. Bird-lore . SHE TURNED THE EGGS OVER WITH HER BILL ChMdren of the Midnight Sun 189 tinguishable from it at a distance of 10 feet, so there was little clanger of thenest being robbed. The mother bird was very uneasy when frightened from the eggs. Withspread tail and tremulous wings, she fluttered away uttering agonized squeaksuntil she was about 50 yards distant. Then she would assume a true Sandpiperattitude and cautiously return. If the observer was partly concealed in somedepression, she would return directly to her treasures, but she always turned theeggs over with her bill, apparently to
. Bird-lore . SHE TURNED THE EGGS OVER WITH HER BILL ChMdren of the Midnight Sun 189 tinguishable from it at a distance of 10 feet, so there was little clanger of thenest being robbed. The mother bird was very uneasy when frightened from the eggs. Withspread tail and tremulous wings, she fluttered away uttering agonized squeaksuntil she was about 50 yards distant. Then she would assume a true Sandpiperattitude and cautiously return. If the observer was partly concealed in somedepression, she would return directly to her treasures, but she always turned theeggs over with her bill, apparently to see if they were harmed in any way. Shethen fluffed out her breast feathers and tucked the eggs under her. In June, seventeen days after the four fresh eggs were found, a visit tothe nest revealed no eggs and but one newly hatched Sandpiper. He must havejust escaped from the shell, as his soft speckled down was still wet and be-draggled. The other chicks could not be found until the observer hid, when the. YOUNG SANDPIPER USING ITS WINGS AS CRUTCHES mother hastened over and hovered them as they nestled together in a littlehollow not over 5 feet from the nest. Thus, the Sandpipers left the nest thevery morning that they were hatched. The young Sandpipers coats consisted of alternate spots of brown andhuffish natal down which blended so remarkably with the general brown toneof the tundra as to render the young birds practically invisible as long as theyremained motionless. If their exact location was known, they could sometimesbe distinguished from their surroundings at a distance of 8 feet; but if theirposition was not known, they were frequently invisible when only 3 feet dis-tant. The birdman was often compelled to discontinue his search for thembecause of the danger of stepping on them before they could be seen. The gait of the young Sandpipers was a stumbling toddle, while their largefeet and legs were all out of proportion to the rest of their slender bodies. Bydrooping an
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirdsperiodicals
