SPORTSMEN AND BIRDS. 
475 
inviolate! She reaches the shelter of the thicket unharmed. 
And, the Blackcock being disturbed by a passing wood¬ 
cutter, our sport is brought to a close. 
From that very day I have liked sportsmen; and the 
more I have seen of them the greater has been my liking, 
especially for those who are more sportsmen than mere 
shooters ; for I am quite convinced that a true sportsman 
is fond of all animals, and is an especial friend to those 
he follows in the chase. The lair of the deer is his 
home; and he looks upon the different kinds of game as 
his children. I will, however, confine myself to birds: 
they are just as dear in his eyes as the stag, the roe, and 
the hare! He only shoots them at certain seasons,— 
never when breeding or moulting; he will not shoot a 
single bird where its loss might be felt. Of many species 
he does not destroy those pairs which take up their 
abode and breed on his preserves, but only shoots those 
which alight on their “ passage/’ No true sportsman, 
for instance, would kill a Woodcock which sought to 
breed in his woods, but confines his attentions to those 
which pass through his domain during their migratory 
flight. 
The shooting season commences as soon as the young 
Partridges are well able to fly, next comes the Pheasant, 
then the Hazel Hen in succession; after these the 
Quail, Snipe, Woodcock, and Duck arrive : the last are all 
strangers ! If black game are very plentiful in a district, 
they may be thinned perhaps by a day’s shooting; but 
nowhere, except in forests invaded by hungry peasants, 
is the rare and noble Capercaillie disturbed before the 
spring, and even then the chase is restricted to the male 
bird. The family peace is in no way disturbed by his 
loss, for he is a Mussulman,—like the Blackcock, or our 
