WOODCOCK. 423 



try, generally choosing, however, some dry spot, protected by 

 a dense second growth. The sportsman may chance to find 

 them, however, in the long grass of a meadow, and in a va- 

 riety of such places as corn-fields, pine groves, bunches of dry 

 alders, knolls of cedar, hillsides of birch, woods of chestnuts, 

 thickets of briers, etc. They are now moulting and half- 

 naked, and they can no longer make that peculiar whistle 

 which at all other times warns the sportsman. Though they 

 sometimes labor with their wings, as they heavily flutter up, 

 they as often fly off silently like an Owl, stealing along close 

 to the ground. They are usually found, too, upon very dry 

 land holding no scent, where they come merely to rest, and 

 upon which they have dropped without running about. If 

 disturbed, however, they occasionally steal away from the 

 dog on foot, running over the parched ground, and thus elude 

 him altogether, or get up out of shot or unperceived. On 

 this account, a pursuit of them at this time is unsatisfactory, 

 requiring for a good bag hard fagging, thorough knowledge 

 of the ground, great observation and vigilance. 



In September, the Woodcock are again in better condition. 

 They are now less capricious, and are more easily found, fre- 

 quenting, for the most part, drier grounds. In October, the 

 birds are not only in prime condition, but they afford to 

 sportsmen the most enjoyable and eagerly sought-for shoot- 

 ing. They are found again in localities which may easily be 

 ascertained. The sportsman may always hope for the abun- 

 dant sport which follows a flight, for it is in October that 

 those remarkable movements of the birds occur. There is in 

 flight-time an uncertainty as to when and where the birds 

 may be found, which gives in the highest degree that element 

 of chance, without which the sportsman's life would lose half 

 its charm. Every one must form his own theories from his 

 own experience and knowledge of the grounds, but certain it 

 is that sometimes the lucky or sagacious sportsman may 

 reach a spot in which the birds are almost literally swarming. 

 Suddenly and inexplicably the cover becomes full of them ; 

 then as mysteriously it becomes vacant. One would suppose 

 that birds apparently so feeble on the wing must perform 



