Few birds of their size are more strong, or, when attacked, are more ferocious than these. They subsist chiefly on fish, frogs, mice, and other animals. During the months of February and March the males, in the mornings and evenings, make a kind of deep, lowing noise, which is supposed to be their call to the females. These birds form their nests among rushes, and generally lay four or five greenish brown eggs. 174. _The CURLEW_ (Scolopax arquata, Fig. 44) _is a bird known by having a long arched black bill, bluish legs, and blackish wings, with snowy spots and marks._ _Its general weight is betwixt twenty and thirty ounces._ _In winter large flocks of these birds are seen on our sea-coasts, and in summer they often retire into mountainous parts of the interior of the country. They are found in Europe, Asia, and Africa._ Curlews are frequently shot for food, and sometimes are very palatable, particularly if killed at a distance from the sea: but such as are killed near the sea-coasts have often a fishy and bad taste. They feed on marine and other worms and insects, and build their nests upon the ground in unfrequented places distant from the coast, laying four eggs, which are of a pale green or olive colour, marked with irregular brown spots. 175. _The WOODCOCK_ (Scolopax rusticola, Fig. 45) _is a bird with varied plumage, a long straight bill reddish at the base, legs ash-coloured, the thighs clad with feathers, and the head with a black band on each side._ _The weight of the woodcock is generally about twelve ounces._ _These birds are migratory, and usually begin to arrive, in England about the first week in October, and depart about the middle of March._ The woodcocks which arrive in the southern parts of England, probably come from Normandy; and those in the northern parts from Sweden. The latter appears evident by the time of their departure from Sweden exactly coinciding with that of their arrival in Britain, and their retreat from this country coinciding with their re-appearance there. In their migrations they chiefly fly during the night, and arrive in greatest numbers with north-easterly winds and during foggy weather.