THE WOODCOCK. 157 



Woodhens. The latter title, however, is not often applied to 

 this Bird, except by the over-fastidious and scrupulously chaste 

 huckster women of our market-houses. 



DESCRIPTION. 



"The male Woodcock is ten inches and a half long, and six- 

 teen in extent; bill brownish flesh color, black towards the tip; 

 the upper mandible ending in a slight knob which projects one- 

 tenth of an inch beyond the lower, two inches and a half long, 

 and grooved ; forehead, line over the eye, and whole lower 

 parts reddish tawny; sides of the neck inclining to ash ; from 

 the fore part of the eye backwards, black, crossed by three 

 narrow bands of brownish white; back and scapulars deep 

 black, each feather tipped or marbled with light brown and 

 light ferruginous, with numerous fine zigzag lines of black 

 crossing the lighter parts; quills plain dusky brown; tail black, 

 each feather marked along the outer edges, drab color above, 

 and silvery white below; lining of the wing bright rust; legs 

 and feet a pale-reddish color; eye very full and black, seated 

 high and very far back in the head; weight, five ounces and a 

 half, sometimes six. 



" The female is twelve inches long, and eighteen in extent, 

 weighs eight ounces, and differs also in having the bill very 

 nearly three inches in length ; the black on the back is not 

 quite so intense, and the sides under the wings are slightly 

 barred with dusky," 



COMPARED WITH THE ENGLISH VARIETY. 



This Bird, is considerably smaller than the foreign variety, 

 in fact, weighs fully one-third less, seldom exceeding six or nine 

 ounces ; while the ordinary weight of the English Cock is never 

 less than twelve or fourteen ounces, and two are mentioned by 

 writers as having been killed weighing sixteen and seventeen 

 ounces respectively. We have never yet met with an American 

 Bird heavier than nine and a half ounces save in one instance, 

 although we have been induced to test the weight of many 

 Birds of our own shooting, as well as those exposed in the 



