WOODCOCK.
stoop, in fact, was the full, thai it was necessary to make a circuit to avoid the declivity. From In-low lliis
rough and overhanging liank a Wooilcoek, a|i|)areutly retarded by the weight of its offspring, rose on wing,
display iug at first an unsteady and Hal oriug flight, lint gaining increased speed alter a few flaps, was soon l.i.t
sight of beliind the foliage uf a spreading birch. The light was far from good aud the view obtained, looking
duwn on the bird from above, much against funning an accurate opinion as to the manner in which a young
one, of w hich a mere glimpse could be caught, was conveyed. In order to ascertain if other juveniles were
in the vicinity, the retriever H I hunted over the ground and nt once picked up a downy aud querulous
youngster, heating a strong resemblance to a newly batched Curlew, which she presented with the greatest
care. No further captures were ell'ected, and shortly after an old bird appeared on the scene Happing round
for several minutes and eventually settling at a short distance. The youngster was then placed on an open
spot where his cries might be heard, and retiring into the cover, I watched for some time, in the hopes of
seeing him carried off. Though several Woodcocks were observed on wing, none approached or alighted mar at
hand, aud the darkness increasing 1 was at length forced to make my way homewards, Being anxious to gain
farther information on the subject, 1 again v isited the wood towards evening a few- days after in company with
n couple of keepers. The whole of the ground on which the lords were prei iously met with was explored without
success; then, as a last resource, baling taken up a position on a lower slope, the men were despatched to
heat crossways through a portion of the w 1 and work gradualh down lie' hill. At last, when within a
couple of hundred \ ards of my station, a shout gave warning that a Cook "as ;,.(ir; a moment later the bird
skimmed past an opening in the cover. Hying low and apparently bearing a youngster pressed closely to the
umlerparts.
The manner in which the young otic was carried seemed to dilfer considerably on these two occasions ; light
and the shadows thrown by the foliage as well as the directions taken by the birds, however, combined to
frustrate nil attempts to obtain a satisfactory insight into the proconlings. Were I to express an opinion as
to the manner in which this singtdar operation is performed (judging from the observations recorded above) it
would be that the young one is grasped on rising by the feet of the old bird, which necessarily droop in |be first
instanre; when well on wing the tarsi are raised, bringing the weight nearer to the body aud enabling the
bearer to hold a steadier course.
A keeper who had been many years at Aohauy, near I.airg, in Sulherlnud, assured me that in the woods
between hoch Shin aud the Kile he had, on more than one occasion, distinctly seen a Woodcock hover over
her young one, and after clutching it between the legs rise on wing anil make otf for other quarters, bis
description corresponding in every respect with some of the latest published accounts. Other evidence tending
to prove this habit has been received from various quarters in the north ; I have, however, met with two or
three sportsmen, natives of the Highlands, and careful observers of nature, who utterly discredit the idea,
contending that the singular appearance of the female while rising from the ground is merely caused by the
movements of the tail aud legs, the feathers also at the same time being puffed out through fear or anger.
The arguments advanced by some writers, in order to prove the necessity of this habit of transporting the
young, scarcely hold good; it has been staled flint the brood are commonly batched in "dry heathery woods,"
where ihey would inc. italdy perish unless oarried to more favourable feeding-ground. The dries! of coverts in
which this species nests, as far as I have been able to ascertain, contain spots where, in ordinary seasons, ample
food might ho obtained for the juveniles within the distance of a few hundred yards. It is undoubtedly during
HwWad of night and early dawn, when the dew is on the ground, that the Woodcock prwved- inquest of
prey; worms and insects invisible by day are then obtainable in profusion.
In the summer of lSfi§ the weather in June and July was exceedingly hot in the north of Scotland, and in
more than one locality I learned thai broods of young Woodcocks had IHMTI found dead, owing (hi the opinion
of the keepers' lo the hing-oontinnod drought. In two or fhrcc instances I examined Hie unfortunate, 1ml
WOODCOCK.
decomposition bat ing set in, the cause of death remained undiscovered ; there could lie little doubt, however, that
the waul of rain aud the tropical heat of the midday sun had dried up all their haunts. During the w hole of
thnt season I nas engaged in making observations oil the habits of Ibis species ; and on one occasion, while
discussing the mailer with a forester who had met with many opportunities for watching the
birds, the MAN remarked, " If THE Cocks can move their young, as you declare, why do they allow them to die in
the woods when fhe Hats on the low ground are still moist? "
The plumage of the Woodcock differs considerably with the seasons, (ho colouring being more varied in
summer, a warm red-brown intermixed hero and there with a cream tint taking Hie place of the dull brown
and grey exhibited in winter. A lengthened description uf the plumage, however, is n Iless, as the figures in
the Plulcs were taken from specimens procured at each season.
In Plate I. a female shot on the 9th of June Will, near Tain, is represented with her three eggs. The male
was closely EXAMINED both on wing and when motionless at a few yards distance, and his PLUMAGE having been
ascertained to resemble that of his mate in every particular, further slaughter was unnecessary. The female
proved exceedingly tame—several times I had passed her within a fen yards, and when at last approaching in
order lo obtain a shot, it was not till a keeper had placed Ins hand below her that she could be induced to rise
on wing, l-'mm notes taken on several occasions, I am inclined to believe that the second laying rarely
consists of more than three eggs.
A couple <f Woodcocks obtained in filenhoii, in the west of Perthshire, in November 1807, arc depleted
in Plate II. Having frequently examined fresh-killed specimens at this season, I am of opinion that Ihcre is
little difference in the plumage of males and females.