122 FEATHERED GAME 



and I have known many a woodcock enthusiast 

 to follow me in such case, despite the fact that 

 my withdrawal left him undisputed possession 

 of the cover. I am quite willing to give the 

 'cock the second place, subject, of course, to 

 the ''quail man's" protest, though for myself 

 I think woodcocking requires more skill on the 

 shooter's part than does the shooting of quail, 

 due to the Woodcock's towering and twisting 

 flight, and the generally thicker cover where 

 Mr. Longbill is found. This does not apply to 

 fire-slaughter as practiced in the south. 



The American Woodcock is a trifle smaller 

 than his European relative and of much darker 

 coloration. To soothe our national vanity I 

 will add that he is much smarter and more re- 

 sourceful than the Old World product. The 

 habits of the two are very similar. In color our 

 bird is a warm reddish brown, mottled on the 

 back and wings with jet black. Many feathers, 

 mostly on the shoulders, of a pale blue-gray 

 color. Most of the feathers of the back and 

 wings are tipped with deep tawny yellow. On 

 the breast a ruddier tinge which deepens on the 

 flanks to a beautiful reddish- or golden-brown. 

 The male bird is from ten to eleven inches long, 



