Have you see these before?

Firstly thanks for all the emails - I am feeling much better now thanks.  I slapped on the sunblock and went for an hours walk around the village. Bright sunshine, yet very very cold, but it was a real tonic to be out in the fresh air and getting some exercise.

Now swiftly changing the subject...................

Have you seen these before?

The window cleaner can this week and asked Patrick if I wanted some feathers for my arty crafty work.

I think he said that they were 'Hedgecock'  feathers - but as I rely on lipreading it is probably a totally different bird as I have never heard of a 'Hedgecock'.

Edited to day  -  thank you, thank you, thank you - for telling me its a Woodcock.  And thank you Paula for the Google link.  Now all I have to do is to work out how to paint with them!

What a beautiful little bird - I do so hope that it wasn't shot - but sadly I suspect that it might have been.  It's surely too tiny to eat.  

 I expected feathers akin to pheasant or partridge (as it is the shooting season around here with guns going off most days in the fields around).  Anyhow, I was greatly surprised when he opened his wallet (I know - and you're right - in these here parts it's rare you see a local open their wallet - and never to take anything out of it!) In fact this was a first for me!  He went on to say that artists use them for painting with.  They push them in a ???????? and then paint with the feather!

I think that they must be rather rare and he probably came across it on one of his shoots, but I would love to know more about it and the painting side of it.   They are so tiny as you can see by the small matchstick I photographed them against.  He definitely said 'paint' with them as opposed to using them as a quill in ink.