THE STRAND-BIRDS. 143 
the littoral zone. How admirably the light weight of their pro- 
portionally small body suits 
the soft, yielding soil on 
which they have to seek their 
food; how well their long 
legs are adapted for striding 
through the mud of the shal- 
low waters; and their long 
bill and flexible neck, how 
beautifully formed for seiz- 
ing their fugitive prey, ere it 
can bury itself deep enough 
in the safe mud or sand! 
The wonderful art with 
which the feathered inhabi- 
tants of the grove construct 
their nests, we should in vain look for among the Strand-birds, 
but the anxiety they show in protecting their young brood, and 
the stratagems they use to divert the attention of the enemy, 
are after all instincts no less admirable than those which prompt 
the Cassique or the Tailor-bird to build their complicated 
dwellings. Thus on the approach of any person to its nest, the 
Lapwing flutters round his head with great inquietude, and if 
he persists in advancing, it will endeavour to draw him away by 
running along the ground as if lame, and thereby inviting pur- 
suit. The Golden Plover also, when it sees an enemy—man or 
dog—approach, does not await their arrival, but advances to 
meet them. Then suddenly rising with a shrill ery, as if just 
disturbed from its nest, it flutters along the ground as if crippled, 
and entices them farther and farther from its young. The dogs, 
expecting to catch an easy prey, follow the lame bird, which 
suddenly, however, flies off with lightning speed, and leaves its 
disappointed pursuers on the beach. The discovery of the 
nest is rendered still more difficult by the colour and markings 
of the eggs assimilating so closely to that of the ground and 
surrounding herbage. 
The Scoopers, Oyster-catchers, Avosets, and other strand-birds 
have recourse to similar stratagems for the protection of their 
young. In New Zealand, the French naturalists, Quoy and 
Gaimard, were deceived by an oyster-catcher, which, having 
