The Black-necked Stilt 
Taken in Merced County 
apprehensive is the bird of the graving 
necessity, that as often as she leaves the 
nest she will seize loose material and fling 
it over her shoulder for future use. The 
eggs themselves, protectively colored in 
bister and black, are mauled about and 
soiled in the mud; but the day is 
saved. I have seen a Stilt, painfully 
conscious no doubt, squatted on a 
truncated cone of vegetation eight 
inches in height and as broad across 
the top,—a veritable Noah’s ark of safety. 
One other danger the Stilts know 
right well, and that is the wandering hoof 
of careless cattle. In a certain field near 
Los Banos our attention was called to a 
group which occupied a small grass- 
covered island a little off the road. Half 
a dozen cattle stood about in wooden attitudes, while within three feet of 
one of them crouched a Stilt upon her nest. Beside her stood her valiant 
mate, shouting lustily and fluttering his wings frantically to keep off the 
bovines. The cattle did respect the birds’ rights, too, for they sheered 
away from them as they left the island at our approach. Another ani¬ 
mated group we saw at a distance in the same pasture. An excited female 
Stilt was standing on the rim of her nest and sparring with an 
inquisitive calf, df while two of her courageous companions 
were endeavoring to dissuade a steer from further progress. 
Photo by the Author 
“PALE AND TOTTERY” 
- 
Taken in Kern County 
THE SHOW IS OVER 
Photo by Dickey 
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