224 THE FOWLER IN IRELAND. 



number of Cocks the party got in one day was 

 twenty couple. In 1879 eighty Cock were shot in 

 three days; and in 1 880-81 fifty-six were obtained 

 in a day. 



Colonel Purejoy informs me that near Cappo- 

 white, co. Tipperary, they had excellent Cock- 

 shooting till they commenced to breed Pheasants, 

 which he considers disturb and drive the Cock 

 away. Since keeping these birds not more than 

 ten to a dozen Cocks have been shot in a day ; but 

 in 1878 pheasants were very scarce, and thirty-five 

 Cocks in one day and twenty-seven in another was 

 the result. 



Mr. R. Ussher, of Cappagh, co. Waterford, a 

 most careful naturalist, tells me he has himself 

 flushed Cock in July at his own place, and that 

 they breed at Colugan, close by. He adds that Mr. 

 Smith, of Headborough, has seen young broods in 

 the same district. In co. Wicklow, Mr. G. Kinehan 

 notes that they nest freely at the " Meeting of the 

 Waters," Avoca, where they have been seen to 

 flit about on summer evenings, over persons out 

 strolling, the old bird followed by a couple of squeal- 

 ing young ones. According to the keepers, Wood- 

 cocks nest frequently in the woods of Britias, 

 Queen's County. Such men have told me they 

 have seen a Woodcock carry off her young, one by 

 one, supporting them with both feet and bill, which 

 a Cock could well do, as he always flies with down- 

 pointed bill.* 



* This curious habit, extraordinary as it may appear, has been 

 observed by many sportsmen and naturalists, and is well vouched for. 

 The precise mode in which the young are transported seems to vary. 

 They are sometimes clutched up and carried in the feet, sometimes 



