A Day on the Bay Shore, 



flaps or lobes on the under side of the 

 toes. This bird and another of the 

 family, the northern phalarope, are both 

 found about the bay shore and some- 

 times out on the water far from land. 

 They are especially fond of the pools 

 and inlets about the bay, where they 

 may at times be seen in great numbers, 

 the former species being by far the 

 most numerous. They have one habit 

 which I believe is unique among birds, 

 and which serves to mark them even at 

 a considerable distance. Every now 

 and then, while swimming about, they 

 will stop and whirl around in the water 

 several times, almost as if revolving 

 upon a pivot. I have never been able to 

 ascertain the meaning of this singular 

 trick, which always impresses me as an 

 absurd, though graceful, performance. 

 The phalaropes are, indeed, among the 

 most interesting of the shore birds to 

 me on account of their light, dainty, 

 graceful ways, and their structure, so 

 i similar to that of a wader and yet 



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