Birds by Land and Sea 



sandpiper's egg no doubt accounted for the sturdy 

 way in which they ran hither and thither, feeding as 

 independently as their elders. They come into life 

 wagging their tails, or, at any rate, the place where 

 their tails will some day grow ; and this they do 

 with such vigour that the under part of their bodies 

 is heaved into view at each wag. One would expect 

 such extravagant and perpetual motion to affect the 

 structure of the bird itself, and, since it is more 

 pronounced in the young birds than in the old ones, 

 the habit, no doubt, has a history, and an ancient 

 one. These young birds are clad with down, light- 

 brown above, and white below ; and a clear dark 

 line passes from the base of the bill through the 

 eye, and beyond a feature absent from, or less 

 conspicuous in, grown birds. 



As I continued to advance, the female bird re- 

 ceded, calling to her young ; but the latter paid 

 little heed until the cock, who had hitherto remained 

 silently on his look-out, descended suddenly with 

 vociferous outcry. Then the young ones scampered 

 after the female bird, and, diving under her wings, 

 remained with their four white rumps protruding 

 in the most ludicrous manner. Upon my nearer 

 approach, however, she abandoned them, and I 

 might have caught them, had I wished, or had I 

 not suddenly sunk to my knees in an oozy ditch 

 thatched with specious grasses. There was no 

 attempt on the part of either the old bird or the 

 young ones to escape by swimming or diving, 



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