THE WESTERN SANDPIPER. 663 
ber is outvoted, and the Peeps troop back confidingly to resume the pastures 
which they have just deserted. 
Nothing, to my mind, could exceed the flattery implied by the near ap- 
proach of these trustful creatures. If the compliment were really deserved, 
the cunning little souls would undoubtedly respond to the most familiar ad- 
vances short of actual handling. Slaughter in the name of science may still 
be justifiable, tho there be those of us who have passed up the solution of 
many nice problems here; but slaughter of these innocents in the name of 
Taken at La Pusl:. Photo by the Author. 
THE BANQUETING FAIRIES. 
sport is mere Philistinism. The Italian method of hunting is to shoot every- 
thing in sight. Asa result sunny Italy is a birdless desert in summer, and a 
nightmare during migrations. 
The Alaskan tundras are the summer home of our little guest, and we 
may perhaps be interested to follow him with Mr. Nelson’s eyes: “The warm 
days toward the close of May cause the brown slopes and flats to assume a 
shade of green, and among the many pretty bird-romances going on under our 
eyes none is more charming than the courtship of this delicate Sandpiper. 
They have forsaken the borders of icy pools, and, in twos and threes, are 
