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Title: Life histories of North American shore birds, Part 2 (of 2)
Author: Arthur Cleveland Bent
Release date: December 18, 2025 [eBook #77498]
Language: English
Original publication: New York: Dover Publications, 1962
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The source scans used are from the Dover edition, published in 1962,
an unabridged republication of the work first published by the United
States Government Printing Office. Part I was originally published
in 1927 as Smithsonian Institution United States National Museum
Bulletin 142; Part II was originally published in 1929 as Smithsonian
Institution United States National Museum Bulletin 146. In Part II,
the Smithsonian publication used Plate 1 as a frontispiece. The Dover
edition included Plate 1 with the rest of the plates at the end of
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_Life Histories of North American Shore Birds_
_by Arthur Cleveland Bent_
_in two parts - Part II_
_Dover Publications, Inc., New York_
ADVERTISEMENT
The scientific publications of the National Museum include two series,
known, respectively, as _Proceedings_ and _Bulletin_.
The _Proceedings_, begun in 1878, is intended primarily as a medium
for the publication of original papers, based on the collections of
the National Museum, that set forth newly acquired facts in biology,
anthropology, and geology, with descriptions of new forms and revisions
of limited groups. Copies of each paper, in pamphlet form, are
distributed as published to libraries and scientific organizations and
to specialists and others interested in the different subjects. The
dates at which these separate papers are published are recorded in the
table of contents of each of the volumes.
The _Bulletin_, the first of which was issued in 1875, consists of
a series of separate publications comprising monographs of large
zoological groups and other general systematic treatises (occasionally
in several volumes), faunal works, reports of expeditions, catalogues
of type-specimens, special collections, and other material of similar
nature. The majority of the volumes are octavo in size, but a quarto
size has been adopted in a few instances in which large plates were
regarded as indispensable. In the _Bulletin_ series appear volumes
under the heading _Contributions from the United States National
Herbarium_, in octavo form, published by the National Museum since
1902, which contain papers relating to the botanical collections of the
Museum.
The present work forms No. 146 of the _Bulletin_ series.
ALEXANDER WETMORE,
_Assistant Secretary, Smithsonian Institution_.
WASHINGTON, D. C., _December 11, 1928_.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Order Limicolae 1
Family Scolopacidae 1
Tringa solitaria solitaria 1
Solitary sandpiper 1
Habits 1
Distribution 9
Tringa solitaria cinnamomea 13
Western solitary sandpiper 13
Habits 13
Distribution 15
Tringa ocrophus 16
Green sandpiper 16
Habits 16
Distribution 21
Rhyacophilus glareola 22
Wood sandpiper 22
Habits 22
Distribution 26
Catoptrophorus semipalmatus semipalmatus 27
Eastern willet 27
Habits 27
Distribution 35
Catoptrophorus semipalmatus inornatus 36
Western willet 36
Habits 36
Distribution 39
Heteroscelus incanus 41
Wandering tattler 41
Habits 41
Distribution 46
Heteroscelus brevipes 48
Polynesian tattler 48
Habits 48
Distribution 49
Philomachus pugnax 49
Ruff 49
Habits 49
Distribution 54
Bartramia longicauda 55
Upland plover 55
Habits 55
Distribution 65
Tryngites subruficollis 69
Buff-breasted sandpiper 69
Habits 69
Distribution 76
Actitis macularia 78
Spotted sandpiper 78
Habits 78
Distribution 93
Numenius americanus 97
Long-billed curlew 97
Habits 97
Distribution 106
Numenius arquata arquata 109
European curlew 109
Habits 109
Distribution 112
Numenius hudsonicus 113
Hudsonian curlew 113
Habits 113
Distribution 122
Numenius borealis 125
Eskimo curlew 125
Habits 125
Distribution 134
Numenius phaeopus phaeopus 136
Whimbrel 136
Habits 136
Distribution 139
Numenius tahitiensis 140
Bristle-thighed curlew 140
Habits 140
Distribution 143
Family Charadriidae 144
Vanellus-vanellus 144
Lapwing 144
Habits 144
Distribution 148
Eudromias morinellus 150
Dotterel 150
Habits 150
Distribution 153
Squatarola squatarola 154
Black-bellied plover 154
Habits 154
Distribution 166
Pluvialis apricaria altifrons 171
European golden plover 171
Habits 171
Distribution 174
Pluvialis dominica dominica 175
American golden plover 175
Habits 175
Distribution 189
Pluvialis dominica fulva 193
Pacific golden plover 193
Habits 193
Distribution 201
Oxyechus vociferus 202
Killdeer 202
Habits 202
Distribution 213
Charadrius semipalmatus 217
Semipalmated plover 217
Habits 217
Distribution 225
Charadrius hiaticula 229
Ringed plover 229
Habits 229
Distribution 232
Charadrius dubius curonicus 233
Little ringed plover 233
Habits 233
Distribution 236
Charadrius melodus 236
Piping plover 236
Habits 236
Distribution 244
Charadrius nivosus nivosus 246
Snowy plover 246
Habits 246
Distribution 251
Charadrius nivosus tenuirostris 252
Cuban snowy plover 252
Habits 252
Charadrius mongolus mongolus 253
Mongolian plover 253
Habits 253
Distribution 256
Pagolla wilsonia wilsonia 257
Wilson plover 257
Habits 257
Distribution 262
Podasocys montanus 263
Mountain plover 263
Habits 263
Distribution 267
Family Aphrizidae 269
Aphriza virgata 269
Surf bird 269
Habits 269
Distribution 277
Arenaria interpres 278
Turnstone 278
Habits 278
Distribution 293
Arenaria interpres interpres 293
Arenaria interpres morinella 294
Arenaria melanocephala 298
Black turnstone 298
Habits 298
Distribution 304
Family Haematopodidae 305
Haematopus ostralegus 305
European oyster catcher 305
Habits 305
Distribution 308
Haematopus palliatus palliatus 309
American oyster catcher 309
Habits 309
Distribution 315
Haematopus palliatus frazari 316
Frazer oyster catcher 316
Habits 316
Distribution 319
Haematopus bachmani 320
Black oyster catcher 320
Habits 320
Distribution 323
Family Jacanidae 324
Jacana spinosa gymnostoma 324
Mexican jacana 324
Habits 324
Distribution 327
References to publications 328
Explanation of plates 341
Index 407
INTRODUCTION
This is the eighth in a series of bulletins of the United States
National Museum on the life histories of North American birds. Previous
numbers have been issued as follows:
107. Life Histories of North American Diving Birds, August 1, 1919.
113. Life Histories of North American Gulls and Terns, August 27, 1921.
121. Life Histories of North American Petrels, Pelicans and their
Allies, October 19, 1922.
126. Life Histories of North American Wild Fowl, May 25, 1923.
130. Life Histories of North American Wild Fowl, June 27, 1925.
135. Life Histories of North American Marsh Birds, March 11, 1927.
142. Life Histories of North American Shore Birds, December 31, 1927.
The same general plan has been followed, as explained in previous
bulletins, and the same sources of information have been utilized. The
classification and nomenclature adopted by the American Ornithologists’
Union, in its latest check list and its supplements, have been
followed, mainly, with such few changes as, in the author’s opinion,
will be, or should be, made to bring the work up to date and in line
with recent advances in the science.
The main ranges are as accurately outlined as limited space will
permit; the normal migrations are given in sufficient detail to
indicate the usual movements of the species; no attempt has been made
to give all the records, for economy in space, and no pretence at
complete perfection is claimed. Many published records, often repeated,
have been investigated and discarded; many apparently doubtful records
have been verified; some published records, impossible to either verify
or disprove, have been accepted if the evidence seemed to warrant it.
The egg dates are the condensed results of a mass of records taken from
the data in a large number of the best egg collections in the country,
as well as from contributed field notes and from a few published
sources. They indicate the dates on which eggs have been actually found
in various parts of the country, showing the earliest and latest dates
and the limits between which half the dates fall, the height of the
season.
The plumages are described in only enough detail to enable the reader
to trace the sequence of molts and plumages from birth to maturity and
to recognize the birds in the different stages and at the different
seasons. No attempt has been made to fully describe adult plumages;
this has been already well done in the many manuals. The names of
colors, when in quotation marks, are taken from Ridgway’s Color
Standards and Nomenclature (1912) and the terms used to describe
the shapes of eggs are taken from his Nomenclature of Colors (1886
edition). The heavy-faced type in the measurements of eggs indicate the
four extremes of measurements.
Many of those who contributed material for former volumes have
rendered a similar service in this case. In addition to those whose
contributions have been acknowledged previously, our thanks are due
to the following new contributors: Photographs, notes, or data have
been contributed by E. G. Alexander, C. M. Beal, W. W. Bennett, A.
D. Boyle, W. J. Brown, M. H. Burroughs, J. J. Carroll, N. W. Cayley,
Ralph Chislett, W. M. Congreve, S. J. Darcus, H. G. Deignare, Jonathan
Dwight, F. F. Gander, T. S. Gillin, W. E. Glegg, S. P. Gordon, Frank
Grasett, R. W. Harding, L. L. Haskin, E. A. Hyer, T. A. James, F.
Kermode, H. M. Laing, Carl Lien, G. H. Lings, Julian Lyder, S. H.
Lyman, M. J. Magee, Miss M. E. McLellan, F. C. Pellett, R. T. Peterson,
H. H. Pittman, C. A. Proctor, J. C. Salyer, A. W. Schorger, Althea R.
Sherman, L. W. Smith, E. L. Sumner, jr., Malcolm Taylor, jr., R. M.
Thorburn, C. H. Townsend, Josselyn Van Tyne, Stanton Warburton, jr.,
Alexander Wetmore, F. N. Wilson, L. R. Wolfe.
Receipt of material from over 275 contributors has been acknowledged in
previous volumes.
Through the courtesy of the Biological Survey, the services of
Frederick C. Lincoln were again secured to compile the distribution
paragraphs. With the matchless reference files of the Biological
Survey at his disposal and with some advice and help from Dr. Harry C.
Oberholser, his many hours of careful and thorough work have produced
results far more satisfactory than could have been attained by the
author, who claims no credit and assumes no responsibility for this
part of the work.
Dr. Charles W. Townsend has contributed the life histories of two
species; the Rev. Francis C. R. Jourdain has furnished valuable notes
for two, has written nine new life histories and two of his have been
transferred from the previous volume; and Dr. Winsor M. Tyler has
contributed two life histories. The author is much indebted to Dr.
Charles W. Richmond for many hours of careful and sympathetic work
in reading the proof and correcting errors in this and all previous
volumes; his expert knowledge has been of great value.
As most of the shore birds are known to us mainly, or entirely, as
migrants, it has seemed desirable to describe their migrations quite
fully. As it is a well-known fact that many, if not all, immature and
nonbreeding shore birds remain far south of their breeding ranges all
summer, it has not seemed necessary to mention this in each case. Nor
did it seem necessary to say that only one brood is raised in a season,
as this is a nearly universal rule with all water birds.
The manuscript for this volume was completed in April, 1928.
Contributions received since then will be acknowledged later. Only
information of great importance could be added. When this volume
appears, contributions of photographs or notes relating to the Raptores
should be sent to
THE AUTHOR.
LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN SHORE
BIRDS
ORDER LIMICOLAE (PART 2)
By ARTHUR CLEVELAND BENT
_Of Taunton, Massachusetts_
Family SCOLOPACIDAE, Snipes and Sandpipers
TRINGA SOLITARIA SOLITARIA Wilson
SOLITARY SANDPIPER
HABITS
This dainty “woodland tattler” is associated in my mind with some
secluded, shady woodland pool in early autumn, where the summer drought
has exposed broad muddy shores and where the brightly tinted leaves of
the swamp maple float lightly on the still water. Here the solitary
wader may be seen, gracefully poised on some fallen log, nodding
serenely, or walking gracefully over the mud or in the shallow water.
Seldom disturbed by man, it hardly seems to heed his presence; it
may raise its wings, displaying their pretty linings, or it may flit
lightly away to the other side of the pool, with a few sharp notes of
protest and a flash of white in its tail. I have often seen it in other
places where one would not expect to find shore birds, such as the
muddy banks of a sluggish stream, somewhat polluted with sewage, which
flows back of my garden in the center of the city, or some barnyard mud
puddle, reeking with the filth of cattle; perhaps it is attracted to
such unsavory places by the swarms of flies that it finds there.
_Spring._--The solitary sandpiper arrives in the United States during
the latter part of March, but it makes slow progress northward, for it
does not reach New England until May. We generally see it singly, in
pairs, or in small numbers, but according to William Brewster (1925) it
sometimes occurs in favorable localities, near Umbagog Lake, Maine, in
large numbers; he writes:
According to an entry in my journal I saw them there
literally in “swarms” on May 20, 1880, when, as we advanced
by way of the river in a boat, they were ceaselessly
rising and flitting on ahead, uttering their _peet-weet_
calls, and also making a faint yet noticeable rustling
sound with their wings. Thus driven they sometimes
alighted, one after another, on some muddy point, until as
many as seven assembled within the space of a few square
feet. Nevertheless, they were for the most part paired, and
the mated birds almost invariably kept together, and apart
from all the rest when on wing.
The migration in the interior seems to be at least two or three weeks
earlier. E. W. Hadeler tells me that in Lake County, Ohio, one is
almost sure to find it, on the river where the sewer empties into it,
between April 22 and May 18. Many must pass through the inland States
in April, for Edward S. Thomas has recorded it in Ohio as early as
March 30 and calls the average date of arrival April 15. A. G. Lawrence
has recorded it in southern Manitoba as early as April 29 and it
reaches its northernmost breeding grounds in Mackenzie and Alaska soon
after the middle of May.
_Courtship._--Dr. John B. May has sent me the following notes on a
courtship display of this species which he saw in New Hampshire:
Paddling down river one day, probably between the 8th and
15th of June, I saw several pairs of solitary and spotted
sandpipers where the muddy banks were exposed, near a
swamp where bitterns breed. Both species were apparently
courting, making considerable noise and showing their white
feathers in display. Every little while one of the solitary
sandpipers would fly up slowly into the air, only rising
a few feet, and rising slowly with rapidly beating or
quivering wings, giving a twittering whistle and spreading
the tail so that the outer white feathers were very
conspicuous. Then it would drop back to the mud again near
where it rose. The time taken in rising a few feet would
have carried it some distance with its ordinary flight.
_Nesting._--The nesting habits of this sandpiper long remained a
mystery or were misunderstood. In looking over the literature on the
subject I came across no less than seven published records of nests
found on the ground and said to be positively identified as this
species. These were all published prior to the discovery of the now
well-known habit of nesting in the deserted nests of passerine birds.
Not a single one of these records seems to be substantiated by an
available specimen of the parent bird. The solitary sandpiper may
occasionally nest on the ground, but it is yet to be proven.
To Evan Thomson belongs the credit for making the interesting discovery
of the tree-nesting habit. This historic incident is described by J.
Fletcher Street (1923) as follows:
Mr. Thomson many years ago took up a quarter section of
land under the Canadian homestead act, built himself a log
cabin at the edge of a muskeg, and commenced the arduous
task of clearing the land. Living alone in this wilderness
without neighbors and possessing a keen love for nature
and a particular interest in the abundant wild life about
him, he came to devote his spare moments to the study of
birds, counting as his immediate associates such hermit
species as the great-horned owl, long-eared owl, saw-whet
owl, goshawk, and a large host of water fowl and waders.
Seated one day before his cabin he noticed a bird fly to
a low tamarack and enter a nest. It was ostensibly one of
the waders, and great was his surprise upon examining the
nest to find it the structure of a robin. It contained
four beautiful eggs, greenish white in ground color and
heavily spotted and blotched with reddish brown. Thus, on
June 16, 1903, the first authentic eggs of the solitary
sandpiper were taken but it was not until a year later
that the identity of the bird was definitely established.
It was indeed interesting, 20 years later, to be shown the
cabin and to view the original tree from which the eggs
were collected. Subsequent to the finding of this nest many
others have been located, the bird evidencing no particular
choice of nest in which to deposit its eggs, the list
including those of the bronzed grackle, Brewer’s blackbird,
cedar waxwing, kingbird, robin, and Canada jay. These have
been found at an elevation as low as 4 feet and as high as
40 and in locations contiguous to water and as far away as
200 yards.
Walter Raine (1904), for whom Mr. Thomson was collecting eggs at the
time, was the first to publish the important news, but he waited a year
until another nest was found and the parent bird shot. The following
year, 1904, Mr. Thomson found two more nests and shot the parent bird
from the last one. Mr. Raine (1904) then published a full account of
all three nests, each of which contained four eggs. The first nest,
taken June 16, 1903, was “an old nest of the American robin, built 15
feet up in a tamarack tree, that was growing in the middle of a large
muskeg, dotted with tamaracks.” The second was found on June 9, 1904,
an old “nest of a bronzed grackle, built in a low tree.” The third set
was taken on June 24, 1904, and the parent bird was shot, as she flew
from “the nest of a cedar waxwing, which was built in a small spruce
tree growing in a swamp, the nest being about 5 feet from the water.”
Since then numerous other nests have been found in similar situations.
A. D. Henderson (1923) reported a nest found in 1914, about a “dozen
feet up in a poplar tree,” and on June 7, 1922, a set of eggs was taken
for him, with the parent, by a young friend:
The nest was in a white birch tree, growing at the edge
of the timber, on the shore of a small lake, and about
150 yards from his home. A brood of young robins had been
raised in it last season, he told me. It was about 18
feet from the ground and a typical robin’s nest, of grass
and mud. The inside lining of grass was gone and the eggs
lay in the bare mud cup, no material being added by the
sandpiper, which I identified as the eastern form of the
bird.
Mr. Henderson and Richard C. Harlow took a set of four fresh eggs on
May 30, 1923, near Belvedere, Alberta, from an old robin’s nest 10 feet
up in a scrubby spruce, 30 feet high, on the muskeg border of a swampy
lake. A nest found by Messrs. Street (1923) and Stuart, near Red Lodge,
Alberta, on May 29, 1923, was also an old robin’s nest only 4 feet from
the ground in an 8-foot spruce, in a muskeg surrounded by spruces and
tamaracks.
Mr. Henderson tells me that he thinks he now understands the nesting
habits of this species more thoroughly, for he has found five sets of
eggs this season, 1927. He says:
The principal breeding place seems to be around small
lakes or ponds in muskegs; and the bird they are chiefly
associated with is the rusty blackbird, which also breeds
among the same surroundings, and whose nests are as
suitable for the solitary sandpiper as are those of the
robin. A few breed around lakes and sloughs, away from
the muskegs, but the main body is in the muskeg country
associated with the rusty blackbird.
_Eggs._--The solitary sandpiper lays almost invariably four eggs; I
believe there is only one set of five recorded. They are ovate pyriform
in shape, with a slight gloss, and the shell is very fragile. There are
two distinct types of ground color, green and buff. These two types are
well illustrated by the Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain (1907) in an excellent
colored plate. In the green type the ground colors vary from “pale
glaucous green,” or “pale turtle green,” to greenish white; and in
the buff type, from “cream buff” to “cartridge buff.” They are rather
thickly spotted and blotched with irregular markings, usually more
thickly about the larger end, where the spots are sometimes confluent.
The underlying spots and blotches in various shades of “purple drab”
and “heliotrope gray” are often quite conspicuous. Over these the
eggs are boldly marked with dark rich browns, “claret brown,” “liver
brown,” “bay” and “chocolate,” or even darker colors where the pigment
is thickest. One beautiful egg, figured by Mr. Jourdain (1907), has
a “pale glaucous green” ground color, with only two blotches of very
dark brown near the larger end, heavily splashed elsewhere with “pallid
purple drab,” and sparingly peppered with light brown. The measurements
of 68 eggs average 36 by 25.5 millimeters; the eggs showing the four
extremes measure =38.5= by =27=, =33.7= by 23.8 and 36.1 by =23.6=
millimeters.
_Plumages._--I have never seen this species in natal down, but Ora W.
Knight (1908) says that “the downy young are a general grayish buff
above with darker suffusions on the back; a darker line through each
eye from bill to nape; darkish crown line; below white with slight
dusky suffusion on flanks.”
Young birds in juvenal plumage are grayish brown above, lighter and
more olivaceous than in adults, and thickly spotted with white or
buffy white; the sides of the head and neck are grayish, indistinctly
streaked with dusky on the neck. A partial postjuvenal molt occurs in
the fall producing a first winter plumage, in which young birds may be
distinguished by retained juvenal wing coverts. Young birds are also
more profusely spotted on the upper parts and less distinctly streaked
on the neck and breast than adults. At the first prenuptial molt, the
following spring, the young bird becomes practically adult.
Adults have a partial prenuptial molt, between February and May,
involving the body plumage, the tail and some scapulars, wing coverts,
and tertials. The complete postnuptial molt begins in July with the
change of the body plumage and may last through September, but the
primaries are not molted until the winter months, December to February.
The winter plumage is similar to the nuptial, but the upper parts are
grayer and less distinctly spotted; the neck and chest are only very
indistinctly streaked with grayish.
_Food._--Dr. Elliott Coues (1874) has described the feeding habits of
solitary sandpipers so well that I can not do better than to quote his
words, as follows:
They differ from most of their relatives in their choice of
feeding grounds or of places where they usually alight to
rest while migrating; a difference accompanied, I suppose,
by a corresponding modification in diet. Their favorite
resorts are the margins of small, stagnant pools, fringed
with rank grass and weeds; the miry, tide-water ditches
that intersect marshes; and the soft, oozy depressions in
low meadows and water savannas. They frequent also the
interior of woods not too thick and collect there about the
rain puddles, the water of which is delayed in sinking by
the matted layer of decaying leaves that covers the ground.
After heavy rains I have seen them running about like grass
plovers on open, level commons, covered only with short
turf. They also have a fancy, shared by few birds except
the titlarks, for the pools of liquid manure usually found
in some out of the way place upon the thrifty farmer’s
premises. They find abundant food in all these places,
aquatic insects of all sorts, and especially their curious
larvae, worms, grubs, and perhaps the smallest sorts of
molluscs; with all these they also take into their gizzards
a quantity of sand and gravel, to help along the grinding
process. With food to be had in such plenty with little
labor the birds become, particularly in the fall, extremely
fat.
Edward H. Forbush (1912) says:
In the fall, on its return from the north, it has a habit
of wading into the water in stagnant ditches or ponds,
where it advances one foot at a time, and by rapidly moving
the forward foot stirs up the vegetation at the bottom ever
so slightly. This motion is so swift and delicate that
the leg seems to be merely trembling, as if the bird were
chilled by contact with the water, but it is done with
intent to disturb insects among the algae at the bottom
without roiling the water, and the eager bird, leaning
forward, plunges in its bill and head, sometimes to the
eyes, and catches the alarmed water insects as they dart
away. I have watched this carefully with a glass while
lying in the grass only 10 or 12 feet from the bird. It is
easy by stirring the bottom slightly with a stick to cause
a similar movement of the water insects, but I never could
agitate it so delicately as to avoid clouding the water
with sediment from the bottom.
Giraud (1844) says that “on the wing it is very active, and is
sometimes seen darting after winged insects, which it is expert in
catching.” Other observers have noted in its food various insects
and their larvae, dragon-fly nymphs, water-scavenger beetles, water
boatmen, grasshoppers, caterpillars, spiders, worms, small crustaceans,
and small frogs.
_Behavior._--The solitary sandpiper is always light, graceful, and
dainty in all its movements. In spite of the unsavory places in which
it often feeds, its trim figure is always neat and clean. In flight it
is light and airy as it flits away for a short distance, only to alight
again and lift its prettily lined wings high above its back before
folding them. It flies higher than the spotted sandpiper and more
swiftly, often in a zigzag manner, a trick probably learned by dodging
branches in the woods, and the wings are raised well above the body on
the upward stroke.
Walter H. Rich (1907) says:
There is scarcely another bird which flies with so little
apparent effort. His strokes are slow and regular, a short
sailing between each motion, but he moves very fast. Let
him be alarmed and he will quicken his speed until he seems
only a black streak in the air, and as he rises to top the
surrounding trees it needs good and quick work with the gun
to stop him.
It frequently indulges in a peculiar tilting and nodding habit, similar
to that of the spotted sandpiper, but it is more deliberate and not so
pronounced; it seems to be more of a bow than a tip-up more like the
bobbing of the yellowlegs. It moves about rather sluggishly, wading in
shallow water or even standing motionless, where its colors blend into
its dark background and make it difficult to see. If it wades beyond
its depth, it swims readily and can even dive to escape its enemies.
John T. Nichols says in his notes:
In feeding it frequently lowers the head with a drilling
motion, especially when immersing its bill in the water,
apparently probing in the mud at such times, whereas as a
rule our tattlers feed by snatching. It frequently stops
to scratch its head with one foot. When bathing it ducks
and splashes and sits in the water soaking, and at the
conclusion of the bath, trips out onto the mud, raises the
wings once or twice, and preens itself thoroughly. I have
seen a solitary, alighted in a pool on the marsh, preening
its feathers without dipping its bill in the water, and am
not aware whether it has this bill-dipping habit common
with some of its relatives.
Harrison F. Lewis has sent me the following notes on the rather
peculiar behavior of a solitary sandpiper which he watched for some
time:
The sandpiper, which was well aware that I was watching
it, stepped slowly out onto the open surface of the mud
of the bog, and, standing there with its left side toward
me, repeated several times the following curious actions.
It spread its wings about halfway, holding them stiffly
in the plane of its back, neither raised nor lowered, so
that the dark markings on its axillards were slightly
visible. At the same time it drew its head as far backward
and its tail as far forward over its back as possible,
and slowly lowered its breast until it almost seemed to
touch the mud. After remaining rigid in this position for
10 to 15 seconds, it would suddenly relax and become its
normal self, only to repeat the entire procedure almost
immediately. I could think of no purpose for these actions,
unless they were an attempt at concealment by making the
bird’s outlines and colors as unlike as possible to those
normally to be expected in a sandpiper. Although it did not
conceal itself from me by this means, it made itself appear
extremely unlike a bird.
Solitary sandpipers are usually very tame and unsuspicious, often to
the verge of stupidity, as the following incident, related by Doctor
Coues (1874) well illustrates:
Once coming up to a fence that went past a little pool,
and peeping through the slats, I saw eight tattlers of
this species wading about in the shallow water, searching
for food. I pulled trigger on one; the others set up a
simultaneous outcry, and I expected them, of course, to
fly off, but they presently quieted down and began feeding
again. Without moving from my place, I fired three times
more, killing a single bird at each discharge; still
no effect upon the survivors, except as before. Then I
climbed over the fence, and stood in full view of the four
remaining birds; they merely flapped to the further side
of the pool, and stood still looking at me, nodding away,
as if agreed that the whole thing was very singular. I
stood and deliberately loaded and fired three times more,
taking one bird each time; and it was only as I was ramming
another charge, that the sole surviving bird concluded to
make off, which he did, I will add in justice to his wits,
in a great hurry.
Mr. Brewster (1925) says:
Not less confiding than sluggish, they will usually allow
a man to approach in the open to within less than a dozen
yards, and sometimes he may almost lay his hands on young
and inexperienced birds, while several of these may
continue to gaze at him with obviously serene unconcern
immediately after he has discharged his gun directly over
their heads. There are times, however, especially in
calm weather, when the report of a gun, or the sound of
one’s paddle striking against the side of a boat, will
instantly startle all the solitary sandpipers within 20
rods, causing them to rise on wing with loud outcries,
and to fly off singly, in various directions, to more or
less distant places. In summer and autumn they invariably
act thus independently of one another when flushed, and
also when engaged in feeding, although by no means averse
to assembling rather numerously where food is especially
plentiful or easily obtained.
_Voice._--Mr. Nichols has described this very satisfactorily, in his
notes, as follows:
The ordinary notes of the solitary sandpiper are very
close to those of the spotted, but probably always
differentiable. They are sharper, cleaner cut, less
variable. The full-flight note is a sharp piping _peep weep
weep_, more often three than two syllabled when a bird is
definitely leaving a locality, or by wandering birds which
ordinarily fly high. In birds flushed on, or making longer
or shorter flights to different parts of the same marsh
where they were living, the same note was usually double
_peep weep_, rarely single.
A quite dissimilar call, less frequently heard, is a fine
_pit pit pit_, or _chi tit_. This may have no significance
other than being a reduction of the preceding, when the
bird is less definitely on the wing, but seems to depend
on their being another individual fairly close by. There
is likely homology between it and the short flocking call
of the lesser yellowlegs, and if correctly determined, a
certain analogy thereto is also established, perhaps as
much as possible with this non-social species. Of similar
quality was a peculiar _kikikiki_ from one of two birds in
company which came to decoys nicely, as they went on past
my rig without alighting.
A third kind of note, isolated _pips_, suggesting the call
of the water thrush, is expressive of excitement when a
bird is on the ground, as when just alighted.
_Field marks._--The field characters are also well described by Mr.
Nichols, as follows:
In flight the under surface of the solitary sandpiper’s
wings appears blackish. Birds on the ground not
infrequently raise the wings over the back, displaying
this mark to advantage. Its tail, spread when about to
alight, appears white with a contrasting dark center. When
traveling in the air its flight is either swift and darting
or else resembles that of a yellowlegs, a little jerkier.
When about to alight it usually drops down abruptly, much
as the Wilson’s snipe does; and when flying only a few
yards it has a peculiar jerky flight with wings partially
spread. On the ground it looks much like a yellowlegs, but
is darker, smaller, and stands relatively lower. Its legs
are olive green; very rarely an individual in spring has
quite yellow legs.
_Fall._--The fall migration of the solitary sandpiper is a general
southward movement all across the continent, performed in a leisurely
manner. The earliest birds, probably adults, reach New England in July;
and late birds, probably young, linger through October. Mr. Brewster
(1925) says:
On August 2, 1873, I saw fully 100 along the Androscoggin
River between the lake and Errol Dam, and almost as many
more, a few hours later, while going up the Magalloway
River some 7 or 8 miles. At that date in almost any year
there is, throughout the whole Umbagog region, almost no
muddy shore of pond, lake, river, lagoon, or brook, whether
open to the sun or densely shaded by overhanging foliage,
which is not frequented by one or more solitary sandpipers.
Hence we may safely assume that in the region at large they
are regularly present in far greater numbers during August
than at any other time of year.
When with us in the fall they are more likely to be seen on open
meadows or salt marshes than they are in the spring, often in company
with lesser yellowlegs. Mr. Nichols writes to me:
In the first half of August, 1919, this species was
unusually plentiful, living on the bay marsh at Mastic,
Long Island, with maximum numbers August 9 to 10. The birds
frequented the larger bits of flooded dead marsh that
yellowlegs love and were also found in smaller, less open,
pools more overshadowed by grass. On August 16 and 17 two
birds were also repeatedly found feeding on patches of weed
matted at the surface of an adjacent creek, exceedingly
tame. The presence of these solitary sandpipers on a
coastal marsh may have been due to conditions of high-water
level prevailing at the time, flooding the muddy borders of
inland pools where they are ordinarily to be looked for.
Capt. Savile G. Reid (1884) says that in Bermuda “they generally come
with the other species in August. They soon betake themselves to the
wooded swamps, where they may be found singly or in pairs throughout
the autumn.”
On the Pacific coast both races of the solitary sandpiper occur
regularly on the fall migration, but the western race is undoubtedly
much commoner and is supposed by some to be the only race found west of
the Rocky Mountains. The migration occurs mainly in August and early
September. J. A. Munro tells me that he gets both forms regularly at
Okanagan Landing, British Columbia.
_Winter._--A few birds may spend the winter in the West Indies, but the
main winter home of the species is in South America. The distribution
of the two forms in winter is not well understood and probably both
races are more or less mixed. W. H. Hudson (1920) writes:
I was once pleased and much amused to discover in a small,
sequestered pool in a wood, well sheltered from sight by
trees and aquatic plants, a solitary sandpiper living in
company with a blue bittern. The bittern patiently watched
for small fishes and when not fishing dozed on a low branch
overhanging the water, while its companion ran briskly
along the margin snatching up minute insects from the
water. When disturbed they rose together, the bittern with
its harsh, grating scream, the sandpiper daintily piping
its fine, bright notes--a wonderful contrast! Every time I
visited the pool afterwards I found these two hermits, one
so sedate in manner the other so lively, living peacefully
together.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--North America chiefly east of the Rocky Mountains to South
America.
_Breeding range._--The only unquestioned eggs of the solitary sandpiper
that have been collected have come from Alberta where it is known to
breed from the northern part south as far as Stony Plain and Red Lodge.
A pair of adult birds with young also were collected in 1921, 30 miles
below Fort Simpson, Mackenzie (Williams, 1922), while the same observer
found them common in the vicinity of Fort Norman, Mackenzie, as late as
August 14.
It has been reported breeding as far south as Iowa (Keokuk and
Winneshiek Counties); Ohio (Columbus); and Pennsylvania (Pocono
Mountain and Beaver); and east to New Hampshire (Isle of Shoals,
Franconia, and Appledore); Maine (Penobscot and Aroostook Counties);
and Quebec (Lake Mistassinni and Godbout). The circumstances attendant
upon each of these and intermediate cases are such as to cause doubts
concerning their authenticity, although it seems probable that the
species did, (and possibly still does) breed somewhere in eastern North
America.
_Winter range._--The solitary sandpipers wintering in South America
have been determined subspecifically only on a few occasions, so
it should be understood that the following outline includes both
_solitaria_ and _cinnamomea_. Specimens collected in Colombia by
Chapman and Todd all prove to be _solitaria_, while Chapman obtained
both races in Ecuador.
