214 BRITISH BIRDS. 



northern migration commences in April, and slowly the little birds drift 

 up the coasts, reaching the middle districts of New England early in May, 

 but in North Carolina lingering to the end of the latter month. Their 

 breeding-grounds are reached by the time the snow has melted, and the 

 sun has called into life the millions of insects on which the Stint feeds. 

 When on migration or in their winter-quarters the haunts they prefer are 

 the lowlying coasts. They do not seem to be fond of the sand, but always 

 prefer the black slimy mud, either in the wide marshes near the actual 

 beach, or the low banks of stagnant ponds and rivers. In these situations 

 they often congregate in extensive flocks, but just as frequently one or two 

 may be flushed here and there from the muds. As they rise they utter a 

 loud shrill note, resembling the syllable wick ; and their flight is performed 

 quickly, but in a very erratic manner, the bird turning and twisting from 

 side to side in its impetuous course. They are very tame, and with the 

 smallest amount of caution may be closely approached. It is a pretty 

 sight to watch a large flock of these little Waders on the mud-flats busy in 

 search of food ; they are ever in motion, tripping lightly over the yield- 

 ing, treacherous surface, picking here and there or probing the mud with 

 their bills. When alarmed the entire flock will rise simultaneously as if 

 by a common impulse, and often wheel and gyrate in the air, now turning 

 their backs, anon their glittering white breasts to the observer as they 

 manosuvre before alighting again. It is a very restless little creature, 

 constantly changing its ground, and even when feeding seems full of 

 nervous activity. 



The food of the American Stint is composed of small worms, insects, and 

 larvae, and all kinds of small soft-bodied animals inhabiting the mud, 

 which the bird is incessantly probing. They are also said to feed on the 

 seeds of aquatic and marine plants, and probably various wild fruits are 

 eaten during the summer. A little gravel is swallowed to aid digestion. 



I made the acquaintance of the American Stint last autumn, under- 

 taking a long journey on purpose to interview a large party of Sandpipers 

 resting on migration from their northern breeding-grounds to their southern 

 winter-quarters. Two hundred and fifty miles below Washington, where 

 the Potomac runs into the Atlantic, the shore is interrupted with little 

 creeks, running far inland among the pines, and widening out into lakes 

 hidden by the forests. These chains of lakes and river are full of water at 

 high tide, but at low water are long stretches of half dried-up mud, with a 

 narrow stream winding through them, into which the fishes are condensed 

 in such a compact mass that the water seems alive with them. These 

 creeks are the favourite resort of large flocks of Sandpipers, who stay there 

 a few days to rest and feed in the middle of their migrations. Mr. Beck- 

 ham was kind enough to pilot me down from Washington to one of these 

 charming creeks. It was during the first week of September, almost in 



