188 VAHIKTIES. 



in regard to this matter ? To me it seems that the so- 

 called Stein- Schnepfe and the common species are one 

 and the same, and that the difference noticeable between 

 them in regard to size and colour may readily be accounted 

 for, if we assume, as is probable, that they are bred in 

 wide-apart localities. As a case in point I may mention 

 that the Capei'cali in northern Lapland seldom exceeds 

 nine pounds in weight, whereas in the more southern 

 provinces of Sweden it not very unfrequently weighs from 

 fourteen to fifteen pounds, or even more ; and the 

 difference, moreover, between the northern and southern 

 birds in regard to plumage is also said to be very 

 perceptible. 



The usual length of the Woodcock is about fourteen 

 inches, expanse of wings two feet one inch, and weight 

 from twelve to fourteen ounces. The female is somewhat 

 larger then the male. The heaviest I myself ever killed 

 in Scandinavia little exceeded sixteen ounces, and that 

 was shot very late in the autumn, Avhen excessively fat. 

 Such a monster Woodcock as that spoken of by Yarrell, 

 M'hich was killed at Narborough, in Norfolk, and weighed 

 twenty-seven ounces, I never saw or heard of in the 

 Scandinavian Peninsula. 



Accidental varieties of this bird are not uncommon in 

 Sweden. Nilsson speaks of an individual of a yellowish- 

 Avhite colour, and Kjtierbolling of one shot in Denmark 

 some years ago, the head and wings of which were white ; 

 as also of a second that had white spots on its head and 

 back. "There are, moreover," he says, " entirely white, 

 yellowish-white, and straw-coloured W^oodcocks." 



The Woodcock is a bird of solitary habits, and would 

 seem to shun the society not only of its own species but 

 of its congeners. Ordinarily, indeed, one seldom finds more 

 than a pair, or it may be a brood, in company. During 

 migration, it is true, these birds are occasionally met with 



