The American Avocet 
discovered freezing in the grass. He is an engaging little fellow, as 
dutiful as Casabianca, and as gentle as Pity’s self. Bidden to remain 
quiet, he will not accept even the rudeness of the discovering hand as an 
excuse for disregarding the parental inhibition. I have lifted from the 
ground and placed upon the water a “frozen” chick which suffered itself 
to be blown about like a fallen rose-leaf rather than betray the slightest 
sign of life. In defense of such a child it is no marvel that the mother 
Avocet will do her utmost. The bird in the picture on page 1198 has 
hurled herself from the sky repeatedly, as though to dash out her brains 
on those of the baby’s captor; but each time she has deftly swerved at the 
crisis, and has gone back 
to repeat the operation. 
Yet this same mother, a 
few moments later, has 
changed the line of at¬ 
tack and is doing off a 
skirt dance with all the 
seductiveness of a Pav- 
lowa. Varium et muta- 
bile semper femina. An¬ 
other actress I cannot 
forbear to mention, for 
she (correctly) divined 
our oological proclivi¬ 
ties. Instead of making 
a great disturbance and 
so inciting us to the dis¬ 
covery of her hidden 
chick, she retired to a 
discreet distance and 
crouched ostentatiously 
in the incubating posture 
upon imaginary eggs— 
sat there motionless, too, 
for a considerable stretch 
of time, thus truly simu¬ 
lating nature instead of 
over-acting, and “teeter¬ 
ing,” as both the Kill- 
deer and the Oyster- 
Taken near Los Banos Photo by the Author Catcher are SO Drone tO 
KEEN TO BE OFF ..... . F 
BABY AVOCETS OF THIS SIZE ARE THE MOST WIGGLESOME CREATURES IMAGINABLE QO in llKe ClFCUmStanCeS. 
1202 
