208 WITH NATURE AND A CAMERA. 



surrounding objects, and this they often do with 

 the most remarkable success. I remember a case of 

 a dozen people wandering all over quite a small 

 patch of sand and shingle in search of sea-shells, 

 and yet missing a Ringed Plover's eggs, which, by 

 a miracle, also escaped the much more likely 

 calamity of being trodden upon. I visited the 

 place a few days afterwards, when the young birds 

 had been hatched, and, although I made a systematic 

 search for them, three in number, I failed entirely 

 to discover a single bird. I accordingly retired to 

 a roofless shed sixty yards distant, and well above 

 the little spit of sand and shingle, which I kept 

 under close observation through my field-glasses. 

 In about ten minutes the female ran down from 

 a ridge of rocks, and standing head to wind began 

 to call in sweet low notes. Presently a little grey 

 tuft of down ran swiftly up to her, and disappeared 

 beneath her right wing, and was instantly followed 

 by another which came from an opposite direction, 

 and sought cover by ducking its head and going 

 beneath her puffed out breast feathers. A third 

 darted up, but did not immediately take shelter, 

 although his mother continued to call for him. He 

 dallied for a while in examination of a small pool 

 of water, which was thickly coated with bright 

 green weed and slime, and after picking up, or 

 pretending to do so, one or two morsels of food 

 in the most business-like fashion, retired beneath his 

 mother's sheltering wing, and she ceased to call. 



After a while I dashed down upon them at my 

 utmost speed. The old bird ran straight away 

 for fifteen yards or so, and then began to tumble 

 about and practise her decoying antics. The young 

 ones took their departure each in an opposite 

 direction, and by the time I reached the spot 



