168 lewis's AMERICAN SPORTSMAN. 



THE NOMENCLATURE OF THE WOODCOCK. 



The nomenclature of the woodcock, like that of most other of 

 our game-birds, is somewhat confused, being known in various sec- 

 tions of our country under the different appellations of mud-snipe, 

 blind snipe, big-headed snipe, marsh-plover, and 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 sixteen 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. 



"Thd 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 in- 

 tense, 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 