The winter range of the species extends north to Vera Cruz (Playa
Vicente); rarely Florida (probably Pensacola, probably Waukeenah,
Sevenoaks, and Safety Harbor); rarely Georgia (Chatham County);
probably the Bahama Islands (Inagua); Jamaica; and Porto Rico. East
to Porto Rico; eastern Venezuela (mouth of the Orinoco River);
British Guiana (Bartica); Dutch Guiana (Surinam and Maroni River);
French Guiana (Cayenne); Brazil (Mixiana, Para, Chapada, Urucuia, and
Pitanguy); Paraguay (Colonia Risso); Uruguay (Rocha, Montevideo, and
Colonia); and Argentina (Buenos Aires and Azul). South to Argentina
(Azul and Cordoba). West to Argentina (Cordoba, Tucuman, Salta, and
Oran); Bolivia (Caiza); Peru (Chorillos, Cajabamba, and Tumbez);
Ecuador (Guayaquil and Quito); Colombia (Cali, Novita, Medellin, Puerto
Berrio, and Santa Marta); Costa Rica (San Jose); Guatemala (Los Amates
and Duenas); Yucatan (Tabi); and Vera Cruz (Playa Vicente).[1]
[1] The migration dates here given probably include, in many cases,
observations and records for both _solitaria_ and _cinnamomea_.
_Spring migration._--Early dates of arrival in the spring migration
are: South Carolina, Charleston, March 27, and Aiken, March 30; North
Carolina, Raleigh, April 4, and Weaverville, April 9; District of
Columbia, Washington, March 30; Pennsylvania, State College, April
14, Sewickley, April 15, and Doylestown, April 16; New Jersey, Dead
River, April 18; New York, York, April 18, Ithaca, April 20, and New
York City, April 21; Connecticut, Litchfield, April 27, and New Haven,
April 29; Massachusetts, Northampton, April 25, Melrose, April 26,
and Fitchburg, April 28; Vermont, Randolph, April 26, Bennington,
May 4, and Wells River, May 6; New Hampshire, Manchester, April
26, and Monadnock, May 11; Maine, Orono, May 3, Pittsfield, May 6,
and Waterville, May 7; Quebec, Quebec, May 1, and Godbout, May 4;
Mississippi, Bay St. Louis, March 17, and Biloxi, March 25; Louisiana,
Hester, March 16; Arkansas, Monticello, March 24, and Tillar, March
31; Tennessee, Nashville, April 7; Kentucky, Bowling Green, April 8,
and Russellville, April 9; Missouri, Jonesburg, March 19, and Monteer,
April 6; Illinois, Rantoul, March 24, Danville, April 2, and Chicago,
April 7; Indiana, Frankfort, March 15, Indianapolis, March 17, and
Delhi, March 28; Ohio, Oberlin, March 28, Sandusky, March 31, and
Scio, April 7; Michigan, Ann Arbor, April 23, Hillsdale, April 24, and
Portage Lake, April 30; Ontario, Toronto, March 16, London, April 28,
and Ottawa, May 2; Iowa, Hillsboro, April 10, National, April 14, and
Sigourney, April 20; Wisconsin, Beloit, April 24, Milwaukee, April 25,
and Madison, April 26; Minnesota, Minneapolis, April 17, Hallock, April
21, and Lanesboro, April 24; Texas, Santa Maria, March 3, Brownsville,
March 17, Texas City, March 22, and Boerne, March 25; Kansas, Wichita,
March 29, Emporia, April 10, and Independence, April 16; Nebraska,
Neligh, April 20, Red Cloud, April 25, and Valentine, April 27;
South Dakota, Forestburg, April 16, and Huron, May 3; North Dakota,
Charlson, April 27, and Bismarck, April 30; Manitoba, Aweme, April
29; Saskatchewan, Wiseton, May 13, and Osler, May 19; and Alberta,
Alliance, May 2, Flagstaff, May 4, and Oonoway, May 5.
Late dates of spring departure are Colombia, La Manuelita, April
11, and eastern Santa Marta region, April 18; Costa Rica, San Jose,
April 27; Yucatan, Rio Lagartoo, April 13; West Indies, San Domingo,
April 27; Cuba, Isle of Pines, May 18; Bahama Islands, Nassau, May
10; Florida, St. Marks, May 10, and Pensacola, May 30; Alabama, Bayou
Labatre, May 20, and Autaugaville, May 23; Georgia, Macon, May 10, and
Savannah, May 17; South Carolina, Aiken, May 10, Frogmore, May 19,
and Mount Pleasant, May 27; North Carolina, Weaverville, May 20, and
Raleigh, May 28; District of Columbia, Washington, May 21; Maryland,
Sandy Springs, May 22, and Cumberland, May 23; New Jersey, Camden,
May 25, Morristown, June 7, and Bernardsville, June 11; New York,
Rhinebeck, May 26, Cincinnatus, May 31, and Orient Point, June 6;
Connecticut, Norwalk, May 27, and Litchfield, May 31; Rhode Island,
Providence, June 3; Massachusetts, Worcester, May 30, Melrose, June
1, and New Boston, June 10; Louisiana, New Orleans, May 6, and Bains,
May 12; Mississippi, Ellisville, May 17; Tennessee, Nashville, May 27,
and Knoxville, June 12; Kentucky, Bowling Green, May 22; Missouri, St.
Louis, May 16, and Monteer, May 20; Illinois, Chicago, May 26, Joliet,
May 28, and Rantoul, May 29; Indiana, Goshen, May 24, and Holland,
May 30; Ohio, Columbus, June 1, Oberlin, May 28, and Huron, May 29;
Michigan, Laurium, May 26, and Detroit, May 30; Ontario, Port Perry,
May 27, Toronto, June 3, and Madoc, June 7; Iowa, Sioux City, May 26,
Emmetsburg, May 29, and Sioux City, May 30; Wisconsin, Madison, May
27, and La Crosse, May 29; Minnesota, Waseca, May 22, Hallock, May 25,
and Minneapolis, May 31; Texas, Gainesville, May 15, Kerrville, May
20, and Hidalgo, May 23; Kansas, Lawrence, May 21, and Topeka, May
22; Nebraska, Valentine, May 20, and Lincoln, May 22; South Dakota,
Huron, May 21, Vermilion, May 27, and Forestburg, May 30; North Dakota,
Charlson, May 25; Manitoba, Aweme, May 26, Shell River, May 29, and
Shoal Lake, June 1; and Saskatchewan, Prince Albert, June 5, and
Kutanajan Lake, June 15.
_Fall migration._--Early dates of arrival in the full migration are:
Saskatchewan, Maple Creek, July 6; Manitoba, Margaret, July 8, and
Oak Lake, July 19; South Dakota, Sioux Falls, July 1, and Forestburg,
July 2; Nebraska, Valentine, July 3; Kansas, Little Blue River, July
22; Texas, Gurley, July 15, Kerrville, July 20, Brownsville, August 2;
Minnesota, St. Vincent, July 2, Lanesboro, July 4, and Minneapolis,
July 15; Wisconsin, Shiocton, June 30, North Freedom, July 14, and
Ladysmith, July 16; Iowa, Marshalltown, July 8, Sioux City, July 12,
and Hillsboro, July 18; Ontario, Toronto, July 10, and Port Dover,
July 13; Michigan, Detroit, July 7, and Charity Island, July 10; Ohio,
Columbus, July 3, Wooster, July 8, and Painesville, July 20; Indiana,
Sedan, July 15; Illinois, Chicago, July 3, Glen Ellyn, July 16, and
Port Byron, July 21; Missouri, Monteer, July 29; Kentucky, Bowling
Green, July 22; Mississippi, Biloxi, July 12, and Bay St. Louis, July
16; Louisiana, New Orleans, July 9; Massachusetts, Becket, July 8,
Harvard, July 12, and Lynn, July 17; Rhode Island, Newport, July 4, and
Providence, July 11; Connecticut, East Hartford, July 14, and Milford,
July 28; New York, Camp Upton, July 8, Rochester, July 12, and Poland,
July 15; Maryland, Calverton, July 14, and Cambridge, July 19; District
of Columbia, Washington, July 15; North Carolina, Raleigh, July 14;
South Carolina, Frogmore, July 24, and Charleston, July 26; Alabama,
Stevenson, July 15, and Leighton, July 17; Florida, Pensacola, July 12,
Bradenton, July 12, St. Marks, July 28, and Key West, July 28; Bahama
Islands, Fortune Island, August 5; Cuba, Isle of Pines, August 20;
Porto Rico, Comerio, July 29; and lesser Antilles, St. Croix, August 5.
Late dates of fall departure are: Keewatin, Echimamish River, September
15; Manitoba, Shoal Lake, September 17, and Aweme, October 5; North
Dakota, Charlson, September 18; South Dakota, Forestburg, September 30;
Nebraska, Valentine, October 9, Nebraska City, October 10, and Lincoln,
October 20; Minnesota, St. Vincent, September 22, Parkers Prairies,
September 30, and Lanesboro, October 4; Wisconsin, Elkhorn, October
10, Delavan, October 20, and Racine, October 30; Iowa, Marshalltown,
October 5, and Hillsboro, October 20; Ontario, Toronto, October 2, St.
Thomas, October 4, and Ottawa, October 31; Michigan, Detroit, October
1; Ohio, Weymouth, October 14, Austinburg, October 28, and Medina,
November 1; Indiana, Indianapolis, October 15, Richmond, October 28,
and Roanoke, November 15; Illinois, Chicago, October 6, La Grange,
October 7, and De Kalb, October 10; Missouri, Jaspar City, October
9, and Independence, October 13; Kentucky, Bowling Green, October
11, Versailles, October 21, and Lexington, October 23; Tennessee,
Knoxville, October 11, and Nashville, November 4; Quebec, Montreal,
September 27; Maine, Portland, October 6, Pittsfield, October 8, and
Hebron, October 20; New Hampshire, Tilton, September 29, Lancaster,
October 5, and Errol, October 31; Vermont, Rutland, October 10, and
West Barnet, October 17; Massachusetts, Lynn, October 28, and Boston,
October 30; Rhode Island, Providence, October 13; New York, Rochester,
October 10, Ithaca, October 19, and New York City, October 31; New
Jersey, Montclair, October 13, Elizabeth, October 16, and Morristown,
November 1; District of Columbia, Washington, October 28; Maryland,
Chesapeake Beach, November 2; and South Carolina, Long Island, November 8.
_Casual records._--The typical form of the solitary sandpiper has
been many times taken in Western States. Among these occurrences are:
New Mexico (Guadalupito, August 7, 1903); Wyoming (Arvada, August 19,
1913); Montana (Milk River, July 25, 1874, Miles City, August 14, 1900,
Gold Creek, August 20, 1910, and Three Buttes, August 6, 1874). Many
specimens also have been taken in British Columbia (Atlin and Okanagan
Landing), where it appears to be of regular occurrence, a specimen was
taken at Griffin Point, Alaska, June 1, 1914, and one at Fort Chimo,
Ungava.
Two were collected on October 12, 1897, on Chatham Island, Galapagos
Archipelago; one was taken on the Clyde River, Lanarkshire, Scotland;
and another was obtained at Kangek, Greenland, on August 1, 1878.
_Egg dates._--Alberta: 29 records, May 24 to June 24; 15 records, May
30 to June 8.
TRINGA SOLITARIA CINNAMOMEA (Brewster)
WESTERN SOLITARY SANDPIPER
HABITS
The western race of this species is larger than the eastern. In adult
nuptial plumage the upper parts are much less distinctly spotted with
whitish, the white bars on the tail are decidedly narrower and the
outer primary is usually finely mottled, with ashy white along the
border of its inner web; this last is none too constant a character and
is sometimes seen in the eastern bird. The name was derived from the
fact that in young birds the light spots on the back, scapulars and
wing coverts are brownish cinnamon instead of white or buffy whitish.
_Courtship._--The following description of the song flight of this
species was originally recorded by Dr. Joseph Grinnell (1900) under
the name of the undivided species, but he now evidently thinks that it
should belong here:
The song flight of this species is mostly indulged in
during the early morning hours. This consists of a slow
circuitous flight on rapidly beating wings high over the
tree tops, accompanied by the frequent repetition of a
weak song somewhat resembling the call of a sparrow hawk.
At the close of this song flight the bird alights, as if
exhausted, and perches silently for some time at the top of
the tallest spruce in the vicinity. During the performance
of the male, the female may be seen feeding around
some grassy pool beneath, from all appearances entirely
unmindful of the ecstatic efforts of her mate.
_Nesting._--Nothing definite is known of the breeding range or
nesting habits of the western solitary sandpiper. It is supposed to
breed in the interior of British Columbia and Alaska. The following
observations, made near Circle, Alaska, by Dr. Wilfred H. Osgood (1909)
throw some light on the subject:
Within a radius of several miles from Circle one or more
adults were found about almost every woodland swamp.
In most cases they acted like parent birds anxious for
the safety of their young. Whenever we entered certain
precincts, they hovered nervously about, calling loudly,
or alighted on nearby trees scolding. The first pair seen
near Charlie Creek exhibited such actions on the evening
of June 22, and we made a hasty search in the twilight for
young birds, but found nothing. The excitement of the old
birds seemed to be greatest while we were in a small grassy
swamp, so the next day we made a more careful search.
The old birds were even more excited than before, and it
was some time before we detected that, besides the loud
cries ringing all about us, a faint peeping was issuing
from several points in the grass. Guided by this scarcely
audible peeping, we soon found three downy young birds
widely separated and squatting aimlessly in the grass.
They are quite small, exactly of a size, and none shows
the least indication of growing feathers; evidently they
belonged to one clutch, and could not have been out of the
eggs more than one or two days. The eggs of this species,
like those of the European green sandpiper, have been found
in the nests of other birds in trees. The small opening
where the birds were found was bounded on one side by an
extensive area grown with willows of relatively small size,
but on the other side was only a thin line of willows and
then alders, birch, poplars, and heavy spruce, in which
probably such birds as olive-backed thrushes, robins, and
varied thrushes nested in abundance. Therefore there was
ample opportunity for the sandpipers to lay their eggs in
the nests of these birds.
_Plumages._--The downy young referred to above are thus described by
Robert Ridgway, (1919):
General color of upper parts cinnamon drab, longitudinally
varied with brownish black; forehead and crown with a
broad median streak of black; a sharply defined black
loral streak, extending from bill to eye; a narrow black
stripe across auricular region (longitudinally), or a
black postauricular spot; occiput brown centrally, black
exteriorly, the black border sending from each side
a forward branch; an oval patch of brownish black on
median portion of rump, this bordered along each side
by a stripe of pale dull vinaceous-buff, the two buffy
stripes converging or almost uniting both anteriorly and
posteriorly; wings cinnamon drab, margined posteriorly with
dull white, the brown portion with several irregular spots
or blotches of black; under parts dull white.
Subsequent plumages and molts are doubtless similar to those of the
eastern race.
_Winter._--As mentioned under the preceding subspecies, we know very
little about the winter distribution of the two races. Dr. Frank M.
Chapman (1926) says that most of his specimens from Ecuador are of this
form, which he calls “a common winter resident from the coast to the
tableland, arriving from the north at least as early as August 10.” Dr.
Alexander Wetmore (1926) says:
The specimens taken at Formosa and General Roca belong
certainly to the western form, on the basis of size (male,
wing, 134.3; female, wing 136.7 mm.), dorsal coloration,
and the presence of mottling on the inner web of the outer
primary. A female from Lazcano, Uruguay, has molted the
outer primaries, but on the basis of other measurements and
on the presence of some dark, buff mottling on the back
seems within the limit of variation of _cinnamomea_ and is
identified as the same as the other two. Though the typical
subspecies _solitaria_ is recorded definitely from Colombia
by Chapman, these findings seem to cast a doubt on its
presence as far south as Argentina.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--Western North America and South America.
_Breeding range._--No unquestioned set of eggs of the western solitary
sandpiper has thus far been recorded. Downy young with their parents
have, however, been taken in western Alberta (Henry House) and in
Alaska (Circle, Kowak River, Eagle, and Charlie Creek). There also is
a strong probability of their breeding in British Columbia (Cariboo
District, and Ducks).
_Winter range._--As mentioned under _T. s. solitaria_, the two races
of this species on their wintering grounds in South America have
been distinguished only on a few occasions. It is probable that they
either occupy the same winter grounds or that their ranges overlap.
All specimens collected by Wetmore (1926) from Uruguay, Paraguay, and
Argentina, prove to be this form, indicating that it may winter south
of true _solitaria_. It also has been taken by Chapman in Ecuador
(Guayaquil, Loja, and Cebollal).
_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival are: Texas, Samuels,
April 15, and Henrietta, April 19; New Mexico, State College, May 4,
and Las Vegas, May 8; Colorado, Colorado Springs, May 1, Denver, May
4, and Boulder, May 5; Montana, Terry, May 7, and Billings, May 10;
Alberta, Athabaska Landing, May 5, Edmonton, May 10, and Sandy Creek,
May 14; Mackenzie, Fort Simpson, May 10, and Fort Providence, May 14;
Arizona, Verde Valley, April 20, and Paradise, May 9; California, Los
Angeles, April 10, Gridley, April 23, and Fort Crook, May 4; Oregon,
Anthony, April 16, and Malheur Lake, April 17; Washington, Tacoma, May
6; British Columbia, Okanagan Landing, May 5, and Chilliwack, May 7;
Yukon, Forty-mile, May 8; and Alaska, Tocatna Forks, May 12, Nulato,
May 15, and Kowak River, May 18.
Late dates of spring departure are: Colorado, Boulder, May 25, Denver,
May 28, and Grand Junction, June 3; and Wyoming, Fort Saders, May 25.
_Fall migration._--Early dates of fall arrival are: California, Santa
Barbara, July 22; Arizona, Apache, July 29, Cave Spring, August 1,
and White Mountains, August 10; Montana, Terry, June 28; Wyoming, New
Castle, July 7; Colorado, Lytle, July 6, Middle Park, July 13, and El
Paso County, July 23; New Mexico, Zuni Mountains, July 24; and Texas,
Brownsville, July 31.
Late dates of fall departure are: Alaska, Taku River, September 15;
British Columbia, Okanagan Landing, September 26; Washington, Seattle,
September 11; California, Santa Barbara, September 7; Arizona, San
Pedro River, October 10; Lower California, Agua Escondido, November
18; Montana, Missoula, September 4, Terry, September 5, and Bitterroot
Valley, September 7; Wyoming, Yellowstone Park, September 4, and Green
River, September 5; Colorado, Boulder, September 18, Florissant,
October 5, and Greeley, October 25; and New Mexico, Acoma, September
27, and Glenrio, October 2.
TRINGA OCROPHUS Linnaeus
GREEN SANDPIPER
_Contributed, by Francis Charles Robert Jourdain_
HABITS
The green sandpiper is only an accidental visitor to North America.
Swainson and Richardson (1831) record it from Hudson Bay, but this is
now generally acknowledged to be probably due to error. However, Dr. T.
M. Brewer (1878) mentions a specimen obtained at Halifax, Nova Scotia,
in 1872 or 1873 and forming part of a collection made there which was
purchased by J. E. Harting from a dealer at Woolwich. The evidence is
far from satisfactory and Seebohm’s remarks (1884) should be consulted,
but the skins in question are still in existence in the collection of
the British Museum.
_Courtship._--It is a most remarkable fact that though the green
sandpiper is widely distributed during the breeding season over
temperate Europe and is by no means a shy or retiring bird, even though
it haunts the recesses of wooded marshes and wet forests, yet there
is hardly anything on record about its courtship activities. Seebohm
writes that the notes “are no doubt modulated into a musical trill as
the male performs his amatory excursions in the air during the pairing
season,” but adds that he has never had the good fortune either to
hear the love song or to find it described. Fortunately Prof. C. J.
Patten (1906) met with a pair which frequented a moorland stream in the
neighborhood of Sheffield from May 3 to June 4, 1903. He says:
They were always to be found in the same spot, and after
feeding they frequently flitted on to a stone wall,
where for a little while they would remain motionless.
At intervals they suddenly shot up into the air for a
short distance, darting down again to the same stone
with astonishing speed. On the wing they displayed great
activity and adroitness, the female twisting and turning to
escape the addresses of the male.
Newton (1896) writes:
Yet in the breeding season, even in England, the cock bird
has been seen to rise high in air and perform a variety of
evolutions on the wing, all the while piping what without
any violence of language may be called a song.
Doctor Hartert (1920), speaking of its habits on its breeding grounds,
remarks that it may be seen shooting through the air with the speed
of an arrow, and opines that this must be the love flight. With the
exception of these notes and some references to the song (which are
referred to under the heading of Voice), I can find nothing in the
literature with regard to the actual courtship, except Hartert’s
statement that on the ground the male trips about, with tail outspread
like a fan, calling loudly. When, however, a pair has definitely
settled down in its breeding territory, both birds are exceedingly
noisy and demonstrative. Wheelwright (1864) speaks of the “boisterous,
noisy behavior” of this bird, and in his later work on Sweden (1865)
remarks:
Now, of all our waders, this is the noisiest, and there is
little trouble in finding the locality where it breeds,
for the old male is always about some brook in the
neighborhood, and I have before noticed that the loud, wild
cry of the green sandpiper and greenshank are much alike.
_Nesting._--The nesting habits of the green sandpiper have been fully
described, but were practically unknown to naturalists till about
1852–1860, when quite independently Forester, Weise, and Hintz (sen.),
in Germany, and H. W. Wheelwright in Sweden, published the results of
their discoveries. The story is told in detail by Forest-Inspector
Weise, in the _Journal für Ornithologie_ for 1855 (p. 514). He had
first heard of the habit of adopting old nests of other species in
trees from an old ranger, but naturally discredited it. However, in
1845, the same man brought him four sandpipers’ eggs from a nest in
an old beech. Next spring Weise found a green sandpiper breeding in a
pine about 25 or 30 feet from the ground. He climbed to the nest and
found the four eggs so highly incubated that the young could be heard
squeaking inside the shells. Two other nests in similar sites came to
his notice subsequently, the last on May 25, 1855, when the four eggs
were already chipped.
Forester, W. Hintz 1, writing in the same periodical for 1862 (p. 460)
says that he had found sandpipers’ nests in trees as far back as 1818,
but at that time he had no correspondents who took any interest in
birds’ eggs and only took a clutch or two for his own collection. On
April 26, 1834, he found a clutch of this species in a nest of the song
thrush (_Turdus philomelus_) and from 1852 onward, as the circumstances
began to be known to German naturalists, he found a long series of
nests with eggs of which he gives full details. Most of these eggs
were laid in old nests of song thrush (_Turdus philomelus_), but some
were placed in old nests of pigeon (probably _Columba palumbus_) or
squirrel’s dreys, and in one case the young were found in an old nest
of red-backed shrike (_Lanius collurio_). Another curious case recorded
is that in which an old aspen (_Populus tremula_) was broken off and a
hole which had been occupied in the previous year by a pied flycatcher,
contained a brood of young green sandpipers, which had apparently only
been hatched half an hour before. On the forester’s approach the young
birds jumped from the hole and concealed themselves among the grass.
Some further details are also given in a letter from Hintz sent to the
Rev. H. S. Hawkins and published in Dresser’s Birds of Europe; also in
the _Journal für Ornithologie_ for 1864 (p. 186).
Summarizing these we find that the birds arrive on their nesting
grounds in Germany from the beginning to the middle of April, choosing
wooded localities in marshy districts with pools or slow-flowing
streams in the neighborhood. Old nests of song thrush, blackbird,
mistle thrush, red-backed shrike, and half-ruined nests of jay,
woodpigeon, or squirrel are all adopted from time to time. Occasionally
the eggs are laid in a hollow where dead leaves and pine needles have
accumulated, and holes formerly used by starlings and flycatchers
have been taken possession of. The height from the ground varies
considerably, some nests may be as much as 35 or 40 feet above the
ground while others are only a few feet up. The distance from the
nearest water is also variable, as though most nests are within 500
yards, yet occasionally the birds have been known to nest half a mile
away.
Meantime H. W. Wheelwright in Sweden had met with an exactly similar
state of things, and in the _Field_ newspaper of August 18, 1860,
described the tree-nesting habits of this species. The editor, who
was ignorant of the evidence of Weise and Hintz, openly expressed his
doubts as to the accuracy of the observations, but Wheelwright stuck
manfully to his facts and subsequently the editor admitted his mistake.
The republication of Wheelwright’s notes in Sweden in 1866 elicited
further evidence from Jagmaster Lundborg, who had on one occasion
taken the eggs from what appeared to be an old squirrel’s drey or
nest. The only important difference in the habits of the bird in the
two countries appears to be that nests of the hooded crow (_Corvus c.
cornix_) are freely used in Sweden and also those of the fieldfare
(_Turdus pilaris_).
Like the greenshank, the green sandpiper has a great attachment to
certain localities and in some cases the identical nest has been used
for two consecutive seasons. In a district where the birds are not
scarce, this naturally renders the discovery of the nest much more
simple to the resident, and explains the success of Forester Hintz and
others in discovering the eggs. Very little in the way of addition
appears to be made by the sandpipers to their adopted home and the pine
needles which are noted in the interior of old thrushes’ nests may well
have dropped from the adjacent trees in the ordinary way.
_Eggs._--These are normally four in number, pyriform in shape, rather
thin shelled and, as compared with those of the wood sandpiper,
generally large and pale in coloring, showing more of the ground colors
and fewer markings. The ground color varies from some shade of pale
greenish or greenish grey to warm creamy, buffish stone color and
light yellowish red. The markings are generally rather fine and in the
reddish eggs are rich purplish brown, shading into very dark brown,
while in the greenish eggs they are generally less reddish and more
purplish in tone. Numerous fine speckles are characteristic and there
are generally also some underlying shell marks of violet or ashy. The
measurements of 100 eggs average 39.11 by 28.04 millimeters; the eggs
showing the four extremes measure =42= by 28, =41.1= by =30.3=, =34.6=
by 26, and 34.8 by =25.7= millimeters.
_Young._--As to the shares of the sexes in incubation, there are
references to females shot from the nest and males on guard in the
neighborhood, but how far this has been confirmed by dissection and
how much is surmise it is not easy to say. The incubation period is
also unknown. When the young are hatched their stay in the nest is very
short. Besides Hintz’s observation, quoted above, of recently hatched
young jumping from the nest into the grass on his approach. Wheelwright
also found on one occasion four very small young, apparently not a day
old, at the foot of a fir, while in the nest overhead were the empty
shells, still wet inside. In this case the early abandonment of the
nest was not due to human interference. On another occasion Hintz found
three young and a chipped egg in a squirrel’s drey about 30 feet up
in a birch. The young birds sprang from the nest and alighted on the
ground without injuring themselves, concealing themselves at once among
the grass.
_Plumages._--The molts and plumages are fully described in A Practical
Handbook of British Birds, edited by H. F. Witherby (1920), to which
the reader is referred.
_Food._--The main food of this species consists of insects, especially
small coleoptera and their larvae, but larval forms of other water
insects such as the Phryganeidae are also taken and also larvae of
Diptera. Other substances recorded include wood lice, spiders, and not
infrequently the very small red worms, which are to be met with on the
edges of stagnant pools, but apparently not common earthworms. Traces
of vegetable matter are also recorded. H. Stevenson also includes small
fresh-water mollusca, and W. Farren, algae, tender shoots of plants and
on the seashore thin shelled Crustacea.
_Behavior._--The green sandpiper may be met with in the British Islands
in almost every month of the year except perhaps June, when it is
decidedly rare, though only a few individuals stay with us through
the winter. As some birds have undoubtedly stayed through the summer,
breeding has been suspected on several occasions, but the evidence
has always been unsatisfactory. It occurs most frequently in spring
and autumn, sometimes singly and sometimes (especially in autumn), in
family parties, haunting the margins of brooks and ponds.
They are much more deliberate in their movements than the common
sandpiper and search the mud very thoroughly, boring into it with the
bill, probably in search of the small red worms on which they feed.
Without being especially shy, they have their wits about them and
frequently the piping note which they utter when well on the wing (not
just prior to rising) is the first indication of their presence to
the shooter. The striking contrast of color between the dark greenish
mantle and the snow white rump and tail coverts render its recognition
a fairly simple matter. From the wood sandpiper it can be readily
distinguished if a glimpse can be caught of the undersurface of the
wing, for in the green sandpiper the axillars are very dark, looking
almost black, whereas in the wood sandpiper they appear almost white
with faint barrings.
_Voice._--With regard to the notes, during the breeding season the
alarm is given by a loud sharp call which is variously written as
_gik_, _giff_, _yick_, _yeck_, etc., somewhat recalling the nuthatches’
call. Christoleit also describes a pairing song, which bears some
resemblance to that of the other sandpipers, but does not make it clear
whether it is uttered on the wing or on the ground. In forested country
it is naturally not so easy to settle a point of this kind as in open
country. The full song is written by him as: _Tittittitluidich-luidich
titluidie titluidie titluidie-titt-titt_. Probably this is the love
song and forms part of the courtship, but we still await a connected
history of the courtship of this species.
_Fall._--Hintz noticed the last birds on their German breeding grounds
up to July 25, and it is about the middle of July when the first
immigrants appear in the British Isles. The great majority of our
visitors have left by November. During the period of its stay it is
rarely to be met with on the seashore, but nearly always makes its way
inland by means of the water courses, preferring a sheltered brookside
or an inland pool to the open marshes.
_Winter._--The evidence of wintering in South Africa rests entirely
on some old records by Layard, unsupported by skins, but the winter
quarters undoubtedly extend to Angola, British Central Africa, and
Portuguese East Africa. Unlike so many waders it does not associate
in large flocks, but generally is found singly or in small parties on
inland waters in preference to the coast. Large numbers winter in Egypt
and a good many at suitable spots in the Mediterranean Region. In Luzon
(Philippine Islands) Whitehead found it common in December in Benguet,
at a height of 4,000 feet, and on Rumenzon it has been met with at
6,000 feet, while in Abyssinia, Jesse describes it as common on the
highlands, but did not meet with it on the coast.
DISTRIBUTION
_Breeding range._--Northern Europe; but very sparingly in Norway up
to Nordland; in Sweden more generally north to the Arctic Circle;
Finland to 63° 10´; North Russia south of the White Sea and on the
Kamin Peninsula (66° 50´). Southward it breeds in the Baltic Republics,
in North Germany (Holstein?, Oldenburg?, Hanover, Mark Brandenburg,
Pommern, West and East Prussia, Silesia); sparingly in Bavaria;
Czechoslovakia (Bohemia), Galizia and the Carpathians; possibly
occasionally in Jutland, but records from South France and North
Italy can not be relied on. In Asia it breeds across the continent in
the valleys of the Ob, Yenisei, Lena, etc., south to Turkestan and
Transcaspia.
_Winter Range._--The main winter quarters lie in southern Europe and
Africa where it ranges south to Portuguese East Africa, British Central
Africa, and Angola, perhaps even to the Cape (Layard) and in Asia to
Iraq, India, Ceylon, the Andamans, Burma, Cochin China, China, Hainan,
Formosa, and the Malay Archipelago (Philippines).
_Spring Migration._--In February and March it passes north through
Morocco from its African winter quarters, and in Tunisia is most
abundant on spring passage in March and April, while its stay in
equatorial Africa does not extend beyond March. In the marshes of Iraq
it stays till mid May, the spring in North Asia being later than in
West Europe. This is also the case in India, where they do not leave
till about mid May. In southeast China they pass in the first half of
April, usually singly. It has been noted on passage in Corsica in April
(late date May 28); some winter on the Balearic Isles where it has been
noted up to the end of May, while in Cyprus it is found on passage in
March, April, and May (birds seen in Greece on 25th July and in South
China on 11th and 24th July were either nonbreeders or extraordinarily
early migrants southward). The first arrivals reach their breeding
grounds in Germany about the end of March, and in the Baltic states
they arrive about the end of March or early April.
_Fall migration._--Leaving their breeding grounds in Central Europe
about the end of July, they pass the Straits of Gibraltar about
August–September and in Greece arrive in some numbers in September. In
the Iraq marshes the arrival takes place during August, while in India
it sometimes comes during the latter half of July, but more frequently
in August. In southeastern China the first arrivals come in about the
end of July or early in August, but the main body passes in September
or October. In Burma it is generally distributed during the winter
months, but apparently does not range down the Malay Peninsula.
_Casual records._--It is a winter visitor to Japan and occurs
occasionally on the Canaries, but the record from Mauritius must be
regarded as doubtful, and that from Australia by R. Hall is due to
confusion with _T. glareola_. Gould’s record from Borneo is also
doubtful and the American records can only be received with some
suspicion.
_Egg dates._--In Germany out of some 25 records only five fall between
April 15 and 24. From May 2 to 15 there are nine records, from May
18 to 29 five records, and from June 1 to 23, six records. Probably
most of these late dates are due to birds laying again which have been
previously robbed. In Sweden all dates fall between May 6 and June 20
(13 records) and of these eight fall between May 6 and May 21. The
second half of May is the usual time in the southern Provinces, but in
the north and Finland few eggs are laid before June. In Siberia eggs
may be found till the first half of July.
RHYACOPHILUS GLAREOLA (Linnaeus)
WOOD SANDPIPER
_Contributed by Francis Charles Robert Jourdain_
HABITS
The only record of this species within North American limits is due
to Chase Littlejohn (1904), who obtained a single specimen on May 27,
1894, on Sanak Island, Alaska.
_Courtship._--Our information on this point is somewhat scanty. The
song flight has of course been frequently described and observed, but
the actual courtship of the female can only be observed under somewhat
difficult conditions and there must be a considerable element of luck
in any case where it can be closely studied. All the evidence hitherto
obtained goes to show that it is carried on in much the same way as
that of the common sandpiper (_Tringa hypoleucos_), but the song flight
forms a much more conspicuous part of the proceedings. When the male
alights he has a habit of elevating his wings for a moment, until, as
Seebohm says, they almost meet overhead, much as Temminck’s stint also
does. Apparently this forms part of the display before the hen, but the
male may also be seen running by the side of the female with drooping
wings. One can as a rule only get a momentary glimpse and generally
at a considerable distance. The love song is, however, quite another
matter. On the heaths of West Jutland one can see the males in rapid
flight even from the windows of the trains, while in North Finland the
loud musical _leero_, _leero_, _leero_, is one of the most familiar
sounds in the wood-fringed marshes. John Hancock (1874), who by
persevering search found the only nest which has ever been discovered
in the British Isles, in June 1853, gives a very graphic account of it.
