234 BIRD-LIFE OF THE BORDERS. 



fire at them would be madness; your puntsman would most 

 likely resign office at once in disgust, and a possible prize 

 drifts out of sight, never to appear again. 



With the writer the point has never been in doubt, and 

 however much the necessity may be regretted, the pursuit of 

 sport must be paramount. Otherwise, no one would be 

 found willing to undergo the hard labour and the long cold 

 hours merely on the chance of getting, once in a lifetime, a 

 really "rare bird." This, too, is on the hypothesis that such 

 a creature exists, a proposition which (except relatively) is 

 generally untenable. 



The chief and most interesting fowl met with, beyond the 

 ducks and geese described in the foregoing chapters, are the 



GROUP OF SMALL WADERS. 



three classes known as Divers, Grebes, and Waders. Of these, 

 the latter are by far the most numerous, and are, moreover, 

 creatures of such exquisite grace of form, of plumage, and of 

 motion, as infallibly to engage one's interest and attention. 

 The waders are the earliest migrants to reach our coasts in 

 summer the vanguard of the feathered hosts from northern 

 lands. During the spring and summer months the stretches 

 of tidal ooze and sand lie dreary and almost lifeless. Visit 

 a great estuary in June or July you may ramble for miles 

 around its shores, the scene of the winter's exploits (and failures) , 

 and call to mind the noisy flights of wildfowl seen, and the 

 exciting moments enjoyed, on these very spots in January and 

 February. Now, there is hardly a living creature to enliven the 

 dreary monotony of the wastes. Now and again the glint of a 



