FIELD-DAYS IN CALIFORNIA 



tion, the madness, the wild fury and riot of the 

 scene. 



The next day it was the same story continued ; 

 and by this time, having consulted my only au- 

 thority, I was ready to say (in my note-book) : 

 "I should think there must be two or three spe- 

 cies, but, of course, it is all guesswork with me. 

 The birds are too distant, and fly too fast." 



On the first day of June I made another entry : 

 " The show is still on. And this afternoon the 

 birds came nearer the shore. The greater part, I 

 think, are dark all over except for the silvery lin- 

 ing of the wings. Others have light under parts, 

 while above they are dark. The all-dark ones 

 look amazingly Uke huge, overgrown swifts — the 

 wings so long, narrow, and sharp, and the bodies 

 (perhaps) bobbin-shaped." 



The next afternoon I was again on the rocks. 

 The same riotous scene ! The same incalculable 

 numbers ! "Also," the pencil writes, "I noted one 

 dark bird with a white head, flying very fast." I 

 still wonder what that could have been, — one of 

 the fulmars not improbably.) Flocks, too, of what 

 appeared to be small white birds were continually 

 flying across my field of vision, all following one 

 course. Sandpipers or plovers I supposed them 

 to be ; but two days later, as will appear, I found 

 reason to revise my opinion. 

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