2 SCOLOPACID^E. 



mandible, the curved part forming a slight crook ; superior ridge elevated at the 

 base, prominent. Nostrils lateral, basal, pierced longitudinally near the edges 

 of the mandible, covered by a membrane. Legs moderate, slender, naked space 

 on the tibia, but short, or entirely wanting ; three toes before, one behind, the 

 anterior toes entirely, or almost entirely, divided. Wings moderate, the first or 

 the second quill-feather the longest in the wing. 



ALTHOUGH the eggs or the young of the Woodcock have 

 been found, during one summer or another, in almost every 

 county in England, as well as in several of those of Scot- 

 land, and also more frequently of late years than formerly, 

 yet the great bulk of the species must be understood as 

 only winter visiters, arriving early in October, or soon 

 afterwards, and again departing northwards in March. 

 Mr. Selby, one of our best observers, residing in the eastern 

 part of Northumberland, and only four or five miles from 

 the sea, says, " I have found that these birds always come 

 over in the greatest bodies in hazy weather, with little 

 wind, and that blowing from the north-east ; and it is pro- 

 bable that they then find the upper region of the atmo- 

 sphere, in which they fly, freer from counter currents of 

 air, than in more open weather. After a night of this 

 description I have frequently met with great numbers upon 

 the edges of plantations, in hedges, and even in turnip- 

 fields, and enjoyed excellent sport for the day; but on 

 seeking, on the following morning, for a renewal of similar 

 success, I have not found a single bird, the whole flight 

 having proceeded on their course during the intervening 

 night. It is during this time that Woodcocks, like most 

 migratory birds, perform their journeys : and it seems pro- 

 bable that those which halt upon the eastern coast of Scot- 

 land, and the northern counties of England, have completed 

 their task from shore to shore, between sunset and sunrise, 

 as they appear but little fatigued on their arrival, provided 

 the weather has been calm. The distance of the coasts of 



