248 
WOODCOCK. 
of the Woodcock is slow. When flushed at any time in the 
woods, he rises to the height of the bushes or underwood, and 
almost instantly drops behind them again at a short distance, 
generally running off for several yards as soon as he touches 
the ground. The notion that there are two species of Wood- 
cock in this country, probably originated from the great 
difference of size between the male and female, the latter 
being considerably the larger. 
The male Woodcock is ten inches and a half long, and 
sixteen inches in extent ; bill, a brownish flesh colour, black 
towards the tip, the upper mandible ending in a slight knob, 
that projects about one-tenth of an inch beyond the lower,* 
each grooved, and, in length, somewhat more than two inches 
and a half ; forehead, line over the eye, and whole lower 
parts, reddish tawny ; sides of the neck, inclining to ash ; 
between the eye and bill, a slight streak of dark brown ; 
crown, from the forepart of the eye backwards, black, crossed 
by three narrow bands of brownish white ; cheeks, marked 
with a bar of black, variegated with light brown ; edges of 
the back, and of the scapulars, pale bluish white ; back and 
scapulars, deep black, each feather tipt or marbled with light 
brown and bright ferruginous, with numerous fine zigzag lines 
of black crossing the lighter parts ; quills, plain dusky brown ; 
tail, black, each feather marked along the outer edge with 
small spots of pale brown, and ending in narrow tips, of a pale 
drab colour above, and silvery white below ; lining of the 
wing, bright rust ; legs and feet, a pale reddish flesh colour ; 
eye, very full and black, seated high and very far back in the 
head ; weight, five ounces and a half, sometimes six. 
The female is twelve inches long, and eighteen in extent ; 
weighs eight ounces ; and differs also in having the bill very 
* Mr Pennant, ( Arctic Zoology, p. 463,) in describing the American 
Woodcock, says, that the lower mandible is much shorter than the upper. 
From the appearance of his figure, it is evident that the specimen from which 
that and his description were taken had lost nearly half an inch from the lower 
mandible, probably broken off by accident. Turton and others have repeated 
this mistake. 
