THE WOODCOCK. 



33 



than at other times. But the woodcock, no matter where 

 it wings its way, in all of the many sections in which it 

 may be found, at various seasons legitimate for shooting, 

 is much the same sort of bird, and woodcock- shooting 



WOODCOCK. Philohela minor. 



is much the same sort of sport throughout the length and 

 breadth of the land; yet no other in the list of game birds 

 is so little understood by mankind in general; no other 

 has so wrecked the many theories which from time to time 

 have been advanced concerning its modes of life, and no 

 other has been subject to such relentless persecution. 



3 



