vanced period of the season, by no means indicating the
wasting effects of Y6ry long-continued exertions. It appears
that they fly at a cöbsiderable altitude, as indeed most birds
do when performing their migratory movements. A respectable
person who livéd .upon the coast, and who, being a keen
pursuer of wild^fowlj was in the habit of frequenting the
sea-shore at an early hour in the morning, assured me that
he had more than dhce noticed the arrival of a flight of
Woodcocks codling {tom the noyth-east just at day-dawn.
His notice was; first attracted by a peculiar sound in the air
over his head, that, upon attending to, he found proceeded
from birds descending in a direction almost perpendicular ;
and which, upón approaching the shore, separated and: flew
towards the interior; these he pursued and shot, and which
proved, as he Éürmised by the view he had of- 'thënr as'#hey
flew past him, stcr be Woodcdeks.” Mr. -Selby has > also
observed that?'the first flights of these birds, which-seldom
remain longer than for & few days, and thèn pass southward,
consist chiefly of females; whilst, on^ikfe -contrary,
the subsequent and latest flightsiwhichcontinue with us, are
principally composed of males. It has been noticed by
several authors, that the arrival of the’males, in a number
of our summer visitants, precedes that of ;the females by
many days ; a fact from which Ve might infer/ that' in such
species a similar separation exists between th e : sexes during
their, sequatorial migration.” The circumstance' of the -separation
for a time of the males ana females in the Woodcock
or Wood-snip’ej as it tëÉ* sometime! called, accounts^fol'^tbe
result which O’cc.urs at thé early part of -the Woodcock
season. On making internal examination of twelve Woodcocks,
from one locality/ for the purpose ofs,ascertaining ■ the
sex, for use in ’ this--work, only two óf them proved fo.-fbe
males.
Mr. John Cordeaux, whose observation! on the migration
of birds are well known, informs the Editor-sthatsiiF1 the
autumn of 1882 the “ great flight'? crbssed on 1 the night of
October 12th, with Vtrpng east wind, fog and drizzling rain.
On the morning of the 13 th they were found in considerable
numbers at all the chief stations for observing the migration
of birds, from Orfordness in the south, to the Isle pf May/
at the entrance to the Firth of Forth. This flight covered
.350 miles of the coast of Great Britain, and the birds probably
travelled in parallel lines across the North Sea from
the opposite coast of Europe. Casualties against the lanterns
of lighthouses and light-vessels on the English coast generally
occur between midnight and daybyeak. The Woodcocks
therefore probably leave the opposite coast in the dark of
evening or early night.
- -Jfnder the influence of a north-east wind, their course is
probably between south and, west'; this will account for the
number of Woodcocks, fennel in Devonshire, Cornwall, lb
Wales, and insTreland ;. the birds in many instances , puri
suing-their cdur-s@?ftill they reach the-sea, or returning, if
possible, .when they -have overshot the land.
-Gilbert White of Selborne.aays,1 in' his Journal, “ A
.gentleman writes word from St. Mary’s, Scilly/ that -in^the
nightTbetween the 10th and 11th of October, the wind being
whsty^there fell such a -flight of. Woodcocks within the walls
of the garrison, th a t he himself shot?, and conveyed home/
twenty-six couple, besides three couple which he wounded,
but did." not give himself the- trouble to retrieve. On the
following day,^he42th;/ the wind'-continuing west, be found
but few. This-persop further-.observes/-that easterly and
■ northerly'twinds only; have usually been remarked as propitious
in 'bringing Woodcocks 4® th e ’Solly Islands. So
that he is totally at a -loss.to account for this western flight,
unless they camefroin Ireland. As■'they took their -departure
ah' the- night- «w e e n the 11th and 12th, the wind still
continuing west, he supposes; they were -gouie'fo make a visit
to. the counties of Cornwall and Devonshire. From circumstances^
» the letter, i t appears that the'ground within the
linesjof the garrison abounds with furze. Some Woodcocks
settled in the" street *©f St. Mary’s and ran into- the houses
and Out-houses.” *
Adverse" gales -may exercise, an important influence In
*' Jesse’s ‘ Glearfingg'in'^at. Hist.’, '2nd Ser.-p." 179/