346 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



twenty yards from the first nest another bird rose before the 

 rope from a nest, also with four eggs. Thus, having obtained 

 all we wanted, and proved that the birds bred there, we aban- 

 doned the search, highly pleased with our discovery. 



There may have been other nests about the marsh, but these 

 birds rose silently, and, flying away about a hundred yards, 

 stood quietly watching us. We saw only these two birds, so 

 probably their mates and those of any other sitting birds were 

 away feeding on the sands, which were bare at the time. 



