The Marbled Godwit 



they look like benevolent spooks, visitors from No-Country, as they 

 alternately gaze upon me with steadfast, benignant eye, or fall to gobbling 

 sand-fleas. The Turnstones, their voluntary wards, are first fearful, then 

 frantic, as the distance between us lessens, and they fly away presently, 

 shrieking that they have been betrayed, while the "good wights" them- 

 selves only edge away decorously. 



It was a pretty sight to see three Long-billed Curlews, a Hudsonian 

 or "Jack" Curlew, and two Marbled Godwits in bathing together. Again 

 and again they soused themselves in the shallow pool or stood thigh-deep 

 and splashed the water vigorously with their wings. Once the "Jack" 

 squatted down and lay, chin-deep, upon the water, and with his back 

 nearly awash, as though determined to get a good soaking. One of the 

 Godwits "had a bite," and retiring to a shallow spot stood on one leg and 

 kicked the base of his bill vigorously with the free foot at least forty times 

 in succession. (Try that, boys!) After elaborate preening and a little 

 bug-catching, ashore, the Long-bills said, "Well, boys, we must be going. 

 One, two, three!" and rose together. The other birds looked dubious for 

 a moment but decided to take a nap instead. 



On the 14th of October, 191 1, the day before "Opening Day," Dr. 

 B. F. Alden was showing the birdman the courtesies of the "Empire" 

 grounds, in Monterey County, and kindly volunteering the role of photog- 

 rapher's assistant. Pond "Ten" had a few ducks on it and something 

 which interested us a great deal more, viz., Marbled Godwits, a dozen or 

 more of them. The pond was really little more than flooded grass-land, 

 and in this the Godwits delighted to stalk, or on the more solid portions 

 to squat at rest. I refused several chances at them at decent range on 

 account of the green background, which will not "take." If not pressed 

 too hard, the birds, I found, would simply sneak away through the tall 

 grass and not fly at all; but if they did fly, instead of breasting the wind 

 or rising above the skyline, for a fair mark, they indulged in the repre- 

 hensible habit of letting go suddenly and whisking down wind quite out 

 of range. The bird reserved for this occasion a childish and most ridicu- 

 lous squawk which by no means relieved the tension of my nerves. 



Tired at last of pursuing these elusive fowls, I turned my attention 

 to an alluring little company of Northern Phalaropes playing on the water 

 at my feet. I had just released the shutter on a group of these and was 

 changing the plateholder, when I caught sight of my companion right in 

 the range of my recent efforts, but a long ways off. The good doctor, 

 supposing that I was still on the job, had succeeded in outflanking the 

 enemy, and judging now that I was fully ready, made a rush at the juiciest 

 bunch of Godwits I shall ever see. I shouted and — well, never mind if I 

 did. It was enough to make angels weep to see fifteen Godwits rise in a 



1261 



