Woodcocks.
THESE are birds of passage, and are found in England only in the winter. They are best about a fortnight or three weeks after their first appearance, when they have rested from their long passage over the ocean. If they are fat, they will feel firm and thick, which is a proof of their good condition. The vent will also be thick and hard, and the vein of fat will run by the side of the breast; but a lean one will feel thin in the vent. If newly killed, its feet will be limber, and the head and throat clean; but if stale, the contrary.