Woodland scene – two hunting dogs in foreground, hunter at left in background aiming rifle up at two birds flying over clearing.
Woodcock hunting has a long and rich tradition in North America. The popular game bird is typically hunted with the assistance of hunting dogs like the cocker spaniels pictured in this Currier & Ives lithograph. Since the late 1800s, interest in hunting woodcocks has grown and an estimated 1.1 million woodcock are taken annually, making woodcock among the top ten species of migratory game birds harvested.
