144 THE SHOOTKK'S GUIDE. 



The Woodcock. 



This bird has a long, slender, straight bill. The 

 nostrils are linear, and lodged in a furrow. The 

 head is entirely covered with feathers. The feet 

 have four toes, the hind one of which is very short, 

 and consists of several joints. The female woodcock 

 may be distinguished from the male by a narrow 

 stripe of white along the lower part of the exterior 

 veil of the outermost feather of the wing. The 

 same part in the outermost feather of the male is 

 elegantly and regularly spotted with black and red- 

 dish white. In the bastard wing of both is a small- 

 pointed, narrow feather, very elastic, and much 

 sought after by painters, as it makes a good pencil. 



The woodcock, during summer, is an inhabitant 

 of Norway, Sweden, Lapland, and other northern 

 countries, where it breeds. But when winter ap- 

 proaches, the severe frosts of those northern latitudes, 

 by depriving it of food, force it southward to milder 

 climates. These birds arrive in Great Britain in 

 flocks ; some of them in October, but not in great 

 numbers till November and December, though they 

 are sometimes seen as early as September. They 

 generally take advantage of the night, being seldom 

 seen to come before sun- set. The time of their ar- 

 rival depends much upon the prevailing winds; they 

 are unable to struggle with the boisterous gales of the 



