THE WOODCOCK 



THERE are many reasons why the 

 woodcock should be prized by the 

 winter sportsman more than any other bird 

 in the bag. In the first place, there is its 

 scarcity. Half a dozen to every hundred 

 pheasants would in most parts of the country 

 be considered a proportion at which none 

 could grumble, and there are many days on 

 which not one is either seen or shot. Again, 

 there is the bird's twisting flight, which, 

 particularly inside the covert, makes it 

 anything but an easy target. Third and last, 

 it is better to eat than any other of our wild 

 birds, with the possible exception of the 

 golden plover. Taking one consideration with 

 another, then, it is not surprising that the 

 first warning cry of " Woodcock over ! " 

 from the beaters should be the signal for a 

 sharp and somewhat erratic fusillade along 

 the line, a salvo which the beaters themselves 

 usually honour by crouching out of harm's 

 way, since they know from experience that 

 even ordinarily cool and collected shots are 

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