THE STRAXD-BIRDS. 



143 



Curlew. 



the littoral zone. How admirably the light weight of their pro- 

 portionally small body suits 

 the soft, yielding soil on 

 which they have to seek their 

 food ; how well their long 

 legs are adapted for striding 

 through the mud of the shal- 

 low waters; and their long 

 bill and flexible neck, how 

 beautifully formed for seiz- 

 ing their fugitive prey, ere it 

 can bury itself deep enough 

 . in the safe mud or sand ! 



The wonderful art with 

 which the feathered inhabi- 

 tants of the grove construct 

 their nests, we should in vain look for among the Strand-birds, 

 but the anxiety they show in protecting their young brood, and 

 the stratagems they use to divert the attention of the enemy, 

 are after all instincts no less admirable than those which prompt 

 the Cassique or the Tailor-bird to build their complicated 

 dwellings. Thus on the approach of any person to its nest, the 

 Lapwing flutters round his head with great inquietude, and if 

 he persists in advancing, it will endeavour to draw him away by 

 running along the ground as if lame, and thereby inviting pur- 

 suit. The Golden Plover also, when it sees an enemy — man or 

 dog — approach, does not await their arrival, but advances to 

 meet them. Then suddenly rising with a shrill cry, as if just 

 disturbed from its nest, it flutters along the ground as if crippled, 

 and entices them farther and farther from its young. The dogs, 

 expecting to catch an easy prey, follow the lame bird, which 

 suddenly, however, flies off with lightning speed, and leaves its 

 disappointed pursuers on the beach. The discovery of the 

 nest is rendered still more difficult by the colour and markings 

 of the eggs assimilating so closely to that of the ground and 

 surrounding herbage. 



The Scoopers, Oyster-catchers, Avosets, and other strand-birds 

 have recourse to similar stratagems for the protection of their 

 young. In New Zealand, the French naturalists, Quoy and 

 Gaimard, were deceived by an oyster-catcher, which, having 



