68 BIRDS OF P. E. ISLAND. 



ance. It comes to Prince Edward Island early 

 in May. We see little of it during all the early 

 part of summer, for it is then quietly employed 

 about its nesting, far up the rivers, where islets 

 of bright green marsh grass bestud the silvery 

 border of the tide. When intruded on, it is 

 noisy and excited, flying round the marsh and 

 uttering its loud piercing cries. Its large dark- 

 colored eggs are placed in a carelessly built nest, 

 in a tuft of grass, on the border of the marsh. 

 In September it is common along the shores with 

 the other Sandpipers, the most noisy, wary, and 

 unapproachable of the crowd. 



The Spotted Sandpiper, or " Pee - weet," is our 

 really "home bird" of the family. It is with 

 us the whole summer from May till October, 

 enlivening with its mellow piping every sea - coast 

 pasture in the land. At eve, it is flitting along 

 the shadowed margin of the tide, sounding a rapid 

 note for its mate. At noon, it is swinging in 

 quick, nervous flights over the meadows, where 

 its nesting charge is hid in the scented grass, or 

 quietly foraging for a meal in the turnip patch. 

 Its curious dodging and tilting of its body, as it 

 pursues insects on the shore, its feints aud devices 



