380 THE LIFE OF A BIRD. 



interesting manoeuvre so commonly known of de- 

 coying from the nest, under pretence of being 

 wounded, or so lame as to hold out to the intruder 

 a prospect of a ready capture. To those who are 

 not aware of this artifice, the inevitable result is, 

 that the invader is led far away from the nest, 

 and then, when all chance of its discovery is at an 

 end, the ingenious and affectionate parent bounds 

 into the air on vigorous wings, leaving her pursuer 

 in a transport of surprise and disappointment. 

 The common shell-drake, which is abundantly 

 found in the Orkneys, has got the name, very 

 appropriately, of " sly-goose," from the arts which 

 the natives find it employs to decoy persons 

 away from the neighbourhood of its nest. It 

 frequently feigns lameness, and waddles away with 

 one wing trailing on the ground, thus inducing a 

 pursuit of itself, till, judging its young to be safe 

 from discovery, it suddenly takes flight, and leaves 

 the outwitted Orcadian gaping with surprise. The 

 same artifice is resorted to by the dunlin, by the 

 plover, dotterel, and peewit, and has been often 

 adverted to by naturalists. Man, however, when 

 it is to his interest to do so, surpasses the poor 

 bird in manoeuvring, and actually turns the arti- 