He was on a visit to Prestwick Car, in Northumberland, at that time
undrained, and as he says:
About 3 o’clock our dogs, a retriever and a setter, raised
a bird about 50 yards in advance of us, which at once rose
to a considerable height coursing about, rising and sinking
somewhat in the manner of a snipe, and like it, while
sweeping downwards with outstretched, tremulous wings,
produced a peculiar drumming note, but one much shriller
than that of the snipe, and almost amounting to a sort of
musical whistle. From the strangeness of the actions and
peculiar whistling or drumming note, I was convinced that
we had met with a rare bird, and that its nest was near at
hand. The birds were still in view flying about; our only
chance now was to watch the bird to its nest. It was not
long before one of the birds “pitched” and after allowing
a little time for it to settle I went forth to raise it,
but did not succeed. The bird, however, was soon in the air
again flying about as before. The watching dodge was again
tried and this time the bird was marked to, and raised from
the nest. There lay the nest, with its four pretty eggs, on
the side of a dry hillock where grew some heath and grass
in the midst of a swampy spot.
One of the parents was subsequently shot by Mr. Reay to authenticate
the identification, and the specimen is still extant. Seebohm (1884)
also describes the song flight, but it is difficult to reconcile his
account with the facts. According to him:
The note which the male utters during the pairing season
is much more of a song than that of the grasshopper
warbler, which it somewhat resembles; it is a monotonous
_tit-it-it_, begun somewhat low and slow, as the bird is
descending in the air with fluttering upraised wings,
becoming louder and more rapid and reaching its climax as
the bird alights on the ground or on a rail, or sometimes
on the bare branch of a willow, the points of its trembling
wings almost meeting over its head when its feet find
support. This song is a by no means unmusical trill, and
has an almost metallic ring about it.
The comparison to the trill of the grasshopper warbler seems very
far fetched, and would apply far better to the persistent trilling
of Temminck’s stint. In fact the note reads like a paragraph drafted
from filed notes jotted down when the writer was surrounded by singing
stints and sandpipers; the metallic and musical song and dashing flight
being that of the wood sandpiper and the monotonous trill being that
of Temminck’s stint. To my ear the Finnish name of the bird, “liro,”
exactly describes the ringing musical cadence which one hears overhead
so frequently by the lake sides and marshes of Sweden and Finland.
Buturlin notes the song as _peri_, _peri_, _logi_, _logi_, _logi_, and
von Droste’s translation is also expressive _hithitit-tli-a_, _tli-a_,
_tli-a_, _tlia_. It is obvious that this bears no likeness whatever to
the monotonous droning note, rising and falling slightly as the bird
turns its head, of _Locustella naevia_. Occasionally the song of the
wood sandpiper is uttered while the bird is perched on a bush or in
treeless districts even on the ground.
_Nesting._--Although often not concealed with any art, the nest of the
wood sandpiper is by no means an easy one to find, as the possible
area is so vast, while the sitting bird frequently remains on the eggs
until almost trodden on. In consequence most nests are discovered by
accident, when the bird has been flushed at one’s feet, or by long and
systematic beating of likely ground in the neighborhood of a singing
male. The nest is, however, almost invariably on some slight eminence,
a hummock in some cases as much as 2 feet high, though often smaller,
and on dry ground, though there may be water within a foot or so. The
actual nest is merely a hollow in the ground, lined with bents and
grasses and is usually to be found on low-lying ground where willow
scrub, heath mosses, and rank grasses furnish a certain amount of
cover. This is the normal European site, but H. Leyborne Popham (1897),
while collecting on the Yenisei in 1895, found that out of five nests
discovered in that season, only one was placed on the ground, while
the eggs in the other four cases were laid in the numerous old nests
of fieldfares (_Turdus pilaris_) and other thrushes which were to be
seen in great numbers in the trees. In 1900 Mr. Popham (1901) was able
to confirm these observations, for in the forest district two more
clutches were taken from old thrushes’ nests, while at the edge of
the tundra two nests were found on the ground. That this habit is not
strictly confined to the forest districts of Asia was proved by Lieut.
S. A. Davies (1895), who visited the upper waters of the River Muonio
on the borders of Finland and Sweden in 1904. He obtained a clutch from
an old nest of great grey shrike (_Lanius excubitor excubitor_), placed
in the fork of a birch about 20 feet from the ground. A. Cnattingius
also found the eggs on one occasion in Sweden in a fieldfare’s nest,
8 feet from the ground. There is some evidence that in certain parts
of the range this species breeds almost in colonies. Collett has
described a case of this kind from the high field of southern Norway,
and Forester Hintz (sen.) writes that on one marshy flat of about 60
acres in Mecklenberg from 7 to 9 pairs were breeding, and that on May
25, 1858, he received no fewer than 26 fresh and partly incubated eggs
from this locality.
_Eggs._--These are normally four in number, pyriform in shape and thin
shelled. The ground color varies from a beautiful pale green to creamy
white and exceptionally to warm buff. They are spotted and blotched,
more heavily at the large end, with warm reddish brown, some eggs have
most of the markings small, but others have large and almost confluent
blotches. There are also a few purplish brown shell marks. The
measurements of 100 eggs average 38.34 by 26.4 millimeters; the eggs
showing the four extremes measure =42= by 28.1, 41.5 by =28.5=, =35.5=
by 25 and 37 by =24.4= millimeters.
_Young._--Both sexes take part in incubation; all the birds shot by
Popham from the nest in 1895 were males, but in 1900 he found that out
of two killed one was a male and the other a female. Collett also notes
that both sexes have incubation patches. When the young are hatched
the parents display the greatest anxiety, but the male bird seems to
take the greater share in brooding and guarding them. On one occasion
H. J. Pearson (1904) surprised a bird with four young only about a day
old in a marsh. He placed the young in his pocket after having spent
half an hour in finding them, though they were fully exposed to view
and all within 10 yards. The young soon began to cry out and the parent
bird, which he surmised to be the male, followed him nearly a mile,
often settling within 5 feet and expressing his views. He then flew
back to the marsh, but actually returned and settled on a low shed near
the house. Lieut. S. A. Davies (1895) having caught a brood of young,
placed them on the ground in a marsh, first in one place and then in
another, in order to watch them.
The male bird would run excitedly in and out of the
tussocks, searching everywhere till he heard their feeble
chirp. Then he would run toward them and settle down a
yard or two off, quickening his note to a continuous
_giff-giff-giff_. Then all the young had to tumble along
laboriously (for they could hardly walk) till they reached
the male bird who tucked them safely under his wings; once
or twice the female bird appeared on the scene for a minute
or two, when both would soar in the air like drumming snipe.
_Plumages._--The molts and plumages are fully described in A Practical
Handbook of British Birds, edited by H. F. Witherby (1920), to which
the reader is referred.
_Food._--The greater part of the food consists of insects and their
larvae, but worms are also taken in some numbers and small mollusca, as
well as spiders. Among insects the following classes may be mentioned:
Beetles (Coleoptera), including many water beetles, _Haliplus_,
_Hydroporus_, _Dytiscus_, _Berosus_, _Dryops_, _Helichus_, _Phylobius_
(all recorded by Hesse), and _Gyrinus_, _Hydroporus_, _Donacia_, and
_Colymbetes_ (R. Gray). Of Diptera, Hesse records larva of _Stratiomys_
(also recorded by Bar), and among Rhyncota, _Plea minutissima_ (once by
Hesse). Rey also met with Arachnida (spiders), and Jäckel records small
fish.
_Behavior._--Many observers have called attention to the habit of
perching on trees. Seebohm (1884) mentions having shot specimens from
the summit of high bare trees at least 65 feet from the ground, and
similar observations have been made wherever it has been met with in
forested regions. Beside the love song already described, this bird has
an alarm note, which Davies renders as _tchick-tchick_, or _giff-giff_,
and which is generally uttered from the top of a bush or post. A.
Chapman phrases this note as _chirkop_, _chirkop_, _chib_, _chib_.
_Fall._--From July to October it appears often singly, but also at
times in flocks in Great Britain. As a rule these flocks are of no
great size, but on July 26, 1867, Mr. Power met with large numbers at
Rainham, Kent, and when one had been shot others rose on all sides,
forming one large flock, which flew round and round, keeping up a
continual whistle. He estimated the number at 80–100.
_Winter._--During the winter months it haunts mud banks at the
mouths of rivers or marshes and streams inland in small flocks, or
sometimes in pairs, feeding on worms and small insects in southern
Africa. Its habit of perching on trees and bushes has also been noted
when wintering in northern Africa (Tunisia). On the whole, it may be
described as a fresh-water haunting species, usually avoiding the
neighborhood of the sea.
DISTRIBUTION
_Breeding range._--Not on the Faeroes, as stated by Ridgway, but
formerly in very small numbers in Great Britain, Holland, Jutland,
Scandinavia, north Germany locally. Finland, the Baltic Republics, and
Russia generally; also in Asia, east across Siberia to Kamtschatka
and the Commander Isles, north to about 75° on the Yenisei and 71° on
the Lena. Reports of breeding in south Europe (Spain, north Italy,
Pyrenees, etc.) require confirmation.
_Winter range._--Africa, south to Cape Province; Asia, southern
Arabia, Iraq (chiefly on passage), India and Ceylon, Burma, the Malay
Peninsula, and southeast China; the Malay Archipelago (Borneo,
Sumatra, Java, Celebes, Timor, Philippines, etc.); and Australia.
_Spring migration._--It leaves its winter quarters in South Africa in
March, is common in the swamps of Morocco toward the end of April,
fairly plentiful in Tunisia in April and also in numbers in Egypt,
some remaining till May. Most have left Iraq by mid May, and the
departure from India, Ceylon, and Burma also takes place in May. They
pass Gibraltar from March 9 to early May; Corsica, April 12 to May 28;
Cyprus, April–May (late date May 20); Corfu, April 19–May 6; while a
few visit the south and east coast of Great Britain in April and May.
On the lower Petchora they did not arrive till May 26.
_Fall migration._--From Portugal it is recorded on August 18, Spain
(early date, August 4), passes through Italy in some numbers from
August to October, leaving Sweden in September and passing the eastern
Pyrenees in September-October. It reaches Iraq in August, but rarely
stays after October; arrives in India and Burma in August; and in South
Africa in September-October, early dates, August, Transvaal (August 28)
and Zambesi River.
_Casual records._--Faeroes (H. C. Muller), Madeira (R. Gomez), Canaries
(occasional D. A. Bannerman), Hawaiian Isles, and Sanak Island, Alaska
(C. Littlejohn).
_Egg dates._--In Holland, May 11 to 25 (9 dates); Jutland and Germany,
May 7–25 (about 18 dates, mostly after May 20); south Sweden from mid
May onward; Lapland, June 3–16 (16 dates), June 17–27 (11 dates), July
7 (one date).
CATOPTROPHORUS SEMIPALMATUS SEMIPALMATUS (Gmelin)
EASTERN WILLET
HABITS
A score of years or so ago it seemed as if this large showy wader was
destined to disappear from at least the northern portion of its range
on the Atlantic coast. It had entirely ceased to breed in many of its
former haunts and was nearly extirpated in others. Most of the birds
that we shot on migration in New England were immature birds from the
West. In Wilson’s (1832) time it bred “in great numbers--along the
shores of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland.” Audubon (1840)
wrote that “a few have been known to breed not far from New Bedford
in Massachusetts,” probably on some of the islands off the coast.
In 1875 H. B. Bailey (1876) found it breeding “in large numbers” on
Cobb Island, Va.; when we visited this locality in June, 1907, there
were not over two or three pairs of willets breeding there; they have
increased since then under protection. Maj. G. Ralph Meyer wrote to
me in 1922 that about 15 pairs bred on Cobb Island and 5 or 6 pairs on
Hog Island that year. It does not now breed in any numbers, so far as I
know, north of South Carolina, except in the Nova Scotia colonies.
Although our check list does not recognize that fact, it has been known
for many years that willets breed regularly in southern Nova Scotia,
though during the early years of this century they came very near being
extirpated. Dr. Spencer Trotter (1904) recorded the willet as “one of
the most conspicuous inhabitants of the tidal marshes” near Barrington,
Shelburne County. But when I visited that locality with him in July,
1907, we found only one pair. Evidently they began to increase again
after that under adequate protection. Harrison F. Lewis (1920) found
them breeding in Yarmouth County, and Dr. Charles W. Townsend (1920_a_)
saw a flock of 10 on July 18 and as many as 26 on July 25, 1920, near
Barrington. Later information from R. W. Tufts (1922 and 1925) shows
a decided increase up to 1922, when he estimated that there were 736
willets, old and young, between Digby and Queens Counties; but in 1923
and 1924 there seemed to be no further increase.
_Spring._--The northward migration of willets, which breed north of
the winter range, is along the Atlantic coast, starting in March.
The first migrants reach Virginia during the first or second week in
April, but do not appear in Massachusetts until May, the main flight
passing between the middle and last of that month. The probability of
an offshore migration route is suggested by the following interesting
observation made by Dr. George B. Grinnell (1916) during the last days
of May, 1907:
It was in the middle of the morning of a gray, but
not foggy, day, when we were off the Grand Banks of
Newfoundland, that I noticed a considerable gathering of
birds resting on the water in the immediate path of the
ship. As we approached them I thought they looked like
shore birds, and as the vessel drew quite close to them
those immediately near it rose on wing and flew off to
right and left, and again alighted on the water among their
fellows. In the way in which they left the path of the
vessel they reminded me of similar flights of waterfowl
seen in Alaska. When the birds took wing they were at once
recognized as willets, and there must have been somewhere
near a thousand of them, not all packed together in a dense
clump on the water, but more or less scattered out, in
groups of forty, fifty, or a hundred, yet all fairly near
one another, and suggesting a single flock. They seemed to
leave the water reluctantly and gave me the impression that
they were weary.
_Courtship._--Very little seems to have been recorded about the
courtship of the willet, but John T. Nichols has sent me the following
notes:
On the shore of Wakulla County, Fla., in late March willets
were evidently about to nest, March 27 they were noticed
chasing one another in air, and holding the wings over
the back after alighting, the black and white pattern
displayed. The following mating behavior was observed
March 29 toward sunset. Out on a mud flat exposed by low
water two birds were standing. One stood directly behind
the other, waving its parti-colored wings over its back,
and ended by mounting the back of the front bird and
fluttering there. The performance was accompanied by a
tern-like series of _kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk_ calls.
_Nesting._--The eastern willet is decidedly a coastwise bird and it is
seldom seen far from the coastal marshes, beaches, and islands. Its
favorite nesting places are on sandy islands overgrown with grass, tall
and thick enough to conceal its nest, or on dry uplands where similar
conditions may be found in close proximity to marshes or the shore. In
Nova Scotia I was too late to find nests, but Mr. Lewis (1920) writes:
I have occasionally searched for the nests or the young of
the willets, but without success until June 8, 1920, when
I found a nest with four eggs of this species, in an open
swale in an upland pasture, about a quarter of a mile from
the nearest salt marsh or salt water, at Arcadia, Yarmouth
County, Nova Scotia, on the western side of the Chetogue
River. The nest was near the junction of the River Road
with Argyle Street, and was about 150 yards from each of
those much-traveled highways, which were in full view from
the nest site. Several cattle occupied the pasture at
the time when the nest was found. The swale in which the
nest was placed was of considerable extent and was of the
kind preferred as a breeding place by Wilson’s snipe; in
fact, a pair of those birds were evidently nesting there.
The willet’s nest was a slight hollow in the damp ground,
lined with a few dead rushes. It was surrounded by growing
rushes, cinnamon fern, low blackberry bushes, and wild rose
bushes, and was well concealed.
Mr. Tufts (1925) says that “they often nest in the open pastures or on
the rough boulder-strewn uplands at a considerable distance inland,”
but all the nests that he found were “on low land close to the feeding
grounds,” near the shore. One nest was located under a tangle of wild
rose bushes in a pasture in Yarmouth County.
More typical nesting conditions are to be found on the coastal islands
of Virginia and South Carolina. In the Bull’s Bay region of South
Carolina we visited two islands, on May 22 and 23, 1915, on which
willets were breeding. Most of the nests were on a sand-hill plain,
back of the beach, which was overgrown with tufts of fine beach grass
and with a few scattering clumps of myrtle bushes. The nests consisted
of deep hollows in the sand in or under the tufts of grass, usually
well concealed, and were well lined with bits of dry grass, sedges,
or small sticks; the hollows measured 6 or 7 inches in diameter. A
partially built nest contained only one egg, which was lying on the
bare sand and was only partially surrounded by the nesting material;
apparently material is added during the laying period and the nest is
not completed until incubation begins. One nest was under a little
dead, thorny bush, but well concealed, on a small, high spot on an
open sandy reef, not far from the nests of oyster catchers and Wilson
plover. Another nest, in a situation which was probably flooded at
times, was built up 10 inches above the damp ground in a clump of
thickly tufted sedges. H. B. Bailey (1876) says that, on Cobb Island,
“the marshes are also favorite localities for breeding, and in this
case the nests are more elaborate, being built up from the ground,
which is wet at high tide.” I think, however, that the willet prefers
to nest on dry ground.
Roger Tony Peterson writes to me that, among 11 nests found by him on
the South Carolina coast, “five sets of eggs on one particular strip of
beach were located on the open sand with no preparation at all made for
a nest.” Another set was “in a very heavy, well-made nest of weeds and
grass, out on the open sand, far from any grass or bushes.” All were
very conspicuous.
C. J. Maynard (1896) found them breeding in Florida, during the first
week in May, “among the low scrub, just back of the beach ridge. The
nests were placed in the midst of low bushes and were quite difficult
to find.” Arthur T. Wayne (1910) “found two nests on the top of a high
sand hill, in wild oats (_Zizania miliacea_)” and E. A. Samuels (1883)
says that it “has been known to breed in a rye field 20 miles from the
seashore.”
Willets which I have found breeding on the coasts of Louisiana and
Texas have proved to be referable to the eastern form. On Dressing
Point Island in Matagorda Bay, Tex., we found a few pairs breeding,
with heavily incubated eggs, on May 8, 1923. This is a large, flat,
grassy island on which we found black-crowned night herons and a few
pairs of Ward herons nesting on the ground. The willets’ nests were
well concealed under thick tufts of luxuriant grass.
Willets on their breeding grounds are among the noisiest and most
demonstrative of birds. No sooner does one land on an island where they
are breeding than an outcry is started and one after another the birds
arise and fly out to meet the intruder, until the whole colony is in a
state of great excitement. Regardless of their own safety they circle
about at short range, pouring out a steady stream of angry invectives
in a great variety of loud, ringing notes. And this performance is
kept up as long as the intruder is anywhere near their nests. They
often alight on bushes, trees, posts, or even buildings and keep up a
constant scolding.
_Eggs._--The willet regularly lays four eggs; as many as six, and even
seven, have been found in a nest, but these large numbers are probably
the product of two females. The eggs vary in shape from ovate to ovate
pyriform and they have only a slight gloss. The ground colors vary
from “deep olive buff” to “olive buff,” rarely “yellowish glaucous,”
in greenish types, and from “avellaneous” to “tilleul bluff,” rarely
pale “Isabella color,” in the buffy or brownish types; and there
are numerous intermediate shades between these extremes. They are
generally boldly and irregularly marked with both large and small spots
and blotches, but sometimes they are quite evenly covered with small
spots; rarely they are blotched around the large end only. The markings
are mostly in dark browns, “burnt umber,” “bister,” “sepia” and “clove
brown,” but sometimes they are in lighter, olive browns. The underlying
markings are in various shades of “brownish drab” or “drab gray.”
The measurements of 56 eggs average 52.5 by 38 millimeters; the eggs
showing the four extremes measure =60.5= by 38, 53.5 by =40=, =49= by
37, and 50 by =36= millimeters.
_Young._--The period of incubation seems to be unknown. Both sexes
share in the care of the young, which run soon after hatching. Arthur
T. Wayne (1910) says:
The young are hatched by May 29, and the parents sometimes
remove them between the thighs (as the woodcock is also
known to do) to a place of safety, fully a quarter of a
mile away. I observed this trait on May 29, 1899. I found
a nest in an oat field, which contained one young bird
just hatched and three eggs on the point of hatching. I
remained near the place until the eggs were hatched, and
the willets were greatly alarmed all the time. Presently I
saw one of the old birds remove a young one and fly with it
across three creeks and marsh land to an island a quarter
of a mile away. This was repeated until all the young were
removed.
_Plumages._--The downy young willet is rather prettily and quite
distinctively marked. There is a distinct loral stripe of brownish
black, a post ocular stripe and a median frontal stripe of “warm
sepia.” The chin and throat are white and the rest of the head is pale
buff, mixed with grayish white, heavily mottled on the crown with “warm
sepia.” The down of the hind neck and upper back is basally sepia with
light buff tips. The rest of the upper parts are variegated with pale
buff, grayish white and “warm sepia”; but in the center of the back is
a well marked pattern of four broad stripes of “warm sepia” and three
of light buff, converging on the rump and between the wings. The under
parts are buffy white.
The young bird begins to acquire its Juvenal plumage before it is
half grown, beginning with the scapulars, back and wings; then comes
the plumage of the breast and crown, and lastly the neck, rump and
tail. In the full juvenal plumage, in July, the feathers of the crown,
back, scapulars and wing coverts are “sepia”; those of the crown are
tipped, those of the back and scapulars are broadly edged or notched
and those of the wing coverts are still more broadly edged with “pale
pinkish buff”; the greater coverts are irregularly barred, variegated
or sprinkled with sepia; the rest of the wing is as in the adult; the
rump is “hair brown,” narrowly tipped with buffy white; the upper tail
coverts are white, indistinctly barred with dusky near the tips; the
central tail feathers are barred with “sepia” and “drab,” tinged with
“pinkish buff,” these markings decreasing laterally; the chin, upper
throat and belly are white; the lower throat, chest, and flanks are
suffused with “pale pinkish buff,” streaked on the throat and chest and
barred on the flanks with “sepia.” These colors soon fade until the
edgings become nearly white.
A partial molt takes place mainly in September, involving the body
plumage, the tail and some of the wing coverts; this produces the
first winter plumage, which can be distinguished from the adult only
by the retained juvenal wing coverts. This plumage is worn through the
winter and I think, in most cases, through the first spring. At the
next complete molt, the first postnuptial, the adult winter plumage is
acquired.
Adults have a nearly complete prenuptial molt in March, April, and
May, involving everything but the flight feathers of the wings, which
are apparently molted later in the fall or early in the winter. I have
not actually seen these feathers molting. The lighter portions of the
spring plumage wear away during the breeding season, giving the birds a
very black appearance above. The complete postnuptial molt begins with
the body plumage in August, or even July, and by September the plain
“smoke gray” winter plumage is assumed.
_Food._--The favorite feeding grounds of the eastern willet are on the
broad mud flats or sand flats in the bayous, bays, and estuaries on
the coast; it also feeds along the muddy banks of creeks and ditches,
or about the pond holes and splashes on the salt marshes. If disturbed
at its feeding it rises with a loud outcry, alarming all the birds
within hearing. W. J. Erichsen (1921) has noted that, although they
feed at all hours of the day, the nesting birds are seldom found on
their nests during the early morning hours, when there seems to be a
concerted movement from the breeding grounds to their feeding places. I
am inclined to think, however, that they are governed more by the tides
than by the hours, as most of their feeding grounds are covered at high
tide.
Their food consists of aquatic insects, marine worms, small crabs,
fiddlers, small mollusks, fish fry, and small fish. Some vegetable
matter is eaten, such as grasses, tender roots, seeds, and even
cultivated rice.
_Behavior._--The flight of the willet is said to be swift, but it has
always seemed to me to be rather slow and heavy, when compared with the
flight of other shore birds, though perhaps it results in better speed
than it appears to do. The willet is a heavy-bodied bird and its flight
is strong, direct, and protracted; it seems to fly more like a duck
than the other shore birds. Occasionally it sets its wings and scales
downward; and on its breeding grounds I have seen it hover on quivering
wings like a poised falcon. I have not found the willet particularly
shy, as compared with other large waders, though it has the reputation
of being very wary. When in large flocks in open situations, it is
useless to attempt to approach it; but I have often walked up to within
gunshot range of single birds and have frequently had small flocks
fly within range while I was standing in plain sight. On its breeding
grounds it is utterly fearless and bold.
Willets often perch on bushes, trees, fences, posts, rocks, or
buildings, where they can watch and scold at the intruder. Mr. Maynard
(1896) has seen them “perching on the limbs of pine trees, 40 or 50
feet from the ground, and sometimes, a dozen birds would sit side
by side on a single branch, presenting a novel appearance.” Being
partially webfooted, they can swim fairly well and probably alight on
the water to rest when migrating at sea. On the ground they are rather
sluggish, standing still much of the time, with heads drawn down. They
indulge in the bobbing or nodding motions less frequently and more
moderately than the yellowlegs do. Francis H. Allen has noted that “in
bobbing, the head is drawn back and the tail lowered at the same time,
the whole body turning as on a pivot, then the head is brought forward
and the tail raised to its natural level.”
_Voice._--On its breeding grounds the willet is a very noisy bird,
pouring out a great variety of notes. Its usual note is a loud,
vehement _wek_, _wek_, _wek_ or _kerwek_, _kerwek_, _kerwek_, varied
to _piuk_, _piuk_, _piuk_. Occasionally the whistling note, _pill_,
_will_, _will_ or _pill-o-will-o-willet_, is heard, suggesting the note
of the yellowlegs in quality, accent, and manner of delivery. Less
frequently another note is heard, which sounds like _beat it_, _beat
it_. John T. Nichols adds in his notes:
At this season one hears several variations of the _kiyuk_
flight note, one of these, _ki-yi-yuk_ suggesting the
loudest, most ringing call of the greater yellowlegs.
A loud, high-pitched _kree-uk_, which is infrequent,
suggests a note of the lesser yellowlegs. Similarly
_kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk_ in tern-like series from two mating
birds is probably homologous with the alighting and
flushing notes of the yellowlegs. The ordinary loud flight
note of the transient willet is a far-reaching, gull-like
_kiyuk_, repeated at intervals. A less frequent call
resembles the _wheu wheu wheu_ of the greater yellowlegs,
but is much lower pitched, not loud. It is likely to be
heard from a bird lingering at a given locality.
_Enemies._--Man has been the chief enemy of the willet and the main
cause of the restriction of its breeding areas. When it bred abundantly
in Nova Scotia and Virginia its eggs were collected in large numbers as
a legitimate article of food. And the birds were shot all through the
breeding season. Being a large, fat bird, it helped to fill the game
bag rapidly and so was a favorite with sportsmen or market gunners. It
does not come readily to decoys, but it can easily be attracted by a
skillful imitation of its notes, and flocks often fly by within range
of the gunner’s blind. Mr. Nichols tells me that it will decoy well to
the whistled imitation of the black-bellied plover’s note. As it is no
longer on the game-bird list, it will probably be given a chance to
increase.
Some colonies have been washed out by high tides and their natural
enemies, predatory animals and birds, have done considerable damage. P.
B. Philipp (1910), who visited Raccoon Key, S. C., says:
The birds had been badly persecuted by fish crows and
minks; broken and sucked eggs were found everywhere, and
two nests were found in which the skeleton of the bird was
lying on sucked eggs, the work of minks.
_Field marks._--The willet, while standing on the ground, is a
nondescript looking bird, almost devoid of characteristic markings,
especially in the immature and winter plumages. It is about the size
of the greater yellowlegs, but more heavily built, with shorter and
heavier, bluish-gray legs, shorter neck, and decidedly heavier bill.
Its drab colors match well into a background of sand or mud. But when
it lifts its black and white wings or when flying, no bird is more
easily recognized, for its color pattern is unique and conspicuous; the
black wings, with their broad white band extending across the base of
the tail, advertise the willet as far as they can be seen. Its notes,
described above, are also quite characteristic.
_Fall._--I imagine that the willets, which breed in Nova Scotia,
migrate at sea to the West Indies, mainly in August. I have never seen
an adult willet on the New England coast in the fall, and practically
all that I have shot are referable to the western form, but it is not
easy to recognize the two forms in immature plumage. Willets of some
form, in immature plumage, are quite common at times in southern New
England and on Long Island from the middle of July to the middle of
September. The main flight comes in August. I suspect that these are
practically all young western willets.
_Winter._--The eastern willet spends the winter on the south Atlantic
and Gulf coasts of North America, in the Bahamas and West Indies, and
on the more northern coasts of South America. It is therefore resident
or present the year round in much of its breeding range. It is rather
rare as far north as South Carolina, but abundant in Florida and on
the Gulf coasts, where the resident birds are reinforced by eastern
and western willets from the North. In Florida they are occasionally
seen about the ponds on the prairies or in the pine woods, but
their favorite resorts are the broad mud flats in the estuaries and
bayous or in the coastal marshes. In such places we often saw them
in large flocks by themselves, where they were very shy and utterly
unapproachable. Toward the end of March their numbers began to
decrease, as the birds left for their breeding grounds.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--The Atlantic and Gulf coasts of North America to northern
South America; accidental in Kansas, Bermuda, and Europe.
_Breeding range._--The breeding range of the willet extends north to
Texas (Corpus Christi, Houston, and Galveston); Louisiana (Calcasieu,
New Orleans, and Breton Island); Alabama (Grand Batture Island and
Bayou Labatre); and Nova Scotia (Digby, Halifax, and Sable Island).
East to Nova Scotia (Sable Island and Barrington); Massachusetts
(formerly New Bedford and Nantucket); Connecticut (Madison and West
Haven); New Jersey (Barnegat Inlet, Bridgeton, Beasleys Point, Sea
Isle City, and Cape May); Maryland (Berlin); Virginia (Chincoteague,
Hog Island, Cobb Island, and Norfolk); North Carolina (Atlantic and
Beaufort); South Carolina (Waverly Mills, Sullivans Island, and
Frogmore); Georgia (Savannah, Darien, and St. Simons Island); eastern
Florida (Fernandina, Anastasia Island, New Smyrna, Turtle Mount,
Mosquito Lagoon, Cape Canaveral, and Lake Worth); and the Bahama
Islands (Great Bahama, Abaco, and Inagua). South to the Bahama Islands
(Inagua and Andros); the West Indies (Grand Cayman); western Florida
(Indian Key and St. Marks); and Texas (Brownsville). West to Texas
(Brownsville and Corpus Christi).
The breeding range above outlined has become greatly restricted, and
while it is still reported as breeding in Nova Scotia, it is of rare
occurrence at this season on the coasts of the Northern and Middle
Atlantic States. Willets have been reported as nesting on Barbuda, West
Indies, but the record is probably based upon non-breeding individuals
which also have been noted in Cuba (Guantanamo).
_Winter range._--The winter range extends north to Texas (Brownsville);
Louisiana (State Game Preserve and Breton Island); Alabama (Coffee
Island); and probably rarely Virginia (Cobb Island). East to rarely
Virginia (Cobb Island); rarely North Carolina (Fort Macon); South
Carolina (Waverly Mills and Frogmore); Georgia (Savannah and Darien);
Florida (Fernandina, Mosquito Inlet, Indian River, Sebastian, and Royal
Palm Hammock); the Bahama Islands (Grassy Creek and Caicos); Cuba;
probably Haiti; Porto Rico (Boqueron and Anegada Island); the Lesser
Antilles (Antigua, Barbados, Grenada, and Trinidad); British Guiana;
and Brazil (Catejuba Island). South to Brazil (Catejuba Island and
Guapore River). West to Brazil (Guapore River); northeastern Colombia
(Cartagena); probably Panama (Rio Juan Diaz); Yucatan (Merida and
Cozumel Island); Tamaulipas (Matamoros); and Texas (Brownsville).
_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival are: New Jersey,
Cape May, March 22, Long Beach, April 6, and Caldwell, April 7; Rhode
Island, Rock Island, April 27; Massachusetts, Nantucket, May 2, Dennis,
May 5, and Falmouth, May 11; and Nova Scotia, Yarmouth, April 22, and
Wolfville, April 29.
Late dates of spring departure are: Mexico, Tampico, April 11; and
Cuba, Trinidad, April 14, Siguanea, May 2, and Guantanamo, May 8.
_Fall migration._--Information is lacking of the early arrival of
the willet on the southern part of its winter range, but among late
dates of fall departure are: Maine, Sagadahoc County, October 25;
Massachusetts, Plymouth, October 4; Connecticut, Meriden, October 15;
New Jersey, Salem County, October 8, and Caldwell, October 17; and
Maryland, near Baltimore, about November 1.
_Casual records._--The willet has been taken once in Kansas (near
Hamilton, September 8, 1912); and one was obtained in Bermuda on July
3, 1848. It also has been reported on a few occasions from Europe, in
all cases without complete data: France (Abbeville, also two in the
Paris market); Dalmatia; and Sweden.
_Egg dates._--Nova Scotia: 4 records, June 5 to 19. Virginia: 26
records, May 19 to June 16; 13 records, May 27 to June 8. South
Carolina and Georgia: 53 records, March 10 to July 4; 27 records, May 9
to 22. Texas: 28 records, April 3 to June 10; 14 records, April 23 to
May 24.
CATOPTROPHORUS SEMIPALMATUS INORNATUS (Brewster)
WESTERN WILLET
HABITS
When William Brewster (1887) described and named the western willet he
characterized it as:
Differing from _S. semipalmata_ in being larger, with a
longer, slenderer bill; the dark markings above fewer,
finer, and fainter, on a much paler (grayish-drab ground);
those beneath duller, more confused or broken, and bordered
by pinkish salmon, which often spreads over or suffuses
the entire underparts, excepting the abdomen. Middle tail
feathers either quite immaculate or very faintly barred.
