BIRDS OP MA.SSACHUSETTS. 357 



ran "Wild in the island, do their part in the work of extermina- 

 tion. The wonder is, that with all their timidity, they have 

 remained so long, but their patience and their attachment to 

 their old haunts will be wearied out, and other means must be 

 found to gratify the epicure's taste, and the sportsman's love 

 of pleasure. The order of nature supplies such game, as a re- 

 source for the pioneers of civilization, while the process of 

 clearing the soil goes on; till the earth is subdued, the deer, 

 the birds, and the fish, supply means of sustaining life. But 

 when agriculture, and the other arts of life, begin to be pur- 

 sued Avith profit and success, these resources cease to be need- 

 ed ; the habits of the hunter are inconsistent with regular in- 

 dustry ; and as the game would only serve to tempt men away 

 from their cares and duties, the forests and streams are desert- 

 ed, and their wild tenants go where there are other adventu- 

 rers who need them. If the gallinaceous tribes can be pre- 

 served, it is by domestication, not by law. Experiments should 

 be made for several years in succession, and if these fail, we 

 must make up our minds to lose them. 



WADING BIRDS. 



The Sanderling, Calidris arenaria^ is an autumnal and 

 winter visiter, which arrives from its northern breeding places 

 in August, and spreads along the coast from Maine to Florida. 

 They are seen in flocks, running in the face of the waves, and 

 uttering a plaintive whistle, as they gather the small shellfish, 

 insects, and other minute animals, with which the beach 

 abounds. This bird obtains much of its subsistence by insert- 

 ing its bill obliquely in the sands ; it does this with great ac- 

 tivity, and when the tide is going down, great numbers of the 

 holes which are made by this process, are seen upon the wet 

 beach. They can run very fast upon the sands ; their flight is 



