Vol. xxv. | 36 



months I spent there, from February to June 1903, I shot 

 and examined a very large number of these birds, many of 

 which were breeding. These exhibited all varieties of 

 markings on the first long flight-feather, some, both males 

 and females, having a narrow border of creamy-white along 

 the margin of the outer web, while others had well-defined 

 tooth-like buff markings along the whole of the outer web, 

 and examples in every intermediate stage were also 

 observed. 



" Subsequently Mr. Meade- Waldo, who was much interested 

 in the matter, sent me the first long flight-feathers taken 

 from four undoubtedly young Woodcocks, which he had shot 

 in Kent in August and September, 1908. These equally 

 displayed great variety in their markings, one having an 

 almost entire buff margin to the outer web of the first 

 flight-feather, while in the others it was partially toothed on 

 the terminal half, but in no two was it alike. 



"This clearly proved that Woodcocks with the tooth-like 

 markings all along the outer web of the first flight-feather 

 were not necessarily young birds. 



" To throw further light on the matter, I sought help from 

 Sir Richard Graham, of Netherby, where numbers of Wood- 

 cock are known to breed annually, and he very kindly sent 

 me eleven young birds in various stages of plumage, the 

 flight-feathers in all being only partially grown. These, like 

 the young birds from Kent, showed every variety of marking, 

 but the majority (like Gould's very old birds) had a more 

 or less entire buff border to the first flight-feather and in one 

 only was it toothed throughout. This entirely upsets Gould's 

 theory, as many of the birds which he considered to be 

 fully adult (on account of the entire buff margin on the 

 outer web of the first long flight-feathers) were no doubt 

 birds of the year. 



"My investigations have clearly proved that it is im- 

 possible to distinguish between the plumage of the male 

 and female Woodcock, or between old birds and young birds 

 of the year, when once the latter have fully developed their 

 flight-feathers. 