It is a bird of the western interior; its main breeding grounds are
in the Great Plains regions of the Northern States, west of the
Mississippi River, and the central Provinces of Canada. Nearly all
recent writers have recorded it as breeding on the coasts of Louisiana
and Texas, an oft-repeated error. All the breeding birds that I
have shot on the coasts of these two States, in May and June, were
clearly referable to the eastern form. And I have been unable to find
any specimens of _inornata_ in collections that could be classed as
breeding birds from these States. If the western willet breeds in
Texas at all it must be on the plains or prairies of the interior. But
it seems hardly likely that it would have a breeding range so widely
separated from the northern range as outlined below. The eastern willet
is strictly a coastwise bird and breeds, or did formerly, all along
the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. On the other hand, the western willet is
just as strictly a bird of the inland prairies and plains during the
breeding season.
_Spring._--The main migration route seems to be northward through the
Mississippi Valley, chiefly in April; most of the birds are on their
breeding grounds by the first of May or earlier and are laying eggs
before the end of that month. Birds which winter in South Carolina
and Florida probably join this route by an overland flight. There is
a northward migration through the interior valleys of California to
breeding grounds west of the Rocky Mountains, and probably some birds
cross these mountains to the interior plains.
_Nesting._--We found western willets very common about the lakes in the
prairie regions of North Dakota and Saskatchewan; but owing to their
habit of flying a long distance to meet the intruder and making a great
fuss everywhere but near their nests, we succeeded in finding only
one nest. This was on the higher portion of the open prairie, a long
way from any water, near Big Stick Lake, Saskatchewan. The nest was a
hollow in the ground, measuring 7 by 6 inches in diameter and 3 inches
deep, lined with grasses and dry weeds. It was in plain sight in short
grass; a few scattered dead weeds were standing around it, but no long
grass. It contained three fresh eggs on June 14, 1906. Ernest T. Seton
(Thompson, 1890) found a nest in Manitoba “which was placed in a slight
hollow, shaded on one side by the skull of a buffalo and on the other
by a tuft of grass,” on an alkali plain.
The western willet breeds commonly in Boxelder County, Utah. Three sets
of eggs in my collection, taken there on May 7, 13, and 16, 1916, by
the Treganzas, came from nests described as slight depressions in short
marsh grass; one was near an alkali flat, one near a water runway, and
one on a partially grass-grown dike.
This bird is a rare, or very local, breeder in California. J. Van
Denburgh (1919) reports five nests found on “a partially flooded
mountain meadow” in Lassen County on June 1 and 6, 1918. “The nests
were made of pieces of weeds rather carelessly built up on the mud.
Some were found where the water was a few inches deep and some where
the mud was drying.”
_Eggs._--The eggs of the western willet are indistinguishable from
those of the eastern bird. There is a slight average difference in
length, but the measurements widely overlap. The measurements of 56
eggs average 54.1 by 37.6 millimeters; the eggs showing the four
extremes measure =58.1= by 39.4, =50.5= by =39.7=, and 54.9 by =35=
millimeters.
_Plumages._--The sequence of plumages and molts is the same for both
races, but juvenal western birds are somewhat paler than eastern birds,
and they have less barring on the tail feathers or none at all.
_Fall._--From its breeding grounds in the interior the western willet
migrates in three main directions to the seacoasts, almost due east to
the Atlantic coast of New York and New England, southeast and south
to the south Atlantic and Gulf coasts and southwest to the California
coast. Probably the birds which breed east of the Rocky Mountains take
the easterly and southerly routes and those which breed west of these
mountains migrate to California. Most of the willets which we get in
Massachusetts in August are immature western willets; I have never
seen an adult. These young birds apparently come from the Great Lakes
region, where they have been recorded in Illinois and Ohio and as far
north as Toronto, Ontario. John T. Nichols says in his notes:
Along the bays and marshes of the south shore of Long
Island the willet is a regular late-summer migrant in
small numbers varying from year to year. Southbound shore
birds of other species are now following this coast to the
westward, but a large majority of the willet are moving in
the opposite direction; that is, from west to east. Its
maximum flight seems to come in the beginning of August,
and a peak of abundance for the species was reached
in 1923. At Mastic on August 4, 1923, 14 willet were
counted passing west to east in 3 flocks during 2½ hours’
observation.
I have examined a number of specimens of these Long Island
fall-migration willet, which have all been in the grey
unmarked plumage of birds of the year (which I would not
undertake to distinguish from adult fresh winter plumage),
and remarkably uniform in size. Their bills varied scarcely
at all in dimensions (slightly over 2¼ inches), being
decidedly too long for the short-billed Virginia breeding
bird, but much too short for the long-billed bird from
the Dakotas (unless its young of the year are uniformly
short-billed).
_Winter._--Western willets mingle in winter with their eastern
relatives on the South Atlantic and Gulf coast from Florida to Texas;
they are especially abundant in Texas. They also winter abundantly from
the coast of California southward. Bradford Torrey (1913) saw them,
mixed with marbled godwits, near San Diego, in such numbers that he--
mistook them at first for a border of some kind of
herbiage. Thousands there must have been; and when they
rose at my approach they made something like a cloud;
gray birds and brown birds so contrasted in color as to be
discriminated beyond risk of error, even when too far away
for the staring white wing patches of the willets to be
longer discernible.
Mrs. Florence M. Bailey (1916) has well described their habits, as
beach birds at this season, as follows:
In the flocks of brown godwits the few gray willets looked
small. They fed in the same way as the godwits, though
their bills were shorter and they could not probe so deep,
but they ran their bills ahead of them through the wet
sand, probed as far as they could reach, and then trotted
back before the oncoming waves. A thoughtless one sat down
just at the edge of the water line one day, its back toning
in with the sand, its long legs stretched out before it;
but soon after it was comfortably settled up came the foam
and it had to bend forward on its tarsus, raise itself, and
flee up the beach. I often saw one resting, standing on
one leg, or sitting at ease with white rump showing. When
stretching the black of the wings showed effectively as it
does both when the birds fly up and when they alight with
wings raised over the back. _Willet_, _willet_, they often
called as they went.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--United States and southern Canada (casually Alaska), south to
northern South America.
_Breeding range._--North to Oregon (Fort Klamath and Camp Harney);
Montana (Bozeman); Alberta (probably Edmonton and Buffalo Lake);
Saskatchewan (probably Quill Lake and Indian Head); Manitoba (Moose
Mountain and Turtle Mountains); North Dakota (Cando and Larimore);
Minnesota (Herman and Madison); and probably formerly Illinois
(Belvidere and Glen Ellyn). East to probably formerly Illinois (Glen
Ellyn). South to probably formerly Illinois (Glen Ellyn); Iowa
(probably Newton and formerly Boone); Nebraska (Long Pine, Kennedy,
Garden County, and Morrill County); Wyoming (probably Big Piney); Utah
(Parleys Park and Salt Lake); and northern California (Beckwith).
West to northern California (Beckwith, Grasshopper Valley, Alturas,
and Goose Lake); and Oregon (probably Tule Lake and Fort Klamath).
Non-breeding birds have been observed in summer as far south as Lower
California (Mazatlan and San Quintin Bay); Colorado (Barr); Florida
(Pensacola); and Alabama (Petit Bois Island).
_Winter range._--North to California (Humboldt Bay); Texas
(Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Rockport, and Refugio County); probably
Louisiana; and Florida (Amelia Island). East to Florida (Amelia Island,
Dummitts, and the Florida Keys); Tamaulipas (Tampico); probably
Honduras (San Pedro); Ecuador (Bay of Santa Elena); and Peru (Tumbez).
South to Peru (Tumbez); and the Galapagos Islands (Albemarle).
West to the Galapagos Islands (Albemarle and Abingdon); Costa Rica
(Lepanto); Guerrero (Acapulco); Nyarit (San Bias); Lower California
(San Quintin); and California (San Diego, La Jolla, Morro Bay, San
Francisco, Bodega Bay, and Humboldt Bay).
_Spring migration._--Early dates of arrival are: Arkansas, Osceola,
March 29; Missouri, Stotesbury, April 8, and St. Louis, April 27;
Illinois, Quincy, April 5, and Big Lake, April 29; Iowa, Cedar Rapids,
April 2, Emmetsburg, April 21, and Keokuk, April 30; Wisconsin, Heron
Lake, April 10, and Waseca, April 10; Minnesota, Lanesboro, April
26; Kansas, Manhattan, April 28, and McPherson, April 30; Nebraska,
Niobrara, April 26, Neligh, May 1, and Valentine, May 5; South Dakota,
Pitrodie, April 25, and Forestburg, April 28; North Dakota, Charlson,
May 1, Jamestown, May 1, and Harrisburg, May 2; Manitoba, Treesbank,
April 30; Saskatchewan, Indian Head, April 26, Wiseton, May 2, and
Eastend, May 7; Colorado, Durango, April 15, Barr, April 20, and Baca
County, April 28; Utah, Great Salt Lake, April 12; Wyoming, Cokeville,
April 26, and Cheyenne, April 30; Montana, Lewiston, May 2, and
Billings, May 4; Oregon, Narrows, April 15; and Alberta, Flagstaff,
April 26, Vagreville, April 28, and Alliance, April 29.
Late dates of spring departure are: Florida, Indian Rocks, May
6; Alabama, Coden, May 17; Tamaulipas, Tampico, April 11; Texas,
Brownsville, April 23, and Texas City, May 13; Lower California, Tres
Marias Islands, April 8, and Cerros Island, April 18; and Nyarit, San
Blas, April 24, and Los Penas Island, May 5.
_Fall migration._--Early dates of arrival in the fall are: Lower
California, San Quintin, August 8; Arizona, San Bernardino Ranch,
August 13; New Mexico, Carlsbad, August 16, and Capitan Mountains,
August 28; Oklahoma, Yarnaby, August 9; Texas, Padre Island, August
20; and Tehuantepec, San Mateo, August 6. Western willets also are of
fairly regular occurrence in fall migration on the Atlantic coast,
specimens having been collected in Massachusetts, Newburyport, August
5, and Boston, August 8; Connecticut, Stony Creek, August 15, and West
Haven, August 26; Rhode Island, Quonochontaug, August 5; and New York,
Amityville, August 14, and Hempstead Bay, August 15.
Late dates of fall departure are: Oregon, Yaquina Bay, October 1;
Montana, Terry, September 8; Idaho, Rupert, October 20; Nevada,
Carson River, October 13; Arizona, San Bernardino Ranch, September 2;
Wyoming, Yellowstone Park, September 13; New Mexico, Jicarilla Apache
Reservation, September 13; Saskatchewan, Redberry, September 2; North
Dakota, Dawson, September 17, and Harrisburg, October 3; Nebraska,
Long Pine, September 10, and Lincoln, September 29; Iowa, Cerro Gordo
County, September 2, and Keokuk, October 27; Illinois, Chicago,
September 30; and Connecticut, West Haven, September 3, and once in
October.
_Casual records._--In spite of its regular occurrence on the Atlantic
coast, the western willet has been detected only on a few occasions
in the interior States east of the Mississippi River. There appear
to be several records for Ohio from April 30 (Oberlin) to November 2
(Bay Point); one for Indiana, Millers, August 14, 1897; and one for
Michigan, Ann Arbor, May, 1889. One was taken July 20, 1898 at Toronto,
Ontario, and four other specimens without data are presumed to be from
the same locality (Fleming). Other casual occurrences are: Washington,
Seattle, July 23, 1922, and Tacoma, September 6, 1913; British
Columbia, Clover Point, August 18, 1898; probably Yukon, Lake Marsh,
July 2, 1899; and Alaska, Lynn Canal (Hartlaub).
_Egg dates._--Utah: 32 records, April 5 to May 21; 16 records, May 4
to 14. Saskatchewan and North Dakota: 19 records, May 8 to June 22; 10
records, May 23 to June 7. Washington to California: 9 records, May 8
to June 16.
HETEROSCELUS INCANUS (Gmelin)
WANDERING TATTLER
HABITS
Along the rocky and stony portions of the Pacific coast, and especially
on the islands and outlying reefs, this ocean wanderer is a common and
well-known bird. Here it is much at home among the surf-swept rocks,
drenched in ocean spray and often enveloped in fog; it has no fear
of foaming breakers, which it nimbly dodges as it seeks its bits of
marine food among the kelp and barnacles on the rocks. It is, at most
seasons, essentially a bird of the seashore, but is seldom seen on the
sandy or muddy shores. The dark color of its upper plumage matches its
surroundings and it is not easily seen among the gloomy rocks, unless
its characteristic outline can be seen against the sky or water as it
poses on the top of some prominent rock to watch the intruder. If he
approach too near, it flies off a short distance with loud, piercing
cries and alights on another rock, to bob and teeter, somewhat like our
familiar spotted and solitary sandpipers. It is generally solitary and
seems to be satisfied with its own society.
It is well named, as it is a famous wanderer. I am tempted to quote Dr.
E. W. Nelson’s (1887) well-chosen words on this subject, as follows:
Over the entire coast of the Pacific north of the equator
its presence has been noted by the various naturalists
whose Bohemian tastes have made their lives somewhat akin
to that of this gentle wanderer. Across the broad ocean
it ranges to those bits of paradise dotting the South
Seas, tripping its way daintily on the beaches of the
coral-enclosed islands, their feet laved by the warm waters
of the tropics, and their eyes familiar with the luxuriant
face of nature in its gentlest and most lovely state. The
next season may find them thousands of miles to the north,
under the shadow of the stupendous cliffs and grand but
desolate and repellent scenes of the Aleutian Islands.
_Spring._--Prof. Wells W. Cooke (1912) says that “the spring migration
begins in March, bringing the birds to the coast of California by the
latter part of the month. The Aleutian Islands are reached the middle
of May, and the most northern part of the range by the latter part of
the month.” H. W. Henshaw (1902) says that “about April or May the
greater number” leave the Hawaiian Islands for the north. “While most
go, many remain, the latter being the immature birds and the weaklings.
At all events, those that remain retain the immature or winter dress
and show not the slightest inclination to breed.” Henry Seebohm (1890)
reports a straggler taken on the Bonin Islands on May 11, 1889. D. E.
Brown’s notes record one at Forrester Island, Alaska, on May 3, 1917,
and several at Grays Harbor, Wash., from May 4 to 21, 1920. He says:
“At low tide these birds were found, with flocks of black turnstone,
on the rock jetty and at high tide among the drift logs on the upper
beach.”
_Nesting._--The nesting habits of the wandering tattler long remained
shrouded in mystery. Various observers had seen it on or near its
probable breeding grounds in the interior of different parts of Alaska.
Dr. Wilfred H. Osgood (1907) collected a very young bird in which “the
head and neck were still downy,” near the upper MacMillan River, Yukon,
on September 5, 1904, and he reported a pair, which evidently had
young, seen by Charles Sheldon, near Mount McKinley, July 28, 1906. Dr.
Joseph Grinnell (1910) mentions a “half-grown juvenal” taken by Joseph
Dixon on Montague Island, July 28, 1908.
The first nest was found in 1912 and is thus described in a letter from
J. M. Jessup to Dr. Charles W. Richmond, accompanied by a specimen of
the bird:
The wandering tattler was found nesting on a gravel bar
near a small stream flowing into the Arctic Ocean, the
exact location was about latitude 69° 10´ and longitude
141° west, or about 25 miles south of the Arctic Ocean
near the international boundary between Canada and Alaska.
The nest was first observed by Sir Frederick Lambart of
the Canadian Coast and Geodetic Survey, and was later
identified by myself. Sir Frederick describes the nest
as follows: “The nest was situated in the middle of an
elevated gravel bar open to the sky for fully 50 feet all
around. The nest was just alongside a small rock; there
were no sticks or any form of nest material, it consisted
merely of a semispherical hollow in dry fine and coarse
gravel. Four eggs were in the nest, I should say about the
size of a ptarmigan’s, brownish blue and mottled very much
like a sandpiper’s. The young birds were noted to have come
out of the eggs July 9.”
Ten years later Olaus J. Murie (1924) collected a downy, young
wandering tattler on Jennie Creek, a small tributary of Savage River,
in the Alaska Range, on June 9, 1922. The following year he completed
the record by finding a nest and collecting the first and only set
of eggs ever taken. He has given us a very good account of the whole
proceeding, from which I quote, as follows:
The following day, July 1, we continued up Savage River 9
miles and made permanent camp. We had been on the lookout
for the birds and I had pointed out to Mr. Buhmann one in
the distance, that he might have an idea for what we were
looking. About noon Mr. Buhmann and my brother were riding
on the wagon, while I walked ahead over the usual gravel
bars, when Mr. Buhmann suddenly called out to me, “Is that
one of your birds?” I turned and saw a wandering tattler
flying away. The bird had been flushed by the horses. We
all three walked back carefully beside the wagon and in a
few moments spied the nest and eggs a short distance to the
rear, not over 6 inches from the wheel track! Mr. Buhmann
picked up one of the eggs, wishing, as he enthusiastically
explained, to be the first one who had ever handled the egg
of a wandering tattler. I explained that the eggs should
not be disturbed until photographed, and it was carefully
replaced in the nest. A series of exposures was made of
the nest and eggs, and we moved away some distance with
our outfit and prepared our lunch. In the meantime the
bird returned and settled on the nest. Several photographs
were then taken of the bird on the eggs, the last one at a
distance of about 10 feet or less. The nest and eggs were
then taken and carried to our camping ground.
All our observations indicate that this nesting site is
characteristic, that the wandering tattler prefers the
gravel bars of mountain streams, as typified by Savage
River. These rivers are rapid and split into numerous
channels, sometimes in an intricate network over the
gravelly valley. This nest was found on Savage River about
5 miles above the mouth of Jennie Creek at an elevation
of about 4,000 feet. It was placed on a gravel bar about
30 feet from the nearest water, and was sunk in a shallow
depression in the gravel. It was well built, unusually
elaborate for a shore bird. It was composed principally of
fine roots carefully woven into a firm structure, including
a number of twigs around the edges. Small bits of twigs and
some dry leaves had been used for lining. It was so compact
that I had no difficulty in picking it up and transporting
it to camp. The diameter of the nest to the edges of the
finely woven body was about 5 inches, but, of course, some
of the twigs extended much farther.
_Eggs._--The eggs taken by Mr. Murie on Savage River, Alaska, July 1,
1923, are now in the United States National Museum and are, so far as
I know, the only eggs in existence. In shape they are between pyriform
and subpyriform, and they have a slight gloss. The ground color is
between “glaucous” and “greenish glaucous,” as in some crow’s eggs.
They are spotted and blotched irregularly, rather heavily near the
larger end and rather sparsely elsewhere, with dark browns, from “seal
brown” or “bone brown” to “burnt umber” or “Verona brown”; there are
some elongated splashes and some small, inconspicuous, underlying spot
of various shades of “brownish drab.” They measure 43.3 by =32.7=,
=44.5= by 31.4, =44.1= by =31.5=, and 43.7 by 32.3 millimeters.
_Young._--The young are able to run about soon after they are hatched
and are carefully guarded by both parents. An adult, secured by Mr.
Murie with the downy young, proved to be a male. “A whistled _cheep_,
imitating a chick, would bring the excited bird within a few feet.” Mr.
Jessup writes that the mother bird was much distressed and attempted to
lure him from her little one by feigning lameness.
_Plumages._--Mr. Murie (1924) has described the downy young very well,
as follows:
These downy young may be described as follows: Under parts
dull white with a faint indication of grayish on upper
breast and lower fore neck; upper parts pale gray, with a
very slight suggestion of buffy on wings, rump, and tail,
more evident in the fresh specimens than in the skin; upper
parts narrowly, irregularly, and indistinctly barred with
blackish, with dull black loral and postocular streaks and
with irregular black spots on hind pileum. In a colored
sketch made from freshly killed bird, tarsus and upper part
of toes appear dull glaucous green; the under surface of
foot olive yellow; bill dull glaucous blue.
Another bird which I have examined, as a dried skin, does not show any
buffy tints. A young bird, mainly in juvenal plumage but still downy
on the hind neck, chin and forehead, taken on September 5, is from
“deep mouse gray” to “dark olive gray” above, with very faint whitish
tips; the wing coverts have more prominent white edgings; the chest
is “pallid mouse gray,” and the flanks “pale mouse gray,” both more
or less indistinctly barred; the rest of the under parts are white.
A limited postjuvenal molt of the body plumage occurs in September,
producing the first winter plumage; this is much like the adult,
except that the juvenal wing coverts, some of the scapulars and the
mottled plumage of the breast and flanks are retained. Some young birds
apparently assume a plumage which is practically adult at the first
prenuptial molt in April.
Adults have a complete postnuptial molt from August to January, the
wings being molted last, between October and January. I have seen birds
in full nuptial plumage from April 13 to September 14 and in full
winter plumage as late as April 12. In winter adults the upper parts
are slightly lighter gray than in summer, the sides of the head, chest
and flanks are still lighter gray and the chin and belly are white. The
partial prenuptial molt occurs in April.
_Food._--The usual feeding grounds of the wandering tattler are the
rocky shores, where it searches for its food among the kelp-covered
rocks at the water’s edge, following the receding waves and nimbly
dodging the incoming breakers or making short flights to avoid the
surf. If over-taken and drenched it flies to a rock, shakes the water
from its plumage and soon resumes its feeding. B. J. Bretherton (1896)
says that on Kodiak Island:
This species seemed to habitually frequent the sand or
gravel beaches in preference to rocky localities, and had
regular feeding grounds to which they resorted at certain
stages of the tide, returning regularly each day at the
same time. Their food consists largely of decapods together
with small crabs, marine worms, and minute mollusks.
Its food seems to be mainly insects, but includes small crustaceans,
minute mollusks, marine worms, and other small marine animals. The
contents of six stomachs, reported on by Preble and McAtee (1923)
consisted of “flies (Diptera), 46.1 per cent; caddis flies 30.6 per
cent; amphipods, 16 per cent; mollusks, 3.6 per cent; and beetles 1.1
per cent.”
_Behavior._--The movements of wandering tattlers are often suggestive
of spotted sandpipers with which they are sometimes associated;
they indulge in the same “tip-up” motion of the body, though less
frequently; and their flight is very similar, with intermittent strokes
of down-curved wings. W. Leon Dawson (1923) says:
When it alights, it sits for some time motionless in a
plover like attitude, with its long bill held horizontally,
invisible, in the dull light of a foggy day, unless,
perchance, outlined against the surf. At other times the
bird will betray its uneasiness by a jetting motion of the
tail.
In his notes on the Farallones, Mr. Dawson (1911) says:
Contrary to earlier statements these tattlers do spend a
considerable portion of their time upon the higher ground.
The tiny bowlder-strewn meadow surrounding my earlier camp
(just east of Franconia Beach) was a favorite resting place
for them, and I am inclined to think the birds spent the
night there, for some were invariably startled upon my
first appearance mornings. Having a common affection for
the tide reefs, wandering tattlers are not infrequently
found in loose association with black turnstones; but
when put to flight they pay no attention whatever to the
fortunes of their chance shipmates nor to others of their
own kind.
Dr. E. W. Nelson (1883) writes:
Their note is a loud, ringing whistle, which seems
specially fitted to the bird and the haunts it occupies,
and as the shrill cry reechoes from the towering cliffs and
ledges at the base of which it feeds its peculiar character
and intonation might lead one to fancy some genie of the
rocks was uttering its cry. When the birds are approached
by boat as they are feeding along the water’s edge they
ascend gradually, with an expression of mild curiosity, and
pass from ledge to ledge until they reach a jutting point
on the face of the cliff or its brow, where they stand in
relief, like beautiful clear-cut statuettes, and do not
utter a sound or move until they are still further alarmed,
when they take flight, uttering at the same moment their
loud note before mentioned.
_Voice._--Doctor Nelson (1880) describes its note as “a loud, ringing
_kla_, _kla_, _kla_,” and again he (1887) calls it “a loud, clear,
flutelike _tu_, _tu_, _tu_, _tu_.” Mr. Dawson (1923) says it is “a
quavering cry, somewhat like the _tew_, _tew_, _tew_ of the greater
yellowlegs, but more subdued.” Mr. Murie (1924) writes:
Whenever I approached the home grounds of a wandering
tattler he would fly to meet me and would scold excitedly,
uttering a vigorous _deedle-deedle-deedle-deedle-dee_, with
variations which I failed to record minutely.
_Fall._--Doctor Nelson (1887) says:
They usually reappear on the seacoast about St. Michaels
the last of July or very early in August and remain until
from the 1st to 10th of September. During their presence on
the coast of Norton Sound they show a decided preference
for the most rugged and rock-bound parts of the shore,
rarely or never occurring elsewhere. It is a frequent and
regular summer bird on the rocky parts of the coast to the
vicinity of Bering Straits and occurs on the islands and
Siberian shore of Bering Sea.
William Palmer (1899) says that on the Pribilof Islands:
It is the first species to return in the fall; adult birds,
July 10 and afterwards. Usually in pairs on the surf-swept
rocks, but sometimes seen--usually the brownish, unbarred,
and less wary immature--on open sandy places, and sometimes
with the turnstones on a sandy beach. They are not shy, but
are seldom noticed when perched on the wet rocks, which
harmonize so well with their color. Solitary birds remain
quiet and unseen and will permit one to approach quite
close, frequently startling us as they get up suddenly,
almost under our very feet, and uttering their loud, shrill
cry, flying off to another resting place.
From the Aleutian Islands and the interior of Alaska there is a
southward migration to the islands in the Pacific, where it spends
the winter, and a more general movement southward along the Pacific
coast of North America. D. E. Brown’s notes record it on the coast of
Washington from August 10 to September 15. It has been recorded in
California early in July, but these were perhaps summer sojourners;
the return movement seems to come along between July 15 and August.
H. W. Henshaw (1902) says that the return migrants begin to appear in
the Hawaiian Islands “about the middle or latter part of August”; he
noticed that “the first comers are adults, chiefly males, and still in
nuptial dress.”
_Winter._--The Santa Barbara Islands, off the coast of southern
California, mark the northern limit of the normal winter range of the
wandering tattler, where a few may always be found in winter. Most of
the birds go farther south. W. B. Alexander tells me that the wandering
tattler occasionally visits Cape York, North Queensland, and there is a
specimen, unquestionably of this species, in the Museum of Comparative
Zoölogy in Cambridge, from Australia.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--Western North and South America, eastern Asia, and Oceanica.
_Breeding range._--The nest and eggs of the wandering tattler have
actually been found only on one occasion (Savage River, Alaska
[Murie]); but the evidence of young birds seems sufficient to establish
additional breeding stations in Alaska (Mount McKinley and probably
Montague Island); and in Yukon (Russell Mountains). They probably
breed also in eastern Siberia (Plover Bay). Nonbreeding specimens have
been observed or collected in summer at many localities on the Pacific
coast, south to Lower California (Socorro Island, San Jose Island, and
Cocos Island); and the Hawaiian Islands (Cocoanut Island).
_Winter range._--The winter range of the wandering tattler extends
north to the Philippine Islands (Mindanao); the Hawaiian Islands
(Laysan, Kauai, and Hawaii); and probably, rarely, Oregon (Cannon
Beach). East to probably, rarely Oregon (Cannon Beach); California
(Santa Cruz Island, and Santa Monica); Lower California (Cedros Island,
Comondu, and San Jose Island); and the Galapagos Islands (Abingdon,
Indefatigable, Chatham, and Hood). South to the Galapagos Island (Hood
and Albemarle); Paumotu Islands; Society Islands (Huaheine); Samoa;
Fiji Islands (Ovalau); New Hebrides (Aneiteum); and northeastern
Australia (Cape York). West to northeastern Australia (Cape York); and
the Philippine Islands (Mindanao).
_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival are: Washington,
Shoalwater Bay, May 1; Alaska, Forrester Island, May 7, Cape Prince of
Wales, May 11, Sanak Island, May 15, Unalaska Island, May 18, and Mount
McKinley, May 18; and Siberia, Copper Island, May 17.
Late dates of spring departure are: Guerrero, Acapulco, April 30; Lower
California, Cedros Island, April 24, Socorro Island, May 10, Guadeloupe
Island, May 18, and Clarion Island, May 20; California, San Nicholas
Island, May 11, and Eureka, May 18; Washington, Neah Bay, May 20, and
Flattery Rock, June 2; and British Columbia, Courtenay, May 23, and
Comox, June 4.
_Fall migration._--Early dates of arrival in the fall, are: British
Columbia, Okanagan, July 26; Washington, Clallam Bay, July 16, and
Quillayute Needles, July 17; Oregon, Seal Rocks, July 22, and Crater
Lake, July 27; California, Farallon Islands, July 13, Monterey Bay,
July 14, and Santa Cruz, August 1; and Lower California, Los Coronados
Islands, August 6, and Cedros Island, August 14.
Late dates of fall departure are: Alaska, St. Paul Island, October 4,
and Unalaska, October 16; British Columbia, Okanagan, September 20; and
Washington, Seattle, September 18, and Clallam Bay, September 19.
_Egg Dates._--Alaska: One record, July 1, 1925.
HETEROSCELUS BREVIPES (Vieillot)
POLYNESIAN TATTLER
HABITS
Three specimens of this Asiatic sandpiper have been taken in the
Pribilof Islands; the first was secured on St. Paul Island, October
4, 1911, by M. C. Marsh; the other two were taken by G. Dallas Hanna,
on the same island, September 2, 1917, and September 17, 1919.
These constitute the only North American records. It is not easily
distinguished in life from the wandering tattler and so may have
occurred much oftener on our extreme western coasts.
Dr. Leonard Stejneger (1885), who took an adult male on Bering Island,
in the Commanders, May 28, 1882, devotes considerable space to showing
that this is a species distinct from _incanus_; but some recent writers
have treated it as a subspecies. The principal differences are that
_brevipes_ is somewhat smaller, has a shorter nasal groove, and has the
tarsus scutellated instead of reticulated at the back; the belly and
under tail coverts are pure white in all plumages, whereas in _incanus_
these parts are barred in the nuptial plumage; and the upper tail
coverts, which are nearly uniform gray in _incanus_; are distinctly
barred with white. The structural differences would seem to warrant
specific rank.
The Polynesian tattler is supposed to breed in eastern Siberia, from
Lake Baikal to Kamchatka, but, so far as I know, its nest has never
been found and nothing is known about its nesting habits, eggs, or
young.
_Plumages._--Except for the specific characters outlined above the
plumages and molts are similar to those of the wandering tattler. In
the juvenal plumage the feathers of the upper parts are notched with
light buff or white; the upper tail coverts are tipped and irregularly
barred with the same colors; the upper breast and flanks are suffused
with light gray, more or less mottled on the chest; the tail feathers
and wing coverts are tipped or notched or barred with pale buff or
white; they are otherwise like winter adults.
This plumage is worn until September, when the body plumage, some of
the tail feathers, and some of the wing coverts are molted, to produce
the first winter plumage, which can be distinguished from the adult
only by the retained tail feathers and wing coverts. In some birds a
partial prenuptial molt produces a plumage which is nearly adult, but
in others this molt is suppressed and a molt into the adult winter
plumage comes later.
Adults have a complete postnuptial molt between July and January, and a
partial prenuptial molt, involving the body plumage, the tail and some
of the wing coverts, scapulars, and tertials.
_Behavior._--The habits, and probably the food, of the Polynesian
tattler are apparently similar to those of our American bird. Doctor
Hanna (1920) says:
I had an opportunity to observe this bird for a while with
two wandering tattlers in view at the time. The actions
of the two species were practically the same. They feed
very close to the sea on rocky shores and when disturbed
fly lazily, rarely more than 100 yards. The wandering
tattlers on this occasion appeared perceptibly larger than
the Polynesian and the notes of the two were different.
The latter uttered an irregular screech not of the same
intensity or pitch, whereas the former gave its usual call,
a series of 6 to 10 individual notes uttered in the same
pitch and rapid succession, but each of shortening duration.
_Winter._--This tattler migrates southward in winter through the Kurile
Islands and Japan to the Malay Archipelago, the Philippines, and
Australia. W. B. Alexander (1926) says of it in North Queensland:
This was the commonest species of sandpiper on the beaches
at Cairns and Yarrabah early in September, feeding in small
parties. The first were noted on September 1. They are
easily recognized by their gray plumage and yellow legs,
though the latter are not so brightly colored as those of
the two species known in America as yellowlegs.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--Eastern Asia, Melanesia, and Australia; casual on the
Pribilof Islands.
The Polynesian tattler breeds in eastern Siberia, from Lake Baikal
to Kamchatka; in migration it passes through China, Japan, and the
Philippine Islands to winter quarters in the Malay Archipelago and
northern Australia (Queensland).
_Casual records._--This species has been detected in North America on
three occasions, all on St. Paul Island, of the Pribilof group, Alaska
(October 4, 1911, September 2, 1917, and September 17, 1919).
PHILOMACHUS PUGNAX (Linnaeus)
RUFF
_Contributed by Francis Charles Robert Jourdain_
HABITS
The claim of the ruff to a place in the American list is a much
stronger one than that of most of the Palaearctic species which figure
in it, as it has occurred three times in Greenland, once in Canada,
on many occasions in the eastern States, in Barbados, Guadeloupe, and
South America.
_Spring._--Apparently the ruff migrates chiefly by night and in this
connection it is noticeable that the period of its greatest activity
in the breeding season is during the twilight of the early morning
hours. Naumann (1887) states that the first birds to arrive are the
young of the preceding year, and that the adult males are the next to
follow while they in turn are succeeded by the old females. Owing to
the enormous development of the feathered ruff from which the species
derives its names, the males are readily distinguished during the
breeding season even in flight and on the ground can be recognized at
almost any distance.
_Courtship._--The breeding habits of the ruff are so remarkable that it
is necessary to treat of them in considerable detail. When the males
reach the breeding ground they are in full breeding plumage, the bare
skin of the face being covered with bright yellow warts, while a disk
of feathers protects the neck and two tufts project from each side of
the head. The extraordinary variation in the coloring of these feather
adornments renders it possible to identify individual birds, as it is
rare to see two with even approximately similar coloring, and this
enabled Mr. Selous (1906) to make the valuable observations which are
referred to below.
