21b Moore, Least Sandpiper in the Magdalen Islands. LApril 



Mr. Baily was focussing bis camera within three feet of the nest, 

 she walked up to it and covered the eggs as unconcernedly, as if 

 we were miles away. There were three of us present, talking and 

 conversing, yet she walked right up to our feet and slipped be- 

 tween the tripod legs. Indeed when a time picture of the eggs 

 Avas required, one had to prevent her from walking in and spoil- 

 ing the picture. That she was perfectly at home with us, was 

 proved by the easy, unconscious attitudes she took, often preening 

 her feathers or stretching her wings in the most serene and 

 graceful manner. One foot held up the wing, the other balanced 

 the bird. Poising in this airy fashion she seemed some automaton 

 of a fairy world, rather than an earthly intelligence. (Plate XIV, 

 fig. 4.) 



And she was very intelligent! On June 20 I watched her solve 

 three problems, one provided by the crowded condition of her nest, 

 the others b}^ human interference. Her custom was to run straight 

 into her nest without stopping at the edge. Without hesitation 

 she would step directly on the eggs, each foot on an egg, and then, 

 try to slip the feet between them before settling. But the eggs 

 were so large and the nest so small, that there was little room for 

 her feet. The right foot went down quite easily, but when the 

 left tried, it squeezed and shoved in vain. Realizing that she 

 would not succeed in this way, she made use of her bill, inserting 

 it between the offending eggs and turning the small end of one 

 around. Then she shoved the lining away to the side of the nest 

 near the small end and having made a hole, inserted the foot. Her 

 next move was to coerce a refractory egg under her feathers and 

 then to tear out a piece of Eel-grass that annoyed her. At length 

 content she sank into a wide-spread fluffy condition, the bill sunk, 

 the eyes relaxed, and assumed that glazed appearance, which 

 denotes a brooding bird unconscious of surroundings. (Plate XIV, 

 fig. 3.) And all this happened while my head was within three 

 feet of hers! 



It seemed a pity to disturb her, but I had my own problem for 

 her. Forcing her off, I filled her nest full of sticks and waited. 

 Immediately she came up and ran right over the top of the nest. 

 Stopping on the opposite side, she stood stock still a full minute 

 unable to grasp the changed conditions. Then, for the first time 



