6 THE WILD-FOWLER. 



A doppyng-g- of sclieldrakys. 



A coverte of cootes. 



A lierde of corlewis. 



A seg"e of lieyronys. 



A congreg-aQon of plovers. 



A dysseyte of lapwyng-es, 



A lierde of cranys. 



The modern terms as applied to water-fowl are as follow : — 



A lierd of swans. 



A g'ag-gle of g-eese (wlien on tlie water). 



A skein of geese (when on wing-). 



A paddling- of ducks (when on the water). 



A team of wild-ducks (when flying' in the air). 



A sord or suit of mallards. 



A company of widg-eon. 



A flig'ht or rush of dunbirds. 



A spring- of teal. 



A dopping- of sheldrakes. 



A covert of coots. 



A herd of 'curlews. 



A sedg-e of herons. 



A wing- or cong-reg-ation of plovers. 



A desert of lapwing-s. 



A walk of snipes. 



A fling of oxhirds. 



A hill of ruflTs. 



A small number of wild-fowl, as ducks and geese (about thirty or 

 forty), is termed a " trip," The same of widg-eon, dunbirds, or teal, 

 is termed a "bunch;" and a smaller number (from ten to twenty) is 

 called a "little knob." 



Of swans it would be said, a "small herd;" and sometimes of 

 geese a " little gaggle " or a " small skein ;" and so of ducks, a 

 "short" or "long- team." 



Let us hope the character of the English sportsman is not so far 

 degenerated, or the respect he owes to ancient diversions so far for- 

 gotten, as to permit him any longer to persist in such cramped and 

 improper slang as to use the inapplicable term "flock" to every, or 

 any, description of wild-fowl. It should be borne in mind that as we 

 derive our laws and our purest sciences from the ancients, from the 

 same source sprang our national sports ; and the rules, the systems, 

 and terms, in connection with such, have been handed down to us from 

 generation to generation, ])ecause none other express so faithfully the 

 meaning intended to be conveyed. 