Where ruffs are common, as in North Holland, one finds from time
to time bare areas of ground where the grass has been worn away in
patches. They are the playing grounds of the ruffs, and were known in
England technically as “hills.” During the daytime they are resorted to
from time to time by the male birds, which may often be seen sparring
with one another, but the significance of these meetings was little
understood until Edmund Selous (1906) spent a fortnight in the spring
of 1906 in Holland, during which he concealed himself in a hide which
commanded a good view of the “hill” at close quarters, and was often
on the watch before daylight. The diary of his observations was first
published in the _Zoologist_ for 1906 and 1907, and is too lengthy
and discursive to be reproduced here, but in the following condensed
account most of the essential facts have been preserved. The “hill”
under observation was roughly about 10 paces by 6, with 11 distinct
patches where the grass had been worn bare, besides a couple of
others less plainly marked. There were other similar “hills” in the
neighborhood, all much alike, placed on dry ground, in the neighborhood
of marshes. They are resorted to year after year, and bear traces of
excrement from previous seasons, while the grass is much worn away
owing to the presence of the birds. Some of the Dutch “hills” are quite
close to or actually in the way of paths, and the birds when disturbed
by passers-by will return to the ground within a few minutes. Like many
other Dutch birds they show much indifference to the presence of man,
owing to the fact that no shooting is permitted during the breeding
season. On April 14 a single male was disturbed by Selous from the
“hill” at 7 a. m. and did not return, but on the next day a flock of
eight or nine birds arrived and at once began to fight, but not on the
“hill.” It soon became evident that in order to be in place before the
arrival of the birds it was necessary to get into hiding before dawn.
By April 16 the “hill” was in regular use, each male resorting to the
same stand and sitting there, from time to time rising and making a
slight demonstration with erected tufts and ruff, sometimes followed
by a slight sparring match with one of the other males, but when not
engaged in fighting spending the time quite amicably side by side, in
some cases almost touching. In the afternoon a similar state of things
prevailed, but the proceedings were quieter and more subdued. When
sparring the birds “would rush and leap high into the air against each
other, rushing away and not leaping again as they came down,” and this
activity was generally more pronounced when a reeve appeared on the
ground. The other birds on occasions of this kind also rushed about in
wild excitement, suddenly pulling themselves up with the head extended
forward and remaining in this position motionless, perhaps then rushing
in another direction and then gradually sinking down quickly. When a
reeve arrived at the “hill,” where perhaps a dozen males were present,
after the first wave of excitement had passed she would thread her way
among the ruffs, which as she approached sank down to the ground by
her side with bowed head. Her preference for one particular male was
shown by halting at his side and gently nibbling with her bill the
feathers at the back of his neck. If copulation followed, there was no
interference on the part of the other males present, except perhaps
occasionally by accident in the course of excited running to and fro.
After persistent watching it became evident that the attentions of the
reeves were very unevenly distributed among the regular habitues of
the “hill.” There were two conspicuously handsome males--one a bird
with a golden-brown ruff and the other with a blue-black one--and these
two seemed to be selected far more frequently than the other ruffs.
The few attempts made by males to force the compliance of the female
were quite unsuccessful. Perhaps it is due to this that attempts to
pair between two male birds frequently took place and, strange to
relate, even between two reeves also. Selection on the part of the
hen birds apparently bore no relation to the fighting powers of the
male, although one serious fight, which lasted some three or four
minutes, took place, during which the two birds concerned fought like
demons, but finally ceased by mutual consent. The two selected birds
were, however, certainly among the finest and handsomest birds on the
ground. While the stations were usually occupied by the same birds day
after day, there were times when over 20 birds were present, so it
is probable that males from other “hills” call in at times. While it
was clear that one ruff paired with several reeves, it was much more
difficult to prove that the reeves paired with more than one male,
owing to their general similarity of appearance, though it is probable
that this was the case. The following extract from Selous (1906) gives
a good description of the characteristic sparring:
Each ruff has certainly a place of its own, and the most
envenomed fights appear to me to result from one bird
pitching down in another’s place when he flies in. The
aggrieved bird instantly rushes at the intruder and there
is a fight which may last for a longer or shorter time.
The birds have then a perfectly frantic appearance. They
kick, strike with their wings, and especially endeavor to
bite or peck each other. This biting is very noticeable,
the mandibles seeming to snap with rage. They leap commonly
before they close and then continue to do so as a matter of
course, the object seeming to be, as with other birds, to
get above the adversary and strike down upon him with wings
and feet and bill. Of course, when one bird is displaced
by another, others are displaced also, leading to general
commotion and, moreover, the mere anticipation of any fresh
arrival is matter for excitement for every ruff on the
ground.
Summarizing the results of Mr. Selous’ observations, it becomes
evident that the “hills” are the pairing grounds to which both males
and females resort, but the period of the greatest activity is
during the early morning from about 3.30 a. m. onward. Each male has
a definite place and the choice of a mate rests entirely with the
female, the males adopting an attitude of supplication, crouching low
with partially spread wings, tail and beak pointing to the ground.
The hen marks her preference by nibbling the back of the neck of the
prostrate male with her bill, and soon afterwards coition takes place,
the surrounding males remaining usually quiescent. One reeve was seen
to pair with two ruffs in succession and it is probable that she is
polyandrous as the ruff is certainly polygamous. There seemed to be no
connection between the fighting power of the males and the preference
exercised so strikingly by the females, but, on the other hand, the
favored ruffs were apparently always handsome and strikingly colored
birds.
_Nesting._--The reeve makes her nest within a reasonable distance of
the “hill,” but not very close to it. Naumann (1887) says that it is
never less than a hundred paces distant, and most of those which I have
seen were within a quarter of a mile. In the Dutch water meadows the
usual nesting site is among fine, thickly growing grass, where it is
difficult to see unless one’s eye is caught by a glimpse of the nest
hollow. In the marshes of Lapland, where vegetation is more backward,
it may be found among clumps of sedge and rushes. It is built entirely
of fine grasses, and would frequently be overlooked if it were not for
the sight of the bird when flushed.
_Eggs._--Normally four; sets of three are quite exceptional and are
probably second or third layings. They are pyriform in shape, thin
shelled, and, as is frequently the case with the eggs of waders, large
for the size of the bird. The ground color varies from brownish yellow
to pale olive brown as a rule, but occasionally has a greenish tinge,
while varieties with a clear pale blue ground are not very scarce. The
markings consist of spots and blotches of brown ranging from umber to
dark sepia and ashy grey shellmarks, more numerous at the large end.
White eggs have been recorded. The measurements of 143 eggs, chiefly
by the writer, average 43.97 by 30.7 millimeters; the eggs showing the
four extremes measure =47.5= by 30.5, 43.2 by =32.1=, =39.2= by 31.6,
and 42.9 by =28= millimeters.
They are usually laid in central Europe during the latter half of May
and early in June, occasionally in the second week of May. In northern
Europe most eggs are found during the latter half of June. Only one
brood is reared in the season.
_Young._--Incubation is performed by the female alone. Naumann (1887)
gives the incubation period as 17 to 19 days, but this is probably
too low an estimate and recently Heinroth has recorded 27 days.
From observations made by Mr. W. H. St. Quinten on young hatched in
captivity they leave the nest very soon after hatching, apparently
directly the down is dry. The reeve is a good mother, and I have seen
one when flushed from eggs on the point of hatching run from the nest,
flapping her wings in a helpless way as if unable to fly. Another
bird was also seen trying to distract attention by running with every
feather erect, looking more like some small mammal than a bird.
_Plumages._--The plumages and moults are fully described in A Practical
Handbook of British Birds, edited by H. F. Witherby.
_Food._--The ruff is mainly insectivorous, feeding largely on beetles
(Coleoptera), chiefly the smaller species. Jäckel records specimens of
the following genera: _Agonum_, _Bembidium_, _Parnus_, _Cyclonotum_,
_Sitones_, _Pisodes_, _Rhinoncus_, _Philhydrus_. Weevils are also
mentioned by Florence. Among the Orthoptera remains of grasshoppers
were found by Slater. Neuroptera met with include caddis worms
and cases (Phryganeidae) and larvae of _Ephemera_, Trichoptera
(_Limnophilus_ by Jäckel) who also records _Naucoris_ (Hemiptera). It
will be noted that most of the above are aquatic forms. Diptera are
a staple food in the north, including larvae of Tipulidae and many
small species. Of Mollusca, Slater records small fresh water bivalves,
Collett worms (_Lumbrici_). In winter the food is more largely
vegetable in character, though fresh water algae and seeds of _Rumex_
have been recorded in summer. Rice is frequently found in birds killed
in India and Mellor also found in seven cases nothing but durra grains
(Sorghum) from 19 to 228 in number.
_Voice._--The ruff is an extremely silent bird. One may live among them
in the Dutch polders for weeks together in the spring, and never hear
a sound from them, except a very low guttural or quacking note from a
reeve when disturbed from a family of young. Naumann (1887) however
describes a note _kack_, _kack_, _kick_, _kack_, which is probably the
same as that which Slater writes as _wick_, repeated rapidly several
times. Unless much persecuted it is confiding in its habits and pays
little attention to the presence of men.
_Enemies._--In England its extermination was primarily due to the
reckless way in which the breeding stock was netted not only in autumn
but also on arrival in spring on the “hilling” grounds, in order to be
fattened for the table. Montagu’s account of the state of things in
his day has been quoted at length in many books on British birds, so
that it is not necessary to repeat it here. As Pennant spoke of 40 or
50 dozen birds being taken by a single fowler in a season it is not
surprising that the stock was rapidly reduced to so low a level that in
spite of belated efforts to protect the birds and their eggs, it has
now practically disappeared. On the continent where it is still locally
common it has to contend against other avian enemies, more especially
the harriers (_Circus_), but also the goshawk, peregrine, and to some
extent gulls and crows.
_Fall._--The distinctive plumes of the male are shed in June and in
July the autumn plumage is assumed even in the extreme north. The males
begin to disappear from their breeding haunts in central Europe in late
July and early August, while the females are said to leave in September.
_Winter._--In their winter quarters ruffs are generally sociable and
are to be met with in small flocks, which show a preference to fresh
water marshes rather than the sea coast. In India and the Sudan the
flooded fields are a great attraction and the staple food consists of
grain.
DISTRIBUTION
_Breeding range._--Formerly at many places in England from
Northumberland southward, lingering until recently in Norfolk. Belgium,
locally in North France, Holland, Denmark, North Germany, and Bavaria
(Jäckel). Hungary, Czechoslovakia, the Baltic Republics, Norway,
Sweden, Finland, Russia north to Kolguev, Waigatz, and Dolgoi and
south to Bessarabia and Orenburg. In Asia, Siberia north to 72° on
the Yenisei and east to the Lena and Kolyma valleys, south to Dauria,
Turgai and Uralsk.
_Winter range._--From Europe through Africa south to Cape Province, but
scarce on passage in the Atlantic Islands. Asia, south to India, Ceylon
(scarce), Burma, also recorded from China and Japan, Borneo (Labuan),
etc.
_Spring migration._--At the Straits of Gibraltar the northward movement
begins in January and does not cease till May, but it is at its height
in April. Some birds winter in the Mediterranean region and these have
usually gone by the middle of April. In the eastern Mediterranean the
passage begins in the Ionian Isles about March 15 and in Corfu in March.
_Fall migration._--The return passage through southern Spain takes
place in August and September, while in Greece, where it is less
noticeable, it appears to take place toward the end of September.
_Casual records._--The species has been rather frequently detected
on the Atlantic coast of North America and (rarely) in the interior
eastern States. Among these occurrences are: Ontario, Toronto Island,
spring of 1882; Nova Scotia, near Halifax, May 27, 1892; New Brunswick,
Grand Manan; Maine, Scarboro, April 10, 1870, Upton, September 8, 1874,
and Camden, September 14, 1900; New Hampshire, Seabrook, September 23,
1907; Massachusetts, Newburyport, May 20, 1871, Chatham, September 11,
1880, and Nantucket, July, 1901; Rhode Island, Seaconnet Point, July
30, 1900, and Point Judith, August 31, 1903; New York, two on Long
Island, one of which was taken May 18, 1868, and Freeport, September
27, 1914; New Jersey, Barnegat (Elliott collection); Virginia,
Four-mile Run, September 3, 1894; North Carolina, Raleigh, May 6, 1892;
Ohio, Licking Reservoir, November 11, 1872, and Columbus, April 23,
1878; and Indiana, English Lake, April 12, 1905.
It also has been taken in the Lesser Antilles, Barbados, previous to
1848; Colombia, probably between the Rio Negro and the Orinoco or
adjacent regions; and Alaska, St. Paul Island, September 7, 1910. It is
of rare occurrence in Japan (Yezo). There is one record from Iceland
(Reykjavik, September, 1820).
_Egg dates._--In Holland, 4 dates between May 7 and 14; 18 dates
between May 15 and 31, 8 dates between June 1 and 22. In Lapland and
North Russia, 16 dates between June 8 and 27.
BARTRAMIA LONGICAUDA (Bechstein)
UPLAND PLOVER
HABITS
Let us be thankful that this gentle and lovely bird is no longer
called Bartramian sandpiper. It is a sandpiper truly enough, but one
that has adopted the haunts and many of the habits of the plovers. To
those who love the rolling or hilly pasture lands of the east or the
broad flat prairies of the middle west, it will always be known as the
upland or “field plover” or “prairie dove,” or, more affectionately, as
“quailie.” It is a characteristic bird of the prairies and wide open
grassy fields, where it once abounded in enormous numbers. Excessive
shooting for the market, where it was much in demand, reduced its
numbers to an alarmingly low ebb. Dr. Thomas S. Roberts (1919) says
that, in Minnesota,
Fifty years ago it was present all through the summer,
everywhere in open country, in countless thousands. Now
it is nearing extinction. Here and there an occasional
breeding pair may yet be found, but they are lonely
occupants of the places where their ancestors dwelt in vast
numbers.
And with the disappearing prairies have gone these and other
interesting birds that made the wide open places so attractive. When
I visited the Quill Lake region in Saskatchewan in 1917, I found that
practically all the prairies had been burned over or cultivated; the
long-billed curlew had entirely disappeared, though recently abundant
there, and I saw only one pair of chestnut-collared longspurs; but some
of the upland plover were adapting themselves to the new conditions and
were nesting in cultivated fields, much as the spotted sandpipers and
the killdeer have learned to nest in grain fields and truck gardens.
Perhaps such adaptation may be the salvation of a useful and attractive
species. Some observers report it as already increasing in numbers.
_Spring._--W. H. Hudson (1922) describes the beginning of the spring
migration from the pampas of South America, as follows:
The north migration as a rule begins about the 15th of
February and continues to the 15th of March, and it is at
the beginning of the former month that the disquiet becomes
noticeable. Now on one occasion the season of unrest began
much earlier, in the month of January, increased from day
to day and week to week in the most extraordinary way,
and continued to about the middle of March before the
birds began to fly north, the migration continuing through
March. On any day in February when out riding I would see
from time to time a bird spring up with its wild alarm cry
and flight, and after going a little distance drop down
again. Then in a minute or two another, farther away, would
start up with its cry; and sitting still and watching and
listening, I could see the birds rise up here and there all
over the plain--rise with a cry, then settle down again;
and if one rode a 100 miles to any side he would find it
the same everywhere. The birds were in a continual state
of agitation, of fear; and though this state began so much
sooner than usual, the actual migration did not begin till
a month later than the usual time.
Dr. Alexander Wetmore (1926), writing from the same general region,
says:
At Tucuman, Tucuman, five were heard early in the evening
of April 1 as they passed over the city traveling due north
during a slow rain accompanied by heavy mist. On the night
of April 5 under similar conditions an extensive flight of
shore birds began at a quarter of 10 and continued until
half past 11. During this period J. L. Peters, with whom
I was traveling at the time, and I identified the call of
the upland plover from 38 individuals. The birds were in
company with yellowlegs, solitary sandpipers, and a few
golden plover. How many passed unheard in the darkness
there was no way to know. The calling of these birds
when in northward migration was a phenomenon of common
knowledge in Tucuman during that season in the year, but
all commented upon the fact that the birds seemed to have
decreased greatly in abundance in recent years.
The earliest birds reach Texas and Louisiana early in March.
Illustrating the abundance of this species in Texas 40 years ago, G. B.
Benners (1887) says:
At the former place we found immense flocks on the prairie,
and they were so tame that the flock would part in the
middle and let us drive between them. We often shot enough
birds while going through a flock in this way to last for
several meals. When they thought we did not see them they
would stand perfectly still, and being the same color as
their surroundings they easily escaped detection.
From there the main migration route seems to be directly northward
between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains.
Fred J. Pierce writes to me:
On my rambles over the rolling country of Buchanan County,
Iowa, in the early spring, I usually hear the Bartramian
sandpiper and see the small speck high in the sky that I
know is his form. A damp, cloudy morning seems to be the
preferred time for the bird’s sky circling, but it may be
found frequently in the early morning, too. Cloudy days are
the days which it enjoys most, it appears.
Edward S. Thomas tells me that he has seen it in Ohio as early as March
26, but that the average date of arrival is April 2. It is not recorded
east of Cuba in the spring, but some birds migrate across from Yucatan
to Cuba and Florida and then up the Atlantic coast. When this species
bred more commonly in New England it used to arrive in April, but now
it is very rare here.
_Courtship._--The courtship flight song of the upland plover is well
described in some notes sent to me by Fred J. Pierce, as follows:
The bird’s song is very interesting, but it is given
little attention in books relating to ornithology. On
still wings, these large birds circle slowly about,
usually so high as to be mere specks in the sky, and
give their shrill, penetrating whistle, which will carry
nearly a mile, depending upon the wind and the altitude of
the whistler. First there are a few notes sounding like
water gurgling from a large bottle, then comes the loud
_whip-whee-ee-you_, long drawn out and weirdly thrilling.
When I first heard this strange cry I at once thought
of some species of hawk as being the author of it, and
I have known others to think the same thing. It is too
loud and penetrating a cry to be attributed to one of
the sandpipers. I have heard the bird whistling in this
manner as late as July, but I do not believe that this is a
common practice. On more than one occasion I have seen the
bird, after circling at such height as to be almost out of
sight, close its wings and shoot to earth like a falling
stone. This thrilling performance is similar to that of the
prairie horned lark, which takes a headfirst drop to earth
when it has finished singing its contribution to the usual
spring morning chorus.
Another pretty version of the courtship is given by Katharine U. Hunter
(1916) thus:
It was the springtime (1916). The prolonged wail, vague
and sad, of the plovers rose in our upland pasture. I
watched them carry on their odd courtship; hopping toward
each other, twittering, flying away, then repeating it all
again, the hopping, twittering, and retreating. Ungainly,
spirit-voiced birds! Once from out the black, vibrant night
came the eerie, long-drawn whistle of a plover lover.
_Nesting._--My first upland plover’s nest was found on May 25, 1900,
near the western end of Marthas Vineyard, Mass. The birds were still
fairly common here in those days and there were at least three pairs of
them breeding in this and adjoining pastures. The nest was on a knoll
in a sheep pasture where the grass had been cropped short except for
scattered tufts, where it grew from 7 to 10 inches high, offering the
necessary concealment. In one of these tufts, about a foot in diameter,
a hollow had been scratched, 4 or 5 inches in diameter and nearly 3
inches deep; it was lined with small bits of dried grass and held four
handsome eggs.
Since then I have found several nests in Saskatchewan. These nests were
all similarly located on the dry, grassy prairies, slight hollows in
the ground, about 4 inches in diameter and 2 inches deep, generally
well hidden in rather long, thick grass; they were lined with pieces
of dry grass, and the growing grass was artfully arched over them for
protection. The birds usually sat very closely; once we drove over a
nest, flushing the bird under the wagon; and several times we were able
to part the grass over the nest or even touch the bird before she left.
She usually ran or fluttered away for a few feet and then ran about
near us, with her long neck stretched up above the grass, watching us
and uttering her _quip-ip-ip-ip_ notes of protest.
Nests found by others have been similarly described, but Prof. W. B.
Barrows (1912) says that--
in Michigan, it frequently nests in wet grounds, although
the nest itself is usually placed on one of the drier
spots. We have seen the birds nesting in two instances in
good snipe bogs where the mud was ankle deep and dry spots
few and far between.
Prof. William Rowan (1926) says that in Alberta--
the nests found were very variable in make-up and
situation. One had no lining whatever and consisted of a
mere scrape in the ground. This was in a hollow right in
the open on a huge sandy area with but sparse vegetation,
on which long-billed curlews (_Numenius americanus_) were
nesting. Others were in clumps of rough brush, and this is
probably typical for this locality. Another was in long
grass. The most elaborate lining noted consisted of leaves,
bents, and small twigs. One clutch of five was found and
one of three, the latter no doubt incomplete, as the bird
was not about and the eggs were fresh.
Edward R. Ford has the following observation on the selection of a
nesting site:
As in the case of the larger ground-nesting birds,
whose nests have little architectural pretension, the
upland plover often deposits the first egg before any
nest-building operations have been begun. It is probable
that the physiological condition of the female urges her
to seek a location generally favorable to the successful
rearing of a brood; but the exact site of the nest may
be in some measure accidental. It is not often that one
may be fortunate enough to come upon the kind of evidence
best calculated to prove a theory of animal behavior, but
it happened once that we found a single egg of the upland
plover, unbetrayed by the presence of the parent and hidden
deep in the grass. It might have been an egg prematurely
laid and, therefore, not likely to receive further parental
attention. If it had been a meadow lark’s egg, for example,
that would have been the conclusion and the facts of
experience would have borne it out. But here was the chance
to test a theory and so, while not surprised, we were
gratified, three days later, to flush a bird from the spot
marked as the location of the single egg and to find there
the full complement of four. About these the dry grass had
taken hemispherical form and, with the addition of loose
material and by reason of the impression made by the eggs
themselves, as well as by the body of the parent, there now
existed a well-defined if simple nest.
_Eggs._--The upland plover lays four eggs, rarely five, and perhaps
sometimes only three. These are ovate to short ovate in shape, less
pointed than most shore birds’ eggs; and they have only a slight gloss.
In the commonest types the ground colors vary from “light pinkish
cinnamon” to “pale pinkish buff”; in others they vary from “cartridge
buff” or “pale olive buff” to greenish white. They are more or less
evenly spotted with small spots of various shades of dark browns
or reddish browns, and usually with small underlying spots, rarely
large blotches, of “ecru drab” or “pale drab gray.” The measurements
of 66 eggs in the United States National Museum average 45 by 32.5
millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure =51= by 33, 48
by =35=, =41.5= by 32.5, and 48 by =29.5= millimeters.
_Young._--The incubation period is said to be 17 days, but this needs
confirmation. Both sexes share in the duties of incubation and care of
the young. Katharine U. Hunter (1916) says:
The birds relieved each other at the nest--a true division
of domestic cares: one bird would alight at a long
distance, fold his wings, utter no cry, and, with head held
low, walk through the grass, squatting lower and lower till
finally he disappeared on the nest; then the female would
retreat with the same caution, not spreading her wings till
far from the eggs.
Doctor Coues (1874) describes the behavior of young birds and their
parents very well, as follows:
Young birds are abroad late in June--curious little
creatures, timid and weak, led about by their anxious
parents, solicitous for their welfare, and ready to
engage in the most unequal contests in their behalf. When
half grown, but still in the down, the little creatures
have a curious clumsy, top-heavy look; their legs look
disproportionately large, like those of a young colt or
calf; and they may be caught with little difficulty, as
they do not run very well. I once happened upon a brood,
perhaps two weeks old, rambling with their mother over
the prairie. She sounded the alarm, to scatter her brood,
but not before I had secured one of them in my hand. I
never saw a braver defense attempted than was made by this
strong-hearted though powerless bird, who, after exhausting
her artifices to draw me in pursuit of herself, by tumbling
about as if desperately wounded, and lying panting with
outstretched wings on the grass, gave up hope of saving
her young in this way, and then almost attacked me,
dashing close up and retreating again to renew her useless
onslaught. She was evidently incited to unusual courage by
the sight of her little one struggling in my hand. At this
downy stage the young birds are white below, finely mottled
with black, white, and rich brown above; the feet and under
mandible are light colored; the upper mandible is blackish.
Although these tattlers are generally dispersed over the
prairies during the summer, yet they affect particular
spots by preference. Away from the river valleys, such
spots are the numerous depressions of rolling prairie,
often of great extent, which are moist or even watery at
some seasons, and where the vegetation is most luxuriant.
Here they gather almost into colonies. Riding into some
such spot in July, when the young birds are being led
about by their parents, some old bird more watchful than
the rest, or nearest to the person approaching, gives the
alarm with a loud outcry, the young scatter and hide, and
all the old birds are soon on wing; hovering in the air,
often at a great height, crossing each other’s path, and
ceaselessly vociferating their displeasure. I have often
seen a dozen or twenty overhead at once, all from a little
spot only a few acres in extent. Later in the season, when
all the summer’s broods are on wing, they make up into
flocks, often of great extent, and old and young together
assume the ordinary routine of their lives. They leave
these northern regions early. I saw none after the forepart
of September.
_Plumages._--In the downy young upland plover, the crown, back, and
rump are prettily variegated, marbled, or mottled, with black, “wood
brown,” “pinkish buff,” and white, with no definite pattern. The sides
of the head and the entire under parts are pale buff or buffy white,
whitest on the belly and throat. A narrow, median frontal stripe and a
few spots on the sides of the head are black.
The juvenal plumage is much like that of the summer adult, but it
is much more buffy, especially about the head and neck, which are
“cinnamon-buff” or “light ochraceous buff”; the crown is nearly solid
brownish black, or with only a narrow, median, buffy line; the back
and scapulars are brownish black with broad “cinnamon” edgings and
with little or no definite barring on the scapulars; the lesser wing
coverts are sepia with “cinnamon-buff” edgings, broader than in the
adult; and the median coverts are sepia, broadly tipped, and notched
with “cinnamon-buff” and with a subterminal spot or bar of dark sepia.
This plumage is partially molted in August and September, producing the
first winter plumage, which is like the adult, except that the juvenal
flight feathers and most of the wing coverts are retained. At the first
prenuptial molt young birds apparently become indistinguishable from
adults.
Adults have a complete postnuptial molt, beginning with the body
plumage in August and ending with the wings in December and January.
Their prenuptial molt in spring involves nearly everything but the
wings. The winter plumage is less buffy than the spring, more grayish
above and whiter below, with paler edgings, but the color pattern is
about the same.
_Food._--The feeding habits of the upland plover are almost wholly
beneficial. It is one of our most useful birds; living, as it does,
in grass lands and cultivated fields, it destroys vast numbers of
grasshoppers, locusts, and other injurious insects. W. L. McAtee (1912)
writes:
From its habits the upland plover would naturally be
expected to have a closer relation to agriculture than most
sandpipers, and such proves to be the case. Almost half its
food is made up of grasshoppers, crickets, and weevils,
all of which exact heavy toll from cultivated crops. Among
the weevils eaten are the cottonboll weevil; greater and
lesser clover-leaf weevils; clover-root weevils; _Epicaerus
imbricatus_, which is known to attack almost all garden and
orchard crops; cowpea curculios; _Tanymecus confertus_,
an enemy of sugar beets; _Thecesternus humeralis_, which
has been known to injure grapevines; and bill bugs.
_Thecesternus_ alone composes 3.65 per cent of the seasonal
food of the 163 stomachs examined, and bill bugs constitute
5.83 per cent. No fewer than 8 species of bill bugs were
identified from the stomachs. These weevils injure, often
seriously, such crops as corn, wheat, barley, and rye, as
well as forage plants of many kinds. The upland plover
further makes itself useful to the farmer by devouring leaf
beetles, including the grapevine colaspis, southern corn
leaf-beetle, and other injurious species; wireworms and
their adult forms, the click beetles; white grubs and their
parents, the May beetles; cutworms, army worms; cotton
worms; cotton cutworms; sawfly larvae; and leather-jackets
or cranefly larvae. They befriend cattle by eating
horseflies and their larvae, and cattle ticks. They eat a
variety of other animal forms, such as moths, ants, and
other _Hymenoptera_, flies, bugs, centipedes and millipeds,
spiders, snails, and earthworms. Practically 97 per cent of
the food consists of animal matter, chiefly of injurious
and neutral forms. The vegetable food comprises the seeds
of such weed pests as buttonweed, foxtail grass, and sand
spurs, and hence is also to the credit of the bird.
J. M. Bates (1907) says that, in Nebraska, “after the wheat is cut,
and during migration, it frequents the wheat stubble and gorges itself
with the waste grain.” He has also seen it in the rye stubble in
Connecticut. But this does no harm, of course.
_Behavior._--When traveling the upland plover’s flight is swift and
strong, well sustained on its long, pointed wings; and when migrating,
by day or by night, it flies at a great height. In the autumn it is
wary and difficult to approach, as it jumps up at long range and flies
rapidly away for a long distance. But in the spring its flight is quite
different, more leisurely; it seems to drift along so high up in the
sky as to be almost invisible; it might pass unnoticed, were it not
for its flute like notes. Edwin Sandys (1904) has described this very
well, as follows:
This drifting flight is characteristic of the present
species, and it usually ends in a diving slant earthward,
which is performed without any perceptible motion of the
wings. A few feet from the ground the long, beautiful,
easy descent is gently checked, and the bird alights as
quietly as though it had stooped only a yard or so instead
of hundreds or thousands of feet. For a few seconds after
alighting the bird is apt to keep its wings considerably
elevated above its back, and the brief pose in this
position is particularly attractive. Then the airy fans are
sedately furled. This pretty trick of keeping the wings
spread as if for a momentary study of how they should be
correctly folded is not peculiar to this species. Others
of its near and remote kin go through the same dainty
evolution, although, perhaps, without the air of studied
care which is characteristic of Bartram’s sandpiper.
On its breeding grounds its flight is different again; it often flies
along slowly and evenly, at a low elevation, 15 or 20 feet above the
ground, on quickly vibrating wings, pouring out its liquid, rolling
trills or flute like notes, a delightful performance; or when flushed
from its nest it flies off close to the ground with short, rapid
strokes of its down-curved wings, as if using only its wing tips,
suggesting the flight of the spotted sandpiper. On a windy day it may
occasionally be seen to soar or hover on quivering wings like a small
falcon.
On the ground its movements are ploverlike, running swiftly and
stopping suddenly. It runs gracefully through the grass with its long
neck stretched up to watch the pursuer; or, crouching down, it runs
rapidly away and disappears in the grass. It alights frequently on
fences, telegraph poles, stumps, or rocks to watch the intruder and
scold at him. It is seldom seen near water, and I doubt if anyone has
ever seen it swimming. It is a gentle bird at all times and lives
harmoniously with its neighbors on its breeding grounds, but it does
not seem to associate with other species elsewhere.
_Voice._--The voice of the upland plover is one of its greatest charms;
once heard in its perfection it will never be forgotten; and it often
serves to identify the species when the bird can not be seen. W. H.
Hudson (1922) has referred to it very attractively, as follows:
Lying awake in bed, I would listen by the hour to that
sound coming to me from the sky, mellowed and made
beautiful by distance and the profound silence of the
moonlit world, until it acquired a fascination for me above
all sounds on earth, so that it lived ever after in me;
and the image of it is as vivid in my mind at this moment
as that of any bird call or cry, or any other striking
sound heard yesterday or but an hour ago. It was the sense
of mystery it conveyed which so attracted and impressed
me--the mystery of that delicate, frail, beautiful being,
traveling in the sky, alone, day and night, crying aloud
at intervals as if moved by some powerful emotion, beating
the air with its wings, its beak pointing like the needle
of the compass to the north, flying, speeding on its
7,000-mile flight to its nesting home in another hemisphere.
The most beautiful and striking note heard on its breeding grounds is a
sweet, mellow, rolling trill, uttered as the bird flies along at a low
elevation or while perched on a fence post or even on the ground; it is
evidently a love note. Prof. Lynds Jones (1903) has described it very
well, as follows:
The rolling cry is not unlike the rolling call of a tree
toad, but of a different quality and caliber, which
makes it unmistakable. The whistle is partly double,
the first part passing upward nearly half an octave,
terminating abruptly there, the second part beginning
where the first began and rapidly swelling through nearly
or quite an octave, then gradually falling again and
decreasing in volume to the close, several tones above
the beginning. The first part of the whistle is usually
rattling or trilled, and sometimes the trill is carried
to the end, but oftener it becomes a clear whistle
before the culmination and continues clear to the end.
_Tre-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e, tre-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-p;
or tr-r-r-r-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-p._ Often the whistled part is
never reached, but the call stops as if interrupted by some
threatened danger.
The alarm note, as the bird flies away from its nest or as it runs
about scolding at the intruder, is an emphatic and rapidly uttered
_quip-ip-ip-ip_. It also has a rich, musical note, which sounds like
_qua-a-ily_, from which one of its local names is taken. This and a
modified form of its rolling trill are often heard on migration, a
prolonged, mournful, mellow whistle, drifting down out of the sky, more
like the whistling of the wind than a bird’s voice.
_Field marks._--The upland plover should be easily recognized by its
size and shape; its slender, graceful form, its delicate head and neck,
and its long tail are characteristic. In flight its long, pointed
wings, its dark rump, and its barred, whitish, outer tail feathers are
good field marks. Its manner of flight and its notes are distinctive.
_Fall._--About the middle of July, or even earlier, old and young birds
begin to gather into flocks, move off their breeding grounds, and start
on their fall migrations. The migratory flights are made mainly during
the night or early evening. At this season the birds are much wilder,
the leisurely behavior of spring and summer has gone, their flight is
much swifter and stronger, and it is difficult to approach the loose,
detached flocks which stop to feed during the day on the hoards of
grasshoppers and locusts which are then to be found in the upland
pastures and dry meadows. During wet spells they do not stop, but in
hot, dry weather they linger to feast on the abundant insect life and
become very fat. We used to expect them in Massachusetts about the last
of July, but they were most abundant in August and early September. The
general movement is southward, through the interior and the Atlantic
Coast States and through the West Indies to South America. The earliest
birds reach Louisiana and Texas early in July and arrive in Peru and
Argentina in September. The last birds leave their breeding range
before the end of September.
