THE MOSS BIRDS. 



both places his habits are the same ; standing with 

 his restless eye roving all over the country, giving 

 a mournful " currlew " if his eye happens to catch 

 sight of the glint of a gun-barrel anywhere within 

 two miles of him. 



GOLDEN PLOVER. Plentiful in frosty weather, when the snow sends them 

 (Charadrius down from the fells. Their numbers are thinned 

 considerably by the professional gunners. 



pluvialis. ) 



PEEWIT. Of all the birds which may be called "wild fowl," 

 I think the peewit is far and away the commonest. 

 From year's end to year's end, his restless "peewit" 

 is with us, and his numbers never seem to diminish. 

 A fair idea of the numbers of peewits which breed 

 here may be judged when the reader has heard the 

 following true tale. Our village chimney sweeper 

 was sent for to sweep some chimneys which had 

 been annoying us considerably, but he sent the 

 following message back to my father. " Tell Mister 

 Wrigley as I shant sweep no chimbleys so long as 

 tuwits' eggs is agate." Showing that gathering the 

 eggs of the peewit paid him better than his 

 legitimate trade.* 



This brings me to the close of my nojes. In all about 150 

 species have been recorded as Formby Birds ; doubtless there are 



*The Formby man's idea of London is not a bad one. He went up to London by coach seventy 

 years ago, and on _his return he was looked upon as a veritable Captain Cook, and people asked him 

 what London was like: "Oh, ay," he said, "its summut like Formby, a great big stragglin' place, wi' 

 no beginnin' and no endin'." 



