1 6 THE FOWLER IN IRELAND. 



whistling through the air past me, and then crash 

 into the frozen surface, as a stone breaks a window ; 

 but they instantly emerge and do not repeat the 

 mistake ; the shivering fragments of ice sounding 

 like shattered glass as they beat their wings on rising 

 to leave. 



Curlews suffer the effects of frost soonest of all, by 

 reason of their soft and tender bills, and for the same 

 reason Wood Pigeons feel frost severely. Wood- 

 cocks, strange to say, are but little discomforted, 

 and will weather a long and severe frost, show- 

 ing as plump at the end of it as at the commence- 

 ment. But they wisely shift their quarters to suit 

 their wants, and this they do earlier than Snipe. 

 The latter will fall off in a week, and in ten days 

 of frost become mere rags of bone and feather. 



But they recover their condition even more 

 rapidly, and within a week will be fat as ever. 

 These little gluttons eat ravenously after a term 

 of hardship. Snipe are never so well-conditioned, 

 or behave better to the shooter, than just after 

 a continuance of frost and snow. Like Wood- 

 cock, they dislike snow extremely. Both species 

 are scrupulously dainty as regards their plumage, 

 and cannot probe through snow without ruffling 

 and wetting the feathers of the head considerably. 

 Their eyes are placed far back to avoid this contact 

 with mud and wet, as well as to see whilst they plunge 

 the bill nearly forehead deep when in the act of 

 feeding. I never could persuade Cock and Snipe 

 when in confinement to pick up worms when pur- 

 posely covered with snow. Woodcock being essen- 

 tially night prowlers, escape wild weather by day, 



