THE WOODCOCK 



could be turned to such a purpose. More recent 

 observation has confirmed White's objection 

 and has established the fact of the woodcock 

 holding the young one between her thighs, 

 the beak being apparently used to steady her 

 burden. Whether the little ones are habitually 

 carried about in this fashion, or merely on 

 occasion of danger, is not known, and indeed 

 the bird's preference for activity in the dusk 

 has invested accurate observation of its habits 

 with some difficulty. Among well-known 

 sportsmen who were actually so fortunate as 

 to have witnessed this interesting perform- 

 ance, passing mention may be made of the 

 late Duke of Beaufort, the Hon. Grantley 

 Berkeley, and Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey. 



Reference has already been made to the 

 now obsolete use of nets for the capture of 

 these birds when " roding." The cock-shuts, 

 as they were called, were spread so as to do 

 their work after sundown, and this is the 

 meaning of Shakespeare's allusion to " cock- 

 shut time." This " roding " is a curious per- 

 formance on the part of the males only, and 

 it bears some analogy to the " drumming " of 

 snipe. It is accompanied indeed by the same 

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