WADING BIRDS. 



455 



length ; the end of the upper mandible projects beyond the lower, 

 and the toes are webbed near their bases. The Common Curlew of 

 our coast has been named from its peculiar cry ; its flesh is some- 

 times eaten, but it makes a very indifferent apology for game. 



The family of Snipes (Scolopacidas) have the bill straight, and the 

 nostrils prolonged by grooves until very near the tip, which is 

 slightly enlarged, and projects a little beyond the lower mandible. 



. 34. WOODCOCK. 



The extremity of the bill in these birds is soft and very sensitive. 

 Their feet have no traces of a web ; all of them have their head 

 more or less flattened, and their great eyes placed very far back, 

 giving them the appearance of being very stupid, and indeed their 

 habits quite agree in this respect with their physiognomy. 



The Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola] and the Common Snipe 

 (8. Gallinago} are well-known examples of this extensive family, 

 as are the Turnstones (Strepselas). 



Many of these birds migrate at certain seasons. The period of 

 their migrations is fixed by nature for each species, and it is 

 remarked that they follow the same route every year ; hence, in 

 certain districts the fowlers or birdcatchers count upon their arri- 

 val as upon rent that falls due on a certain day, and calculate in 

 advance the period of their passage. Armed with their nets, and 

 all the apparatus of the chase, they station themselves in the 

 gorges and in the valleys through which the flocks are to pass, and 

 await their coming just as they would the arrival of a railway train. 



