The Birds Our Friends and Companions 201 



killdeer, snipe, and other plovers, whose habits make them 

 the most interesting of the shore birds, especially need our 

 protection. We have all seen these birds in our walks along 

 the shore. Small and delicate their bodies are ; each one 

 would make scarcely a mouthful, and yet the pot hunters 

 have seemed determined to kill them all. 



How many people ever think of the quail in any other 

 light than as a delicious morsel to be served up on toast 

 for dinner? The quail is not only useful because of the 

 insects which it destroys, but is a most wonderfully inter- 

 esting and attractive bird. If you have ever disturbed a 

 mountain quail with a brood of young, you will never for- 

 get what an interesting sight the mother presented as she 

 strutted back and forth on a log, warning her little ones to 

 keep out of sight. 



Quail eat over a hundred kinds of insects, and happy 



A white heron. 



Finlcy 6* Bohlman 



