GREENSHANK 349 



shank so incessant in its cry, though its piping alarm-note 

 may be heard if it detects an enemy on the open strand, 

 even at a distance of two or three hundred yards. Young 

 birds are naturally less wary, but even they are very timid. 

 I have seen them take flight at the sound of a train, 

 an electric car, or other vehicle, passing along the coast, 

 while many wading-birds, even the restless Redshanks, con- 

 tinued to feed unconcernedly on the ooze. 



It is, in fact, an exceedingly timid and wary bird, most 

 difficult of approach, though outwardly it appears less excit- 

 able than many other Sandpipers. The peculiar habit, so 

 constant in the group of Totanus, of nodding the head 

 and flirting the tail is not marked to such an extent as in 

 many other species. The numbers which consort together 

 seldom exceed half-a-dozen. When these birds first arrive 

 in early autumn, old and young may be seen together, 

 forming family parties, though when feeding, they usually 

 scatter widely on the ooze. At the slightest provocation 

 the parent-birds take wing, warning the young by their 

 loud piping cries. The latter instantly follow suit, and 

 joining their parents, flit across the sands in search of 

 another feeding-ground. 



This species is rather fond of gullies and drains, the beds 

 of which are composed of slimy, sinking ooze, often black 

 and foul-smelling. Such places are difficult and dangerous 

 to traverse. I have a vivid recollection of once sinking up 

 to my middle in an ooze-flat when endeavouring to pursue 

 a wounded Greenshank, which, despite all my efforts to 

 secure it, floated down the channel and was carried to sea 

 by the ebbing tide. 



But like the Redshank the Greenshank does not confine 

 itself to such localities. It may be met with wading along 

 the edge of a clear fresh-water rivulet near the sea ; rocky 

 coasts are less frequently resorted to, though I have dis- 

 turbed a pair of Greenshanks from a ledge on the face of 

 a high precipitous cliff on the Donegal coast. Groups of 

 these birds often cross over from the mainland to adjacent 

 islands, especially at high water when the sands and ooze- 

 flats are covered. 



This bird can both swim and dive. It has been known, 

 during flight, to plunge repeatedly under the surface of 

 the water to escape the talons of the Falcon (Warren). 

 Like other Sandpipers it occasionally perches on trees. 



Flight. Though very rapid and buoyant on the wing, 



