THE GODWITS 527 



blacktailed has been observed by Sonnemann to display in the so- 

 called " injury-feigning " device. At least I understand him to say 

 that it flutters about as if it cannot fly, and runs twenty paces ahead 

 pretending to look for something. 1 



In their feeding habits while on our coasts godwits resemble 

 most of the " boring " Waders, with the flocks of which they mingle 

 at times, although they prefer the company of their own kind. To 

 a certain extent they show a partiality for the company of the oyster- 

 catcher in his raids on the mussel-beds. When feeding in shallow 

 water or on wet sand but recently left by the tide, they insert only 

 the tips of their bills, as the worms and burrowing crustaceans are 

 near the surface. As the water recedes these sink deeper into the 

 sand, and then the long bill of the godwit may be seen to be thrust 

 often its entire length into the sand. They appear to take some of 

 their food from the water, as they may occasionally be seen wading in 

 shallows, and, with their heads held low, working their bills with 

 a short sweeping side to side action. Like all Waders, they balance 

 themselves on one leg while resting, and the Rev. H. A. Macpherson 

 says that, when lazy, the birds may be seen " sidling in (towards the 

 water) on one leg without taking the trouble to let down the other." 2 



Their long legs enable them to continue feeding in the rising tide 

 after most of the other Waders have been floated off their feet. They 

 are, however, not so much at home in the water as for instance the 

 redshank, and long before it reaches their bodies they rise somewhat 

 heavily, one after the other, and uttering their sharp double whistle, 

 wend their way with strong measured beats of their wings to their 

 resting-places. They are swift when once on the wing, and they 

 perform similar evolutions to other species such as golden-plover, 

 dunlin, and knot that form large flocks. Professor Patten says " the 

 velocity with which they can shoot down almost vertically from an 

 immense height to their feeding-grounds is astonishing." 3 



1 Vogel Mitteleuropas, ix. p. 118. 2 Fauna of Lakeland, p. 404. 



' Aquatic Birds, p. 345. 



