THE WOODCOCK. 
255 
the valley to the summit of the dry heathy mountain, whose sides being 
clothed with splendid woods, form the chief beauty of Tollymore Park. 
The keeper has reckoned the “ flushes ” of woodcocks here in 
winter, and considered a hundred brace to be sprung. At other times, 
and on different occasions he is sure of having seen, in the course of 
a day, 150 brace : — in the year 1838, the most he could mention as 
having ever been observed within one day was eighty brace. He has 
sprung seven or eight birds together, like a covey of partridges, from 
beneath a single holly. 
In the young plantations at Donard Lodge (the seat of the Earl of 
Annesley), adjoining those of Tollymore Park — the two combined 
occupying a nearly continuous extent of four miles on the mountain 
side, and in the latter park stretching across l)oth sides of the valley — 
not less than a dozen nests of woodcocks were observed during each 
of the last three years. As the nests in these two demesnes have not 
been sought for, but have been met with merely by chance, many 
of them, doubtless, were never discovered. Hence we may perhaps 
fairly add eight to the minimum number — forty-two — observed during 
the last three years (when they had become so common as to receive 
little attention), and consider that they may have contained fifty nests. 
I have not seen a record of nearly so many being found in any locality 
in England or Scotland as have been in Tollymore Park alone. 
The description of the habits of these birds about the period of 
incubation, as given by the gamekeeper here, strongly reminded me of 
the first good account I had read of the breeding of woodcocks. This 
referred to Eoss-shire, and was communicated by Sir Francis Mac- 
kenzie to the Zoological Society of London.* The manner of flight is 
so diflerent after the birds are paired, from that which the sportsman 
is accustomed to witness at other periods, that I am induced to call 
attention to the similarity of testimony in the two cases. “ Than the 
flight of the woodcock before and after incubation. Sir F. Mackenzie 
states, that he knows nothing more rapid, as for an hour or two about 
dusk he (probably the male, though two have been seen pursuing each 
other) flies in large circles over the tops of the trees.” To a sportsman 
at least, words could not better convey an idea of the rapidity of its 
flight than those of my informant, who, an experienced shot,” de- 
Proceedings of Zool. Society, 1832, Part II. p. 133. 
