CHAP. xr. A STRANGE BIRD OBSERVED. 215 



" Taking a stroll the other day to the west of the 

 town, with my gun in hand, to get the air, I 

 crossed the sands at the Links, and looking along 

 them I observed a pretty large group of my old 

 and long-loved favourites birds. Wishing, instinct- 

 ively as it were, to know what they were, I went 

 cautiously forward to take a nearer view. I found 

 that they consisted for the most part of ring-dotterels 

 and dunlins, with a few golden plovers. I was 

 somewhat astonished at seeing the plovers, for they 

 are by no means a shore bird with us at this season 

 of the year, nor, in fact, at any time, except when 

 driven by snow. But there they were, and no mis- 

 take. Not yet satisfied, however, for I thought I 

 could distinguish one that did not exactly belong to 

 any of those already mentioned, I wished to go a 

 little nearer, and on doing so was glad to find my 

 conjectures fully confirmed ; but what the stranger 

 was I could not tell. I saw enough, however, to 

 convince me that it was a rare bird. There is no 

 getting an easy shot at a stranger. The dotterels 

 are constantly on the out-look for squalls, and when 

 anything suspicious appears, they immediately rise 

 and fly away. A shot, however, after a good deal of 

 winding and twisting, was fired, and although at 

 rather long range, broke one of the stranger's legs. 

 This had the effect of parting him from his com- 

 panions, they flying seawards, and he to the shingle 

 which intervenes betwixt the sands and the Links. 

 Here he dropped, seemingly to rise no more. 



