ANXIOUS RING-NECKED PLOVERS. "WHEN THEY CAME TOGETHER" 



CHAPTER XIII 



NORTHWARD WITH THE SHORE-BIRD HOST 



No mortal saw it go ; 

 But 'who doth hear 

 Its summer cheer 

 As itfiitteth to and fro ? 



HOWITT. 



SWIFT and tireless of flight, late in May the hordes 

 of migrant shore-birds are gone as suddenly as they 

 appeared. No one sees them go ; probably the start 

 is in the evening. But by the time we miss them they may 

 be a thousand miles farther to the north, that is, when 

 they have really decided to be on the move. Previously they 

 may have fed leisurely along from beach to beach and marsh 

 to marsh, recuperating from their long flight across southern 

 seas. But now the vernal influence sounds the clarion call, 

 and they forthwith strike the real limicoline pace. 



Where do they go? Less is known about the breeding 



