. The American natural history; a foundation of useful knowledge of the higher animals of North America. Natural history. 'PEEPS" AND "OX-EYES' 135 As the green-topped surf dashes to pieces on the pebbles and goes sliding in a silvery sheet up the yellow sand, you will notice just above its frothy edge a flock of httle gray sprites, their tiny legs twinkling as they patter swiftly over the smooth floor. Sometimes the sliding sheet of water overtakes them. If it is nearly spent, they mind it not; but if the rush is too strong, up springs the flock, all members at the same instant, and
. The American natural history; a foundation of useful knowledge of the higher animals of North America. Natural history. 'PEEPS" AND "OX-EYES' 135 As the green-topped surf dashes to pieces on the pebbles and goes sliding in a silvery sheet up the yellow sand, you will notice just above its frothy edge a flock of httle gray sprites, their tiny legs twinkling as they patter swiftly over the smooth floor. Sometimes the sliding sheet of water overtakes them. If it is nearly spent, they mind it not; but if the rush is too strong, up springs the flock, all members at the same instant, and with quick flashes of light- gray wings, it skims the surf-sheets or the sand, to a point farther on. The unison of action in the rising, flight and landing of the flock is as perfect as if each little pair of wings were worked by the same wires. How does each bird know the impulses of all the others? Watch them, and see if you can guess the secret. At the seashore I never weary of watching these busy little creatures, and never fail to be amused by the twinkling of their tiny legs as they run before the water. As the sheet of surf recedes, down they run after it, to pick up whatever of insect or other edible animal life it has brought to them from the sea, or uncovered on the sand. Small as the Sandpipers are, their slaughter by gunners was in full career when it was stopped by the federal migra- tory bird law, on October 1, 1913. Had it continued a little. LEAST Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Hornaday, William Temple, 1854-1937. New York, C. Scribner's Sons
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookp, booksubjectnaturalhistory
