THE AMERICAN WOODCOCK. 21 



and suck it into its throat before it withdraws its bill, as do Curlews and 

 Godwits. The quickness of their sight on such occasions was put to the 

 test by uncovering a cat placed in the corner of the room, at the same height 

 above the floor as the surface of the mud which filled the tub, when instantly 

 the Woodcock would draw out its bill, jerk up its tail, spread it out, leap 

 upon the floor, and run off to the opposite corner. At other times, when 

 the cat was placed beneath the level of the bird, by the whole height of the 

 tub, which was rather more than a foot, the same result took place; and I 

 concluded that the elevated position of this bird's eye was probably intended 

 to enable it to see its enemies at a considerable distance, and watch their 

 approach, while it is in the act of probing, and not to protect that organ from 

 the mire, as the Woodcock is always extremely clean, and never shews 

 any earth adhering to the feathers about its mouth. 



How comfortable it is when fatigued and covered with mud, your clothes 

 drenched with wet, and your stomach aching for food, you arrive at home 

 with a bag of Woodcocks, and meet the kind smiles of those you love best, 

 and which are a thousand times more delightful to your eye, than the 

 savoury flesh of the most delicate of birds can be to your palate. When 

 you have shifted your clothes, and know that on the little round table already 

 spread, you will ere long see a dish of game, which will both remove your 

 hunger and augment the pleasure of your family; when you are seated in the 

 midst of the little group, and now see some one neatly arrayed introduce 

 the mess, so white, so tender, and so beautifully surrounded by savoury 

 juice; when a jug of sparkling Newark cider stands nigh; and you, without 

 knife or fork, quarter a Woodcock, ah, reader! — But alas! I am not in the 

 Jerseys just now, in the company of my generous friend Edward Harris; 

 nor am I under the hospitable roof of my equally esteemed friend John 

 Bachjian. No, reader, I am in Edinburgh, wielding my iron pen, without 

 any expectation of Woodcocks for my dinner, either to-day or to-morrow, 

 or indeed for some months to come. 



Scolopax minor, Gmel. Syst. Nat., vol. i. p. 661. 



Woodcock, Scolopax minor, Wils. Amer. Orn. , vol. vi. p. 40. 



Scolopax minor, Bonap. Syn., p. 331. 



Lesser Woodcock, Nutt. Man., vol. ii. p. 194. 



American Woodcock, Scolopax minor, Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. iii. p. 474. 



Male, 11, 16. Female, 11 T \, 17*. 



Distributed throughout the country. Extremely abundant in the Middle 

 and Eastern Districts, as well as in the interior, where it breeds, as far as 

 Nova Scotia. Equally abundant in winter in the Southern States, though 

 many migrate southward. 



