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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[Aug. 1, 1870. 



cannot fail to admire the wonderful and graceful 

 evolutions which these birds perform upon the wiug ; 

 whilst those who reside upon the coast throughout 

 the year must hail with satisfaction the arrival of 

 these feathered strangers, whose presence adds so 

 much to the beauty of the scenery, and relieves, to 

 such an extent, the monotony of sea and sky. 



We have always had a partiality for "lang nebbit 

 things," as our Scotch friends call them, notwith- 

 standing the supposed connection between a long 

 bill and a suspicious character,* and have expe- 

 rienced more real enjoyment in the pursuit of them 

 than many who have never tried it would suppose. 

 To one who is fond of shooting, the various kinds 

 of Sandpipers afford much sport at a time when 

 game is not in season. They fly like Snipe, and 

 require some little exercise of skill to bring them 

 down, especially if crossing rapidly from right to 

 left, or vice versa. Then, they are excellent eating, 

 and are therefore not useless when killed, like 

 many species of sea-birds. Again, to the inquir- 

 ing naturalist, their various plumages and the 

 seasonal change which each undergoes — their 

 actions and habits— the nature of their food — the 

 different appearance of different species at a distance 

 when on the ground and in the air — the various 

 calls and alarm-notes — afford an endless source of 

 amusement. 



The greater portion of the flocks which visit us 

 in autumn consists of young birds which are on 

 their way southwards for the winter. The old birds 

 are seen on their way to the north in May, and 

 after an absence of six or eight weeks they return 

 with their young as soon as the latter are able to 

 fly. The majority of our shore birds annually per- 

 form this double migration ; but there are many 

 species which remain in limited numbers to nest 

 in this country. Amongst these are the Golden 

 Plover, the Ringed Plover, the Oyster-catcher, the 

 Common Sandpiper, the Dunlin, and the Curlew. ; 



The Ringed Plover and the Oyster-catcher remain 

 near the shore, and lay their eggs upon the sand or 

 shingle, as the case may be. The common Sand- 

 piper betakes itself to the north country burnsides, 

 and generally makes its nest at no great distance 

 from the water ; while the Golden Plover, Dunlin, 

 and Curlew go on to the moors and peat-bogs, and 

 bring up their young in the wildest and most unfre- 

 quented spots. 



When walking over the moors in May we have 

 repeatedly startled a Curlew from amongst the tall 

 heather, and have satisfied ourselves on these, as on 

 other occasions, that this wary bird depends more 

 upon the sense of sight than hearing to save itself 

 from its enemies. Ever suspicious, ever on the 

 alert, it is a most difficult bird to stalk unless some 



* See Sir Walter Scott's " Black Dwarf," chap. ii. 



good cover intervenes to screen your approach. 

 Now and then upon the coast you may steal a march 

 upon a flock under shelter of a sea-wall ; but, as a 

 rule, they keep too far out from the shore to be 

 within reach of a gun from the wall. We have found 

 it a good plan to "lay up" at a spot in the usual 

 line of flight about an hour before high water. As 

 soon as the mud is covered, they leave the harbour, 

 calling loudly at intervals to one another as they fly, 

 and by imitating their call, while lying concealed, we 

 have repeatedly brought a Curlew overhead and 

 within shot. Another plan is to go down the har- 

 bour in a gunning-punt, with an ordinary double 

 gun, at low water, and work along the numerous 

 channels which intersect the great mud flats. In 

 this way you can often get, unperceivedly, within 

 shot of a flock of birds, and secure even the wary 

 Curlew. 



On one occasion we were lying in a punt in " a 

 drain " (as the small 'channels in the Sussex har- 

 bours are called) a little below a point where another 

 " drain " intersected it almost at right angles. In 

 the latter we had marked down two Curlews when 

 several hundred yards off, and observed that they 

 were feeding towards the junction of the two 

 " drains." It is always a piece of luck, if birds 

 feed towards you after you have got as near to 

 them as you can without alarming them. And 

 this was the case in the present instance. The 

 Curlews waded up the side of the drain, which was 

 much shallower than the one we were lying in, aud 

 in about ten minutes one of them stepped out upon 

 the flat within twenty yards of the punt, and for a 

 moment seemed perfectly scared. We at once 

 cocked the guu and sat up ; with a weird scream 

 the bird took wing, and in another second fell dead 

 upon the mud. His companion rising out of the 

 drain some yards further off, was only winged, and 

 led us a rare chase over the ooze before he was 

 secured. This incident shows that the Curlew de- 

 pends for safety upon his keen sight, aud not upon 

 his power of scent, otherwise the bird in question 

 would never have walked within a few yards of the 

 punt, which lie could not see until he had stepped 

 upon the bank. 



In the " Zoologist," for 1856, Mr. W. H. Power 

 has given an account of the way in which the fisher- 

 men at Rainham, in Kent, decoy Curlews within 

 shot. They train a red-coloured dog (as much like 

 a fox as possible) to prowl about and attract the 

 attention of the birds while the gunner lies hidden 

 in a dyke. As soon as the birds chase the dog, 

 which they frequently will do, he draws gradually 

 towards his master, until a shot is obtained. Some- 

 times two or three Curlews are killed at a time in 

 this way ; but the plan is said not to answer with y 

 large flock. We can confirm its success, howeve? 

 with a single bird, for we once killed a Heron wh cu 

 we should probably never have got near, had *ot » 



