THE WOODCOCK 



menageries. The bill of the kiwi, which has 

 the nostrils close to the tip, is even more 

 sensitive than that of the woodcock and is 

 employed in very similar fashion. At Regent's 

 Park the keeper supplies the bird with fresh 

 worms so long as the ground is soft enough for 

 spade- work. They are left in a pan, audthekiwi 

 eats them during the night. In winter, however, 

 when worms are not only hard to come by in 

 sufficient quantity but also frost-bitten and 

 in poor condition, an efficient substitute is 

 found in shredded fillet steak, which, whether 

 it accepts it for worms or not, the New 

 Zealander devours with the same relish. 



When a woodcock lies motionless among 

 dead leaves, it is one of the most striking 

 illustrations of protective colouring to be 

 found anywhere. Time and again the sports- 

 man all but treads on one, which is betrayed 

 only by its large bright eye. There are men 

 who, in their eagerness to add it to the bag, 

 do not hesitate in such circumstances to 

 shoot a woodcock on the ground, but a man 

 so fond of ground game should certainly be 

 refused a game-licence and should be allowed 

 to shoot nothing but rabbits. 

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