CHAPTER XII. 



THE WOODCOCK. SCOLOPAX MINOR. 



" Hie in ! At that glad word away they dart, 

 And, winding various ways, with careful speed 

 Explore the cover. Hark ! that quest proclaims 

 The -woodcock's haunt." 



THE CLAIMS OF THE WOODCOCK. 



HAT bird is there in the catalogue of 

 the American sportsman which surpasses 

 the woodcock, whether we consider the 

 beauty of its plumage, its general con- 

 tour, the richness and delicacy of its 

 meat, or the pleasure derived from shoot 

 ing it? Sportsmen eagerly pursue this 

 interesting and noble bird in every quarter 

 where he makes his appearance, and ex 

 perience more gratification in the display 



of a couple of woodcocks than they would in the triumphant exhi- 

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