SHORE-SHOOTING 89 



numerable larks, thrushes, and blackbirds may be seen passing 

 either inland or along the coast. At this season woodcock 

 arrive, and occasionally when tired, seek shelter wherever it 

 may be afforded them on the shore. Some good bags under 

 these circumstances have been made at woodcock. Needless 

 to add, it is necessary to possess a game licence to legally 

 shoot woodcock. Under the present state of the Game Laws, 

 ;^i is the amount charged for a game certificate for the shortest 

 period, and, as this is considered by most shore-shooters who 

 do not regularly shoot game to be beyond their means, wood- 

 cock are often shot without a licence, and the law is con- 

 sequently broken. It is a pity weekly, or even daily, licences 

 are not issued. 



The most important feature to be observed when 

 ^tl'i'oo^ the gunner has become proficient in the art of 

 calling is a suitable place to call from. Be he 

 merely walking a shore and temporarily hiding to call a bird 

 within range, the said bird must have some object in " taking " 

 his call. If the bird takes no heed it is evident (if the caller is 

 a good mimic) that nothing in the objects of the bird's daily 

 movements invites it to take notice of the call. It must 

 appear reasonable to all that unless some necessity of habit in 

 the form of flight-lines, feeding grounds, resting grounds, and 

 such-like impels birds to take notice of calls in aiding their 

 social welfare, little else will. Possibly it may be rather more 

 clearly understood, though not quite, what really does happen 

 if one says that -a shore-bird will not take notice of the 

 call-note of another of its species, without some tolerable, and 

 indeed necessary reason. We can say that the times when 

 shore-birds — in fact, all birds — pay most attention to calling, 

 are those when, following out their natural habits, they find 

 it most convenient and remunerative for them to do so. 



From a human standpoint this is reasonable, but the diffi- 

 culty of bringing the theory (for it fades into such) into useful 



