WOODCOCK-SHOOTING. 821 



produce their natural sustenance ; and by a still more exqui- 

 site sense of feeling, with their long bill collecting their food. 

 The eye is not called into use, for, like the mole, they actu- 

 ally feed beneath the surface ; and by the extreme sensibi- 

 lity of the bill, which is thrust into the soft earth, not a 

 worm can escape that is within reach. The nerves in the bill, 

 as in that of the duck-tribe, are numerous, and are highly 

 sensible of discriminating by touch. To test this, a number 

 of worms were put into a large garden-pot and covered with 

 earth to the extent of five or six inches ; which a woodcock very 

 soon discovered, and drew forth every worm. The experiment 

 was repeatedly made, and not one was left in the morning. 

 Being a nocturnal feeder, the eyes of this bird are large and 

 prominent, in order to collect the scattered and indistinct 

 rays of twilight : their situation is also peculiar, being placed 

 far back in the head, which enables it to probe the ground a 

 greater depth without inconvenience, and at the same time 

 considerably extends the sphere of vision. 



There are many well-attested instances of woodcocks 

 remaining in this country almost every season, and pro- 

 ducing their young. They are very early breeders, and the 

 young are hatched in the end of March. Mr. Blyth saw two 

 young woodcocks on the 20th of April ; and Mr. Gould, on 

 the 22nd of April, exhibited at the Zoological Society two 

 woodcocks apparently about three weeks old. Sir F. Mac- 

 kenzie found four nests of this kind on his estate of Conan, on 

 the eastern coast of Ross-shire, one having four and the others 

 three eggs each, all of which were hatched and ran. He re- 

 peatedly saw the young birds before they took wing. Mr. 

 Williamson stated to Mr. Loudon, for his Magazine in 1836> 

 that in the spring of that year three nests were found in one 

 wood, the property of Francis Hurt, Esq., of Alderwasley^ 

 near Derby. All the nests contained eggs. The parent 



