254 THE WOODCOCK 
ot residence so far as to include the Orkney Islands, in which numer- 
ous specimens have been obtained. It builds its nest of grass, in 
the marshes or on the islands in the lakes, and lays four eggs. The 
most marked habit of these birds seems to be that of alighting at 
sea on beds of floating seaweed, and indifferently swimming about 
in search of food, or running, with light and nimble pace, after the 
manner of a Wagtail. They are often met with thus employed at 
the distance of a hundred miles from land. They are described as 
being exceedingly tame, taking little notice of the vicinity of men, 
and unaffected by the report of a gun, 
THE WOODCOCK 
SCOLOPAX RUSTICOLA 
Back of the head barred transversely with dusky; upper plumage mottled 
with chestnut, yellow, ash, and black; lower reddish yellow, with brown 
zigzag lines; quills barred on their outer web with rust-red and black; 
tail of twelve feathers tipped above with grey, below with silvery white; 
bill flesh-colour ; feet livid. Length thirteen inches. Eggs dirty yellow, 
blotched and spotted with brown and grey. 
THE history of the Woodcock as a visitor in the British Isles is briefly 
as follows: Woodcocks come to us from the south in autumn, the 
earliest being annually observed about the twentieth of October. On 
their first arrival, they are generally found to be in bad condition ; so 
weak, in fact, that I recollect many instances of flights having 
reached the coasts of Cornwall, only able to gain the land. Their 
condition at these times is one of extreme exhaustion; and they 
become the prey, not only of the sportsman, but are knocked down 
with a stick, or caught alive. In the course of a very few days 
they are enabled to recruit their strength, when they make their 
way inland. They have been known even to settle on the deck of 
a ship at sea, in order to rest ; or actually to 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 conceal- 
ment afforded by trees to that of any other covert. There, crouch- 
ing 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 distin- 
guished from dead leaves. Their large prominent bead-like eyes 
are alcne likely to betray them; and this, it is said, is sometimes 
Se 
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