WOODCOCK 
habits of woodcock in captivity, writes; “When at rest the woodcock 
sits with its tail cocked up. When first settling to rest the bird sits down 
rather suddenly and throws the tail right back so that it almost touches 
the back of the head ; it then settles down comfortably, with the tail raised. 
“ The woodcock is full of play, and often squats down with its tail well 
up and fully expanded and its wings drooped; it then jumps from side 
to side.’’ It is very solitary in its habits, and though in coverts where 
“cock’’ are abundant, two or three may sometimes be fiushed from 
the same patch of brambles and bracken, their close proximity does not 
seem to indicate any inclination to sociability, but is due to some attractive 
quality of the cover. In this country the woodcock, as a rule, rises sharply 
enough when disturbed, but the birds which visit India in the cold season 
appear to be much tamer and more sluggish in their habits, being loth 
to rise, and anxious to settle again after flying a few yards. The same 
want of dash is observed in the common snipe met with in the East, and 
there can be no doubt that the bird twists much less when it rises, and 
is much easier to shoot, in a warmer climate. 
All the woodcocks met with in India, Ceylon, and probably most of 
those which visit Burma during the cold season, are presumably natives 
of the Himalaya. According to Hume, they are distinctly lighter in 
weight than the birds of Central and Northern Asia or those met with 
in Europe ; seldom exceeding twelve ounces. In measurements, however, 
they do not differ, and it will be seen by referring to the tables given 
above that the average weight of birds killed in Britain is under twelve 
ounces, eleven ounces being the ordinary weight of birds in good condi- 
tion. When leaving a covert for their evening feed, woodcocks have a 
curious habit of making their exit by some particular opening in the 
wood, each individual following the same recognized route, quite inde- 
pendently of its fellows. Possibly the feeding-grounds all lie in the same 
direction, and the birds having a keen -set appetite after their day’s fast, 
take the shortest road to reach their destination. Professor Victor Fatio, 
an eminent Swiss ornithologist, has published a remarkable account of 
the means said to be employed by wounded woodcocks of staunching 
their wounds and binding up their broken limbs. 
The following translation appeared in the volume of Snipe and Wood- 
cock in the “Fur, Feather and Fin Series,’’ p. 176, and is so extra- 
ordinary, that it is reproduced here : 
“ Monsieur Victor Fatio relates that when shooting woodcocks {Scolapax 
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