown, finely barred with darker brown. Immature birds, 

 which are darker than the adults, may be recognised by the presence 

 of tawny markings on the outer webs of the primary quills, which give 

 the appearance of notches ; the outer web of the first primary being 

 always uniformly coloured in the adult, and variegated in the young. 

 The down of the chick is rufous, with a broad patch of chestnut on 

 the crown of the head, a band of the same colour bordered by buff 

 down the middle of the back, three narrower bands on the sides, and 

 the under-parts paler than the back. 