_Game._--The upland plover is, or was, a fine game bird. Over 40 years
ago, in my younger shooting days, these birds were still fairly common
in Massachusetts, but it was no easy job to make a fair day’s bag; it
meant tramping many miles over rolling, or hilly pasture lands, where
the wary birds rose at long range and flew swiftly away for a long
distance. One had to shoot quickly and accurately to kill his bird, and
perhaps chase one for several miles before getting even a long shot at
him. It was a real sporting proposition with the chances much in the
bird’s favor. The birds would not come to decoys, nor to the gunner’s
whistle and a dog was utterly useless except to retrieve birds. A
thorough knowledge of the ground and of the birds’ fly-ways sometimes
brought results, when we could hide behind some fence or stone wall and
wait for the birds to fly over. Even meager results were well worth
while, for we had plenty of good exercise and the birds made delicious
morsels for the table.
A more common and more successful, though less sportsmanlike, method of
shooting them is thus described by Edwin Sandys (1904):
A popular method in many parts of the West is to drive to
the birds in a buckboard, or other convenient rig. For a
man who can shoot well in the sitting posture this is an
excellent plant, as the birds almost invariably will permit
a wheeled conveyance to approach within comparatively easy
range. A clever driver is a valuable assistance. Such a
man never heads his team directly at the birds, but drives
as though he merely intended to pass them by. A good
judge of distance in the open can in this way edge within
comfortable range of plover which, if the driver steered
straight for them, or with the gun attempted to dismount
and stalk, would at once make off. I have varied the
shooting from the seat by walking at the horse’s shoulders.
The plover do not appear to notice the extra pair of legs.
This sometimes gives the prettiest kind of shooting. All
one has to do is to judge when sufficiently close, then
stand still with the gun at the ready, while the team moves
steadily ahead. Usually the plover will take wing the
moment the foot-man is uncovered; but should they not, the
man can gain a few yards by briskly walking toward them.
I have occasionally stalked them by keeping close to the
shoulder of a steady old horse that was indifferent in the
matters of smoke and loud reports.
Edward H. Forbush (1912) writes:
About 1880, when the supply of passenger pigeons began to
fail, and the marketmen, looking about for some other game
for the table of the epicure in spring and summer, called
for plover, the destruction of the upland plover began in
earnest. The price increased. In the spring migration the
birds were met by a horde of market gunners, shot, packed
in barrels and shipped to the cities. There are tales of
special refrigerator cars sent out to the prairie regions,
and parties of gunners regularly employed to follow the
birds and ship plover and curlews by the carload to the
Chicago market. These may not be based on facts, but we
know that the birds came to market in great quantities.
_Winter._--The upland plover spends our winter months on the pampas of
Argentina and Patagonia, where unfortunately it is more sought for by
market hunters than it is here. Mr. Hudson (1920) writes:
This species differs from its fellow-migrants of the same
family from the north to Argentina in its wide and even
distribution over all that portion of the pampas where
the native coarse grasses which once covered the country
have disappeared, an area comprising not less than 50,000
square miles. It begins to arrive as early as September,
coming singly or in small parties of three or four; and,
extraordinary as the fact may seem when we consider the
long distance the bird travels, and the monotonous nature
of the level country it uses as a “feeding area,” it is
probable that every bird returns to the same spot year
after year; for in no other way could such a distribution
be maintained, and the birds appear every summer evenly
sprinkled over so immense a surface.
Doctor Wetmore (1926) says:
Formerly abundant, the upland plover is now rare in the
region where it spends the period of northern winter. Its
winter range on the open pampa is a region so vast that it
is difficult to form a proper estimate of the actual number
of individuals of the species that remain. Among epicures
the species has inherited in part the name and reputation
of the Eskimo curlew and is sought constantly by gunners to
supply that demand. The few that survive frequent remote
regions on some of the large estancias where they are
secure until they leave their seclusion and begin their
return flight northward. The majority of those that I noted
were identified by their liquid calls, heard, as is the
case in Washington, as they passed at night.
He says again (1927):
In the season of 1919–20 the upland plover was reported
to have increased somewhat in abundance at Rosas in the
Province of Buenos Aires, a circumstance due perhaps to
protection in the United States and Canada. It can hardly
be expected to regain anywhere near its former abundance,
however, with increasing encroachment on its winter and
summer ranges. Unfortunately, in Argentina it has replaced
the Eskimo curlew as a table delicacy, and is so eagerly
sought by gunners that its preservation in settled regions
is doubtful. Those that remain must seek the pastures of
remote estancias in order to survive.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--North and South America; accidental in Europe.
_Breeding range._--The breeding range of the upland plover extends
north to Alaska (Kobuk River and Gens de Large Mountains); southern
Mackenzie (probably Fort Smith); Saskatchewan (Prince Albert, Quill
Lake, and Crescent Lake); Manitoba (Shoal Lake and Winnipeg); Minnesota
(Clarissa, St. Cloud, Minneapolis, and Lake City); Wisconsin (Kingston
and Kelley Brook); Michigan (Lovells and Zion City); Ontario (probably
Plover Mills, Dunnville, and Kingston); northern New York (Canton and
Potsdam); southern Quebec (Hatley); and Maine (Farmington, Plymouth,
Orono, and Calais). East to Maine (Calais); Massachusetts (Salem,
Marthas Vineyard, and Nantucket); probably Connecticut (South Windsor);
New York (Montauk Point); New Jersey (Princeton, Lawrenceville, and
probably Tuckerton); Virginia (Wallops Island); and rarely South
Carolina (Oakland). South to rarely South Carolina (Oakland); southern
Indiana (Bicknell); Illinois (Olney and Odin); Missouri (Appleton and
probably Stotesbury); Oklahoma (Copan and Fort Reno); probably Texas
(Gainesville); Colorado (Barr and Denver); Utah (Kamas Prairies); and
Oregon (Fort Klamath). West to Oregon (Fort Klamath); northern Idaho
(Lapwai and Fort Sherman); British Columbia (Newgate and Osoyoos Lake);
probably Alberta (Edmonton and Athabaska Landing); and Alaska (Mount
McKinley and Kobuk River).
_Winter range._--The main winter range of the species is confined
to the southern part of South America, north to northern Argentina
(Tucuman); and southern Brazil (Irisanga and probably Mattodentro).
East to southern Brazil (probably Mattodentro); Uruguay (Concepcion,
Sta. Elena, and Colonia); and eastern Argentina (Buenos Aires and
Rio Negro). South to Argentina (Rio Negro). West to Argentina (Rio
Negro, Mendoza, and Tucuman). A specimen was taken at San Angelo,
Tex., January 1, 1883, but this must be considered as an accidental
occurrence as the species at this season is usually found only in
southern South America.
_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival are: Ecuador,
Chaupicuz, March 30; Chiapas, Comitan, March 29; Florida, Indian Key,
March 17, St. Marks, March 23, Deer Park, March 24, and Leon County,
March 25; Alabama, Barachias, March 7, Coosada, March 22, and Sand
Mountain, March 29; Georgia, Macon, March 18, and Savannah, March 23;
South Carolina, Mount Pleasant, March 11, and Frogmore, March 24; North
Carolina, Raleigh, March 28; Virginia, Alexandria, March 22; District
of Columbia, Washington, March 21; Pennsylvania, Marietta, March 27,
Plymouth, April 10, and Erie, April 11; New Jersey, Haddonfield,
April 7, and Cape May, April 12; New York, Long Island, April 1,
Watertown, April 6, and Amagansett, April 11; Connecticut, Jewett
City, April 16, and Saybrook, April 22; Rhode Island, Newport, April
29; Massachusetts, Woods Hole, April 10, Salem, April 12, and Cape
Cod, April 12; Vermont, Woodstock, April 17, Bennington, April 22, and
Rutland, April 26; Maine, Pittsfield, April 14, Plymouth, April 25,
and Portland, April 30; Louisiana, New Orleans, March 9, Hester, March
16, and Lobdell, March 19; Mississippi, Biloxi, March 10, and Rodney,
March 27; Tennessee, Nashville, March 31; Kentucky, Guthrie, March 20;
Missouri, St. Louis, March 17, Appleton City, March 19, and Kahoka,
March 20; Illinois, Rockford, March 19, Lebanon, March 20, and Canton,
March 27; Indiana, Bicknell, March 13, Vigo County, March 19, and
Vincennes, April 1; Ohio, Oberlin, March 20, Berlin Center, March 23,
and Columbus, March 29; Michigan, Ann Arbor, March 15, Plymouth, April
8, and Livonia, April 12; Ontario, Forest, April 16, London, April 17
and Preston, April 18; Iowa, Storm Lake, March 25, Wall Lake, March 30,
and Hillsboro, March 31; Wisconsin, Delavan, March 24, Milford, April
10, and Stoughton, April 11; Minnesota, Lanesboro, April 8, North Star,
April 9, and St. Cloud, April 16; Texas, Bonham, March 5, Mont Belvieu,
March 8, Dallas, March 10, and Corpus Christi, March 13; Oklahoma,
Copan, March 31; Kansas, Girard, March 16, Richmond, March 28, Topeka,
April 1, and Onaga, April 7; Nebraska, Falls City, April 6, Badger,
April 7 and Syracuse, April 9; South Dakota, Vermilion, April 9, Grand
View, April 14, and Rapid City, April 15; North Dakota, Argusville,
April 26, Larimore, April 26, and Marstonmoor, April 30; Manitoba,
Aweme, April 26, Reaburn, April 30, Winnipeg, May 2, and Two Rivers,
May 3; Saskatchewan, South qu’Appelle, April 16, Wiseton, April 25, and
Indian Head, May 2; Colorado, Denver, April 18, and Colorado Springs,
April 28; Wyoming, Lake Como, May 5; Montana, Billings, April 23,
Columbia Falls, April 27, and Terry, May 10; Alberta, Flagstaff, May 2,
Alliance, May 7, and Red Deer, May 11; and British Columbia, Osoyoos
Lake, May 25.
Late dates of spring departure are: Argentina, Buenos Aires, April 3,
Tucuman, April 5, and Baradero, April 13; Bolivia, Piedra Blanca, April
23; Brazil, Tonantino, May 7; Guatemala, Duenas, April 12; Mexico,
Chiapas, Teopisca, May 7; Yucatan, Cancun Island, April 19; Vera Cruz,
Lake Catemaco, May 5; Florida, Garden Key, May 2, Loggerhead Key,
May 7, and Pensacola, May 9; Georgia, Savannah, April 28; Louisiana,
Lobdell, May 15, and New Orleans, May 19; Mississippi, Biloxi, May 16;
and Texas, Brownsville, April 15, Bonham, May 12, and Huntsville, May
18.
_Fall migration._--Early dates of fall arrival are: New Mexico,
Glenrio, July 25; Texas, San Angelo, July 4, and Lipscomb, July 10;
Louisiana, New Orleans, July 5, and Abbeville, July 25; Alabama,
Montgomery, July 28, and Barachias, August 22; Florida, Pensacola,
August 9, and Arcadia, August 22; the Bahama Islands, Mariguana, August
5; the Lesser Antilles, Barbados, August 12, and Granada, August
24; Mexico, Jalisco, Chapata, August 27; Costa Rica, September 5;
Panama, Gatun, September 1; Colombia, Cienaga, September 12; Ecuador,
Carapungo, August 10, and Cerro Campania, September 24; Brazil, Matto
Grosso, September 26; Paraguay, Puerto Pinasco, September 29, and
Concepcion, October 3.
Late dates of fall departure are: Alberta, Red Deer River, September
22; Montana, Big Sandy, September 6; Wyoming, Little Medicine, August
15; Colorado, Fort Lyon, September 2; New Mexico, Glenrio, September
11; Manitoba, Treesbank, September 7, Margaret, September 18, and
Aweme, September 28; North Dakota, Marstonmoor, September 15, and
Westhope, September 24; South Dakota, Huron, September 2, Sioux
Falls, September 6, and Forestburg, September 30; Nebraska, Dewitt,
September 21, Badger, September 28, and Valentine, October 5; Kansas,
near Wichita, October 3, Topeka, October 13, and Onaga, October 15;
Texas, Grapevine, September 25, Gainesville, September 28, and Corpus
Christi, October 2; Minnesota, Lanesboro, August 22, and St. Vincent,
August 31; Iowa, Emmetsburg, October 14, Newton, October 22, and
Grinnell, November 2; Michigan, Livonia, September 18, and Detroit,
October 20; Ohio, Lakeside, October 13, Scio, October 17, and Waverly,
October 23; Illinois, La Grange, October 5, Belvidere, October 24, and
Rantoul, November 29; Missouri, Monteer, September 17, and Jasper City,
September 27; Kentucky, Lexington, October 11; Louisiana, New Orleans,
October 7; Maine, Pittsfield, September 22; Vermont, St. Johnsbury,
September 25; Massachusetts, Harvard, September 14, Taunton, September
19, and Woods Hole, September 29; Rhode Island, Block Island, September
6; Connecticut, Hartford, September 3, and Litchfield, September 6;
New York, Phelps, September 14, Montauk, September 17, Orient Point,
September 23, and Floral Park, October 20; New Jersey, Absalom Light,
September 15; Pennsylvania, Erie, September 22, Germantown, October 2,
and Bridesburg, October 18; Virginia, Alexandria, November 5; North
Carolina, Weaverville, November 10; South Carolina, Mt. Pleasant,
October 28; Georgia, Savannah, September 20; Alabama, Barachias,
October 26; Florida, Key West, October 3; Costa Rica, San Jose,
November 15; Nicaragua, Escondido River, November 26; Panama, Culebra,
October 22, and Davila, November 30 and Gatun, December 8; Guiana,
Cayenne, October 27; Peru, Cosnipata, October 3; and Brazil, Allianca,
November 9.
_Casual records._--A specimen of the upland plover taken February
8, 1923 at Deception Island, South Shetlands, must be considered
accidental, as this is far south of its normal winter range (Bennett,
1926). The species has been reported as occasional in spring in
Newfoundland (Macoun) and one was obtained on Sable Island in 1868
(Gilpin). There are several records for Quebec (Montreal and Godbout)
from May 7 to October. Two have been taken in Bermuda (September 20,
1874, and September 18, 1875). In Porto Rico one was obtained by Stahl
between 1878 and 1881 (Gundlach); F. A. Potts reports that he saw one
September 10, 1921 near Central Aguirre, collected one from a flock
of 15 on September 13, 1921, near Santa Isabel, and saw still another
August 26, 1926 near Fortuna. On the Pacific coast south of British
Columbia, it is known from a specimen taken August 8, 1896, at Tule
Lake, California, and one taken at Sulphur Springs, Arizona, August 18,
1874.
There are six records for England, Warwick, October 31, 1851,
Cambridge, December 12, 1854, Bigswear, January 19, 1855, Falmouth
November 13, 1865, Boulmer, November 21, 1879 and the Parret River in
Somersetshire (date ?); one for Denmark Tim, November 3, 1920; one for
Malta, November 17, 1865; one for Holland (Meyer); one for Germany,
Hessen (Naumann); and one for Italy, Liguria, October, 1859. It also
was taken near Sydney, Australia, in 1865 (Gould).
_Egg dates._--New England and New York: 10 records, April 28 to June
13. Pennsylvania and New Jersey: 15 records, May 6 to June 11; 8
records, May 15 to 27. Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Dakotas, and Minnesota:
86 records, May 4 to July 1; 43 records, June 1 to 15. Ohio to Iowa and
Kansas: 22 records, April 30 to June 17; 11 records, May 14 to 20.
TRYNGITES SUBRUFICOLLIS (Vieillot)
BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER
HABITS
My acquaintance with this species is limited to a few birds seen
migrating in company with golden plover on the burnt-over prairies
about Quill Lake, Saskatchewan. I have never seen it elsewhere. Like
the upland plover, it is a sandpiper which has associated much with
plover, frequents similar haunts, and has acquired some similar habits.
_Spring._--W. H. Hudson (1922) gives a striking account of the spring
migration of this species in Argentina during its former abundance,
from which I quote, as follows:
Now, one autumn, when most of the emigrants to the Arctic
breeding grounds had already gone, I witnessed a great
migration of this very species--this beautiful sandpiper
with the habits of a plover. The birds appeared in flocks
of about one to two or three hundred, flying low and very
swiftly due north, flock succeeding flock at intervals of
about 10 or 12 minutes; and this migration continued for
three days, or at all events three days from the first
day I saw them, at a spot about 2 miles from my home. I
was amazed at their numbers, and it was a puzzle to me
then, and has been one ever since, that a species thinly
distributed over the immense area of the Argentine pampas
and Patagonia could keep to that one line of travel over
that uniform green, sea-like country. For outside of that
line not one bird of the kind could anywhere be seen;
yet they kept so strictly to it that I sat each day for
hours on my horse watching them pass, each flock first
appearing as a faint buff-colored blur or cloud just above
the southern horizon, rapidly approaching then passing me,
about on a level with my horse’s head, to fade out of sight
in a couple of minutes in the north; soon to be succeeded
by another and yet other flocks in endless succession, each
appearing at the same point as the one before, following
the same line, as if a line invisible to all eyes except
their own had been traced across the green world for their
guidance. It gave one the idea that all the birds of this
species, thinly distributed over tens of thousands of
square miles of country, had formed the habit of assembling
previous to migration at one starting point, from which
they set out in successive flocks of a medium size in a
disciplined order on that marvelous journey to their Arctic
breeding grounds.
Dr. Alexander Wetmore (1926) noted migrating birds at Guamini on March
3 to 8. Prof. W. W. Cooke (1912) says that “migrants appear in the
interior of Brazil and in Peru during March, but there are no spring
migration data for the whole distance between Peru and Texas.” There
is a heavy migration through Texas during April and then directly
northward through the western part of the Mississippi Valley and the
prairie Provinces of Canada to the Arctic tundra. The whole migration
route in the spring seems to be very narrow. Prof. William Rowan (1927)
writes:
This is a remarkable sandpiper from many viewpoints. Like
the American golden plover and the Eskimo curlew it used
to exist in millions and was slaughtered in uncountable
numbers. To-day there are many widely traveled collectors
who have never in their lives met with it. After extensive
inquiries I can discover only one spot on the continent
besides our point on which migrating buff-breasted
sandpipers may be relied upon to turn up in any numbers. We
get it in hundreds every spring, and, roughly speaking, it
frequents only one field. Odd birds or moving flocks may be
noted elsewhere from time to time, but on the rough pasture
that forms the main body of the point this species arrives
with unfailing regularity within a day or two of the 18th
of May. Like the golden plover, it seems to migrate by
night, for at daybreak there may be hundreds in place of
the few or none at all of the previous evening.
In his notes for 1924 he writes to me:
Two birds were seen May 19 and subsequently collected.
On the 21st, five were seen shortly after sunrise with
black-bellied plover, the first time that I have seen this
association, but a large arrival took place during the day
and there were scores in the evening. On the 24th they
had reached numbers such as I have never before seen and
numerous photographs were taken. On the 26th they must have
been on the ground in many hundreds. The whole of their
area, over a mile long, was crawling with them. There is no
doubt that this year they outnumbered every other wader we
had on the place. Even so, they never formed large flocks,
and I think we never saw more than 60 get up and fly
together. They dropped very suddenly in numbers after this,
as though they had all cleared off together, but a few were
seen each day till the 30th, when a flock of 30 constituted
our last record.
Pierce Brodkorb and Frank Grasett have recorded it in northeastern
Illinois as early as April 27. A. G. Lawrence’s dates for Whitewater
Lake, Manitoba, are from May 13 to 19. Dr. E. W. Nelson (1887) noted
the first arrivals at St. Michael, Alaska, on May 31; and John Murdoch
(1885) says that it arrived at Point Barrow June 6 to 8.
_Courtship._--Professor Rowan (1927) has given us the most elaborate
account of the nuptial display of the buff-breasted sandpiper, as
follows:
As we have noted it annually, there are several distinct
stages to the display, but the males do not appear to be
concerned in the least with the females at any time. Nor
have I ever seen a female take the slightest notice of any
of the displays. Nelson comments on the fact that Murdoch
frequently saw solitary males displaying, yet he was
observing them on the actual breeding grounds.
Probably the most frequent performance is the raising of
one wing only (either one), but this has various phases.
A, the wing is spread and held steadily for a few moments
with the primaries horizontal and is then closed again. B,
the wing is spread with the primaries nearly perpendicular
and waved round in an ellipse, the bird standing still. C,
the wing is spread while the bird runs round in circles.
D, the wing is held aloft while the owner runs after
another bird, always, so far as I have seen, another male,
which instantly raises one wing also and starts zigzagging
through the grass, the first bird giving chase. They may
thus cover many yards before one suddenly collapses his
wing and halts, the second immediately following suit. All
these single-wing performances seem to be carried out in
silence.
Both wings together are used for another set of actions.
E, the wings are raised similarly to a bird alighting on
or arising from the ground, the body horizontal. In this
attitude one bird sometimes chases another. F is a double
version of B, both wings being raised high and waved
round and round. G, both wings are spread, undersurfaces
forward, primaries horizontal, after the manner of the
American eagle, the body being almost perpendicular.
This may be accomplished by a rapid _tick tick tick_
many times repeated. Two birds may do it simultaneously
standing opposite to each other with the tips of the wings
practically touching. H is the most characteristic of all
and the most amusing to watch. Both wings are raised with
the undersurfaces facing to the front as in G, but with the
primaries perpendicular, tips practically touching each
other over the bird’s head. The body is held absolutely
vertical and the legs stretched to capacity (I am not
sure that the birds do not stand partially on tiptoe),
tail cocked out horizontally behind, while the individual
“_ticks_” at top speed for about a second. Each “_tick_” is
accompanied with a rapid jerk of the whole body. The bird
then relaxes momentarily, turns through an angle of 40 to
50 degrees, repeats the performance to a fresh audience
(if there is one, for I have seen isolated birds doing
this), relaxes to switch round again, and so on perhaps
half a dozen times. This may also be done simultaneously
by two birds, face to face, and standing so close that the
wing tips appear to touch over their heads. It may then be
repeated without any change of direction in the intervals.
But it always seems to be done in spasms. Display is
evidently infectious, particularly in fine weather, for
no sooner does one start than a dozen may be at it in a
moment. But it is curious to see a bird suddenly stop in
its hunt for food in order to go through one of these acts
and then proceed as though it never had anything else
in mind, particularly if it is by itself. It seems so
irrational. Occasional bickering occurs, but we have never
seen serious fights or even suggestion of anything serious.
Murdoch (1885) has also observed that--
Two will occasionally meet and spar like fighting cocks for
a few minutes and then rise together like towering birds,
with legs hanging loose, for about 30 feet, then drifting
off to leeward. A single bird will sometimes stretch
himself up to his full height, spread his wings forward,
and puff out his throat, making a sort of clucking noise,
while one or two others stand by and apparently admire him.
_Nesting._--Roderick MacFarlane found the buff-breasted sandpiper
breeding commonly on the barren grounds east of Horton River and on the
Arctic coast. I find the records of some 25 nests in his notes, but the
data given are very meager. One nest was “near a small river, made of a
few dead leaves”; another was “a depression in the ground, lined with
a few withered grasses and leaves, on the slope of a gentle eminence”;
a third, he said, was “precisely similar to that of the golden plover.
The female made a short, low flight to a distance of about 12 yards,
when the nest was approached within 9 or 10 feet.”
Murdoch (1885), at Point Barrow, “collected the eggs in considerable
abundance”; he says that “they were never seen on the lower marshy
portions of the tundra, but always confined themselves to the high and
dry banks, or what we call the black tundra.” The eggs were deposited
“in a shallow depression in the ground lined with a little moss,” where
they harmonized very well with the black and white of the ground and
moss.
_Eggs._--The buff-breasted sandpiper lays four eggs; one set of five
is recorded. The shapes vary from ovate pyriform to pyriform, usually
decidedly pointed. The prevailing ground colors are very light, from
“cartridge buff” to dull white; in some darker colored eggs they
are “olive-buff,” “chamois,” or “cream buff.” They are heavily and
boldly marked, chiefly at the large end, where the markings are often
confluent, with longitudinal and somewhat spiral blotches and with
small spots and blotches scattered over the whole egg. An occasional
egg is only sparingly marked with small spots. The markings are in
dark browns, “bister,” “sepia,” “liver brown” and “livid brown,”
sometimes “Saccardo’s umber” or “chestnut brown.” There are usually
underlying blotches and spots in various shades of “brownish drab” or
“drab-gray.” The measurements of 62 eggs in the United States National
Museum average 37 by 26 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes
measures =40= by 27, 37.5 by =27.5=, =34.5= by 25.5, and 35.5 by =25=
millimeters.
_Plumages._--I have never seen a downy young buff-breasted sandpiper
and I doubt if any one else has. Young birds are in juvenal plumage
when they migrate southward. They are like the adults, except as
follows: The feathers of the mantle are sepia with an olive tinge,
“dark grayish olive,” narrowly edged with cream white, giving a scaled
appearance, whereas in the adult these feathers are brownish black or
black, with very broad edgings of “cinnamon-buff” or “pinkish buff”;
the feathers of the lower back, rump and upper tail coverts are from
“hair brown” to “fuscous,” tipped with “cinnamon,” whereas in the adult
these are brownish black, broadly edged with “cinnamon-buff”; the
inner webs of the primaries, on the under side, are much more finely
and closely sprinkled with black than in the adult, which has larger,
more widely scattered and hence more conspicuous black spots. This last
character probably persists through the first year. The postjuvenal
molt and the first prenuptial molt are accomplished in South America. I
have seen no specimens illustrating these.
Adults have a complete molt, apparently late in the fall or in the
winter, the wings being molted last. Doctor Wetmore (1926) shot a male
on September 21 that was still in worn breeding plumage. Birds molting
primaries have been taken in February and March. Summer and winter
plumages are very similar and the sexes are alike, except that the
female is much smaller than the male.
_Food._--Professor Rowan (1927) says:
I am indebted to the Biological Survey at Washington for
kindly analyzing the contents of 17 stomachs, spring
taken. Roughly, 40 per cent consisted of Coleoptera,
adults and larvae, and 50 per cent of Diptera, chiefly
larvae and pupae. Seeds of _Polygonum_, _Potamogeton_, and
_Eleocharis_ were present to the extent of 1 per cent.
The rest consisted of spider and insect remains. I shall
be glad to send a detailed list to anyone who may be
interested.
_Behavior._--The same observer writes:
The buff-breasted sandpiper, like Bartram’s, is a plover in
its ways and habits rather than a sandpiper. Even in its
coloration it differs radically from the common sandpipers.
It is extraordinarily tame and confiding at times. When
the mood seizes it, one could without difficulty wipe out
every bird of a flock, provided one killed or wounded one
with the first shot. The remainder will return again and
again to a wounded bird. The noise of the gun seems to have
little more than momentary effect.
Owing to the muddy tone of their plumage, these birds are
exceptionally difficult to see on the type of ground that
they so habitually frequent. One can easily walk into a
flock without knowing it till the birds get up almost
under foot. This is made the easier by their habit of
“freezing.” They stand immobile on being approached, not
necessarily crouching, generally the very reverse, but
without movement they readily enough escape observation. If
they start moving as one gets nearer, it is always on the
run. They then carry their necks “craned,” scatter widely,
and zig-zag hither and thither rather after the manner of
partridges, of which they frequently remind one.
A flock will seldom rise in unison, but the nearer birds
will merely fly over and settle on the remote side of
the further ones. Even when the buff-breasts are amongst
sandpipers, such as Baird’s, Semi-palmateds, etc., five
times out of ten they will remain on the spot if the others
are scared up. A really large flock is rare. We estimated
the number of buff-breasts on a few acres of grass one
morning at about 2,000, and we spent several hours in
trying to photograph them. They were scattered in clumps
in all directions. Although we walked through them from
one end to the other more than once, thus tending to herd
them, the largest number we were able to put up together
was about 150. This constitutes the largest flock we have
ever seen. The typical loose association is evident in the
photograph. The birds merely flew round and settled again
in the vicinity.
On windy days these, like other waders, become exceedingly
restless and impossible to approach. They then perform the
most remarkable gyrations, always but a few feet above the
ground, and seldom rising and falling vertically, as do
so many others. They attain great speed and keep in close
formation, moving in absolute unison. As such a flock
turns in the sunlight there can be no possible error as
to identity, for the whole mass looks yellowish. A single
bird, in favorable light, may also give one the impression
of being yellow.
George H. Mackay (1892_a_) says of their habits in Massachusetts:
Of the few which I have seen I have remarked their extreme
gentleness and desire to be in company with other birds.
On one occasion I had one alight among my plover decoys
on the upland (which they seem very fond of frequenting),
and, not wishing to shoot it, I allowed it to remain for
quite a while so I could watch it. During this time it
moved about with unconcern, apparently not being aware that
its supposed companions were of wood. It seemed so gentle
that I determined to see how near it would permit me to
approach, and it was not over 5 or 6 feet from me when
it flew away, but only for a short time, however, for it
returned and alighted in the course of 10 or 15 minutes.
Having no desire to shoot it, I allowed it to remain until
it departed not to return. All the birds that I have seen
come immediately to the decoys on perceiving them, and
alight without hesitation or fear. Their flight is rapid,
with many turns and zigzag movements, and near the ground,
constantly turning up so as to show their entire under
parts.
Much of the behavior of the buff-breasted sandpiper, while on the
ground, reminds one of the upland plover; it seems to prefer the grassy
places rather than the open flats or shores, and often runs away to
hide in the grass rather than fly; in running it lifts its feet rather
high, as if accustomed to walking through grass; and it often stops and
stands with its neck stretched up looking at the intruder, just as the
upland plover does.
_Voice._--It is not a noisy bird, and seems to have a limited
vocabulary. Professor Rowan (1926) says:
The spring note of the buff-breast, on the other hand, is
the most unusual and diagnostic wader note that I know. The
only thing it reminds me of is the song of the short-billed
marsh wren (_Cistothorus stellaris_), which produces a very
excellent imitation of two stones being chipped together.
The note of the buff-breast has the same quality about
it; but, instead of being loud and clear, it is quiet and
very short, and might be described as _tik_. This species,
however, is rather silent. I call this the spring note,
but perhaps it should more correctly be termed the adult
note, for we have not a single good record of an adult
in the autumn, wherefore I am only familiar with young
at this season. Like some other waders (e. g. willet),
birds of the year have a very different call or calls from
spring adults. In the case of the buff-breast the note of
the young is so like the pectoral’s--Harold considers it
shorter and less harsh--that, although distinguishable in
the field, it can hardly be described adequately by itself.
Doctor Wetmore (1926) writes: “As they rise they may give a low call
that resembles _chwup_, somewhat robinlike in tone; a second call note
is a low trilled _pr-r-r-reet_. The species is to be confused in the
field with no other shore bird.”
_Field marks._--Professor Rowan (1927) says, on this point:
The absence of white margins and black center to the rump,
and hence the lack of contrast in this region, I have
found to be the most useful diagnostic character in the
field. The wing patch is also valuable. The extraordinarily
rounded head seen in silhouette against the sun or in bad
light at reasonable range has more than once proved useful.
The note is always diagnostic.
Doctor Wetmore (1926) writes:
When in the air or on the ground they are distinctly buff
in color, with a glimpse of the marbled underwing surface
as they rise or pass, and a flash of the gray tail with its
darker markings as they alight. On the ground in profile,
they show a long neck and long legs, while the short bill
is suggestive of that of a pigeon. The neck is drawn in
during flight.
E. A. Doolittle (1923) observed that--
The greenish legs, finely streaked crown, buffy breast
and sides of head, lack of streak through eyes, and long
pointed wings reaching beyond tail were all good field
marks while the bird was at rest; while lack of wing bars
and rounded tail were striking when the bird took flight.
_Fall._--The fall migration is much more widely extended than the
spring; the main flight is directly southward through the center of
North America, but it is so spread out that some birds appear on both
the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Professor Cooke (1912) says: “The main
body of migrants follows the Barren Grounds to the shores of Hudson
Bay, thence almost due south across the Mississippi Valley to the coast
of Texas, and through Central America to northwestern South America,
and diagonally across the interior of South America to Argentina.” A
limited flight swings eastward, south of Hudson Bay, or perhaps across
it, to the eastern Provinces of Canada and New England. The species is
so rare on the Atlantic coast south of Long Island as to indicate the
probability of an oversea flight to the West Indies and South America.
On the Pacific coast it seems to be very rare, though perhaps it has
been overlooked, south of Washington, where it is probably of regular
occurrence. D. E. Brown has sent me several records for Washington,
the dates ranging from September 3 to 20. Major Allan Brooks (1924)
says that he has noted it every year that he has been on the British
Columbia coast.
In the interior the adults come along during the last three weeks in
August, and the young birds all through September. In New England the
dates are about the same. Here they were occasionally seen in small
flocks, but now they are so rare that single birds are more often seen
in company with upland or golden plover on the rolling uplands, or with
other sandpipers on the meadows.
_Winter._--It evidently spends the winter south of Argentina, for
Doctor Wetmore (1926) saw the first one on September 21 in Paraguay and
the last one on November 13 near Buenos Aires; he did not see it again
until the return flight in March. Mr. Hudson (1920) says:
It begins to arrive, usually in small bodies, early in the
month of October; and during the summer is seldom met with
in flocks of any size on the pampas, but is usually seen on
the dry, open ground associating in small numbers with the
golden plover, the whimbrel, and other northern species. I,
however, think it probable that it travels farther south
than its fellow-migrants from North America, and has its
principal feeding-grounds somewhere in the interior of
Patagonia; also that its northern journey takes place later
than that of other species.
Doctor Wetmore (1927) says:
The species frequented open flats or muddy shores near
lakes or channels, where it was subject to considerable
hunting, as several of those seen had been crippled by
shooting. From observations at Guamini, it appeared that
the species has some resting station in northern Patagonia,
perhaps near the mouths of the Rio Colorado and the Rio
Negro, or some of the large alkaline lakes of that region.
