318 HISTORY OF 



flying, and as their food lies entirely upon the ground, and not 

 on trees or in the air, so they run with great swiftness for 

 their size, and the length of their legs assists their velocity 

 But, as in seeking their food, they are often obliged to change 



flocks, and often heard, passing' very high, in the evening- or by moonlight. 

 But the moment they alight, they are so much fatigued that they resume 

 their flight with much difficulty ; at such times, though they run with 

 swiftness they can be easily turned, and sufficient numbers driven together 

 to enable the fowler to kill several of them with a single shot. They re- 

 main but a short time at one place, and it is not uncommon to find them no 

 longer in the morning, in those marshes, where, the preceding evening, 

 they had been extremely numerous. Their flesh is excellent eating. 



The Sanderlings are found in Eiu-ope, in Asia, in North America, and in 

 New South Wales. They inhabit the sea-shores, and abound, in spring and 

 autumn, both on the cosists of Holland and of tliis country. They are only 

 seen accidentally in countries remote from the sea. There is but one species ; 

 but as these birds, which undergo two moultings, are most frequently seen 

 in their summer plumage, in which red, or reddish, is the predominant 

 colour, while in the winter it is gray, it is not wonderful that naturalists 

 have made a distinct species under the title of Cliaradrius Rubidus. The 

 sanderlings traverse in their periodical migrations a large portion of the 

 globe. But they are only seen accidentally along rivers, which leads to 

 the presumption that their aliment consists of small marine worms and 

 insects. They breed in the North 



The Sea I, arks, a name exceedingly improper, as tending to the confu- 

 sion of two genera so widely remote, never quit the edge of waters, 

 and especially prefer the sea-shore, although they occasionally remove to a 

 considerable distance from it, since they are frequently seen aroimd the 

 lakesand along the rivers of the Vosges and the Pyrenees. They are birds of 

 passage, at least in many countries of Europe. They proceed very far to tlie 

 north ; for they are found in Sweden, on the borders of the Ca-spian Sea, 

 and throughout the whole of Siberia. During winter they are very com. 

 mou both in France and England. The species is named by Latham, Purre 

 Sandpiper. Except during the nestling time, these birds unite in flocks, 

 often so crowded, that a great number of them may be killed by a single shot. 

 Nothing, says Belon, is more wonderful concerning this little bird, than to 

 see five or six hundred dozens of them brought, on a single Saturday, in 

 winter, to the Paris market. They constitute an excellent game, but must 

 be eaten fresh ; they are not, however, destitute of that oily taste, which 

 appertains to almost ail species of aquatic birds. 



The Plovers habitually frequent the sea-coast, the mouths of rivers, and 

 salt marshes. They feed upon Crustacea, and small muUuscous animals, 

 which they catch in the sand along the line of waters, over which they are 

 seen continually flying, uttering a little cry. Many species live solitarily, 

 or in couples ; some others in small flocks. These birds are to be found in 

 almost all the coimtries of the globe, from the equator to the coldest lati- 

 tudes of the northern and southern hemispheres. They are all clad in som- 

 bre colours, the distribution of which is, however, not unpleasing. Most of 

 them undergo a double moulting, and are vested in various liveries, accord- 



