WIL WOODCOCK. 259 



WITCHUCK : The SAND-MARTIN. (Orkneys.) 



WITWOLL WITWALL, or WITWALE : The GREAT SPOTTED 

 WOODPECKER is called Witwoll by Willughby. Turner's 

 " Witwol," however, is the GOLDEN ORIOLE. Bewick 

 (1797) gives " Witwall" for the Great Spotted Woodpecker, 

 and Witwale (corruptly Whetile and Woodwale) seems 

 to be properly the GREEN WOODPECKER. 



Won SNATCH (=Wall Snatch) : The REDSTART. (Longden- 

 dale, Cheshire.) 



WOODCHAT SHRIKE [No. 109]. First appears in Ray's 

 " Synopsis Meth. Av." (1713). Newton thinks it may be an 

 erroneous rendering of the German name Wald-Kalze, 

 lit. " Wood-Cat." Occurs in Pennant (1766) and succeeding 

 authors as " Woodchat " simply. Yarrell (1st ed., 1843) 

 calls it Woodchat Shrike. It is the " another sort of 

 Butcher bird" of Willughby and Ray (p. 89) and the 

 Red-headed Butcher-bird of Albin. 



WOODCHUCK : The GREEN WOODPECKER. (Shropshire.) 



WOODCOCK [No. 411]. The name is from A.Sax. Wude-coco, 

 Wudu-coc and Wudu-snite. " Woodcock " appears in 

 Merrett's list (1667) : he remarks that it migrates out of 

 Ireland. Turner (1544) spells it " Wod-cok." Willughby, 

 who calls it " Woodcock," says " these are birds of passage 

 coming over into England in Autumn, and departing again 

 in the beginning of the Spring ; yet they pair before they 

 go, flying two together, a male and a female," and he adds 

 that " They are said both to come and fly away in a mist." 

 The Woodcock has always been highly esteemed for the 

 delicate flavour of its flesh. The leg especially was com- 

 mended, in contradistinction to the Partridge's tit-bit, 

 which with epicureans was the wing, hence the origin of the 

 old couplet 



If the Partridge had the Woodcock's thigh, 

 'Twould be the best bird that ever did fly. 



Willughby says that in England it is "infamous " for its 

 simplicity or folly, so that the term " Woodcock " is 

 proverbially used for a simple, foolish person. 



WOODCOCK OWL. A provincial name for the SHORT-EARED 

 OWL. (England and Ireland.) Because it comes to us 

 in October, about the time the Woodcock makes its appear- 

 ance, and departs at the same time as the latter in March. 

 (Montagu). In use in Nottinghamshire and elsewhere. 



WOODCOCK PILOT: The GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN. 

 (Yorkshire coast.) 



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