WOODCOCKS. 155 



be caught by the hand, although it was quite as large as an 

 old bird, and its wings apparently fully feathered. 



The woodcock breeds every season in the north of 

 Scotland, not only in the large fir plantations, but also in the 

 smaller patches of birch, &c., which fringe the shores of 

 many of the most northern lakes. That those bred in the 

 country migrate I have no doubt, as they all invariably dis- 

 appear for two or three months between summer and the 

 first frosts of winter. As I have seen their nests at all times 

 from March to August, it is natural to suppose that the 

 woodcock breeds more than once in the season. 



I have again, this year, seen the old woodcocks carry their 

 young down to the soft, marshy places to feed. Unfitted as 

 their feet appear to be for grasping anything, the old birds 

 must have no slight labour in carrying their whole family 

 (generally consisting of four) every evening to the marshes, 

 and back again in the morning. They always return before 

 sunrise. 



Occasionally I have come upon a brood of young woodcocks 

 in a dark, quiet, swampy part of the woods near which they 

 had probably been bred. In a case of this kind we may sup- 

 pose that the old birds are saved the trouble of conveying 

 their young to a distant feeding-place ; but as the young 

 birds are frequently hatched in long heather in dry situations, 

 and far from any marshes, they would inevitably perish in 

 the nest were they not daily carried backwards and forwards 

 by their parents. The quantity of worms required to sustain 

 one of these birds would astonish those town-bred naturalists 

 who gravely assert that the woodcock " lives on suction." 



Whilst walking in a wood I was surprised at seeing a roe 

 standing within a little distance of me, with a silver bell 

 hung round its neck. Having taken a good look at me, the 

 beautiful little animal bounded oft' into the recesses of the 

 wood, ringing its bell, to the astonishment of the rabbits who 

 were feeding about the openings of the cover. This roe 

 belonged to the ladies at Darnaway ; and, with the usual 

 wilfulness of such pets, had wandered away from its proper 

 home, where it lived in security and plenty, petted by all, 

 and had taken up its abode in the wood, which was several 

 miles from Darnaway, and where it ran the risk of being 

 worried by colley dogs or shot while feeding in the neighbour- 

 ing corn-fields. Once or twice afterwards, when I was 

 shooting in this wood, the beagles started and ran the roe 



