THE RED-LEG 303 



When the guns begin to boom in August, the birds flock ; 

 and though the young birds are nearly as large as the old 

 parents, you shall know them by their lighter-coloured coats. 

 At that season, too, you may come upon a belated cock sitting 

 upon a post, calling to his young, who are feeding in the 

 marsh crops by the waterside. All day and all night you 

 may see the noisy sentinel on a post, calling to the young, 

 and nodding its head. 



At this season marksmen try to shoot them, but only 

 the most experienced gunners kill them, for they cannot be 

 killed when hanging, as would easily appear ; they must be 

 fired into, when they turn away. It is said amongst the 

 gunners they see the flash when hanging, and have ample 

 time to turn away from it. 



Just before harvest they leave the land of their birth, and 

 seek the ever-broken and restless waters. Down there on 

 Breydon flats you may see them on a steaming hot day, when 

 the landscape hangs quivering in the air, and the tide is 

 softly creeping over the flats, playing together and feeding 

 dancing in the rising silvery flood, flying off this way and 

 that in zigzags, their breasts buried in the water as they 

 swim beautiful figures over the tide, their wings hanging 

 loosely by their sides some looking gravely on, others bound- 

 ing with fun and merriment. But the rising waters drive 

 them to the beach, and ere the September moon is full they 

 have joined the other wandering tribes of birds and gone to 

 other lands across the grey sea * and have left the fens to 

 the winter and to me. 



* In Anglesea they winter all the year. In the winter of 1891-92 I saw 

 red-shanks every week. 



