1 88 BIRD-LIFE IN A SOUTHERN COUNTY. 



tions of these little Sandpipers are often most in- 

 teresting as the birds rise in compact bunches and, 

 with a chorus of low cries, turn and twist, spread 

 out and close up again, ever seeming on the point 

 of alighting, but without doing so, now looking 

 black against the muds, then suddenly disappear- 

 ing or glinting like animated silver as they simul- 

 taneously turn the white underparts to the sun. 

 There can be no doubt that both the large and 

 the small race of Dunlins frequent the Devonshire 

 coasts. The first to arrive in autumn are the small 

 birds, doubtless the ones that breed in our islands 

 and theif immediate vicinity ; these appear to 

 migrate farther south before winter, and their 

 places are then said to be taken by the large ones. 

 We have not sufficient material at our command 

 to express a very definite opinion upon the matter, 

 but our own observations certainly tend to confirm 

 this. Between the tides, Dunlins often betake 

 themselves to the shingly beaches above high- 

 water mark, there to wait until the mud is again 

 exposed. 



Towards the end of August Ringed Plovers 

 arrive in moderate-sized flocks. These are com- 

 posed of young birds and their parents. Their 



