WOODCOCK-SHOOTING. 63 



At this season of the year you are not very likely to find 

 borings and markings, as the grounds, which they fre- 

 quent, are of such a nature, that they are not readily 

 seen. Then when working the ground, go over it very 

 carefully, and work out almost every yard for a time. 

 If you raise a bird and secure it, look over its breast and 

 belly ; if the colour be light and of a fawn colour, you 

 may suspect that the bird has just dropped in from a long 

 flight, and you may, in all probability, come to the conclu- 

 sion that your bag in that locality will not be large ; for 

 that reason you will be justified by working over the 

 ground more rapidly, and for the reason that the birds 

 will be readily flushed. But if the colour on the breast 

 and belly be of a deep orange colour, you may conclude 

 that the bird has been in that locality for some time. If 

 the season be favourable, and the ground a good one, you 

 may infer, in all probability, that it contains many. In 

 this instance, work out every yard faithfully, as the birds 

 lie very closely. Unless a cock has already been flushed 

 on that day, he lies hard, but after being flushed two or 

 three times, he is very easily flushed again, and often dif- 

 ficult of approach, even in covert, so that beginning as a 

 very tame bird, he often ends by becoming a very wild 

 one. 



