122 FEATHERED GAME 
and I have known many a woodcock enthusiast 
to follow me in such case, despite the fact that 
my withdrawal left him undisputed possession 
of the cover. I am quite willing to give the 
’cock the second place, subject, of course, to 
the ‘‘quail man’s’’ protest, though for myself 
I think woodcocking requires more skill on the 
shooter’s part than does the shooting of quail, 
due to the Woodcock’s towering and twisting 
flight, and the generally thicker cover where 
Mr. Longbill is found. This does not apply to 
fire-slaughter as practiced in the south. 
The American Woodcock is a trifle smaller 
than his European relative and of much darker 
coloration. To soothe our national vanity I 
will add that he is much smarter and more re- 
sourceful than the Old World product. The 
habits of the two are very similar. In color our 
bird is a warm reddish brown, mottled on the 
back and wings with jet black. Many feathers, 
mostly on the shoulders, of a pale blue-gray 
color. Most of the feathers of the back and 
wings are tipped with deep tawny yellow. On 
the breast a ruddier tinge which deepens on the 
flanks to a beautiful reddish- or golden-brown. 
The male bird is from ten to eleven inches long, 
