468 The Water-fowl Family 



monly with the small fry, and can generally be 

 seen among flocks of peep, feeding at the water's 

 edge on the flats and beaches, gentle and unsus- 

 pecting, paying little attention to the outside 

 world. Running rapidly, perhaps stopping to 

 take in the situation, when, if occasion require, it 

 takes graceful wing and speeds to some safe spot. 

 The ring-neck looks much like a miniature kill- 

 deer, and on dark sand is often difficult to notice, 

 provided the bird remains motionless. While 

 partial to the shore, this species is found inland 

 on nearly any small body of water, seeking its 

 food of little water insects and bugs or tiny shell- 

 fish at the edge of the beach. If the flock is 

 startled, all take flight at the instant, showing 

 dark as the light strikes the back, and white 

 when the breasts suddenly turn into sight. These 

 birds pass far to the north, breeding within the 

 Arctic circle, on the interior watercourses, and 

 near the coast, from Greenland to Alaska. The 

 nest is on the ground, where a -little hollow is 

 scooped out for the eggs, and these are placed on 

 dead leaves, the parents guarding well their treas- 

 ure, and when the chicks are hatched, showing 

 every devotion to them. Late in July we see 

 them throughout our boundaries, and by early 

 August some have reached the coast of Florida. 

 They keep on the southern journey through the 

 West Indies to South America, scattering through 



