(_Totanus cálidris._) The Redshank enlivens whatever place in the reed-land or marsh it happens to nest in by its voice and its varied plumage. It is a beautiful sight when it spreads out its wings, rises into the air and stretches out its long legs. Its resounding whistle is pleasant to the ear. It runs well, wades in water, and in case of need can swim. When the young ones are hatched, anyone approaching the nest should be moved by the wailing cry which it utters in anxiety for its young, though it has a thousand ways of luring people away from the nest and of misleading them, when it takes the trouble to do so. With a plaintive cry it settles on the ground, makes all kinds of bows and curtseys, utters its flute-like note, then begins to run, as if to say, “Follow me, man!” When it has come out of the immediate neighbourhood of the nest it settles on a branch or a stake, or even attempts to perch on a telegraph wire. Then its voice becomes more plaintive even than that of the Lapwing. Even a shot does not scare it away. It moves away, disappears, but in a very short time it is back in the same place to continue its bitter lamentations; its note sounds like “_Dlue, dlue, dlue, dlue-dee-dee-deedle-dee_.” Like all the waders of the marshlands, the Redshank is very voracious, and has an excellent stomach. It devours beetles, grasshoppers and snails with great [Illustration: USEFUL. THE REDSHANK.] avidity. All for the good of plants, and of men who derive benefits out of the sedge and reed beds. This bird is a migrant. * * * * * The Redshank is still to be found breeding in most of the marshy districts in England and here and there in Wales; it appears inland from the middle of March, and early in autumn it begins to resort to the coast, being joined there by numbers of migrants from the Continent. When the winter is mild, birds are to be found throughout the year, more especially in the south and west. It is abundant as far as the Shetlands in Scotland; in Ireland it is fairly plentiful during the summer, and on the bays of the west it is numerous at other times of the year, wherever there is a sufficient supply of _zostera marina_ left behind by the tide for it to feed amongst.