THE BROWN-BACK 147 
sea; but whatever the reason the fact remains. 
Those which do visit us are less inclined to 
hurry their departure than in the spring when 
untrammeled by young birds of limited flight 
powers. 
If the gunner’s good genius leads him to the 
beach on the day of their arrival he may chance 
to have some sport that will long be remem- 
bered. Down on some long sandbar in the early 
morning, snug in his shallow pit or grass-hid- 
den blind with his life-like bunch of decoys set 
twenty yards or so away, the lucky fellow is 
almost certain to make a good bag of birds. 
In the air their flocks are the most compact 
of all the bay birds, and in search of food they 
pass over the beach and waves at from ten to 
fifteen feet above the surface. Their migra- 
tory flights are often made at a considerable 
height, though if a whistle can reach them they 
are apt to come down for investigation. Hear- 
ing the mimicry of their own notes and anxious 
to aid those who have been cut down by the dis- 
charge they will return to the decoys not once 
but many times until the flock has been sadly 
reduced. 
In the west there is a variety of this bird 
