WOODCOCK 



Philohela minor 



The American woodcock is a small bird, weighing 

 only from five to nine ounces. He is eleven or twelve 

 inches in length, and of this the bill occupies from 

 two and one-half to three inches. The plumage below 

 is rich russet-brown, paling, on the upper breast, sides 

 of the neck and forehead, to ashen-gray. The crown 

 is black, with two or three crosslines of tawny, and the 

 back is curiously mottled with tawny, ash-gray and 

 black, the latter predominating. The tail feathers are 

 black, barred with tawny, their tips smoky-gray on 

 the upper side and snow-white beneath. The legs and 

 feet are pale flesh-color, the bill dark horn-color at 

 the tip, becoming paler at the base, and the large, soft, 

 humid eyes are brown. 



The range of the woodcock is from Canada south 

 to the limits of the United States and west to beyond 

 the Mississippi River, but the high, dry plains of the 

 trans-Missouri region limit the extension of his range 

 westward, for he is a bird that loves moisture and cool, 

 dark thickets. His range is shown on the accompany- 

 ing little map taken from Dr. Fisher's article, in the 

 Year Book of the Department of Agriculture for 1901. 



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