18^ 



THE WOODCOCK. 



The Woodcock has long been in high favor for the table, and has 

 always been much sought after by sportsman. There are now many 

 instances on record of the Woodcock breeding in various parts of Great 

 Britain. Mr. Mawson, of Thornthvvaite, informs me that in 1862 he 

 found a Woodcock's nest, in Sir John Woodford's woods, when out in 

 search of insects, on the 24th of June. It contained four eggs; the old 

 bird was rising from the nest at the time. He continued to visit it daily 

 up to the time of hatching, which was on the 7th of July. The old bird 

 allowed him to go within a couple of yards of the nest without being in 

 the least annoyed. The nest was merely a slight hollow in the ground, 

 with a few dry leaves round the sides ; the old bird, when sitting, always 

 rested the point of its beak upon the ground, with its dumpy tail almost 

 erect, giving it a curious appearance. The nest was upon a dry bank 

 facing the north, which I believe is nearly always the case with the 

 Woodcock, the bird preferring the shady to the sunny side of a bank. 

 The eggs are very similar to those of the corncrake, being rather larger, 

 but in colour much the same. After hatching, the young birds left the 

 nest almost immediately. In 1872, in the month of May, a brood of four 

 young Woodcocks was seen in the Ladstock wood, not far from the head of 

 Bassenthwaite lake. A setter dog found them, along with the old birds, 

 and made a steady point, when one of the parents rose and flew some 

 distance, then three of the young ones rose, being only able to fly a very 

 short distance at once ; after that the other old Woodcock followed, and 

 carried the fourth young bird in its feet a distance of about ten yards 

 down the hill ; and on being disturbed a second time, the old bird 

 took up the young one, (which perhaps was not able to fly, or it might 

 be a little weaker than any of the other three,) and flew for a distance of 

 about forty or fifty yards. 



In 1875, three young Woodcocks were observed in Ullock Mois, 

 near to Derwent Bank, in the month of April ; when discovered, the old 

 bird was in the act of flying about with her wings trailing on the long 



