Clafs II. WOODCOCK. 349 



haunts, pair. They feed and fly by night ; begin- 

 ning their flight in the evening, and return the fame 

 way, or through the fame glades to their day retreat. 

 They ieave England the latter end of February, or be- 

 ginning of March -, not but they have been known to 

 continue here. In Cafe-wood, about two miles from 

 Tunbridge, a few breed almofl annually : the young 

 having been iliot there the beginning of Auguft, and 

 were as healthy and vigorous as they are with us in 

 the winter, but not fo well tailed : a female with egg 

 was fhot in that neighborhood in April; the egg was 

 the fize of that of a pigeon. 



In the fame manner we know they quit France^ 

 Germany and Italy ; making the northern and cold 

 fituations their general fummer rendezvous. They 

 vifit Burgundy the latter end of Oclober, but continue 

 there only four or five weeks •, it being a dry country 

 they are forced away for want of fuftenance by the 

 fir ft frofts. In the winter they are found in vail: 

 plenty as far fouth as Smyrna and Aleppo *, and in the 

 fame feafon in Barbary °f, where the Africans call them, 

 the afs of the partridge : and we have been told, 

 that fome have appeared as far fouth zsAEgypt, which 

 are the remoteft migrations we can trace them to on 

 that fide the eaftern world •, on the other fide, they 

 are found very common in Japan £. The birds that 

 re fort into the countries of the Levant^ probably 

 come from the deferts of Siberia or farkay]^ er the 



* RuJfeVs hift. Aleppo. 64. 

 •j- Sbanus travels, 253. 

 J Kampfers hiii. Japan % i. 1 29. 

 |J Belt's travels, i. r<j8. 



Z % cold 



