Genus SCOLOPAX, Linn. 



Gen. Char. Bill long, straight; the tip obtuse, rounded, aud ending with an internal knob ; 

 both mandibles, in dead birds, rugose behind the tip ; under mandible shorter than the 

 upper, which is sulcated for nearly the whole of its length. Nostrils basal, lateral, placed 

 in the commencement of the groove, linear, longitudinal, covered with a membrane. 

 Wings having the first and second quills of nearly equal length and the longest. Legs 

 slender ; the tibiae either entirely plumed or naked for a short space above the tarsal joint. 

 Feet four-toed, three before and one behind, the former cleft to the origin, the latter short 

 and its tip only resting on the ground. 



WOODCOCK. 



Scolopax rusticola, Linn. 

 Le Becasse ordinaire. 



So well has the history of this familiar, and to the sportsman favourite, bird been detailed by various British 

 and Continental authors, among whom we may especially mention Mr. Selby, that we shall confine our remarks 

 more to its geographical distribution than to those minor details with which most persons must be familar : 

 but before entering upon these particulars, we would here express our decided opinion that the present bird, 

 with the Woodcock of the United States of America, and, if we mistake not, one or two other species, may 

 with strict propriety be separated into a distinct genus, which has indeed been done by M. Vieillot under 

 the name of Rusticola ; for not only is the difference in form between the Woodcock and Snipe very apparent, 

 but there is a still greater diversity in their habits and manners. 



In England and we believe in nearly every portion of Europe, the Woodcock is a migratory species : a few 

 pairs, it is true, stay with us to breed, but the great mass undoubtedly pass northwards, even to within the 

 limits of the arctic circle, tenanting during summer the wilds and forests of that desolate region ; and as soon 

 as the work of incubation is over, they commence in vast hordes their southward flight, our island being 

 merely a resting-place for a large portion of them in their progress towards still more southern latitudes ; 

 hence the promontories of Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, and Devonshire abound with them at the periods of their 

 vernal and autumnal migrations. From these summer haunts, which appear to extend throughout the Old 

 World portion of the zone, they radiate southwards, not only through Europe, but to the vast regions of Asia, 

 penetrating even into India, whence we have received numerous specimens differing in no respect from those 

 killed in our own island. 



There is scarcely any difference in the appearance of the sexes, and they do not undergo any decided 

 periodical change in their plumage. 



The nest is generally placed in a thicket, near the root of a tree or shrub, and is merely a slight hole lined 

 with a few dead leaves and grass ; the eggs are four in number, of a yellowish white, blotched with pale chest- 

 nut brown, and in Sweden and other parts of the Continent are considered a great delicacy for the table. 



The food of the Woodcock consists principally of worms, which it procures by inserting its long bill into 

 the earth. 



Forehead and top of the head grey ; hind part of the head and neck marked with four broad brownish 

 black bars ; the intermediate spaces reddish white ; from the gape to the eye a streak of deep brown ; chin 

 white ; on each side of the neck a patch of brown ; upper surface a mixture of rufous brown, pale dull yellow 

 and grey, with large spots and zigzag transverse lines and bars of black, which colour is deepest on the back 

 and scapulars ; rump and tail-coverts pale chestnut brown with pale reddish white tips and narrow transverse 

 bars of black ; tail black varied with chestnut brown ; the tips of the feathers grey above and pure white 

 below ; quills dusky, outer webs having triangular bars of chestnut brown ; under surface greyish white tinged 

 with yellowish brown and barred transversely with brown of a darker tint ; vent and under tail-coverts yel- 

 lowish white, with a triangular spot of black in the centre ; legs flesh-red tinged with grey. 



We have figured an adult bird of the natural size. 



