THE WOODCOCK. 



339 



The Sanderlings ( Caledris) and the Curlews {Numenius, Latham) 

 are species closely allied to the Knots, but differing in their habits 

 and physical characteristics. They visit all the coasts of Europe 

 in small flocks, incessantly on the move. Even an abundance of 

 food does not suffice to keep them very long in the same locality : 

 motion seems the law of their existence. 



The Woodcock {Scolopax rusticola) has a very long, straight, 

 and slender bill ; the head flattened ; the tarsi short ; and the legs 

 covered with feathers. They live in the woods, and do not frequent 

 the sea-shore or river-banks. They differ from the Snipes in 

 having the body fuller, the tibise feathered at the joint, the tarsi 

 shorter, the wings broader, and the bill firmer (Fig. 129). They 



Fig. 129. — Common Woodcock {Scolopax rusticola, Temm.). 



are also larger in size. In points they differ from most of the 

 Grrallse; but, taken as a whole, it has been thought right to 

 place them among this order. 



The Woodcock inhabits, during the summer, the lofty, wooded 

 mountain-ranges of Central and Northern Europe. Driven away 

 by the severe cold, they descend into the plains, and reach France 

 and England about the month of November. They are shy, timid 

 birds, and conceal themselves all day long in the depths of the 

 most retired woods, busying themselves in turning over the leaves 

 with their bills to catch worms and grubs, which form their 



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