io A BIRD COLLECTOR'S MEDLEY. 



enough, were present in some numbers on the links. The pose of each species 

 was the same, but the resemblance ceased as soon as the birds moved, the 

 Dotterels progressing with the ordinary smart run of a Plover, quite unlike 

 the ponderous hopping of a Thrush. The only adult Dotterel I have ever 

 secured was shot off shingle in Norfolk, and when I first saw it running 

 ahead of me, it appeared so small that I took it for a large Pipit ; more- 

 over it looked dark even for a Dotterel. I have always regarded it as a 

 great piece of luck to have picked up on the shore in September a bird 

 which one associates mainly with the barren hills of the Lake District or 

 the Highlands. 



A Temminck's Stint was shot near the same spot ; and this strip of shingle, 

 the same which produced the Buff-breasted Sandpiper, is now known to us as 

 the " Historic Strip." 



If, as in the case of my pet Norfolk estuary, the district happens to 

 possess a proper sand-bar, an occasional day spent there will not be wasted. 

 Even if the shooter has no boat, he can sit down on a sand-spit or on one of 

 the buoys, which will be left stranded at low water, and, though it may be 

 necessary to wait long for a shot, the chance that comes at last will very likely 

 be a good one. My brother Brandon was always enamoured of the bar, and 

 spent hours there at various times, partly, no doubt, attracted by the lonely 

 grandeur of the scene. His opportunity came at last, and he took it. 

 Flapping slowly along the edge of the breakers, there sailed into view a bird 

 which appeared "half Gull, half Tern." A fortunate shot precipitated it into 

 the water, and while the wind fought the tide and kept it nearly stationary, 

 he undressed and managed to retrieve it before it was carried out. It proved 

 to be a Little Gull, very immature, but for that reason a most beautiful bird. 

 In general colouring it was not unlike an immature Black Tern, but the 

 markings were bolder and much more effective. 



The bar is the recognized resort of any Skua that happens to be in 

 the neighbourhood, but of the Skua more anon. It is also the most likely 

 place for a Black Tern or a Sandwich, though the former often wanders 

 beyond the sea-wall, and can be seen hawking over the fresh marshes inside. 

 It is visited at times by Gannets; stray Cormorants cross it, and Shearwaters 

 pass it, but usually out of range. There is always a reasonable chance 

 of meeting with some Sheld-Duck, birds which breed in the adjacent sandhills, 

 and may be seen in spring time escorting their broods down to the shallow 

 water at their base. 



In rough weather still more oceanic birds put in an appearance to 

 recoup after their wild struggle with the elements, and amidst the ordinary 





