THE COMMON SANDPIPER. 429 



song — its note being simply a piping, which some people 

 consider the utterance of one of its provincial names, 

 "Willy Wicket" — it may nevertheless be pronounced an 

 accomplished bird. It flies rapidly and in a tortuous 

 course, likely to puzzle any but the keenest shot ; it runs 

 with remarkable nimbleness, so that if a sportsman has 

 marked it down, it will probably rise many yards away 

 from the spot; it can swim if so inclined; and when hard 

 pressed by a Hawk, it has been seen to dive and remain 

 under water until all danger had passed away. It has 

 never been observed to perch on the twigs of trees, but it 

 has been noticed running along the stumps and projecting 

 roots of trees. Its favourite places of resort are withy 

 holts (where it searches for food in the shallow drains), 

 moss-covered stones in rivers, the shallow banks of lakes, 

 and the flat marshy places intersected by drains, which in 

 low countries often skirt the sea-shore. Its food consists 

 of small worms and the larvae and pupae of the countless 

 insects which spend their lives in such localities. It may 

 be presumed, too, that many a perfect winged insect enters 

 into its dietary, for its activity is very great. Even when 

 its legs are not in motion, which does not often happen, 

 its body is in a perpetual state of agitation, the vibration 

 of the tail being most conspicuous. 



Sandpipers do not congregate like many others of the 

 Waders ; they come to us generally in pairs, and do not 

 appear to flock together even when preparing to migrate. 

 The nest is a slight depression in the ground, most fre- 

 quently well concealed by rushes or other tufted foliage, and 

 is constructed of a few dry leaves, stalks of grass, and scraps 

 of moss. The Sandpiper lays four eggs, which are large, 

 and quite disproportionate to the size of the bird. Indeed, 

 but for their peculiar pear-sha23ed form, which allows of 

 their being placed so as to occupy a small space with the 

 pointed ends all together, the bird would scarcely be able to 

 cover them. The parent bird exhibits the same marvellous 



