UNDER THE MAPLES 



up on the side of a steep mountain. It was tucked 

 in under a mossy tuft and commanded a view of 

 sea and mountain such as Alaska alone can afford. 



But the most conspicuous and interesting of all 

 these lawn birds are the ring-necked plovers, or 

 killdeers. Think of having a half-dozen or more of 

 those wild, shapely creatures, reminiscent of the 

 shore and of the spirit of the tender, glancing April 

 days, running over your lawn but a few yards from 

 you ! Their dovelike heads, their long, slender legs, 

 that curious, mechanical jerking up-and-down 

 movement of their bodies, their shrill, disconsolate 

 cries as they take flight, their beautiful and power- 

 ful wings and tail, and their mastery of the air — 

 all arrest your attention or challenge your admira- 

 tion. They bring the distant and the furtive to 

 your very door. All climes and lands wait upon 

 their wings. They fly around the world. 



The plovers are the favored among birds. 

 Beauty, speed, and immunity from danger from 

 birds of prey are theirs. Ethereal and aerial crea- 

 tures ! Is that the cry of the sea in the bird's voice? 

 Is that the motion of the waves in its body? Is 

 that the restlessness of the surf in its behavior? 



However high and far it may fly, it has to come 

 back to earth as we all do. It comes to our lawn to 

 feed upon earthworms. The other birds are all busy 

 picking up some minute fly or insect that harbors 

 in the grass, but the plover is here for game that 



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