COMMON SANDPIPER. 219 
ing on the still water. The birds are most plentiful in 
the Plain soon after they arrive in the country at the 
end of April, and in August when they have left their 
breeding-grounds in the Hills. At the latter season the 
notes of passing birds are often heard after dark in 
places far removed from their usual haunts. 
In East Cheshire, during May, June, and July, the 
Sandpiper abounds not only on the Goyt, Etherow, and 
Dane, but on every streamlet amongst the hills; whilst 
on the margins of the reservoirs in Longdendale, at 
Bosley, and elsewhere, no bird is more plentiful. It 
is even more characteristic of this district than the 
Dipper or Grey Wagtail. By the end of July most of 
the Sandpipers have left the hill streams, and on the 
first of August we have walked from the source of the 
Goyt to Whaley Bridge without seeing a single bird. 
A few frequent the reservoirs, however, until the time 
of migration, about the end of that month or the be- 
ginning of September. 
In May, when the birds are pairing, the cock flies 
round the hen in circles, varying from a few feet to 
a hundred yards in diameter. In the course of this 
flight, which is exceedingly rapid, he rises to a con- 
siderable height, trilling the while his pleasing song. 
Every now and then he swoops down suddenly and 
passes close by the hen, who is apparently litle 
impressed by his extravagant antics. Sometimes he 
runs, with wings raised above his back or drooping by 
his sides, in some exposed situation, such as the top of 
a wall or the trunk of a fallen tree, from which he can 
attract her attention. We have even seen these evolu- 
tions performed on the public road at Goyts Bridge. 
When the eggs are much incubated, the sitting bird, 
on being flushed, slips from the nest and runs for 
