at dusk. Fog bewilders them, and no bird, 

 except a plover, likes to fly in rain, because 

 ^ TOi/dT^ucA it makes the feathers heavy ; so on foggy or 

 rainy afternoons they come in early, or not 

 at all. The favorite feeding ground is a salt 

 marsh, with springs and creeks of brackish 

 water. Seeds, roots, tender grasses, and snails 

 and insects in the mud left by low tide are 

 their usual winter food. When these grow 

 scarce they betake themselves to the mussel 

 beds with the coots; their flesh in conse- 

 quence becomes strong and fishy. 



When the first birds come in to the feed- 

 ing grounds before dark, they do it with the 

 greatest caution, examining not only the little 

 pond or creek, but the whole neighborhood 

 before lighting. The birds that follow trust 

 to the inspection of these first comers, and 

 generally fly straight in. For this reason it 

 is well for one who attempts to. see them at 

 this time to have live decoys and, if pos- 

 sible, to have his blind built several days in 

 advance, in order that the birds which may 

 have been feeding in the place shall see no 

 unusual object when they come in. 



