48 DECEMBER OUT-OF-DOORS. 



over the ice that covered the small pond 

 back of the beach. I put up my glass and 

 said to myself, "A killdeer plover !" There 

 proved to be two birds. They would not 

 suffer me within gunshot, though I car- 

 ried no gun, but flew off into some 

 ploughed ground, with their usual loud vo- 

 ciferations. (The killdeer is aptly named 

 ^Egialitis vocifera.^ 



During the month with the history of 

 which we are now especially concerned, I 

 saw nothing more of them ; but by way of 

 completing the story I may add that on the 

 28th of January, in the same spot, I found 

 a flock of seven, and there they remained. 

 I visited them four times in February and 

 once in March, and found them invariably in 

 the same place. Evidently they had no idea 

 of making another attempt to reach the 

 West Indies for this season; and if they 

 were to remain in our latitude, they could 

 hardly have selected a more desirable loca- 

 tion. The marsh, or meadow, was sheltered 

 and sunny, while the best protected corner 

 was at the same time one of those peculiarly 

 springy spots in which the grass keeps green 

 the winter through. Here, then, these seven 



