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tl;eir aviary is about 200 feet in le;\utli, and I like to see them 
flyniL; from end to end. I i^et a few casualties through indi 
viduals occasionally knocking- their heads a.^ainst the wire roof. 
1)UL after a time they learn by experience and avoid doin,^' this. 
They are very tame, and could, if one had the time, soon be 
taught to feed from the hand. 
What I like especially about them is that they are always 
on 7'icw. 'idiere is no skulkini;- as there is with so many of the 
Jvails and Waterhens. My W hite-breasted Waterhens. for 
instance, in summer, when the cover in their aviary is dense, 
are sometimes not seen for weeks at a time, and, then, with these 
and the forei.^'n waders there is much more risk of loss in bad 
weather. Quite recently I have had some very annoyini.;' losses, 
due to the extreme cold, most of the rare birds I have written 
about in B.X. of late havin!..^' now " gone west." although they 
were carefully shut up in sheds at night. And then in the case 
o<" these common birds, they can usually be procured in such 
numbers as to practically ensure one having a true pair or two. 
and I see no reason why any of the birds I have mentioned 
should not go to nest in captivity, and even if their young were 
not fully reared it would be no small triumph to be able to photo 
a clutch of Knots' eggs for instance. The Knot, although a 
very common bird upon the east coast, does not seem to be qtiite 
so numerous on the west side. During a five years' residence 
in the Isle of Man I only met with one or two specimens. I 
liave. however, seen fairly big flocks during the spring migra- 
tion in the Bristol Channel. 
The same remarks apply to the Sanderlings and Curlew- 
Sandpipers, and these were usually only met with in pairs on 
migration in the Isle of Man. 
I met with very large flocks of both these last named 
varieties every year whilst I was in California, but strange to 
say I never saw the Knot, although I believe it has been found 
as far south as Patagonia. All three species seem to have a 
world-v>ide range. In California the Curlew-Sandpiper fre- 
quented the shores of the inland lakes in immense numbers, both 
in the late spring and the early autumn, and were largely shot 
for food, whilst the Sanderling were found in similar numbers 
on the immense sandy beaches of the Pacific. Both birds 
figured on the incims of the restaurants as " Snipe." 
