The woodcock, for some unaccountable reason, was supposed to have no brains, and the name of this bird became a synonym for a fool. It is to this that Claudio alludes when he says:—
“Shall I not find a woodcock too?”
Much Ado about Nothing, Act v. Sc. 1.
Again—
“O this woodcock! what an ass it is!”
Taming of the Shrew, Act i. Sc. 2.
A SPRINGE FOR WOODCOCKS.
Shakespeare has many allusions to the capture of this bird by springe and gin—
“Aye, springes to catch woodcocks.”
Hamlet, Act i. Sc. 3.