FIELD-DAYS IN CALIFORNIA 



ber the story, he had finished his stint, packed 

 his trunks, guns and all, and then, having an 

 hour to spare, strolled out upon the shore. And 

 there, to his unspeakable chagrin, were birds of 

 a kind he had long looked for and never seen ! 

 Surf-birds, he said they were, birds that at that 

 time I had never heard of. 



I forget the remainder of the story, if there 

 was a remainder ; but it impressed me as the 

 height of a collector's tragedy, that he should 

 have missed his one opportunity to secure speci- 

 mens so desirable. 



To this day, according to Mrs. Bailey's *' Hand- 

 book," which is my vade mecum hereabouts, the 

 breeding-grounds of the species are unknown, 

 though an eminent authority upon the birds of 

 the Pacific coast, Mr. L. M. Loomis, assures me 

 that it is not rare during its migrations. Only, 

 he adds, you must know how and where to look 

 for it. Rare or not rare, however ("it has never 

 been found in abundance," is Mrs. Bailey's way 

 of putting the matter), I am glad to have seen it. 

 I may almost say I am proud to have seen it — 

 a bird which no man of science has ever suc- 

 ceeded in detecting at home. Somehow it is im- 

 possible not to feel a certain heightened respect 

 for birds that have succeeded in keeping such a 

 secret in despite of man's insatiable curiosity. 



