Song Birds and Water Fowl 



bodies, and fearfully long, straight necks, as if 

 each one of them had swallowed a ram-rod ; 

 while, farther on, were fully fifty gulls, which 

 now and then gathered in solemn convention 

 on a narrow sand-bar. Standing with their 

 heads all turned in one direction, a more quiet 

 and stupidly attentive audience one never saw ; 

 until, either from a subtle simultaneous impulse, 

 or at a signal from the leader of the meeting, 

 the whole assembly suddenly rose on the wing, 

 broke up into numerous committees, and posted 

 off in all directions. 



Not far from this conclave I stumbled upon a 

 flock of plovers. Brownish above, white be- 

 neath, a distinct black ring around the lower 

 part of the neck, white on the forehead, bounded 

 by black, about seven inches long, a running 

 gait, and a general watery look — these were the 

 external signs that certified the larger of the 

 ring-necked plovers, the smaller species being 

 the piping plover. To save time, I made im- 

 mediate advances toward intimacy ; but at first 

 they showed their decorous training by not al- 

 lowing me to come within beau-shot. At length, 

 however, timidity gave place to confidence, and, 

 in a very mute way, we finally became quite 

 sociable. 



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