96 NORTH CAROLINA 



was to set down in black and white a com- 

 plete account of the stranger's plumage ; for 

 though I knew it for a phalarope, I must 

 wait to consult a book before naming it more 

 specifically. It would have contributed un- 

 speakably to my peace of mind, just then, 

 had I been better informed about the dis- 

 tinctive peculiarities of the three species 

 which compose the phalarope family; as I 

 certainly would have been, had I received 

 any premonition of what was in store for 

 me. As it was, I must make sure of every 

 possible detail, lest in my ignorance I should 

 overlook some apparently trivial item that 

 might prove, too late, to be all important. 

 So I fell to work, noting the white lower 

 cheek (or should I call it the side of the 

 upper neck?), the black stripe through and 

 behind the eye, the white line just over the 

 eye, the light-colored crown, the rich reddish 

 brown of the nape and the sides of the neck, 

 the white or gray-white under parts, the 

 plain (unbarred) wings, and so on. The 

 particulars need not be rehearsed here. I 

 was possessed by a recollection, or half recol- 

 lection, that the marginal membrane of the 

 toes was a prime mark of distinction (as 



