The Western Sandpiper 
Taken in Washington Photo by the Author 
THE DAY IS FOR REST 
front. All is as merry as wedding bells, and the birdman with his camera 
is trembling with excitement. But suddenly one of the little soldiers is 
smitten with a fear-thought. Like an electric flash it is communicated to 
all his comrades. Instantly, in the dreadful hush which follows, the flock 
takes wing as one bird, and they pass out of hearing, arguing excitedly. 
Ten to one, after they have swept the horizon two or three times, the 
panicky member is outvoted, and the Peeps troop back confidingly to 
resume the pastures which they have just deserted. 
At high tide the little fellows retire to the edges of the flats, where 
they either prepare elaborate toilets or else engage in one-legged slumbers. 
If the tide is too insistent, they do not mind standing in an inch or so of 
water. But it is delight¬ 
fully absurd to see them 
economizing strength by 
the use of only one leg. 
Perhaps they want to 
keep one foot dry, for I 
have seen them hop 
about in a lazy tide pool, 
clearing the surface of 
the water at every jump, 
but never disclosing the 
missing member in the 
process. Or perhaps one 
of them had started a 
boyish dare, with a baby 
limpet as a prize to the 
one that held out long- 
Taken in Santa Barbara Photo by the Author 
FLUTTERING PEEPS 
1249 
