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  BIRDS. 
  

  

  and 
  that, 
  when 
  the 
  severe 
  1 
  nip 
  ' 
  of 
  frost, 
  and 
  especially 
  snow, 
  took 
  

   place 
  on 
  the 
  Continent, 
  the 
  usual 
  migratory 
  instinct 
  of 
  preservation 
  

   forced 
  them 
  to 
  return 
  towards 
  the 
  milder 
  influences 
  of 
  the 
  Gulf- 
  

   Stream-favoured 
  isles. 
  This 
  must 
  not 
  be 
  confounded 
  with 
  the 
  

   'return 
  of 
  the 
  Woodcocks,' 
  a 
  term 
  well 
  known 
  and 
  understood, 
  in 
  

   our 
  central 
  districts 
  of 
  Scotland, 
  to 
  sportsmen 
  and 
  gamekeepers 
  

   alike, 
  and 
  which 
  usually 
  takes 
  place 
  not 
  before 
  the 
  10th 
  or 
  15th 
  

   of 
  March 
  — 
  i.e. 
  in 
  these 
  said 
  districts, 
  and 
  no 
  doubt 
  with 
  modifica- 
  

   tions 
  elsewhere 
  within 
  the 
  British 
  Isles. 
  But, 
  along 
  the 
  flatter 
  

   shores 
  of 
  the 
  east 
  coast 
  of 
  England, 
  where 
  there 
  is 
  little 
  variation 
  

   in 
  levels, 
  Woodcock 
  shift 
  their 
  ground 
  from 
  easterly 
  and 
  colder 
  

   quarters 
  to 
  warmer 
  and 
  westerly 
  localities 
  in 
  our 
  isles, 
  thus 
  per- 
  

   forming 
  a 
  drift 
  or 
  embryonic 
  migration. 
  In 
  the 
  rugged 
  ground 
  of 
  

   Scotland, 
  where 
  altitudes 
  go 
  up 
  to 
  3500 
  feet 
  or 
  more, 
  Woodcocks 
  

   shift 
  their 
  ground 
  only 
  from 
  higher 
  snow-covered 
  ground 
  towards 
  

   the 
  sea-margins 
  ; 
  and, 
  consequently, 
  our 
  Scotch 
  January 
  birds 
  are 
  

   only 
  natives, 
  and 
  not 
  true 
  migrants, 
  though 
  still 
  showing 
  the 
  

   causes 
  which 
  guide 
  migration, 
  if 
  accentuated. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Chisholm 
  writes 
  us 
  that 
  he 
  came 
  across 
  a 
  Woodcock's 
  nest 
  

   near 
  Foyers 
  on 
  March 
  21st, 
  1893, 
  containing 
  two 
  eggs 
  — 
  a 
  very 
  

   early 
  date 
  so 
  far 
  north. 
  They 
  were 
  breeding 
  more 
  numerously 
  

   than 
  usual 
  there 
  in 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  1894. 
  Woodcocks 
  there, 
  as 
  in 
  

   so 
  many 
  other 
  places 
  farther 
  east, 
  seem 
  utterly 
  to 
  disappear 
  after 
  

   the 
  breeding 
  season. 
  

  

  The 
  more 
  experience 
  one 
  gains 
  in 
  shooting 
  Woodcocks 
  in 
  the 
  

   month 
  of 
  January 
  in 
  the 
  western 
  parts 
  of 
  Scotland 
  the 
  more 
  cer- 
  

   tainly 
  is 
  he 
  bound 
  to 
  believe 
  that 
  the 
  birds 
  found 
  there 
  are 
  a 
  steady, 
  

   unvarying 
  quantity, 
  far 
  less 
  dependent 
  upon 
  foreign 
  immigration 
  

   than 
  upon 
  local 
  movements 
  of 
  what 
  may 
  indeed 
  be 
  considered 
  

   resident 
  stock. 
  In 
  a 
  quite 
  different 
  position 
  — 
  or 
  faunal 
  value 
  — 
  

   we 
  believe 
  are 
  the 
  great 
  halting-places 
  among 
  the 
  isles, 
  such 
  as 
  

   Eigg, 
  Rum, 
  or 
  the 
  Ross 
  of 
  Mull, 
  which 
  are 
  not, 
  and 
  never 
  are 
  

   likely 
  to 
  be, 
  entirely 
  dependent 
  upon 
  their 
  home-bred 
  birds. 
  The 
  

   west 
  mainland 
  coasts 
  are 
  less 
  in 
  the 
  true 
  line 
  of 
  foreign 
  immigrant 
  

   hosts 
  than 
  the 
  Hebrides 
  and 
  Ross 
  of 
  Mull, 
  though 
  they, 
  and 
  per- 
  

   haps 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  Inner 
  Hebrides, 
  are 
  more 
  in 
  the 
  line 
  of 
  home- 
  

   bred 
  birds 
  passing 
  due 
  north 
  to 
  south. 
  They 
  are, 
  first, 
  dependent 
  

   upon 
  quite 
  local 
  stock 
  j 
  second, 
  upon 
  stock 
  bred 
  farther 
  north 
  in 
  

   the 
  west 
  of 
  Scotland 
  ; 
  third, 
  upon 
  stock 
  bred 
  across 
  the 
  watershed 
  

  

  