144 Poachers and Poaching. 



In coming to this country, woodcocks generally 

 travel in the night and against a head-wind. 

 Those which are exhausted pitch upon the east 

 coast, and here lie resting until nightfall, when 

 they pass on. The probability is that if these 

 birds had not experienced a rough passage they 

 would not have touched the eastern seaboard, 

 but would have kept well in the upper currents 

 of the air, and first dropped down in our western 

 woods or even those of Ireland. The migratory 

 bodies are usually preceded by flocks of tiny 

 goldcrests ; and so invariable is this rule that the 

 latter have come to be called " woodcock- 

 pilots." The males precede the females by a 

 few days ; the latter bringing with them the 

 young that have been bred that year. It is a 

 point worthy of notice, and one upon which 

 much confusion exists, that the birds that come 

 to us are usually in the very best condition. 

 Soon after their arrival they disperse themselves 

 over the leaf-strewn woods, the same birds being 

 known to resort to the same spots for many 

 successive years. They seek out the warmer 

 parts of the wood, and in such secluded situa- 

 tions sleep and rest during the day. At dusk 

 they issue forth in their peculiar owl-like 

 flight, to seek their feeding grounds. Like many 

 birds they have well-defined routes, and daily 

 at twilight maybe seen flying along the rides and 

 paths of the woods or skirting along certain 



