WOODCOCK 
Philohela minor 
The American woodcock is a small bird, weighing 
only from five to nine ounces. He is eleven or twelve 
inches in length, and of this the bill occupies from 
two and one-half to three inches. The plumage below 
is rich russet-brown, paling, on the upper breast, sides 
of the neck and forehead, to ashen-gray. The crown 
is black, with two or three crosslines of tawny, and the 
back is curiously mottled with tawny, ash-gray and 
black, the latter predominating. The tail feathers are 
black, barred with tawny, their tips smoky-gray on 
the upper side and snow-white beneath. The legs and 
feet are pale flesh-color, the bill dark horn-color at 
the tip, becoming paler at the base, and the large, soft, 
humid eyes are brown. 
The range of the woodcock is from Canada south 
to the limits of the United States and west to beyond 
the Mississippi River, but the high, dry plains of the 
trans-Missouri region limit the extension of his range 
westward, for he is a bird that loves moisture and cool, 
dark thickets. His range is shown on the accompany- 
ing little map taken from Dr. Fisher’s article, in the 
Year Book of the Department of Agriculture for 1go1. 
6 
