Children of the Midnight Sun 189 



tinguishable from it at a distance of 10 feet, so there was little danger of the 

 nest being robbed. 



The mother bird was very uneasy when frightened from the eggs. With 

 spread tail and tremulous wings, she fluttered away uttering agonized squeaks 

 until she was about 50 yards distant. Then she would assume a true Sandpiper 

 attitude and cautiously return. If the observer was partly concealed in some 

 depression, she would return directly to her treasures, but she always turned the 

 eggs over with her bill, apparently to see if they were harmed in any way. She 

 then fluffed out her breast feathers and tucked the eggs under her. 



In June, seventeen days after the four fresh eggs were found, a visit to 

 the nest revealed no eggs and but one newly hatched Sandpiper. He must have 

 just escaped from the shell, as his soft speckled down was still wet and be- 

 draggled. The other chicks could not be found until the observer hid, when the 



YOUNG SANDPIPER USING ITS WINGS AS CRUTCHES 



mother hastened over and hovered them as they nestled together in a little 

 hollow not over 5 feet from the nest. Thus, the Sandpipers left the nest the 

 very morning that they were hatched. 



The young Sandpipers' coats consisted of alternate spots of brown and 

 huffish natal down which blended so remarkably with the general brown tone 

 of the tundra as to render the young birds practically invisible as long as they 

 remained motionless. If their exact location was known, they could sometimes 

 be distinguished from their surroundings at a distance of 8 feet; but if their 

 position was not known, they were frequently invisible when only 3 feet dis- 

 tant. The birdman was often compelled to discontinue his search for them 

 because of the danger of stepping on them before they could be seen. 



The gait of the young Sandpipers was a stumbling toddle, while their large 

 feet and legs were all out of proportion to the rest of their slender bodies. By 

 drooping and extending their wings they were able to use them as crutches 

 which often kept them from falling. In spite of this extra pair of legs they 



