O THE WILD-FOWLER. 



A doppyngg of scheldrakys. 



A coverte of cootes. 



A lierde of corlewis. 



A sege of heyronys. 



A congregagon of plovers. 



A dysseyte of lapwynges. 



A herde of cranys. 



The modern terms as applied to water-fowl are as follow : 



A herd of swans. 



A gaggle of geese (when on the water), 



A skein of geese (when on wing). 



A paddling of ducks (when on the water). 



A team of wild-ducks (when flying in the air). 



A sord or suit of mallards. 



A company of widgeon. 



A flight or rush of dunbirds. 



A spring of teal. 



A dopping of sheldrakes. 



A covert of coots. 



A herd of curlews. 



A sedge of herons. 



A wing or congregation of plovers. 



A desert of lapwings. 



A walk of snipes. 



A fling of oxbirds. 



A hill of ruffs. 



A small number of wild-fowl, as ducks and geese (about thirty or 

 forty), is termed a " trip," The same of widgeon, dunbirds, or teal, 

 is termed a " bunch ;" and a smaller number (from ten to twenty) is 

 called a "little knob." 



Of swans it would be said, a "small herd 5" and sometimes of 

 geese a " little gagg'le " or a " small skein ;" and so of ducks, a 

 "short" or "long team." 



Let us hope the character of the English sportsman is not so far 

 degenerated, or the respect he owes to ancient diversions so far for- 

 gotten, as to permit him any longer to persist in such cramped and 

 improper slang as to use the inapplicable term "flock" to every, or 

 any, description of wild-fowl. It should be borne in mind that as we 

 derive our laws and our purest sciences from the ancients, from the 

 same source sprang our national sports ; and the rules, the systems, 

 and terms, in connection with such, have been handed down to us from 

 generation to generation, because none other express so faithfully the 

 meaning intended to be conveyed. 



