AMERICAN WOODCOCK 121 



shooting is to me a puzzler, unless it is because 

 a woodcock permits a dog to take more liber- 

 ties. ''Make a sport easy and you have made 

 it popular !" Shall we give the first honors of 

 the forest to the Woodcock solely because he al- 

 lows his destroyer to tread upon his tail feath- 

 ers before flying from danger? That seems to 

 be his chief claim to the distinction, for he is 

 admittedly inferior to the ruffed grouse in 

 brains, speed and power of flight, and in lead- 

 carrying grit, to say nothing of his smaller size. 

 To my mind there is no bird in America to com- 

 pare in game qualities with our ruffed grouse. 

 But perhaps I am not an unprejudiced witness 

 in this case. I know that it will take a long 

 course of treatment to cure me of the "par- 

 tridge habit, " and once cured (if such a thing 

 be possible) there will always be the danger of 

 relapse. Eight well I know which would re- 

 ceive my attention if woodcock and grouse were 

 to rise together before my dog. Many a time 

 the thunder of the ruffed grouse's flight has 

 called me away from the woodcocks up into the 

 birches on the side hill, leaving a fair chance 

 of shooting "timberdoodles" for the much 

 smaller prospect of capturing Br'er Grouse, 



