This bird is found in almost all the departments in France, but principally in l'Ain and l'Isère. We need hardly say that they are sought after with an eagerness that no obstacle seems to discourage. One can scarcely imagine the pitch of enthusiasm some of our sportsmen possess for pursuit of the Woodcock. They will walk for ten or twelve hours in the mud, leave shreds of their garments hanging on every bush and bramble they pass, exercise all their ingenuity in manœuvring and cunning, and, as a recompense for all these exertions, not discouraged, perhaps find "the bird flown." This is a short compendium of the results often enjoyed in seeking this woodland denizen.
The chief difficulty in pursuing these birds is, first, to find them, and then to make them flush. Hidden motionless and mute in the thickest bushes, they emit but very little scent to catch the nose of the dog, which ranges about in every direction, disheartened with such laborious and often unprofitable work. After a long trial of patience and perseverance, scratched and torn by thorns and briers, the slightest taint on the air tells the secret—the dog draws. As soon as the sportsman sees or knows that his dog is "pointing" at the game, he advances quietly, and judging as well as he can of the locality of the bird, places himself in the best position for firing when it flushes ([Fig. 131]). If he misses his aim, all he has to do is to follow up, for it is likely enough to drop again only a short distance off. Still the labour to force the game to take wing a second time is not less arduous than heretofore. Both man and dog are often put on the wrong scent by the turns, twists, and circuits of their tracks, and all the other tricks of concealment with which this bird is familiar. If at last the Woodcock succumbs, it will not be till it has thoroughly fatigued its persecutors.
Fig. 131.—Woodcock-shooting.
In Brittany, some years ago, Woodcocks were so common that the inhabitants were in the habit of catching them with nets in the following singular way:—Two men went out together at night, one carrying a lantern, the other a small net fastened at the end of a long stick. They proceeded to those parts of the woods where deer had been grazing, which places are always favourite haunts of the Woodcocks on account of their finding worms and insects among their droppings. The rays of light from the lantern were suddenly thrown on the birds while feeding; the latter, dazzled with the brilliancy, allowed themselves to be entangled in the meshes of the net before they thought of flight.
A similar method to the above is practised by the negroes on the Southern plantations of the United States, with this difference—instead of a net, only a club is used for their destruction. Often the slaughter of a successful night amounts to hundreds. The American Woodcock is scarcely as large as the European bird, nor is their colour the same.
The Woodcock constitutes a delicious article of food from its exquisite flavour and piquancy: it in consequence holds the highest rank among game in the eyes of the epicure.
The Snipe much resembles the Woodcock, but is smaller, with longer tarsi. It is also different in its habits. It haunts marshes and fens, feeding on grubs, and sometimes even on aquatic plants. It travels during the night as well as in the day, generally preferring stormy, damp weather for performing its migrations.
The Snipe is found in all latitudes in every part of the globe. Some remain the year round in France and Ireland. They make their nests among reeds in muddy, boggy places, difficult of access to both man and beast, in which they lay four or five eggs. The young ones leave the nest as soon as they are hatched, and are fed by their parents for some time, the want of solidity in their bills not permitting them to bore for their own food.
