Bartramian Sandpiper. 37 



close to me on the other Bide of the hedge, as though to 

 tantalize and mislead me. Oiten have I climbed through 

 Si hedge and gone in search of a nest near a spot where I 

 had seen a sandpiper alight, but the birds never thus re- 

 vealed to me the source of their whistled content. 



When these birds are mated — and they are seldom seen 

 otherwise in this locality in the early part of the summer 

 — they evince wonderful attachment and faithfulness to 

 each other. Should either of them espy the approach of 

 an intruder, and sound the prolonged mellow whistle, the 

 other bird is certain to appear soon and to add its eflbrts 

 to those of its mate in attempting to mislead and baffle 

 their disturber. One does not seem to care to be in close 

 proximity to the other, but there seems to be perfect 

 understanding and confidence between them ; and when 

 one alights and threads its way among the grass tufts, the 

 other does not impatiently follow it. Indeed, the move- 

 ments of either bird on the ground are always leisurely 

 enough to attract notice to this mutual trust. I have 

 sometimes waited many minutes for one to fly after it 

 had alighted in a spot favorable for observation. I once 

 watched a bird that remained in one spot during the 

 time in which I ate my lunch, and I have looked so long 

 at one that my eyes became fatigued because of the mim- 

 icry of the bare spot in which the bird stood. Oftener, 

 however, one will walk quietly and then pause awhile to 

 take observation, again running several steps and then 

 reconnoitering as before. 



Its long slender neck aids the sandpiper in raising its 

 head above the surrounding grass to watch the move- 

 ments of an intruder. Indeed, the slender form of the 

 sandpiper is a feature worthy of note, and this character- 

 istic lends a grace to it which compensates for its lack of 

 striking colors, and we are impelled to regard the bird as 

 handsome even in somber colors. Its delicately balanced 

 head nods gently with the motion of its body as the 

 owner runs between the tufts and peers over the top of 

 the grass, or steps lightly about the narrow limits of a 

 bare area amid the verdure. When suspicious of the in- 

 tentions of an intruder, one of these birds will sometimes 

 alight on a fence-post or in the hedge, the better to observe 



