200 THE PLOUGHING 



Waders, the Redshank when on the ground is dis- 

 tinguished from most of them by its long straight bill 

 and long reddish legs, besides being, in common with 

 the Greenshank, of a more elegant and upright figure 

 than most of its kinsmen. When feeding, it moves 

 soberly about the margins of the shallows, picking 

 its food apparently from the surface only. At 

 rest, it stands, stork-like, upon one leg for indefinite 

 periods. During my approach, I observed that 

 one of the Redshanks swam across a gutter, and 

 when I was about fifty yards from them, the birds 

 rose quickly, crying "Tyo! tyo! tyo!" as they 

 mounted in tolerably high flight. During flight, the 

 white of the lower back, of the secondaries, and of 

 the underwings generally, shows conspicuously. 

 The flight itself is highly erratic ; now the birds circle 

 out with wavering wings, using a deep down-stroke 

 which gives them a hooked appearance when the 

 birds are seen end-on ; now they pelt ahead with 

 something of the Snipe's chopping, twisting flight. 



They are continually altering their formation, and 

 do not wheel, but change front instantly, at one time 

 their brown upper parts, at another their white under 

 ones, coming into view with beautiful simultaneity of 

 change. When they drop they use a swift, zigzagging 

 motion, cutting from side to side like a piece of paper 

 floating to the ground, but with an impetuosity 

 which the latter naturally fails to exhibit. 



Black -headed Gulls first-year birds crudely 

 mottled with brown and without the distinguishing 

 black head ; others, white below and more evenly 

 coloured on the mantle, with a black terminal 

 bar to their tails, and a darkening at their throats 



