GEAND ROMAINE AND OLD ROMAINE 



of a little stream an anxious parent nervously 

 flew about or walked and teetered on the rocks 

 where I landed. Soon her alarm increased and 

 she fluttered within a few feet of me, endeavor- 

 ing to lead me away from her little family of 

 three or four downy chicks that were crouched 

 concealed in the grass. Concealment proving 

 of no avail, they proceeded to run away, wag- 

 ging the posterior parts of their bodies — their 

 tailless tails — like adults. Coming to a pool 

 of water, they swam with ease and grace, sit- 

 ting erect like little ducks. Later in the trip, 

 at Blanc Sablon, I came on another family of 

 young of this species, nearly all full-grown, 

 but still unable to fly. I caught one and put it 

 in the river, where it at once dived and swam 

 under water, using its wings and feet for pro- 

 pulsion. After a short subaqueous flight it rose 

 to the surface, quickly swam to the other 

 side, and walked out on the sand where its 

 anxious mother was awaiting it. It is evi- 

 dent that shorebirds are of water ancestry, 

 and, like the auks with which they are related, 

 they swim and dive before they can fly. The 

 partially webbed feet of some species also show 

 this water ancestry. 



