THE CURLEW. 251 



withstanding the supposed connection between a 

 long bill and a suspicious character, 1 and have ex- 

 perienced more real enjoyment in the pursuit of 

 them than many who have never tried it would 

 suppose. To one who is fond of shooting, the 

 various kinds of Sandpipers afford much sport at a 

 time when game is not in season. They fly like 

 Snipe, and require some little exercise of skill to 

 bring them down, especially if crossing rapidly from 

 right to left, or vice versa. Then, they are excellent 

 eating, and are therefore not useless when killed, 

 like many species of sea-birds. Again, to the 

 inquiring naturalist, their various plumages and the 

 seasonal change which each undergoes, their actions 

 and habits, the nature of their food, the different 

 appearance of different species at a distance when 

 on the ground and in the air, the various calls and 

 alarm-notes, afford an endless source of amusement. 

 The greater portion of the flocks which visit us 

 in autumn consists of young birds which are on their 

 way southwards for the winter. The old birds are 

 seen on their way to the north in May, and after an 

 absence of six or eight weeks they return with their 



1 See Sir Walter Scott's Black D-warf^ chap. ii. 



