THE WOODCOCK. 



BY WILLIAM JARVIS ("MONT CLARE"). 



the list of birds pursued with dog and gun, 

 there is one that has a lasting claim upon 

 the affections of a sportsman, both on 

 account of its beauty and the mystery that 

 surrounds its ways; a bird of mighty 

 wanderings and daily rest; a bird with eyes 

 large, dark, and deep, in whose depths the 

 glories of an autumnal sky and landscape 

 are reflected in miniature; a bird with the magic power to 

 turn its admirer from all other feathered game, if once 

 he hears the whistle of its wings or sees its form glide 

 stealthily down the glade. 



Its plumage above is mottled with rufous, slate, and 

 black, the first two colors softly blending upon the sides 

 of the neck, while below, upon the shapely breast, there 

 is a tinge of pink, which changes to a rufous toward the 

 wings and thighs. This color full upon the breast of a 

 perfect-plumaged bird, fading away as it nears the tail to 

 the shade of a bit of sedge reminds one of the reflection 

 of an October sunset. Its legs are of moderate length, 

 delicate in their molding, and flesh-tinted; the toes are 

 long and slender; its bill dark in color and very long, and 

 the full dark eyes, set quite to the top of the head, that it 

 may more safely feed without injury to its eyesight, give 

 to this bird a most singular appearance. Its length is 

 about eleven inches, and its weight from five to eight 

 ounces, the female generally being the larger. Such is 



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