THE BOOK OF MIGRATORY BIRDS 2O3 



The diet of woodcock and snipe is of a varied nature, con- 

 sisting of insects, worms, and grubs of all descriptions, 

 which are located by the long and sensitive bill in the soft 

 ooze or marshes affected by the species at nightfall. On 

 a moonlight night the birds may be seen probing dili- 

 gently for their food, and the quantity thus obtained in 

 favourable localities is best shown by the speed with 

 which they recover from the effects of their long autumn 

 flight. 



Scandinavia is pre-eminently the home of the wood- 

 cock, though the species is distributed generally all over 

 Northern Europe. The American species is totally dis- 

 tinct, and, so far as I am aware, has never found its way 

 across the Atlantic. In the vast pinewoods of Norway it 

 breeds in peace and security, though large numbers are 

 caught for the market when gathering on the coast-line at 

 the first breath of winter. There they may be seen in 

 large parties, preparing for their autumn migration, and 

 it is probable that only a small proportion find their way 

 home again in the spring. Some travel as far as Spain 

 and the shores of the Mediterranean, being guided solely 

 by the instinct which prompts them to resort to milder 

 climates at the approach of winter. Their sensitive bills 

 are ill-fitted to penetrate frost-bound ground, and food, 

 water, and shelter are indispensable for their existence. 



Annually increasing numbers breed in the British Isles, 

 and the growing popularity of covert-shooting has provided 

 them with extensive plantations in all parts of the country 

 where they may carry out their nesting operations un- 

 disturbed. The partiality of the species for young woods 

 composed of larch and Scotch fir is well known, and the 

 presence of a flight of 'cock lends an additional charm to 

 a day in the coverts when longtails and longbills may both 

 be expected. 



Home-bred birds generally leave the coverts in which 

 they were reared at an early date, and one would almost 

 credit them with a knowledge that the close time expired 

 on the first of August. The fact is, however, that the 