The small numbers remaining are preserved in some such
place, but apparently the species is near extinction.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--North and South America.
_Breeding range._--The buff-breasted sandpiper is known to breed
only on the Arctic coast of northwestern North America from Alaska
(Cape Smythe, Point Barrow, and probably Cape Halkett); east to Yukon
(Herschell Island); and Mackenzie (Fort Anderson and Bernard Harbor).
It has been detected in summer and may breed at Nulato and Fort Egbert,
Alaska, and at Winter Harbor, Franklin (Hennessey), while it also has
been noted at this season in eastern Siberia (Cape Wankarem and the
south coast of the Okhotsk Sea).
_Winter range._--The winter range appears to be restricted to southern
South America. They have been noted at this season in Uruguay
(Montevideo); and Argentina (Cordoba, Missiones, Rio Parana, Buenos
Aires, and Lavalle).
_Spring migration._--The spring migration of the buff-breasted
sandpiper is imperfectly known, and only a few records are available.
It has been detected at Guamini, Argentina, on March 8, at Paramba,
Ecuador, on April 22, and at Gatun, Panama, on March 29. On the
Atlantic coast of the United States it is practically unknown at this
season, old records at Frogmore, South Carolina (May 5), and Kendall
(April 20), and Howard (May 8), New York, constituting the meager data
at hand.
The main flight is seemingly up the Mississippi Valley, but even
in that region, the record is incomplete. The data available are:
Louisiana, Bird Islands, May 18; Kentucky, Bowling Green, April 27;
Missouri, April 15, and May 20; Illinois, Chicago, April 27; Ohio,
Columbus, May 6, 1923 (only record); Iowa, Norway, April; Minnesota,
Madison, May 16, and Wilder, May 21; Texas, Corpus Christi, March 17,
and Gainesville, April 23; South Dakota, Sioux Falls, May 12, and Fort
Sisseton, May 22; North Dakota, Jamestown, May 6, and Harrisburg, May
7; Mackenzie, Fort Chipewyan, May 24, and Fort Simpson, May 29; and
Alaska, Demarcation Point, May 26.
_Fall migration._--The fall record is more complete and dates of
arrival and departure can be given with greater consistency. Early
dates of arrival are: British Columbia, Chilliwack, July 23; Keewatin,
Cape Eskimo, August 10; Manitoba, Shoal Lake, August 9; North Dakota,
Grafton, August 14; South Dakota, Harding County, August 15; Nebraska,
Neligh, August 12, and Waverly, August 14; Texas, Tivoli, August
3; Gainesville, August 4, and Brownsville, August 4; Minnesota,
Minneapolis, August 1; Iowa, Charles City, August 1, and Sioux City,
August 2; Indiana, Millers, August 30; Ohio, Lake County, August 19;
Illinois, Chicago, August 16; Louisiana, Abbeville, August 4; Quebec,
Godbout, August 7, and Henley Harbor, August 20; Maine, Scarboro,
August 1, and Damariscane Island, August 26; New Hampshire, Rye Beach,
August 25; Massachusetts, Ipswich, August 7, Cape Cod, August 16, and
Nantucket, August 26; Rhode Island, Little Compton, July 22; New York,
Canandaigua, July 24, Shelter Island, August 22, Syracuse, August
24, Rockaway, August 25, and Montauk Point, August 26; New Jersey,
Toms River, September 8; Virginia, Wallops Island, September 5; North
Carolina, Currituck, September 12; Florida, Lake Jackson, September
12; Costa Rica, San Jose, September 7; Colombia, Cienaga, August 12;
Peru, Pebas, August 3, and Yquitos, September 2; and Paraguay, Puerto
Pinasco, September 21.
Late dates of fall departure are: Washington, Westport, September 3,
and Tacoma, September 20; California, Morro, September 14, 1923 (only
record for the State); Montana, Yellowstone County, September 1;
Colorado, Barr, August 25 and September 4 (only records); Manitoba,
Lake Winnipeg, September 5, and Oak Lake, September 9; North Dakota,
Jamestown, September 30; Nebraska, Lincoln, October 25; Kansas, Salina,
October 10; Texas, Brownsville, October 7, and Corpus Christi, October
10; Wisconsin, Pittston, September 7, and Rock Prairie, September 10;
Michigan, Kalamazoo County, September 17; Ohio, Columbus, September
9, Indiana, Lafayette, September 10; Illinois, Chicago, September 28,
and Beach, October 2; Missouri, Independence, September 15; Kentucky,
Bowling Green, September 7; Quebec, Magdalen Islands, September 13,
and Port Burwell, September 28; Maine, Cape Elizabeth, September 13;
Massachusetts, Nantucket, September 8, Plum Island, September 15,
Monomoy Island, September 19, and Cape Cod, September 24; Rhode Island,
Middletown, September 10, Newport, September 15, and Compton, September
23; Connecticut, New Haven, September 30; New York, Orient Point,
September 8, Rockaway, September 13, and Mastic, October 6; Lesser
Antilles, Barbados, October 6; Costa Rica, San Jose, October 8; and
Panama, Gatun, October 18.
_Casual records._--The buff-breasted sandpiper has been recorded as
taken once at Cardenas, Cuba (Gundlach). There are fifteen or sixteen
records for the British Isles, all being for the period from July to
September, except one, taken in May, 1829, at Formby, Lancashire. It
also has been recorded from Abbeville, Picardy, France (Dalgleish); and
from the Province of Owari, Japan (Stejneger). A record of this species
from Heligoland, May 9, 1847, is considered by Seebohn as possibly _T.
subminuta_.
_Egg Dates_.--Arctic coasts of Canada and Alaska: 37 records, June 1 to
July 18; 19 records, June 28 to July 3.
ACTITIS MACULARIA (Linnaeus)
SPOTTED SANDPIPER
HABITS
_Contributed by Winsor Marrett Tyler_
The spotted sandpiper is one of the successful species of birds.
The old writers, speaking of a time when the surface of the country
was very different from at present, are in accord as to the abundance
of this bird in North America. Wilson (1832) refers to it as “very
common”; Nuttall (1834) says it is “one of the most familiar and common
of all the New England marsh birds”; and Audubon (1840) reports it
“quite abundant along the margins of the Mississippi, the Ohio, and
their tributaries,” and “on the island of Jestico, in the Gulf of St.
Lawrence, about 20 pairs had nests and eggs, * * * and the air was
filled with the pleasant sound of their voices.”
At the present time we find the bird apparently little diminished in
numbers. In the numerous local lists published from every part of the
country the spotted sandpiper almost always has a place. Notations such
as “seen daily throughout the summer” or “common along the streams”
indicate the wide distribution and abundance of the species. Indeed it
is the best known of our sandpipers, not only because of its extensive
breeding range, extending from coast to coast and northward into Alaska
and Labrador, but by reason of its individual and peculiar habit of
flight and its characteristic notes.
Almost every inhabitant of the United States, sometime during the year,
may meet this graceful little wader stepping delicately along the
margin of some sandy pond, the shore of the sea, or skimming from perch
to perch on the rocks bordering a mountain stream.
Poised well above the ground on its slim greenish-yellow legs it walks
slowly and carefully along the shore, picking up a bit of food now
on this side, now on that. It goes forward with a switching motion,
head reached well forward and a little lowered. Except when creeping
up within reach of an insect or when its attention is riveted on the
snapping up of a bit of food the tail is almost continuously in motion
up and down. At the least alarm the motion is increased to a wider arc
until the posterior half of the bird’s body is rapidly teetering. A
little increase in alarm and the bird is off on vibrating wings held
stiffly and cupped with the tips depressed, sailing along the shore
away from danger. As the bird takes wing it gives, almost without
exception, its whistled call, _peet-weet-weet_, a call so associated
with the bird that Nuttall long ago give it the name _peet-weet_.
_Spring._--The spotted sandpiper moves northward earlier than the
other sandpipers. It enters the transitional zone in late April and
early May, its time of arrival coinciding very closely with the
chewink, another ground feeder. It returns to its breeding ground
inconspicuously, never passing by in the large flocks characteristic of
many sandpipers, but appears on the first day of its arrival running
about on the shore of its chosen bit of water, apparently settled for
the season. In this habit of not gathering into flocks it resembles its
relative the solitary sandpiper.
Wright and Harper (1913) speak of a few birds, left behind after most
of the species had spread over the country to the north, tarrying in
the Okefinokee Swamp till late in the spring:
The spotted sandpiper was a distinct surprise as a summer
resident of the swamp. Not only is this several hundred
miles south of its known breeding range, but one would not
expect it to find a suitable haunt in the Okefinokee. The
lakes and rivers are practically shoreless; they are simply
open spaces in the otherwise continuous cypress swamps.
However, the logs and driftwood near the edges of Billys
Lake serve as teetering stands; half a dozen were seen here
on May 11, one on June 5, and still another a few days
later. The species probably does not breed in this latitude.
_Courtship._--The courtship of the spotted sandpiper has not been
observed very minutely. Some of the few published reports on the
subject show a discrepancy in details, and one, giving an instance of
display by a bird proved by dissection to be a female, casts doubts
on all records of courtship based on sight identification and raises
the question as to the respective rôles played by the sexes in the
home-life of the species.
Bradford Torrey (1885), assuming the bird to be a male, speaks of
A spotted sandpiper, whose capers I amused myself with
watching, one day last June, on the shore of Saco Lake.
As I caught sight of him, he was straightening himself
up, with a pretty, self-conscious air, at the same time
spreading his white-edged tail, and calling, _tweet,
tweet, tweet_. Afterwards he got upon a log, where, with
head erect and wings thrown forward and downward, he ran
for a yard or two, calling as before. This trick seemed
especially to please him, and was several times repeated.
He ran rapidly, and with a comical prancing movement; but
nothing he did was half as laughable as the behavior of his
mate, who all this while dressed her feathers without once
deigning to look at her spouse’s performance.
Whittle (1922) describes a similar action of a bird observed in Montana
on May 29:
One of the birds, judged to be a male, was seen standing
on a long, inclined timber, while another, presumed to be
a female, fed close by along the shore. The male first
walked the length of the timber and then flew to another
one, where he depressed and spread his tail, and, without
teetering, stalked slowly along its entire length, with
head bent low.
Lewis O. Shelley (1925) reports from New Hampshire a courtship display
which differs from the two previous ones. Here again the respective
sexes are assumed:
A female sandpiper came running along the brook,
occasionally stopping to pick up an insect and teeter,
then run on again. Behind her were two males, the first
strutting along, looking much like a goose, craning his
neck up, swelling out his throat, drooping his wings, and
spreading his tail; the second kept well to the rear, and
did no strutting.
Every time the female stopped for a second, or slowed, the
male would dart past her and stop, throw his head higher,
and make a _fump, fump, fump_, in his throat. If that
failed to attract her attention, he would again pass her
and alternately spread wings and tail. This performance
went on all the afternoon, until almost dusk.
This observation describes a courtship in which the behavior of the
aggressive bird corresponds closely, especially in the movements of the
head, with the action of the bird noted in the next quotation--a bird
proved by dissection to be a female.
A. J. Van Rossem (1925) gives the following extract from Dr. Loye
Miller’s notebook:
Altitude, 9,000 feet; Mammoth Lakes, Inyo County, Calif.;
July 4, 1923: [spotted] sandpipers are just beginning to
pair, and several seen in courting flights. One especially
active bird was shot and proved to be a female. She came to
an imitation of the call--soared over a fallen log before
alighting on it. She then ruffed out the feathers and
strutted like a turkey cock, with head thrown back. The ova
were the size of buckshot.
_Nesting._--The breeding range of the spotted sandpiper, extending over
a vast area of diversified land, ranging in altitude from sea-level to
14,000 feet, and including both arid and well-watered country, makes
necessary in the bird a wide degree of adaptability in the choice of
its nesting site. Few birds show a greater variation in this respect
and among the places which the bird selects to lay its eggs there is
but one point in common--the proximity of water.
The following quotations bring out the extreme variety of nesting
sites: Mearns (1890) writing of the bird in Arizona says: “These birds
were apparently breeding at a small lake, in a crater-like depression
at the summit of a volcanic peak arising near the western base of the
San Francisco cone, the lake being at an altitude of from 10,000 to
10,500 feet.” Shick (1890) reports the bird in New Jersey as breeding
“in the higher parts of the island, generally on a sandy knoll in the
high, rank sedge grass,” and Audubon (1840), speaks of the nests “in
Labrador, where, in every instance, they were concealed under ledges of
rocks extending for several feet over them, so I probably should not
have observed them, had not the birds flown off as I was passing.” He
also speaks, quoting Nuttall, of “their eggs laid in a strawberry bed.”
Dwight (1893) records a nest “found in an odd situation at Tignish
[Prince Edward Island]. It was under a decayed log in a boggy slope,
and was carefully lined with bits of rotten wood.”
In the use of material to construct or line its nest the bird shows
nearly as much variation as in the choice of the nesting site and it
may be stated roughly that the more northerly the latitude of the
breeding ground, the bulkier is the nest. Audubon (1840) says, speaking
of the nests found in Labrador:
They were more bulky and more neatly constructed than any
that I have examined southward of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
* * * These nests [those in Labrador] were made of dry
moss, raised to the height of from 6 to 9 inches, and well
finished within with slender grasses and feathers of the
eider duck.
Brewster (1925) speaks of the bird as:
Especially given to breeding on small islands in Lake
Umbagog [Maine], scarce one of which is left untenanted
by them at the right season or resorted to by more than
a single pair. Their eggs, almost invariably four in
number, are usually laid during the last week of May, in
saucer-shaped hollows scraped in surface soil, and thinly
lined with dry grass. * * * If the island be treeless
and ledgy, the nest is likely to be on or near the most
elevated or central part, and more or less well concealed
by grass or other lowly vegetation. But if all the ground,
not subject to inundation, be densely wooded, the spot
where the bird has hidden her treasures is seldom far back
from the shore, and perhaps scarce above highwater mark,
usually where driftwood has accumulated, or beneath the
leafy branch of some outstanding alder or Cassandra bush.
In such places as these, it is by no means easy to find
the nest, even when the total area to be searched is only
a few rods square. The task may well seem hopeless if
undertaken in the open farming country about the southern
end of the Lake, for, although spotted sandpipers breed
here not uncommonly, they are so widely and sparsely
distributed over hilly pastures and fields of considerable
extent, that it is only by the merest chance that anybody
ever stumbles on a nest. The only one that I have happened
upon was well hidden in a tangle of withered grass and
ferns, covering a steeply sloping bank by the roadside.
In incubation as well as in courtship the male has been shown to
assume duties which are usually ascribed to the female. The following
quotation illustrates this fact. Van Rossem (1925) says:
On July 11, in a boggy meadow near the water’s edge, we
found a nest of four eggs which seemed nearly fresh. We
often had occasion to pass this nest, but there was never
more than one bird present. On July 25 the eggs had hatched
and after a short search we found the downy young in the
short grass. They were collected with the parent, which
proved to be the male. The sides of his breast and belly
were worn quite bare of feathers, showing that he had done
most of if not all of the incubating. The succeeding days,
we frequently passed the old nesting place, but never saw
any other sandpiper in the vicinity. On July 26 Alden
Miller and the writer were on the headwaters of the San
Joaquin River, in Madera County [California], and while
there found a nest on a grass-grown gravel bar in the
river. It contained young which were just emerging from
the shells. These were collected with the parent which, as
in the first case, was a male. We were at this nest and in
the immediate vicinity nearly an hour, but no other adult
appeared.
Although as a rule the spotted sandpiper does not build near the nest
of other birds of the same species, in exceptional cases many pairs
nest in close proximity to each other.
L. McI. Terrill (1911), illustrating this gregarious habit, says:
A few years ago a large colony were nesting on Isle Ronde
(a small island of a few acres, opposite the city of
Montreal). Visiting this island on May 26, 1896, I located
without difficulty 13 occupied nests. Again, on May 31,
1898, I examined upward of 25. On each occasion only a
small portion of the island was examined, and I estimated
that there were well over 100 pairs breeding.
Mousley (1916) points out that--
It may not be generally known that these birds if flushed
whilst constructing their nest invariably desert it, at
least this has been my experience on four occasions, when I
have flushed both birds whilst in the act of scooping out
or lining the hole. In one instance, however, they made a
fresh nest within 45 feet of the old one.
_Eggs._--[AUTHOR’S NOTE: The spotted sandpiper lays almost invariably
4 eggs, very rarely 5, and rarely only 3. These are ovate in shape,
less pyriform than the eggs of most waders, and they have only a
very slight gloss. The prevailing ground color is “cartridge buff,”
with some variations to “pinkish buff,” or “pale olive buff.” They
are irregularly spotted or blotched, usually both; sometimes they
are finely and evenly sprinkled with small spots; and very rarely
the markings are concentrated at the larger end. The markings are
mostly in very dark browns, “seal brown,” “clove brown,” and “blackish
brown,” and rarely as light as “Mars brown” or “russet.” The underlying
markings are generally lacking or inconspicuous, but some handsome eggs
are blotched with “lavender gray,” “pallid purple drab,” or “brownish
drab.” The measurements of 88 eggs, in the United States National
Museum, average 32 by 23 millimeters; the eggs showing the four
extremes measure =34= by =25=, =29= by 23, and 33 by =20= millimeters.]
_Young._--The young spotted sandpiper furnishes an instance of an
ancestral habit springing into action almost at the moment of hatching.
When no larger than the egg from which they have just stepped they run
over the sand teetering their tail in the manner of their parents.
My notes mention a little bird, no more than a tiny ball of fluff,
which stood on my hand waving up and down the feathery plumes of its
infinitesimal tail.
Wilson (1832) says: “The young, as soon as they are freed from the
shell, run about constantly wagging the tail,” and Nuttall (1834)
speaks of “the habit of balancing or wagging the tail, in which even
the young join as soon as they are fledged.”
Another example of the precociousness of the fledgling sandpiper is its
ability to swim while still in the down. G. M. Sutton (1925) speaks of
the habit thus:
Upon several occasions within the writer’s experience downy
young of the spotted sandpiper, when closely pursued, have
taken to the water, where they swam lightly although not
very rapidly in making an escape.
Dr. C. W. Townsend (1920) cites a case in which a young bird, evidently
in juvenal plumage, swam under water:
In Labrador I caught a nearly full-grown young still unable
to fly and put it in a small river. It at once dove and
swam under water for a distance of 3 or 4 feet, using for
propulsion its wings and probably its feet, although I
could not be sure of the latter point. It then rose to the
surface and swam to the opposite side like a little duck
and walked out on the sand, where the mother was anxiously
calling.
Aretas A. Saunders also mentions in his notes a case of diving:
Young birds when away from the parent and threatened with
danger often take to water and dive and swim under water,
using the wings to help swim. At such times the down is
covered with air bubbles, which helps keep them dry and
gives them a silvery appearance. Once I pursued a young
bird I wished to band, and it did this so many times that
it became wet in spite of the air bubbles, and in fact was
quite chilled through for a time.
More commonly the method of escaping danger adopted by the young
sandpipers is to lie motionless on the beach, where a pebbly shore
affords an ideal background for concealment. William Palmer (1909)
brings out the success of this ruse thus:
While walking along a beach one summer a spotted sandpiper
(_Actitis macularia_) and a single young were noticed some
distance ahead. As I approached the place the old bird,
with the startled manner characteristic of its kind at such
a time, kept well ahead, but I could not find the other.
Going back some distance, I waited and soon saw it again
with its parent. I repeated my quest, and again failed to
find the youngster. Going back once more and again seeing
it rejoin the old bird, I slowly moved forward, keeping my
eyes this time very intently on it, and soon picked it up
from the sand, an unwilling captive.
A. A. Saunders gives in his notes a picture of the parental care of the
young. The young birds are--
able to run and follow the parent when about half an hour
from the egg (two instances). The parent leads them away
and watches over them for a few days after hatching, after
which they gradually stray away from her (?) care. At
Flathead Lake [Montana] one bird hatched her young and
led them down the beach, and I followed to see what would
happen. When I got too near the mother (?) called _Peet!
peet! peet!_ in a loud, sharp call. The young immediately
flattened themselves down among the pebbles so effectually
I could only find one. I sat down on a log, and after
waiting some 20 minutes the parent quieted down--flew to
the opposite side of her young from me, turned and faced
them, and began to call _tootawee, tootawee, tootawee_
over and over. The young immediately responded and began a
hurried run for the mother (?), calling baby _peeps_ and
tumbling over the pebbles in their eagerness. The parent
half spread its wings as they arrived and they took shelter
beneath, just as chickens do under a hen.
The period of incubation is 15 days.
_Plumages._--[AUTHOR’S NOTE: The young spotted sandpiper in the natal
down is quite uniformly grizzled or mottled on the upper parts, from
crown to rump, with “buffy brown,” “wood brown,” grayish buff, and
black. The forehead is grayish buff, and the entire under parts are
white; a narrow black stripe extends from the bill through the eye
to the nape; a black patch in the center of the crown extends as an
indistinct median stripe down the nape and broadens to a black band
along the back to the rump.
The juvenal plumage comes in first on the mantle and wings, then on
the flanks, breast, and crown, and lastly on the neck, rump, and tail.
The upper parts are “light brownish olive,” more grayish on the sides
of the neck and chest; the scapulars and upper tail coverts have a
subterminal sepia bar and are tipped with pale buff or creamy white;
the lesser and median wing coverts are conspicuously barred with pale
buff and sepia; the chin, throat, and under parts are white.
During the fall, beginning late in August, or in September, some of
the body plumage, tail and some tertials and wing coverts are molted,
producing the first winter plumage. This postjuvenal molt is very
limited and very variable; I have seen birds in juvenal plumage as
late as December 3. The first winter plumage is like the adult winter,
except for the retained juvenal wing coverts. It is worn until March or
April. The wings are molted during the winter at any time from October
to April; and during March and April the body plumage is molted,
producing the first nuptial plumage. This is like the adult nuptial,
but there is more gray on the sides of the neck and less spotting on
the breast, sometimes very little of the latter. But the plumage is
practically adult, except for a few retained juvenal wing coverts.
Adults have a complete postnuptial molt beginning with the body plumage
in August, or earlier, and ending with the molt of the primaries at any
time from October to April. In winter plumage the upper parts are plain
“dark grayish olive,” shading off lighter on the sides of the head and
neck; the under parts are white, faintly washed with grayish on the
throat. The partial prenuptial molt, involving only the body plumage
comes in March and April and produces the spotted breast of the nuptial
plumage.]
_Food._--At the seacoast the spotted sandpiper searches for its food
both on the beach and on the muddy borders of creeks and inlets, wading
into the water, however, less frequently than most sandpipers; inland
it feeds along the margins of sandy ponds, sluggish meadow streams
and rushing mountain torrents; in farming country it strays into the
meadows, fields, and market gardens and finds in all these situations
food which it picks up from the low vegetation or from the ground.
Like some of the other sandpipers, however, and like several other
birds which have the agility to do so, it easily captures flying
insects even when they are on the wing. In order to come within
striking distance of an insect before it flies away, the spotted
sandpiper resorts to a ruse by which its approaching head and beak are
concealed or made inconspicuous. As the bird walks over windrows of
seaweed and such places where flies abound, it stretches its body out
with the bill pointing straight in front, the whole bird lengthened
into a line with the long axis parallel to the ground. In this position
the head, from the flies’ point of view is masked by the body as a
background and the bird is enabled to come so near that it can snap up
a fly, even after it has taken wing, by a straight forward movement of
the head. In stalking a flying prey the spotted sandpiper creeps up
to the fly, moving slowly with cat-like steps, the tail motionless,
and apparently never adopts the well-known trick of the semipalmated
sandpiper, the running about with the hind part of the body tilted far
upward, advancing upon a fly under cover of this as a screen.
A complete list of the insects which form the spotted sandpiper’s diet,
could one be compiled, would doubtless be a very long one, comprising
as it would both marine and land insects. The wide range of the bird’s
choice of food is shown by the following quotations which prove
definitely that it is a very beneficial species to the agriculturalist.
E. H. Forbush (1925), speaking of the bird’s habit of frequenting
cultivated fields, says:
They feed largely on locusts, grasshoppers and
caterpillars, such as cutworms, cabbage worms and army
worms, also beetles, grubs and other pests of cultivated
lands.
H. K. Job (1911) writes:
The usual food of most species of this class [shore birds]
is aquatic insect life of all sorts. This is in part the
diet of the spotted sandpiper. But as it is also a bird
of field and pasture, its range of insect food is very
wide, including grasshoppers and locusts. Probably almost
anything in the insect line is grist for its hopper, and it
is a most useful bird.
Austin H. Clark (1905_a_) furnishes the following unusual observation:
While on the island of St. Vincent, West Indies, last
October, I observed a number of our shore birds feeding on
the young of a small fish known as the “tri tri” (_Sicydium
plumieri_), which were at that time ascending the Richmond
River, near which I was staying, by thousands. The land
about the lower reaches of this river was laid completely
bare by the recent eruptions of the Soufrière, and in its
present state proves very attractive to all the species of
shore birds which visit the island during the migrations.
Those observed or proved by dissection to be eating the
young tri tri (which were at that time from half an inch to
an inch and a quarter long) were * * * solitary sandpipers
(_Helodromas solitarius_), and spotted sandpipers (_Actitis
macularia_). All but the last two kept near the mouth of
the river, or on the flat lands along its lower reaches;
the solitary sandpiper followed the stream up into what
were formerly arrowroot fields, half or three-quarters of a
mile from the sea, and the spotted sandpiper was found well
into the mountain forests.
W. H. Bergtold (1926) cites an instance of the bird’s catching another
swift-moving fish. He says that the caretakers at the Wigwam Fishing
Club, Colorado, “reported the spotted sandpiper as also catching trout
fry.”
The following quotation adds crickets to the list of insects; H. W.
Jewell (1909) writes:
While sitting on the banks of Sandy River one night I was
attracted to the actions of a spotted sandpiper. There
were lots of crickets on the shore of the river, and the
sandpiper would catch one in its bill, run up to the water,
and immerse the insect several times, then swallow it. This
seemed a very interesting performance to me, and I wondered
if all living insects caught are thus treated before they
are eaten. The cricket is quite a large insect, and as this
bird ate 10 or 12 he did not go to bed hungry that night.
Alexander Wetmore (1916), who examined the contents of nine stomachs,
says: “Though mole crickets (_Scapteriscus didactylos_) were found
in but two stomachs, they form 10.78 per cent of the total food.”
Summarizing his findings, he concludes, “From the foregoing the spotted
sandpiper is a beneficial species and should not be molested.”
_Behavior._--Nothing is more characteristic of the spotted sandpiper
than its flight. When it first starts from the shore the wings seem
to vibrate like a taut wire; then, as the bird gains headway, they
set and, depressed and quivering, they carry the bird slowly onward,
often swaying from side to side, close to the surface of the water. As
a rule, when startled, the sandpiper takes a semicircular course and
alights a short distance farther up the beach, and if followed either
takes another flight onward or doubles back as a kingfisher would do
under similar circumstances. This scaling flight, somewhat after the
manner of a meadow lark, is seen most commonly during the summer, but
on infrequent occasions the sandpiper lets go his wings and carries
them back with a long, free sweep and speeds through the air with the
rapidity of a swallow. The transition from one kind of flight to the
other is remarkable to see; with outstretched neck it drives along with
regular wing beats, a long, slender, unfamiliar-looking wader.
J. T. Nichols mentions in his notes this peculiar flight; he says:
One might be familiar with the bird for years and believe
it [the scaling flight] invariable. Careful attention in
late summer and fall, however, will demonstrate that it
is not. When, as rarely happens, the spotted sandpiper
rises to some height to make a considerable aerial passage
(especially over a stretch of marsh) the flight becomes
regular like that of a miniature yellowlegs, or swift and
darting as it sometimes is with a white-rumped sandpiper
for instance. It also, at times, flies low over the tops
of the marsh grass in this last named manner. To identify
such birds in the air is very difficult, and they will pass
for some one of the other sandpipers of rather small size
if one does not chance to appreciate the slenderer neck and
somewhat different shape, or the more uniform color of the
upper parts.
The ability to swim and dive which is so noticeable in the young of the
spotted sandpiper is even more remarkably evident in the behavior of
the adult bird. Of the many instances recorded in the literature, the
following will illustrate this well developed proclivity.
E. H. Forbush (1912) speaks thus of the action of a wounded bird:
In September, 1876, I saw a wounded bird of this species
when pursued, dive into deep water from the shore of the
Charles River and fly off under water, using its wings
somewhat as a bird would use them in the air. All its
plumage was covered with bubbles of air, which caught the
light until the bird appeared as if studded with sparkling
gems as it sped away into the depths of the dark river.
Later (1925) he adds a record of the bird actually running along the
bottom while entirely submerged. The spotted sandpiper--
can dive from the surface of the water or from full flight,
at need. Under water it progresses by using its wings which
it spreads quite widely, and in shallow water it can go to
the bottom and run a short distance with head held low and
tail raised like an ouzel or dipper.
G. M. Sutton (1925) describes the behavior of two birds which he
startled by a close sudden approach. In the first quotation he shows
that the spotted sandpiper readily dives while on the wing and
continues its flight under water and in the second quotation he shows
the bird’s ability to rise directly into the air from beneath the
water, a feat impossible for many water birds.
When the bird first flushed, its wings were fully spread,
and it was headed for the open water of the lake. Upon
seeing me towering above it, however, it turned its course
abruptly downward, and without the slightest hesitation
flew straight into the water. With wings fully outspread
and legs kicking it made its way rather slowly along the
sandy bottom, until it was about 8 feet out, in water over
3 feet deep. I pursued the bird, thinking at the time,
strangely enough, that it was wounded. When I reached
for it, it tried to go farther but apparently could not.
Bubbles of air came from its mouth, and air bubbles were
plainly seen clinging to the plumage of its back. At the
time it was captured its mouth, eyes, and wings were all
open, under water, and it remained at the bottom seemingly
without difficulty. As it lay in my hands above water
it seemed tired for a second or two, and then, without
warning, shook itself a little, leaped into the air, and
with loud, clear whistles, circled off a few inches above
the water to a distant point of land.
On a subsequent occasion, May 7, 1925, Mr. Sutton--
purposely came upon a spotted sandpiper suddenly and
witnessed it employ almost the identical tactics in making
an effective escape. At this time, however, the bird dove
into running water, swam with wings and feet rapidly moving
for about 20 feet, and emerged down stream, still flying,
and made off in its characteristic way, only a few inches
above the water.
L. L. Jewel (1915), watching a sandpiper in Panama under most favorable
circumstances was able to make out clearly the position of the feet
while the bird was swimming under water. The beach where Mr. Jewel made
this observation was, as he describes it:
A wide coral reef, bare at low tide, and with occasional
openings or “wells” connected underneath with the sea. Some
of these are of considerable size and the water in all is
as clear as crystal to all depths--clear as only those who
have seen such tropical “coral water” can imagine. * * *
I had however a perfect view of the bird as he “flew” the
10 feet across the pool, through the beautifully clear
water which showed white pebbles distinctly on a bottom
perhaps 20 feet below. The bird crossed at a uniform depth
of 18 inches to 2 feet, which he held until he brought up
against the opposite wall. The head and neck were extended
but not at all stretched while the legs and feet trailed
behind with flexed toes, like a heron in flight. The
wings seemed to be opened to only perhaps half their full
extent--the primaries pointing well backward like wings
are trimmed as birds cut down from some height to alight.
The wing-beats were slow and even but not labored, and
progress was uniform and not at all hurried.
In addition to the anomalous behavior of the spotted sandpiper in and
under the water, the bird shows a further departure from the regular
habits of the other shore birds in its ability and frequent tendency
to perch on small supports which requires a grasping power in the feet
to hold the bird in place. My notes supply an extreme instance of this
habit, noting the action of an adult bird (exercised, to be sure, over
the safety of its young) which alighted on a slender wire running
between poles and stood crouched a little and leaning forward, but
keeping its balance by securely gripping the wire.
The literature furnishes one other record of grasping a wire. L. L.
Snyder (1924) reports thus:
On June 25, 1923, at Orient Bay, Lake Nipigon, Ontario, the
writer observed a spotted sandpiper perching on a telegraph
wire. The fact that the species was perching was not
surprising but the size of the perch made the observation
of interest. The bird was not in an erect position, being
squatted, which probably made the feat less difficult.
In this case the act was entirely voluntary and not an
instance of unusual conduct due to the pressure of an
emergency.
Other quotations, showing the bird acting in unsandpiper-like behavior
follow. Mousley (1915) says:
On one occasion only have I seen a very excited parent bird
with young alight on a cat-tail head, and very out of place
and uncomfortable it seemed to be.
H. H. Cleaves (1908) says:
We were returning along a rather unused railroad when, in
an area to one side, which was flooded for the most part
with a number of inches of water, we noticed a spotted
sandpiper flying about in circles and acting peculiarly. We
had all come to the conclusion that her young were about
somewhere, when she did a most peculiar thing. The wet
area in question was covered with considerable underbrush,
out of which grew rather tall, second-growth timber. The
sandpiper alighted on the tops of some of these trees, on
the small twigs, and remained balancing there for some
time, fully 25 or 30 feet from the ground. This performance
she repeated several times, making her appear for all the
world like a perching bird.
P. A. Taverner (1919) says:
Common all along the river [Red Deer River, Alberta] and
breeding everywhere. One bird on being flushed from her
eggs flew into adjoining bushes and climbed about them in a
most unwaderlike style while complaining at our intrusion.
J. T. Nichols points out in his notes that the foot of the spotted
sandpiper is adapted to its peculiar habits; that the bird is able to
grasp a small object because the front toes are nearer together than in
most waders and the hind toe is more developed. He says:
The footmarks of the spotted sandpiper on moist sand or mud
are recognizable. Compared to those of related birds the
toes are relatively little spreading, and the mark left by
the hind toe relatively large and conspicuous.
