WOODCOCK 
rufous. The grey phase and the rufous phase occur in both sexes alike, 
in fully adult birds; but, as far as my experience goes, the grey phase is 
never found among young birds, which are always more or less rufous. 
These represent what is often described by sportsmen as the smaller 
rufous ‘ species ’ of woodcock. Though a careful examination of the 
plumage of the woodcock has not led to the discovery of any character 
by which the sexes may be recognized externally, it has suggested another 
point of a much more interesting nature, and to this I especially wish to 
draw attention. Of the sixty odd birds examined by myself in the Azores, 
only four proved to be females. At the time I attributed this partly to the 
fact that the birds were procured between the months of February and 
June, when many were breeding, and partly because the majority were 
shot when ‘ roding,* as their peculiar evening flight is called. But this 
explanation does not apply to the eleven young birds sent from Cumber- 
land, only one of which proved, on dissection, to be a female. The remark- 
able preponderance of males seems to me to suggest very clearly, what I 
had already suspected, that in the woodcock, as in the cuckoo {Cuculus 
canorus), the males are far more numerous than the females. It was with 
a view to testing and obtaining further information on this most interest- 
ing point that I have already brought this matter before the members 
of the British Ornithologists’ Club, and I hope that those who have an 
opportunity of doing so will endeavour to furnish us with further statistics. 
The obvious and easy method of proving or disproving this question would 
be to sacrifice a limited number of broods of young woodcocks, so as to 
ascertain the sex of the four individuals in each family party. In districts 
where the woodcock breeds numerously, a few lots of young birds might 
surely be spared for such a purpose. The birds might be caught and for- 
warded while still young, as the sex, even in downy young, can easily be 
ascertained by careful dissection.” 
Up to the present time the question as to the possible preponderance 
of males remains unanswered. We read that the male woodcock is generally 
to be found in close proximity to the female with nest or young, but such 
has never been my experience, either in Scotland or abroad, the young 
being invariably accompanied by a single bird, and two which were'shot 
proved, on dissection, to be females. 
The woodcock is a very highly specialized bird, and among its more 
striking peculiarities may be noted : 
(1) The bill, which is a wonderfully constructed organ of touch, and 
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