202 A GREAT BLUE HERON. 



otherwise, of course, had I been armed ; but 

 of that I felt by no means certain at the 

 time, and my doubts were strengthened by 

 an occurrence which happened a month or 

 so afterward. 



I was crossing the beach at Nahant with 

 a friend when we stole upon a pair of golden 

 plovers, birds that both of us were very 

 happy to see. The splendid old-gold spot- 

 ting of their backs was plain enough ; but 

 immature black-bellied plovers are adorned 

 in a similar manner, and it was necessary 

 for us to see the rumps of our birds before 

 we could be sure of their identity. So, 

 after we had scrutinized them as long as we 

 wished, I asked my companion to put them 

 up while I should keep my glass upon their 

 backs and make certain of the color of their 

 rumps as they opened their wings. We 

 were already within a very few paces of 

 them, but they ran before him as he ad- 

 vanced, and in the end he had almost to 

 tread on them. 



The golden plover is not so unapproacha- 

 ble as the great blue heron, I suppose, but 

 from what sportsmen tell me about him I am 

 confident that he cannot be in the habit of 



