524 THE PIPING PLOVER. 



common along the coasts of New England, and may stray 

 even to the Gulf. The species is common also to Europe, 

 breeding in great numbers about the Hebrides. 



THE PIPING PLOVER. 



In suitable places on Mud and Seal Islands, as also at some 

 other points along the shores of the province, the Piping 

 Plover (/Egialites melodus) is a summer resident in small num- 

 bers. It seems entirely to avoid rocks and mud, and never 

 leaves the sea for even the most inviting shores of our great 

 rivers. Clean sand-beaches of the ocean are its chosen resort. 

 Here it attracts attention both by its appearance and by its 

 voice. Of all our little shore birds, this is, perhaps, the 

 most graceful and rapid runner; its tiny feet spinning along 

 the sand, and its light-colored body shooting on in a straight 

 line, so that its form becomes lost to the eye, and only a 

 gliding white spot is visible as the observers along the 

 shore say "like a snow-ball rolling on the sand." The 

 Waders, as a class, are distinguished by their whistling 

 notes; hence the hunter, imitating the voice peculiar to each, 

 " whistles them down," as it is said. The Piping Plover, 

 however, cannot be called a " whistler," nor even a "piper," 

 in an ordinary sense. Its tone has a particularly striking 

 and musical quality. Queep, queep, queep-o, or peep, peep, 

 peep-lo y each syllable being uttered with a separate, distinct, 

 and somewhat long-drawn enunciation, may imitate its 

 peculiar melody the tone of which is round, full, and 

 sweet, reminding one of a high key on an Italian hand- 

 organ, or the hautboy in a church organ. It is always 

 pleasing to the lover of nature's melodies, and in the still 

 air of the evening, it is very impressive. As the Piping 

 Plover is abundant about the dunes along our more south- 

 ern Atlantic Coast, and may be found even to the Gulf of 



