BY CHARLES MUJLRAY ADAMSOX. 13 



birds linger a single day, and as they never did breed in Eng- 

 land, even in its wildest state, they certainly never will now. 



Many species of birds, the Spotted Redshank, Common God- 

 wit, Little Stint, Temminck's Sandpiper, and Pigmy Curlew 

 come to our own coast, almost exclusively in the young state, im- 

 mediately afler being able to fly, and after staying a very short 

 time, perhaps a few days only, leave us never to return. What 

 harm arises from shooting these ? It is quite clear they do not 

 come back. The fact is, that for many of our migratory birds, 

 Geese, Ducks, Sandpipers, and others, the immense morasses in 

 the Xorth of Europe are their summer home ; thither they wend 

 their way, arriving late in May perhaps, and taking only a week 

 to get there, as soon as the grounds are fit for them after the 

 long winter, and then of wh.it consequence is it how many 

 we can capture at this season? Each species differs in some 

 respects ; but after the young of several species are sufficiently 

 strong, in about eight or nine weeks, off they come back again 

 scattering themselves southwards over the face of the earth, not 

 only to find food for themselves but to form food for other crea- 

 tures, and also to afford instruction and amusement to man in 

 studying their habits. Those who are not above doing this 

 are not always unprofitably employed, and any legislation pre- 

 venting this is wrong. "We find this habit also to be common to 

 our summer residents which depart with their young, hatched 

 and reared here, but which return the following spring in about 

 the average number only of previous years, all the rest having 

 most probably formed food for other species during their absence. 

 For this purpose they were made in accordance with one of 

 Nature's laws, and it teaches us that what may be called over 

 protection or care for them often avails nothing. 



I mentioned before that so long as most birds continue in flocks 

 little harm arises from shooting them, and I think this is so. 

 When in flocks they are generally not near their breeding grounds : 

 when they come to these, they generally do so in a quiet and un- 

 obtrusive manner, and spread themselves widely in pairs. 



Birds coming from southern climes to breed with us, take for 



