AMERICAN WOODCOCK. 169 



also called the Ring Plover, on account of its having a 

 white ring round the neck. The throat and under parts 

 are white, and a black stripe encircles the breast, meeting 

 at the back of the neck below the white ring. The 

 upper parts are ashy brown tinged with olive. There are 

 a few white feathers in the wings, and the biU and legs 

 are yellow. The Killdeer,* familiar in most parts of the 

 countrj'^, is so called from its note, but its flesh is not 

 esteemed. 



It is a generally received ppinion that the Woodcock 

 of North America is identical with ours, and some also 

 believe that it migrates, not regularly, but frequently, 

 from the New World to the Old. The two are, however, 

 quite distinct from one another, and differ considerably 

 in size, plumage, and other points. 



The American bird {Philohela minor) is considerably 

 the smaller of the two, seldom exceeding eleven inches 

 in extreme length, while the average measurement of 

 the European one is thirteen and a half; the difference 

 in weight between them being nearly four ounces. In 

 the plumage the most noticeable difference, and one that 

 could hardly fail to be observed even on the most cursory 

 inspection, is that the whole of the under part is of a 

 red hue, growing brighter on the sides and under the 



* A. vociferus. 



