THE TURNSTONE. 557 



within short distances of the sea." This nest is a mere de- 

 pression in the moss, slightly lined with dried grasses. The 

 4 eggs, resembling those of the Spotted Sandpiper, are 

 about .92 X. 75, light yellowish-drab, blotched and spotted 

 with dark-umber. Like the rest of the Waders, these birds 

 are greatly excited when disturbed in nidification, flying 

 with a whirring noise, which resembles the wing-strokes of a 

 startled Grouse. 



As it returns along the Atlantic Coast, any time from 

 the last of July till October, it is sometimes seen in im- 

 mense numbers, gyrating about brackish marshes, and 

 appearing in the distance like swarms of bees in search of 

 a place of settlement. Using their bills after the manner of 

 Snipe, they search the soft mud and the debris for their fare 

 of aquatic insects, worms and tiny mollusks. At such 

 times their conversational peep, peep, pip-ip-ip-ip-ip-ip, or ptdee, 

 pidee, dee, dee, is cheerily uttered, and suggests how great 

 is the quiet joy of these little creatures in their natural 

 haunts. 



Considerably less than 6 inches long, the color and gen- 

 eral appearance of this pigmy of its race is very much like 

 that of the Semipalmated Sandpiper, the general effect 

 being darker; and its toes, which are not semipalmated, but 

 divided to the base, are slender and wiry, and so render it 

 readily distinguishable. Many spend the winter in the 

 extreme Southern States. 



THE TURNSTONE. 



As I continue to gaze across the mouth of the creek I spy 

 a pair of most dainty little walkers, treading their way 

 along the pebbly shore, with an ease and elegance, and a 

 pigeon-like motion of the head, most pleasing through the 

 glass which brings them almost to the end of my nose. The 



