MOVEMENTS OF SHORE-BIRDS 105 
season through, if a shooter ‘‘halves” his cartridges—i.e. six 
birds per dozen cartridges—he does remarkably well. I have 
seen half a dozen shots fired without a bird being bagged ; 
and on another occasion half a dozen birds with the same 
number of shots. In the long run my average will not be far 
out, but only in the case of good shots. Golden plover fly 
exceedingly fast in the dusk, and usually keep low. Green 
plover prefer to keep higher. The latter often afford very 
difficult shots, as they toss and ‘‘squirt” on wing—a habit 
they much practise at evening flight-time. At ordinary times 
the green plover is not a difficult bird to shoot. 
The best plover-flighting is generally enjoyed some few 
fields from the shore, but in many cases they cross river-banks 
where the shooting is free. Plover flight a few minutes earlier 
than duck, as a rule, but the last lots of plover have usually 
not passed before the first duck come in. Plover always flight 
at dusk, even if the moon rises an hour or so after dark ; so, 
if the wind is suitable, plover-flighting is a certain sport. In 
this habit they differ from duck, which on or about full moon 
often wait until it rises before winging inland, leaving the 
twilight duck-shooter in suspense and wonder as to what they 
are going to do. 
As plover-flighting is not usually a sport enjoyed on the 
coast proper, it is often a duty of the shooter to gain per- 
mission from the inland farmers, or, at all events, those 
occupiers whose tenements adjoin the shore. Where game 
preservation is not strictly in force a permit is usually granted 
by either the landlord or farmer to those persons whom they 
may consider genuine fowlers and not likely to commit an 
offence by taking advantage of the privileges granted and 
shooting the few head of game which the owners and tenants 
of outlandish grounds so much cherish. One of the greatest 
difficulties in the matter of granting a permit to a stranger 
exists in the fact that the applicant may be quite genuine, 
