500 TOTANUS SOLITARIUS, SOLITARY TATTLER. 



dozen together; frequently only one at a time; occasionally, but not 

 often, upwards of a score, that seemed, however, to be drawn together 

 by their common tastes in the matter of feeding-grounds, rather than 

 by any gTCgarious instinct. They are, moreover, pretty exclusive in 

 their own set; rather declining than encouraging familiarity on the 

 part of other waders ; though the Peetweets and others sometimes 

 intrude hoydenish society upon the more sedate and aristocratic mem- 

 bers of the long-legged circle. They should rightly, however, rather 

 embrace, than merely endure such company, for they are of easy-going, 

 contemplative natures, and their sharper-eyed associates often do them 

 good service in sounding alarms. 



These Tattlers indulge on all occasions a propensity for nodding, like 

 Lord Burleigh or the Chinese mandarins in front of tea shops ; and 

 ■when they see something they cannot quite make out, seem to reason 

 ■with themselves, and finally come to a conclusion in this way ; impress- 

 ing themselves heavily with a sense of their own logic. They go through 

 the bowing exercise with a gravity that may quite upset that of a disin- 

 terested spectator, and yet all through the performance, so ludicrous in 

 itself, contrive to preserve something of the passive sedateness that 

 marks all their movements. This bobbing of the head and foreparts is 

 the correspondent and counterpart of the still more curious actions of 

 the Spotted Tattlers, or " Tip-ups," as they are aptly called, from this 

 circumstance ; a queer balancing of the body upon the legs, constituting 

 an amusement of which these last-named birds are extremely fond. As 

 often as the Tip-up, or "Teeter-tail," as it is also called, stops in its pur- 

 suit of insects, the fore part of the body is lowered a little, the head 

 drawn in, the legs slightly bent, whilst the hinder parts and tail are 

 alternately hoisted with a peculiar jerk, and drawn down again, with 

 the regularity of clock-work. The movement is more conspicuous in 

 the upward than in the downward i^art of the performance; as if the 

 tail were spring-hinged, in constant danger of flying up, and needing 

 constant presence of mind to keep it down. It is amusing to see an old 

 male in the breeding season busy with this operation. Upon some rock 

 jutting out of the water he stands, swelling with amorous pride aud 

 self sufficiency, puffing out his plumage till he looks twice as big as 

 natural, facing about on his narrow pedestal, and bowing with his hinder 

 parts to all points of the compass. A sensitive and fastidious person 

 might see something derisive, if not actually insulting, in this, and feel 

 as Crusoe may be presumed to have felt when the savages who attacked 

 his ship in canoes showed the signs of contumaceous scorn that DeFoe 

 records. But it would not be worth while to feel offended, since this is 

 only the entirely original and peculiar way the Tip-up has of conducting 

 his courtships. Ornithologists are not agreed upon the useful purpose 

 subserved in this way, and have as yet failed to account for the extraor- 

 dinary performance. The Solitary Tattlers, that we have lost sight of 

 for a moment, are fond of standing motionless in the water when they 

 have satisfied their hunger, or of wading about, up to their bellies, with 

 slow, measured steps. If startled at such times, they rise easily and 

 lightly on wing, fly rather slowly a little distance with dangling legs 

 and outstretched neck, to soon realight and look about with a dazed 

 expression. Just as their feet touch the ground, the long, pointed wings 

 are lifted, till their tips nearly meet above, and are then deliberately 

 folded. The Esquimaux Curlews and some other birds have the same 

 habit. The Tattlers are unusually silent birds ; but when suddenly 

 alarmed, they utter a low and rather pleasing whistle as they fly off, or 

 even without moving. 



