Song Birds and Water Fowl 



extends far inland and is to be seen along fresh 

 water - courses, like the spotted sandpiper. 

 The handsomest of the sort is the golden 

 plover, and one of the finest game birds. There 

 is one almost invariable rule in bird plumage, 

 of which the golden plover is an exception. If 

 the ordinary student of birds bethinks him- 

 self, he will probably be unable to recall a sin- 

 gle instance wherein the under side of a bird's 

 body is of a darker color than the upper. A 

 few species are of a uniform tint throughout, 

 but where upper and under sides are different, 

 the latter, almost without exception, is notice- 

 ably lighter. Among song birds it is quite 

 common for the upper plumage to have various 

 rich shades, and the under to be white. The 

 golden plover is one of the rare exceptions in 

 this respect; and, in full plumage of the breed- 

 ing season, it presents a striking appearance in 

 its garb of speckled golden yellow above, and 

 pure black beneath. Like the plover, the best 

 of our other game birds are also in the group of 

 water fowl, such as woodcock and snipe, which 

 two, however, are only on the border of the 

 division. 



As a class, water fowl are much more wary 

 than land birds, and one of the most difficult 



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