WOODCOCK 
267 
same county and a long distance to southward ; 
and until a larger quantity of evidence has been 
collected it is impossible to say whether our own 
birds are generally accustomed to quit their summer 
haunts, and leave their places to be filled by 
foreigners, or whether they have no very definite 
winter movement, and allow the foreigners to pass 
them by and settle where they can. Woodcock 
are very numerous in winter in the west of 
Ireland ; but it is difficult to say how far this is 
due to the flights on migration being brought up 
short at the " land's end,*' on the verge of the 
Atlantic, or how far it is simply to be put down 
to there being abundance of suitable ground for 
them in that part of the country. The Woodcock's 
long bill, large, prominent eye, and beautifully 
pencilled plumage of brown and grey are too well 
known to need a detailed description ; and it is 
also famous for its baffling, twisting flight. Pro- 
bably owing to the planting of new game coverts 
on many sporting estates, the Woodcock has of 
late years bred in this country in considerably 
larger numbers than formerly. It generally chooses 
a dense, quiet, and shady wood ; the nest is a 
depression in the ground, often at the foot of a 
tree, and loosely and roughly lined with dry leaves 
or bracken. The eggs are generally laid in April, 
though sometimes in March. They are a little 
