270 WITHIN AN HOUR OF LONDON TOWN. 



attention. When I have seen one I have made 

 the best use of my eyes, for he comes and goes like 

 a flash. Five minutes sums up the longest time 

 that ever I have had the pleasure of observing him 

 at one time, for the bird seems literally to fall from 

 somewhere. When you are in the least expecting 

 or looking for him, there he is before you, and the 

 next moment the bird and his whistle are gone. 

 This restless spirit of activity is not confined to 

 time or place. The green sandpiper is the Wander- 

 ing Jew of his species, for ever moving on. I have 

 seen him on the very tops of the hills, with nothing 

 near him but myself, and I kept well hidden in the 

 tangle. Again I have known him stop close to 

 where a dozen men were moving gravel, just long 

 enough to wonder at the stranger near to them, 

 and then he flashed off. Only once have I seen 

 him, just where one would expect to find him. So 

 far as my experience goes, with the slight oppor- 

 tunities I have had of examining him living, he is 

 the most erratic in his movements of all his family. 

 Most birds, no matter how shy, can be got at by 

 crawling, hiding, and with the aid of good glasses ; 

 but the three combined will not secure you a good 



