A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW 



[EFORE giving a systematic account 

 of the many and varied types of 

 water fowl that pass and repass our 

 coast every spring and fall, let me 

 mention at random a few names, some familiar, 

 others strange, from among the number, whose 

 more intimate acquaintance will quickly awaken 

 a lively interest in this immense but mysterious 

 section of our avifauna. 



Among the smallest and commonest is the 

 graceful little piping plover, no larger than a 

 sparrow, flitting fearlessly along the beach, ap- 

 propriately of a sandy-white color above, and 

 clear white beneath, which, in the ignorance 

 of strict scientific distinctions, may well have 

 been the inspiration of Celia Thaxter's delicate 

 poem, "To a Sandpiper." Another common 

 plover, the "kildeer," is about as large as a 

 robin, and is named from the resemblance of 

 the sound to its short, wild, dissyllabic cry. 

 Besides being found on the coast, the "kildeer" 



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