DUNLUIN 289 
breeding-quarters. At no time of the year is this species 
absent from our shores. Large numbers remain throughout 
the winter, and even in midsummer ! wisps of considerable 
sizes, of non-breeding birds may be noticed. The Dunlin 
is by far the most abundant of the so-called ‘ Sand-Larks.’ 
Its presence, in almost countless numbers, enlivens the 
dreary expanses of ooze and mud-flat which are exposed at 
low water. 
So plentifully and widely distributed are the flocks 
on the beach, that the most casual observer cannot fail 
to acquaint himself with these active and dainty little 
creatures as they run hither and thither in search of food. 
They are nearly always on the move. At one time we find 
them clustered in a great assemblage on the dry sand, above 
high-water mark ; at other times we see them darting about 
with lowered heads, probing their beaks intently in the soft 
estuarine mud. Again, they may be observed ‘ lining out’ 
along the fringe of the breakers ; a few, more venturesome 
than the rest, wade so deeply that they are almost taken 
off their feet, while others flit into the air to avoid the 
splash of the approaching wave. 
Dunlins are sociable and comparatively unsuspicious in 
their habits, especially the immature birds in autumn.’ 
They can often be approached close enough to detect, with 
' I have noticed flocks, varying in numbers from thirty to several 
hundreds, remain throughout the summer along different parts of the 
British coast. On July 25th, 1900, I saw a gigantie flock feeding on 
the slob-lands of the Dublin coast. All the birds were in nuptial dress, 
with conspicuous black breasts, and were very tame. 
? In the early part of the season, viz., between the latter part of July 
and the beginning of September, I have observed immature Dunlins 
so tame as to allow me to get within five yards of them. 
As late as November 11th, 1900, I have come across a flock of newly 
arrived migrants, all very tame. On April 29th, 1900, I watched thou- 
sands of tame Dunlins (nearly all in full nuptial dress), on the ooze-flats 
of Dublin Bay. As I lay flat on my chest, partly concealed by a tuft 
of rushes, I could see the birds flitting hither and thither all round me, 
some of them flying for a short distance out to sea, to return to the same 
resting-spot again. 
Concerning the tameness of these birds on certain occasions, Mr. A. 
Williams writes :—‘‘On October 31st, 1867, at6 o’clock a.m., I walked 
quietly over the ooze-flats of Dublin Bay. In the dim morning light I 
discerned a large flock of Dunlins, the out-standing birds allowing me to 
approach within three yards of them. For several minutes I rested and 
admired the little creatures assiduously probing in the mud and running 
about almost around my feet.” 
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