﻿136 
  

  

  BIRDS. 
  

  

  already 
  mentioned, 
  which 
  showed 
  unusual 
  abundance 
  of 
  the 
  red- 
  

   seeding 
  sorrel. 
  

  

  ' 
  " 
  There 
  he 
  is 
  ! 
  a 
  pair 
  ! 
  " 
  as 
  first 
  one, 
  and 
  then 
  another. 
  Sand 
  

   Grouse 
  rose 
  heavily 
  about 
  eighty 
  yards 
  ahead, 
  flying 
  low, 
  bulking 
  

   decidedly 
  large, 
  looking 
  very 
  dark 
  in 
  colour, 
  and 
  at 
  first 
  silent. 
  Both 
  

   birds 
  wheeled 
  round, 
  and 
  crossed 
  close 
  to 
  us 
  — 
  say 
  thirty 
  to 
  forty 
  

   yards 
  off 
  — 
  " 
  wheepling 
  " 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  low 
  tone 
  we 
  heard 
  yester- 
  

   day. 
  The 
  sound 
  was 
  perfectly 
  indistinguishable 
  from 
  that 
  heard 
  

   yesterday, 
  when 
  the 
  flock 
  of 
  twenty-six 
  passed 
  at 
  a 
  very 
  much 
  

   greater 
  distance 
  off. 
  Was 
  it 
  the 
  male 
  or 
  the 
  female 
  that 
  uttered 
  

   it 
  1 
  ? 
  I 
  cannot 
  say. 
  They 
  flew 
  no 
  great 
  distance, 
  and 
  did 
  not 
  

   leave 
  the 
  same 
  hollow. 
  We 
  lay 
  down, 
  and 
  ere 
  long 
  they 
  came 
  

   round 
  and 
  alighted 
  about 
  one 
  hundred 
  yards 
  off 
  ; 
  and 
  this 
  time 
  

   we 
  got 
  our 
  binoculars 
  upon 
  them. 
  They 
  seemed 
  suspicious, 
  the 
  

   hen 
  running 
  with 
  head 
  lowered, 
  the 
  cock 
  sitting 
  very 
  upright, 
  and 
  

   motionless 
  for 
  quite 
  a 
  quarter 
  of 
  an 
  hour. 
  Had 
  they 
  eggs 
  1 
  The 
  

   hen 
  ran, 
  and 
  was 
  shortly 
  out 
  of 
  sight 
  behind 
  a 
  small 
  sand-hillock. 
  

   In 
  a 
  little 
  the 
  cock 
  followed, 
  running 
  with 
  an 
  awkward 
  waddling 
  

   gait, 
  and 
  likewise 
  disappearing. 
  After 
  a 
  time, 
  slowly 
  we 
  rose, 
  and 
  

   taking 
  every 
  advantage 
  possible 
  of 
  the 
  hummocks 
  among 
  the 
  

   pebble-strewn 
  hollows, 
  we 
  stalked 
  carefully 
  forward. 
  About 
  fifty 
  

   yards 
  we 
  had 
  accomplished, 
  and 
  then 
  we 
  saw 
  both 
  birds 
  run 
  

   crouching 
  over 
  a 
  low 
  ridge 
  of 
  sand 
  and 
  disappear. 
  We 
  ran 
  for- 
  

   ward, 
  but 
  they 
  must 
  have 
  gone 
  on, 
  as 
  swiftly 
  as 
  we 
  ran, 
  for 
  the 
  

   distance 
  was 
  kept 
  up 
  fully, 
  and 
  they 
  rose 
  again. 
  We 
  found 
  their 
  

   footprints 
  in 
  the 
  shifting 
  fine 
  sand 
  of 
  the 
  slope, 
  and 
  indeed 
  all 
  

   over 
  this 
  hollow, 
  which 
  bore 
  abundant 
  evidence 
  of 
  their 
  presence, 
  

   and 
  of 
  the 
  proprietorial 
  rights 
  of 
  the 
  birds. 
  A 
  rich 
  amount 
  of 
  

   feeding 
  of 
  sorrel 
  seed 
  was 
  everywhere 
  present. 
  Their 
  tracks 
  on 
  

   harder 
  sand 
  or 
  soil 
  are 
  more 
  like 
  those 
  of 
  mice 
  than 
  of 
  birds. 
  In 
  

   loose 
  sand 
  the 
  tracks 
  were 
  mere 
  oval 
  hollows 
  not 
  clearly 
  defined, 
  

   the 
  sand, 
  as 
  in 
  a 
  sand-glass, 
  running 
  towards 
  the 
  centre 
  and 
  

   obliterating 
  the 
  toe-marks. 
  When 
  walking 
  slowly, 
  the 
  prints 
  

   were 
  quite 
  three 
  inches 
  apart, 
  but 
  on 
  the 
  slope, 
  where 
  we 
  saw 
  

   both 
  birds 
  run 
  rapidly, 
  they 
  were 
  not 
  more 
  than 
  one 
  inch 
  apart. 
  

   The 
  gait 
  was 
  rather 
  awkward, 
  duck-like, 
  and 
  clumsy. 
  Perhaps 
  

   nothing 
  could 
  give 
  a 
  better 
  idea 
  of 
  the 
  footprint 
  in 
  loose 
  sand 
  

   than 
  the 
  under 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  scale 
  of 
  a 
  Black 
  Bass. 
  

  

  ' 
  Scarcely 
  had 
  we 
  topped 
  the 
  next 
  ridge 
  than 
  up 
  sprang 
  a 
  single 
  

  

  