A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW 
=eg EFORE giving a systematic account 
mB of the many and varied types of 
@ water fowl that pass and repass our 
=a coast every spring and fall, let me 
mention at random a few names, some familiar, 
others strange, from among the number, whose 
more intimate acquaintance will quickly awaken 
a lively interest in this immense but mysterious 
section of our avifauna. 
Among the smallest and commonest is the 
graceful little piping plover, no larger than a 
sparrow, flitting fearlessly along the beach, ap- 
propriately of a sandy-white color above, and 
clear white beneath, which, in the ignorance 
of strict scientific distinctions, may well have 
been the inspiration of Celia Thaxter’s delicate 
poem, ‘‘To a Sandpiper.’’ Another common 
plover, the ‘‘kildeer,’’ is about as large as a 
robin, and is named from the resemblance of 
the sound to its short, wild, dissyllabic cry. 
Besides being found on the coast, the ‘‘kildeer”’ 
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