THE WOODCOCK. 147 



Few birds are more eagerly sought for by the sports- 

 man than the Woodcock, and probably still fewer boast of 

 a higher reputation as a table delicacy. As already stated, 

 these birds feed at night, and almost invaluably follow the 

 same route from their cover to their feeding places. In- 

 deed, such is their regulaiity in this respect, that they used 

 formerly to be commonly taken in nets suspended across 

 these runs, or " cock-roads/' and also in horsehair nooses 

 set in similar localities. 



The nest is usually found in dry, warm situations in 

 woods, amongst dead grass and leaves, no care or effort 

 towards concealment being apparent. It is composed of 

 dead leaves, especially fern, loosely put together, and with- 

 out lining. Three or four eggs are laid, of a yellowish- 

 white colour, about one-and-a-half inches in length, the 

 longer end being marked with ash-grey and reddish-yellow 

 brown. The mother exhibits great attachment for her brood. 



The average length of the Woodcock is about fourteen- 

 and-a-half inches; the beak is three inches long, pale 

 reddish-brown at the base, and dark brown at the point ; 

 the eyes are large and convex, and have a somewhat strange 

 and staring expression ; irides dark brown. The plumage is 

 handsome, and is composed of three shades of brown, and 

 as every feather on the upper surface of the body contains 

 the three shades, the back presents a beautifully variegated 

 appearance ; the cheeks are pale wood-brown with darker 

 spots, and there is a prominent streak of dark brown from 

 the beak to the eye ; the wings are reddish-brown, with 

 open oval rings of dark brown, and the under-feathers of 

 the tail black, tipped with white ; all the other under-parts 

 are wood-brown, with darker coloured bars ; the legs and 

 toes are brown, and the claws black. 



