"They stand erect and solitary, now and then stretching their necks over the water." --Liu Changqing, Tang Dynasty. "I am like a sand-snipe in the wide, wide world." --Du Fu, Tang Dynasty.
「亭亭常獨立、川上時延頸」、「飄飄何所似，天地一沙鷗」，水鳥優雅的身影，映照澹蕩波光，向來是歷代詩人寄情明志的對象，就連鳥兒水中的睡姿──「眠沙臥水自成群」、「綠頭江鴨眠沙草」，都被詩人刻劃得美感別具。