150 WITH THE SEA-LOVERS 



beautiful family on a river-bank. It was 

 charming to see him flying down the river 

 just above the water, following its windings, 

 now and then springing up into the air with 

 tail spread like a white-tipped fan. 



A fascinating thing about a sandpiper is 

 his exquisite repose. One of these birds will 

 stand the stillest the longest of any bird I 

 know. None of the hurry and drive of the 

 human life about him touches this lovely 

 bird of the shore. I have sometimes watched 

 one whom I had seen alight at the edge of 

 the water till my eyes were tired and my 

 arm ached from holding the glass, and I was 

 almost ready to believe he was one of the 

 pebbles he so much resembled, for while he 

 is still he is absolutely invisible. More than 

 half an hour he will stand perfectly motion- 

 less, apparently in deep meditation, yet 

 plainly not asleep, for if something that he 

 fancies happens to float by in the water, he 

 snatches at it. 



Even in so simple an act as bathing this 

 bird has his peculiar way. One whom I 

 watched waded out into the water, stooped, 

 and threw water over his head in proper 



