BREYDON IN SPRINGTIME 



107 



Other interesting birds that come in May are the godwit, 

 the grey plover, the turnstone, and various terns. Rarer than 

 either are the spotted shank, the red-necked phalarope, and 

 the Temminck's stint. A catalogue of all the rare birds that 

 have been seen during this month must include the roseate 

 tern and the black-winged stilt. Several dates are mentioned 

 in connection with the black-tailed godwit, and its smaller 

 relation, the bar-tailed godwit, was at one time quite com- 

 monly met with. I myself have seen seventy at a time ; but 

 it has never been my good fortune to see those great influxes 



"TWELFTH OF MAY GODWIT-DAY." BAR-TAILED GODWITS 



the older Breydoners delight to make mention of. But 

 fortunately, whereas the habitual Breydoner may go day after 

 day, and lament the absence of this handsome bird, a 

 stranger may casually look round the day after and see quite 

 a mustering of them. The uncertainty of the thing adds 

 piquancy to the quest. 



The smart grey plover, underclothed with deepest black 

 and with variegated shawl of black and white, is commonly 

 met with, and almost surely begs the visitor's notice by 

 his plaintive calling. He is, to my mind, when in " tip-top " 

 plumage, as handsome a bird as one can meet with in a long 

 day's march. 



The late Fielding Harmer, noting the black-winged stilt, 



