248 
'NATURAL HISTORY 
warmer sun begins to absorb or exhale the moisture from 
the earth, and denote the approach of summer. 
Woodcock. (Scolopax Minor. PL 42.) This bird is 
about as large as a pigeon, with a bill three inches long, 
straight and furried the whole length. The crown of the 
head and back of the neck are barred with black, and a 
black streak runs from the bill to the eyes. The wood- 
cock flaps its wings with some noise when it rises, and 
its flight is pretty rapid, but neither high nor long; and 
its descent is so sudden that it seems to fall like a stone. 
It flies very straight in a wood of tall trees, but in a copse 
it is often obliged to wind, and frequently drops behind 
bushes, to conceal itself from the eye of the fowler. It 
principally feeds on worms and insects, which it draws 
out of the mud with its long bill; and its flesh is univer- 
sally admired. The female builds an artless nest on the 
ground, and generally lays four or five eggs. 
The greater part of the woodcocks leave England 
about the latter end of February or the beginning of 
March, always pairing before they set out. They retire 
to the coast, and if the wind be fair, set out immediately; 
but if contrary, they are often detained in the neighbour- 
ing woods and thickets for some time. In this crisis the 
sportsmen are alert, and the whole surrounding country 
echoes the discharge of guns; seventeen brace have been 
killed by one person in a day. But if they are detained 
long on the dry heaths, they become so lean as to be 
scarcely eatable. The instant a fair wind springs up, 
they seize the opportunity; and where the sportsman has 
seen hundreds in one day, he will not find even a single 
bird the next. 
Lapwing or Pee- wit. (pi. 42.) This bird is about 
the size of a common pigeon, and is covered with very 
thick plumes, which are black at the roots, but of a dif- 
ferent colour on the outward part. The feathers on the 
belly, thighs, and under the wings, are most of them 
white as snow: and the under part on the outside of the 
wings white, but black lower. It has a great liver, di- 
vided into two parts, and, as some authors affirm, no 
galh 
