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WOODCOCKS AND SNIPES. 



THE habits of woodcocks and snipes cannot fail to interest 

 every one who has opportunity for observing them. There is 

 a method in their movements which arrests the attention of a 

 naturalist ; but unless he is a sportsman too, they are less 

 apt than many other birds to come under his notice. 



The first few woodcocks generally arrive about the be- 

 ginning of October. Their approach is always made known 

 by the red-wing, which bird one cannot help connecting with 

 the woodcock, as guests who commonly arrive together, how- 

 ever unlike in other respects. When woodcocks first come, 

 they keep to the open ground, taking refuge in brushwood, 

 rushes, or heather. At this time they are constantly found 

 and pointed on the moors ; comparatively few frequent the 

 coverts, at least in the daytime : towards dusk, I have seen 

 them come down to the springs. The first frost, however, 

 drives them to the woods, where the ground is of course less 

 hard. Should the weather continue severe, many take refuge 

 under thick hollies or junipers, especially where these bushes 

 are surrounded by plashy ground. It is worth notice that if 

 a woodcock is found at one of the covert springs about dusk 

 in October, he is sure to be at the same place in the daytime 

 when the frost sets in. Each bird has its own favourite ever- 

 green retreat, which it does not abandon till the weather be- 

 comes open. A good beater well knows that this bush should 



