1912] The Ottawa Naturalist. 63 



their graceful movements on the wing and the pretty habit of 

 raising their wings above their backs when alighting was a 

 pleasure to behold. Then, too, they were quite fearless, allow- 

 ing a very close approach, as if having perfect confidence in the 

 human invader. Alas for such confidence; it was requited 

 indeed! Yes! with a gun. So that to-day even our innocent 

 little plovers have learnt the lesson of experience that others 

 had learnt too late. They are, as we might expect, no longer 

 the trusting innocents of the past, though still far from wild 

 during the breeding season. Their lesson has been a costly 

 one and for the thousands that previouslv roamed the whole 

 country of their adoption, we now have but a few, restricted to 

 certain districts where as yet mankind has been unable to des- 

 troy them all. Of course the rapid settling up of the land has 

 also greatly reduced the breeding area. In the south, naturalists 

 and sportsmen too, are beginning to become seriously alarmed 

 at the yearly decrease of breeding birds and in consequence a 

 permanent close season is advocated. In Manitoba, however, 

 though progressive in most of our game laws, we still have an 

 obnoxious law enabling the killing of Upland Plovers in Julv, 

 at a time when many of the birds are still nesting and in defence 

 of their young can actually be knocked over w r ith a stick. 



It was my good fortune some years ago to discover a nest 

 of one of these plovers in a situation that I was obliged to visit 

 daily. It was close to some bushes and in rather an unusual 

 situation, being on lowland. Here I saw the bird twice or three 

 times a day, and with patience soon taught her to have confi- 

 dence so that eventually I could touch her without her leaving 

 the nest. She also learnt to pick up the grasshoppers I threw 

 to her. Her male, however, was absent and never showed up 

 during the weeks we kept company, so I suspect he had fallen 

 a prey to one of the numerous snares that are met with in nature. 

 I do not know how long the female had been sitting when I first 

 met her. but it was close upon four weeks from that date before 

 the young emerged from the eggs. I found them all one after- 

 noon, but a few feet away from the nest, perfect little striped 

 balls of fluff on long stilt -like legs. I gathered them into my 

 hands and here they squatted, "peeping" apparently quite 

 contentedly as if their mother had instructed them that 

 here was a mortal to be trusted. No doubt she had omitted 

 to give the signal that would send the young into hiding. She 

 stood but a few feet away quite unconcerned while I had her 

 little ones, and when at last I let them gently down she made no 

 effort to lead them awav but stood watching me, and thus I 

 left her to see her to recognize no more. I have often won- 

 dered since whether her confidence was extended to others and 



