SANDPIPERS, QUAIL, AND KILDEER 
for, alas ! this also was late in the afternoon, 
too late for good work with the camera. 
The mother quail disappeared instantly in 
the underbrush, giving a peculiar call, 
and all the brood vanished into the earth 
somewhere. At least so protective is their 
coloring, and so perfectly were these day- 
old babies trained to obey, that hunt as we 
would we were able to find but one of the 
many. This one flattened himself on a 
bare spot of earth, shut his eyes, and re- 
mained motionless. When picked up, he 
cuddled down contentedly in my little 
daughter's hand, and tried to look pleas- 
ant" for h is picture. 
It is often most difficult to pose these 
lively bird babies ; some — notably the 
woodpeckers — cannot even squat on a flat 
surface ; some cannot be taught to perch at 
all ; and some, like young bluebirds, persist 
in diving head foremost off any perch, thus 
compelling the would-be-photographer to 
hold a shield under them and break their 
fall. A young coot we caught utterly re- 
