THE DUNLIN, OR OX-BIRD. 65

ning and picking up their prey, with great
activity. These birds collect together in
such flocks as to seem, at a distance, like
a moving cloud, varying in form every
instant. At such times, the keen gunner
makes prodigious slaughter. When great
numbers of the birds fall, the flock de-
scends with them, and so the sportsman
has a fine chance for their destruction.
The length of the Dunlin is about eight
inches. In the summer, the plumage has
a beautiful mixture of black, red, and
white colors. In winter, these change
to brown, ash, and white.

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