Under the title “Spotted Sandpiper Removing its Young” J. C. Merrill
(1898) describes a very remarkable performance, the only record of such
behavior noted in the literature.
A clearly observed case of the spotted sandpiper (_Actitis
macularia_) removing its young by flight recently came
under my notice, and I place it upon record, as such
instances are rarely seen, though they are, perhaps, of
tolerably frequent occurrence, as in the case of the
woodcock.
Last summer, in the month of July, I frequently landed on
a little rocky islet near the head of the Saquenay River,
shortly after it issues from Lake St. John. Each time
a spotted sandpiper showed much concern for her young,
which were often seen running about and were a few days
old. On one of these occasions, the mother ran ahead of
me to a point of rocks near which I stopped to fish. A
few moments later she flew, circling in the usual manner,
and as she passed in front of me and within a few feet, I
saw one of the young beneath her body, apparently clasped
by her thighs; its head was directed forward, somewhat
outstretched, and was seen with perfect distinctness. The
parent’s legs were apparently hanging down as she flew,
though I am not positive that what I saw were not the legs
of the young. The mother was in sight for about 60 yards,
flying heavily and silently, and landed on a large island,
though I could not see her at the moment of alighting.
_Voice._--The notes of the spotted sandpiper are mainly modified
and extended from its common alarm note, the sharp, clear whistle,
_peet-weet_, but as in the case of many birds, degrees of emotion
may be expressed by a little change in pitch or inflection. When
considerably alarmed the bird continues to repeat the _weet_ note often
giving a long series which trails off in diminuendo like the quacking
of a duck.
J. T. Nichols (1920) describes a series of notes:
_Hoy, hoy, weet, weet, weet, weet, weet, weet, weet_ is
a prolonged call frequently heard in the early part of
the nesting season, in toto or in part, suggesting in
that respect the songs of the cuckoos. It doubtless has
value as advertisement or location notice and something
the significance of a very generalized song. A series of
loud _weets_, heard also at other times of year, the most
far-reaching call of the species, doubtless serves as
location notice.
A. A. Saunders in his notes similarly describes the “song.” He says:
I believe the long call _weet, weet, weet, weet, weet,
weet, weet, peet a weet, peet a weet, peet a weet, peet a
weet_ serves as a song. I have seen it sung in flight, when
the actions and flight of the bird were similar to those of
other flight singers.
Both of these observers describe the soft crooning note used by the
parent to bring together its young. Nichols says that, “a rolling
note, _kerrwee, kerrwee, kerrwee_, now loud, now very low and distant,
has been heard from an adult with the evident purpose of assembling her
young; and Saunders speaks of a parent bird which called to its young,
_tootawee, tootawee, tootawee, tootawee_ over and over. The call is
like the _peet a weet_ in form, but lower pitched and softer.”
A common note, heard during the summer on the breeding ground when the
birds are undisturbed, resembles closely the whistle of the little
frog, _Hyla pickeringii_. This is a far-reaching whistled note, not
given in a series like the _weet, weet_ call. It is a single note,
apparently, repeated over and over again, not regularly, but always
with an interval between each repetition.
It is clear that Nichols has this note in mind when he says, “_Pip!
pip! pip!_ is a note heard between adult birds in the breeding season
which seems to be of polite address, or possibly impolite, as it is
almost identical in form with a note of protest by old birds when nest
or young are threatened.”
Continuing, he describes two other notes, “the _pit-wit-wit_ frequently
heard from adults as a note of departure may best be considered a
variation of this one [the _pip wip_ of the young] as also the _peet
weet weet_ or _weet weet_ most frequent a little later in the season
as little companies of birds start out over the water for longer or
shorter distances.
“An old bird, surprised near her brood and fluttering off playing
wounded called _cheerp cheerp_ a sort of scream as of pain and fear.”
_Field marks._--The spotted sandpiper is one of the prettiest, most
delicate, and trim of the shore birds; in place of the browns and greys
of the streaked upper parts of most waders there is a plain greenish
sheen on the back, and in autumn across the breast a soft tint like a
fawn. Through the glass the wings show a fine mottling, suggesting a
wren. The line of white at the posterior margin of the open wing is a
good diagnostic mark, and its habit of teetering makes identification
certain. The only bird which resembles the spotted sandpiper at
all closely is its larger relative the solitary sandpiper, but the
characteristic motion of this bird is a ploverlike hitching movement
or bob, as if hiccoughing, very different from the spotted sandpiper’s
rapid swaying up and down of the hinder part of the body.
_Enemies._--The chief enemies of the spotted sandpiper are the
swift-moving hawks, whose pursuit it sometimes successfully eludes by
diving in the manner described above. J. E. H. Kelso (1926) records an
instance of this habit. He says:
Skirting the lake shore in my sneak boat a spotted
sandpiper was repeatedly disturbed, flew along in front of
the boat to settle again and again on the shore. It then
made off to cross a small bay, when a pigeon hawk dashed
out from some trees and made a stoop or two at the dodging
sandpiper, which would certainly soon have been captured in
the air if it had not suddenly alighted on the water. This
for a few seconds confused the hawk, which circled just
over its quarry and appeared to try to capture it with its
talons. The sandpiper dove, remaining under 3 or 4 seconds.
The hawk on the disappearance of its intended victim at
once made off at a great pace.
W. H. Osgood (1909) describes an escape in this manner from an attack
by a northern shrike.
Wilson (1832) in his most charming manner tells this delightful story:
My venerable friend, Mr. William Bartram, informs me
that he saw one of these birds defend her young for a
considerable time from the repeated attacks of a ground
squirrel. The scene of action was on the river shore. The
parent had thrown herself, with her two young behind her,
between them and the land, and at every attempt of the
squirrel to seize them by a circuitous sweep raised both
her wings in an almost perpendicular position, assuming the
most formidable appearance she was capable of, and rushed
forwards on the squirrel, who, intimidated by her boldness
and manner, instantly retreated; but presently returning
was met, as before, in front and on flank by the daring and
affectionate bird, who with her wings and whole plumage
bristling up seemed swelled to twice her usual size. The
young crowded together behind her, apparently sensible of
their perilous situation, moving backward and forward as
she advanced or retreated. This interesting scene lasted
for at least 10 minutes; the strength of the poor parent
began evidently to flag, and the attacks of the squirrel
became more daring and frequent, when my good friend, like
one of those celestial agents who in Homer’s time so often
decided the palm of victory, stepped forward from his
retreat, drove the assailant back to his hole, and rescued
the innocent from destruction.
A. A. Saunders sends the following suggestive note:
Once on Sherwoods Island, Westport, Conn., in September, I
saw a bird fly ahead of me with something large and black
looking dangling beneath it. The bird could hardly fly
and tried to hide in the beach grass as I approached. I
caught it and found that a large specimen of the common
edible mussel (_Mytilus edulis_) had closed its shell on
the middle toe of the bird’s left foot. The toe was nearly
severed just above the nail, and since I couldn’t pry the
mussel open, I cut through the bit of skin left and freed
the bird.
_Fall._--As is the case during its northward migration, the spotted
sandpiper leaves its breeding ground and moves to its winter quarters
inconspicuously, showing little tendency to gather into flocks. Its
voice is not infrequently heard among the notes of the autumnal
nocturnal migrants--an indication that the bird in a measure makes use
of the safe, dark hours during its long journey southward.
Cooke (1897) says: “In the fall [in Colorado] it ranges above the pines
to 14,000 feet,” illustrating the tendency to wander about in autumn.
_Game._--During the years, now past, when the smaller shore birds could
legally be shot for food or sport the spotted sandpiper suffered less
than some of the other Limicolae by reason of its more solitary habit.
The gunners, waiting for several of their tiny target to come within
range of a single shot, often disregarded a spotted sandpiper running
alone on the shore.
_Winter._--Most of the spotted sandpipers leave the United States to
spend the winter on the islands to the southward, and in South America,
but the species is nevertheless well represented in California during
the winter, and in the Southern States on the Atlantic seaboard.
George Willett (1912) “found this species plentiful in winter around
Santa Barbara Islands and on rocky shores of the mainland.”
Dr. Alexander Wetmore (1916) speaking of the bird as a winter visitant
of Porto Rico says:
It frequents the mangrove swamps, borders of lagoons,
margins of all the streams, and occasionally the sandy
beaches. During the winter season it follows inland along
the small streams and occurs throughout the island.
And (1927) reporting the birds’ winter status in South America says--
It is a regular migrant in South America as far as Bolivia
and southern Brazil, and on March 4, 1918, several were
found by Mogensen at Concepcion, Province of Tucuman, in
northern Argentina. On October 25, 1920, one was taken by
the writer near the mouth of the Rio Ajo on the eastern
coast of the Province of Buenos Aires, the southernmost
point at which the species is known.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--North and South America; accidental in Europe.
_Breeding range._--The breeding range of the spotted sandpiper extends
north to Alaska (Kobuk River, Fort Yukon, and Circle); Yukon (La Pierre
House); Mackenzie (Fort McPherson, Arctic Red River, Fort Anderson,
Aylmer Lake, Clinton-Colden Lake, and Artillery Lake); Manitoba (Fort
Du Brochet, Fort Churchill, and York Factory); Ungava (Fort Chimo); and
Labrador (Okak). East of Labrador (Okak and Rigolet); eastern Quebec
(Sloop Harbor and Wolf Bay); Newfoundland (Humber River and Penguin
Island); Nova Scotia (Breton Island, Pictou, and Yarmouth); Maine
(Thomaston); New Hampshire (Portsmouth); Massachusetts (Boston and
Woods Hole); Rhode Island (Block Island); New York (Shelter Island);
New Jersey (Red Bank and Five-mile Beach); Maryland (Cambridge);
Virginia (Cobb Island and Richmond); North Carolina (Kona, Fort Macon,
and Wilmington); and probably South Carolina (Chester and Columbia).
South to probably South Carolina (Columbia); probably Georgia
(Okefinokee Swamp); Alabama (Autauga County and Greensboro); Louisiana
(New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Vermilion Bay); Texas (Corsicana,
Calhoun County, Austin, Buffalo Bayou, Kerrville, Concho County,
and Tom Green County); New Mexico (Las Vegas, Willis, and Espanola);
Arizona (Camp Verde); and California (Santa Paula). West to California
(Santa Paula, Kernville, Lime Kiln, Royal Arches, Lake Tahoe, and Eagle
Lake); Oregon (Fort Klamath, Elkton, Eugene, Corvallis, Salem, Dayton,
and Portland); Washington (Bellingham Bay); British Columbia (Vancouver
and Skidegate); and Alaska (Lewis Point, Sitka, Idaho Inlet, Glacier
Bay, Hinchinbrook Island, Port Nell Juan, Lake Clark, Mount McKinley,
Nulato, and Kobuk River).
Nonbreeding individuals also have been observed in summer in the Bahama
Islands; Porto Rico; Jamaica; Guadeloupe; Barbados; Grenada; St.
Vincent; Dominica; Martinique; Florida (Fruitland Park, Indian Key, and
Seven Oaks); Chihuahua (Pachaco); and Nyarit (Tres Marias Islands).
_Winter range._--In winter, the spotted sandpiper ranges north rarely
to British Columbia (Courtenay and Chilliwack); Arizona (Camp Verde
and Salt River Bird Reservation); New Mexico (Carlsbad); Texas (Fort
Brown); probably Louisiana (Vermilion Bay); and rarely Virginia (James
River peninsula). East to rarely Virginia (James River peninsula);
South Carolina (Sea Islands and Port Royal); Georgia (Savannah,
Blackbeard Island, and St. Marys); Florida (Fernandina, Daytona, New
Smyrna, Malabar, St. Lucie, Miami, Key Largo, and Key West); the Bahama
Islands (Andros); Cuba (Santiago de Cuba); Haiti (Monte Christi);
Porto Rico (Cartagena Lagoon, Mameyes, and Caguas); the Lesser
Antilles (Dominica, St. Lucia, Barbados, Carriacou, and Trinidad);
British Guiana (Bartica and Georgetown); French Guiana (Cayenne); and
Brazil (Mixiana, Marajo, Para, and Bahia). South to Brazil (Bahia
and Santa Fe); Bolivia (San Francisco); and Peru (Lima). West to
Peru (Lima, Huacho, and Tumbez); Ecuador (Santa Elena, Quito, and
Esmeraldas); Galapagos Islands (Albemarle); Colombia (Puerto Berrio);
Panama (Panama City); Costa Rica (La Estrella de Cartago, and San
Jose); Nicaragua (Escondido River); Salvador (La Libertad); Honduras
(Chamelecon); Guatemala (Lake Atitlan); Oaxaca (Tehuantepec City);
Lower California (San Jose del Cabo and La Paz); Sonora (Alamos);
California (San Clemente Island, Santa Catalina Island, Santa Cruz
Island, and Marysville); rarely Oregon (probably Klamath Lake, Elkton,
and Portland); probably Washington (Seattle, Clallam Bay, and Port
Angeles); and rarely British Columbia (Courtenay).
_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival are: North Carolina,
Raleigh, April 3, Andrews, April 5, and Weaverville, April 10;
Virginia, Miller, April 10, Bowers Hill, April 12, and Camp Eustis,
April 14; West Virginia, Waverly, April 4, White Sulphur Springs,
April 6, and Lewisburg, April 11; District of Columbia, Washington,
April 2; Maryland, Cambridge, April 13, and Sandy Spring, April 18;
Delaware, Wilmington, April 27; Pennsylvania, Phillipsburg, March 27,
Jeffersonville, March 31, Wallingford, April 1, Beaver, April 2, and
Berwyn, April 5; New Jersey, New Brunswick, March 30, Deep Water Point
Light, April 14, and Camden, April 16; New York, Rhinebeck, March 20,
Locust Grove, April 2, Geneva, April 13, and Branchport, April 15;
Connecticut, Canaan, April 14, Portland, April 18, and Fairfield, April
21; Rhode Island, Block Island, April 6; Massachusetts, Dorchester,
April 12, Woods Hole, April 13, Holyoke, April 15, and Harvard, April
25; Vermont, Woodstock, April 23, Rutland, April 25, and St. Johnsbury,
April 27; New Hampshire, Tilton, April 26, Peterboro, April 28, and
Hanover, April 30; Maine, Westbrook, April 14, Ellsworth, April 16,
and Portland, April 26; Quebec, Montreal, April 26, and Quebec, May
2; New Brunswick, Scotch Lake, May 2, and Blacksville, May 5; Nova
Scotia, Yarmouth, May 4, and Wolfville, May 9; Arkansas, Tillar,
March 17, and Monticello, March 22; Tennessee, Knoxville, April 3,
and Athens, April 10; Kentucky, Bowling Green, March 29; Missouri,
Marshall, March 27; Illinois, Peoria, March 20, Odin, March 24, and
Rantoul, April 5; Indiana, Vigo County, March 20, Greencastle, April
1, and Vincennes, April 3; Ohio, Cleveland, March 29, Columbus, April
8, Canton, April 9, and Oberlin, April 10; Michigan, Vermontville,
April 6, Ann Arbor, April 13, Battle Creek, April 14, and Grand
Rapids, April 19; Ontario, Plover Mills, April 12, Guelph, April 13,
and Ottawa, April 16; Iowa, Ottumwa, March 28, Elkader, March 30, and
Emmetsburg, April 3; Wisconsin, Milwaukee, March 30, and Shiocton,
April 13; Minnesota, Lake City, April 3, Brainerd, April 16, Lanesboro,
April 18, and Minneapolis, April 19; Oklahoma, Ponca City, March 31;
Kansas, Manhattan, April 5, Lawrence, April 7, Blue Rapids, April 9,
and Wichita, April 15; Nebraska, Lincoln, April 18; South Dakota,
Sioux Falls, April 10, Forestburg, April 15, and Pitrodie, April 23;
Manitoba, Killarney, April 22, Alexander, April 24, and Aweme, April
25; Saskatchewan, Indian Head, May 3, and Eastend, May 7; Mackenzie,
Fort Simpson, May 19; Colorado, Greeley, March 18, Mesa County, March
18, and Colorado Springs, April 16; Wyoming, Lake Como, May 2; Idaho,
Rathdrum, May 1, and Rupert, May 3; Montana, Billings, April 1, and
Columbia Falls, May 4; Alberta, Stony Plain, April 22, Carvel, April
30, and Athabaska Landing, May 6; Yukon, Dawson, May 24; and Alaska,
Kuskokwim River, May 12, Craig, May 16, Nulato, May 22, and Forrester
Island, May 24.
Late dates of spring departure are: Peru, Rio Perene, March 9, and
La Merced, March 23; Brazil, Praia de Cajetuba, April 12, Santarem,
April 12, and Matto Grosso, April 1; Venezuela, San Bricene, April 21;
Ecuador, Lake Colta, April 5, and San Pedro River, April 11; Colombia,
La Concepcion, March 23; Panama, Chiriqui, April 13; Costa Rica,
Guapeles, March 5; Guatemala, Puerto Barrios, April 7; Pueblo, Altisco,
May 22; Yucatan, Tizimin, May 16; Tamaulipas, Victoria, April 16;
Sonora, Hermosillo, April 30; Lower California, La Paz, April 16, and
Gardners Laguna, April 23; Lesser Antilles, St. Croix, April 27; Porto
Rico, Patillas, May 13, and Cartagena Lagoon, May 23; Haiti, April 11;
Cuba, Guantanamo, May 5; Bahama Islands, Andros, April 21, Cay Lobos
Light, April 25, and Abaco, April 28; and Florida, Gainesville, May
10, Daytona Beach, May 11, Palma Sola, May 22, St. Marks, May 24, and
Pensacola, May 31.
_Fall migration._--Early dates of fall arrival are: Florida, Palma
Sola, July 7, Pensacola, July 18, Daytona Beach, July 21, and St.
Marks, July 21; Porto Rico, Manati, July 9 and Bayamon, July 20; Lesser
Antilles, St. Bartholomew, August 3; Lower California, Los Coronados
Islands, August 6; Tehuantepec, San Mateo, August 14; British Honduras,
Manatee Lagoon, August 16; Guatemala, Duenas, September 2; Nicaragua,
Escondido River, July 30, and Bluefields, September 17; Costa Rica,
Ujurras de Terraba, September 16; Panama, August 4; Colombia,
Fundacion, August 16, Barbacoas, August 30, Cienaga, September 13,
and Valle Dupar, September 25; Venezuela, Curaçao, July 27, and
Macuto, August 4; Ecuador, Guainche, August 27, Guayaquil, August 28,
and Portovelo, September 2; Peru, Trujillo, September 1, and Eten,
September 7; and Guiana, Abary Creek, October 6, and Cayenne, October
18.
Late dates of fall departure are: Alaska, Wrangel, October 9, and Kenai
River, November 14; Yukon, mouth of Moose River, October 1; Alberta,
Red Deer River, September 17; Montana, Missoula, September 17, and
Columbia Falls, September 22; Idaho, Priest River, September 19, and
Rupert, October 2; Wyoming, Yellowstone Park, September 17; Colorado,
Boulder, September 22, Denver, September 23, and Mesa County, October
7; Mackenzie, Great Slave Lake, September 16, and Point Brule, October
1; Saskatchewan, Eastend, September 10; Manitoba, Margaret, October
4, Aweme, October 7, and Killarney, October 18; South Dakota, Wall
Lake, October 13, and Forestburg, October 20; Kansas, Topeka, October
11, and Lawrence, October 14; Oklahoma, Copan, October 4, and Caddo,
October 16; Minnesota, St. Vincent, October 14, and Lanesboro, November
2; Wisconsin, Madison, October 4, Racine, October 6, and Burlington,
October 14; Iowa, Newton, October 25, Sioux City, November 3, and
Coralville, November 8; Ontario, Toronto, October 11, London, October
25, and Ottawa, October 30; Michigan, Charity Island, September 28,
Ann Arbor, October 9, and Jackson, October 27; Ohio, Huron, October 21,
Sandusky, October 24, Cedar Point, October 30, and Columbus, November
7; Indiana, Albion, October 17, Elkhart, October 19, and New Harmony,
October 23; Illinois, Chicago, September 29, Maxwell, October 10, and
Urbana, October 18; Missouri, St. Louis, October 11, and Jaspar City,
October 15; Kentucky, Bowling Green, October 13; Tennessee, Athens,
October 11, and Knoxville, October 24; Nova Scotia, Pictou, October 9;
New Brunswick, Scotch Lake, October 4; Quebec, Montreal, October 2,
and Quebec, October 12; Maine, Portland, October 8, Kennebec County,
October 15, and Orono, October 21; Massachusetts, Woods Hole, October
20, Braintree, October 22, and Boston, November 2; Rhode Island,
Newport, October 3; Connecticut, Portland, October 15, Hartford,
October 19, and Windsor, October 20; New York, New York City, October
13, Collins, October 15, and Highland Falls, October 15; New Jersey,
Camden, October 17; Pennsylvania, Renovo, October 18, and Berwyn,
October 28; and Maryland, Plummer Island, October 28.
_Casual records._--Spotted sandpipers have been detected twice in
Argentina, Concepcion on March 4, 1918, and mouth of the Rio Ajo,
October 25, 1920 (Wetmore). It also has been reported from Europe on
numerous instances, among which the following cases from the British
Isles, seem to be authentic: Two near Belfast, July and September,
1928; one near Whitby, March 29, 1849; one at Kingsbury Reservoir,
Middlesex (date ?); two at Warrington, Lancashire, May, 1863; two at
Eastbourne, Sussex, in October, 1866; and two at Aberdeen in August,
1867 (Dalgleish).
_Egg dates._--Labrador: 7 records, June 1 to July 16. Quebec to Nova
Scotia: 53 records, May 20 to July 4; 27 records, June 15 to 19. New
England and New York: 41 records, May 19 to July 9; 21 records, May 30
to June 13. Ohio to Iowa: 16 records, May 14 to July 6; 8 records, May
31 to June 16. California to Washington: 13 records, June 7 to July 7;
7 records, June 15 to 28. Alaska and Mackenzie: 26 records, June 10 to
July 22; 13 records, June 15 to July 7.
NUMENIUS AMERICANUS Bechstein
LONG-BILLED CURLEW
HABITS
One can not see this magnificent bird for the first time without
experiencing a thrill of enthusiasm for the largest, one of the most
interesting and notable of our shore birds, one that seems to embody
more than any other the wild, roving spirit of the vast open prairies.
Its large size, its long, curving bill, the flash of cinnamon in its
wings, and above all, its loud, clear, and prolonged whistling notes
are bound to attract attention. In its former abundance this species
must have been a most striking feature of the western plains, as it
flew in large wedge-shaped flocks in full cry. The last of the great
open prairies are rapidly disappearing; and with them are going the
curlews, the marbled godwits, the upland plover, the longspurs, and a
host of other birds that can not stand the encroachments of agriculture.
The long-billed curlew formerly bred over a large portion of central
North America, including all of the prairie regions, at least as
far east as Michigan and Illinois, and probably Ohio. But, with the
settling of the country and the disappearance of the prairies, it has
been gradually driven farther and farther west, and even there into a
more and more restricted range. It seems to me that we can hope for its
survival only on the maintenance of large, open ranges as grazing lands
for cattle where it still continues to breed.
It was apparently quite common as a migrant in New England up to about
the middle of the last century. The birds seen here were probably
migrants from the more eastern prairies. The numerous citations given
by Edward H. Forbush (1912) show its gradual decline, until now it is
only a rare straggler anywhere on the Atlantic coast. In Audubon’s time
it was abundant in winter and as a migrant on the coasts of Florida
and South Carolina. I have never seen one during my various seasons in
Florida and Arthur T. Wayne (1910) says:
Since 1885 is has been supplanted by the Hudsonian curlew
(_N. hudsonicus_), which is still exceedingly abundant
during the spring and autumn migrations. From 1879 to 1885,
_americanus_ was to be found in the immediate vicinity of
Charleston, but its numbers steadily diminished year after
year until at the present time it is so rare that it is
seldom seen; in fact I have not seen one since September
23, 1899. Audubon, in his Birds of America, states, upon
the authority of Doctor Bachman, that this curlew “breeds
on the islands on the coast of South Carolina, and it
places its nests so close together, that it is almost
impossible for a man to walk between them without injuring
the eggs.” It may appear hypercritical to question Doctor
Bachman’s statement that this species bred on the coast
islands, but the eggs were not described by either Audubon
or himself, and as far back as 1879 there were no eggs of
_N. americanus_ in the Charleston Museum, while the eggs
of the “Stone Curlew” (_Catoptrophorus semipalmatus_)
were well represented and were classified as eggs of the
long-billed curlew, I have been unable to obtain any
evidence, even from the “oldest inhabitants,” that this
species ever bred anywhere on the South Carolina coast.
Dr. Thomas S. Roberts (1919) says of its status in Minnesota:
As late at least as 1883 it was still breeding in southern
Jackson County (J. W. Preston) and Gleason saw a single
bird of this species near Euclid, Polk County, on June
17, 1897, which at that date may be assumed to have been a
breeding bird. This report of Gleason’s is the very last
record of the long-billed curlew in Minnesota known to the
writer. It ceased to be generally abundant somewhere about
1880 and rapidly decreased in numbers, even as a migrant,
until it disappeared entirely about the close of the last
century.
It apparently ceased to breed in Illinois before 1880; the last
published breeding record was in 1873. It probably still breeds in the
interior of Texas and perhaps on the coastal prairies as well, for J.
J. Carroll writes to me that on July 9 and 10, 1926, he saw 8 or 10
long-billed curlews near Matagorda Bay that acted as if they had young.
It is now a very rare bird at any season east of the Mississippi River.
_Spring._--The spring migration is now a general northward movement
throughout the western half of the United States; there was formerly
a heavy flight up the Atlantic coast as far as the Carolinas and a
straggling flight farther north. The migration begins in March, but
the main movement is during April and most of the birds reach their
breeding grounds in April. Only one of my correspondents in Manitoba
and Alberta mentions the long-billed curlew and he has seen only one in
15 years; so it must be disappearing very rapidly there.
_Courtship._--The spring behavior of these curlews, or what might be
called a nuptial flight is thus described by P. M. Silloway (1900):
After their arrival, the curlews inhabit the high, dry
prairies, flying restlessly from one portion to another,
showing a tendency to associate in pairs, though as
couples, these birds are not inseparable. In the mating
season, one of the pair is likely to follow the other in
a few moments, when the first bird has flown far over the
prairie to a more distant station. At any time the loud,
prolonged whistling of these birds, either when on the
ground or a-wing, will call attention to their movements,
warning the disturber of their domain that his presence is
known and that his actions will be watched with the closest
interest.
One of the pleasing sights to the ornithologist in watching
the behavior of these curlews is seen when a pair are
sailing upward in company abreast of the wind, moving in
perfect accord on widespread, motionless pinions curved
gently downward, within several feet of each other, then
fluttering downward side by side or one in advance of the
other, again to sail upward, uttering the characteristic
whistles.
_Nesting._--The long-billed curlew is likely to nest almost anywhere
on the boundless prairie, though we have found it, in Saskatchewan,
showing a decided preference for damp, grassy hollows in the prairie,
or long slopes near the lakes or watercourses. The nest is a very
simple affair, a slight hollow in the ground, usually thinly lined with
grasses or weeds; but sometimes quite a substantial platform of grass
is made and slightly hollowed. The female is often quite conspicuous,
as she sits on the nest with her neck stretched out on the ground, and
can sometimes be seen at a distance of 100 feet; she usually sits very
closely and can sometimes be approached within 8 or 10 feet before
flushing.
In some notes sent to me by A. O. Treganza, from Box Elder and Weber
Counties, Utah, he says that in one “particular locality (Weber County)
the birds seem to be quite gregarious, possibly due to food conditions.
While there are many square miles of what seems to be similar country,
they seem to have chosen a very small area in which to breed.” Here he
found sometimes two females sharing the same nest, resulting in sets of
from five to eight eggs. In other localities, in Box Elder County, they
do not seem to be at all gregarious. In one instance he found four eggs
of the western willet and one of the curlew in a nest, with both the
willet and curlew on guard.
P. M. Silloway (1903) has had some extensive experience with the
nesting of the long-billed curlew in Fergus County, Mont. Some of his
nests were on the high dry prairie a long way from any water, but most
of them were in such situations as I have described above. Several of
his nests were in depressions beside dried cow dung, where, perhaps,
the bird was not quite so conspicuous; and chips of dried cow dung
often entered into the composition of the nest. In a typical nest “the
cavity was 8 inches across and 2 inches deep. The brim of the nest was
elevated an inch and a half above the surroundings.” He has written
(1900 and 1903) some interesting accounts of his experiences in hunting
for nests, and sums up the behavior of the birds as follows:
The male curlew is a most jealous guardian of the premises
near the nest. When the female is sitting on her eggs, the
male will denote a watchful interest in the movements of
anyone who is within several hundred yards of the nest.
At such times he will come flying from some quarter of
the pasture, and with angry cackling will alight near the
disturber, impatiently feeding and watching the movements
of the one threatening the peace of his household. If the
observer approaches nearer the nest the male will begin to
fly at him in a straight course, turning upward abruptly
with a loud whiff of wings when it stems that the disturber
must certainly be struck by the determined defender of
his home. The nest may still be more than a hundred yards
beyond the observer. In the majority of instances it lies
ahead in the line the male points in his flight. As the
disturber gets nearer, the male shows more distress and
flutters wildly overhead, flying at the disturber from
every direction, though not from long distances as before.
All the while the female is sitting unconcerned on her
eggs, indifferent to the angry and distressed cackling of
her spouse. Perhaps by this time a half dozen or more other
males have joined in the outcry, and frequently one of
these allies will try to mislead the disturber.
The female sits very closely upon her eggs, flattening
herself upon them in such a manner that she resembles a
dead chicken lying on the ground. When flushed from the
nest she will fly low for 30 or 40 feet or flutter from the
nest and run awkwardly for a short distance, feigning to
be crippled. Frequently she will lower her head, with bill
almost touching the ground, and run along in a shamefaced
manner. Before the nest is discovered the males who are
aiding to mislead the observer will sometimes act in this
shamefaced way.
_Eggs._--Four eggs are ordinarily laid by the long-billed curlew,
occasionally five; as many as eight have been found in a nest,
evidently the product of two females. The eggs vary in shape from
ovate to short ovate or ovate pyriform, sometimes quite rounded; and
they have a slight gloss. The prevailing ground colors are in various
shades of “olive buff”; but some dark types are “ecru olive,” some
green types are “seafoam green” and some are as pale as buffy white.
The eggs are generally quite evenly spotted, some very thickly and
some very sparingly, with various shades of brown and olive, “Van-dyke
brown,” “bister,” “snuff brown,” “buffy brown,” and “buffy olive,” with
numerous underlying markings in various shades of “brownish drab” and
“drab gray.” A very handsome set has a rich buff ground color, between
“honey yellow” and “chamois,” uniformly covered with small spots of
rich browns, “Sudan brown” to “russet.” The measurements of 68 eggs
average 65 by 45.8 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes
measure =72= by 48, 70 by =48.5=, =56= by 43.5, and 62.5 by =42=
millimeters.
_Young._--Incubation is said to be shared by both sexes; its exact
duration does not seem to be recorded, but for the European curlew it
is said to be 30 days. Both birds are certainly very solicitous in the
care of the young. We were too late for eggs in Saskatchewan, but we
found three broods of young. On June 1, 1905, we found two small young
curlews, hardly able to walk, in a grassy hollow in the prairie; the
old birds gave us a great exhibition of parental solicitude, flying
about, alighting on the ground near us and making a great outcry.
Their loud cries brought a third curlew which joined in the chorus of
whistling cries.
When large enough to run, the young are adepts in the art of hiding;
they seem to disappear entirely, even in the short grass; after hunting
carefully for fully half an hour, over a limited area where we had seen
one vanish, we gave it up and walked away, when we were surprised to
see the youngster get up and run away from the very spot we had been
hunting hardest.
Probably the mortality among young curlews is rather high, as they
have many enemies. All three of the broods we found contained only two
young. The parents have to work hard to preserve even this average.
We saw an interesting exhibition of parental strategy one day, which
probably succeeded in saving some young curlews from the jaws of a
prowling coyote. The curlew was decoying the coyote away by feigning
lameness, flopping along the ground a few yards ahead of him, but
always managing to barely escape him. We watched them for some time
until they finally disappeared over a hill, fully half a mile from
where we first saw them.
_Plumages._--The young curlew, when first hatched, is completely
covered with long, thick, soft down. The color varies from “warm buff”
on the breast and flanks, to “cream buff” on the face, upper parts and
belly and to “cream color” on the throat; the crown is even paler.
The markings, which are brownish black in color, consist of a broken
and narrow median stripe on the forehead, irregular spotting on the
posterior part of the head and large, bold, irregular spotting on the
back, wings, and thighs. In older birds the bright buffs fade to paler
shades.
I have seen no specimens showing the change from downy to juvenal
plumage. The latter is very much like that of the winter adult, but
it is somewhat more tawny, especially below, and the streaks on the
neck and breast are fewer and narrower. The first winter plumage
is apparently a continuation of the juvenal, subject to some wear
and fading, and with very little molting. By spring young birds are
practically indistinguishable from adults.
Adults have a complete postnuptial molt from August to November, most
of which is accomplished in September and October, including the wings.
The prenuptial molt, which involves the body plumage, most of the
scapulars, many wing coverts and the tail, is prolonged through the
spring, from February to June.
_Food._--On their breeding grounds, and to a large extent in their
winter quarters, these curlews are upland feeders, far out on the open
prairies, in the damp, grassy hollows, or about the edges of prairie
sloughs or ponds. But on migrations they are often seen feeding on
ocean beaches or about the shores of large lakes. I have seen them on
the beaches of southern California feeding at the surf line in company
with marbled godwits. They were wading out into the retreating waves,
picking up some small objects about an inch long or less, probably
mollusks. They seemed to experience some difficulty in properly
grasping the morsel with the tips of the long mandibles, but when once
started right they handled it very skillfully, as the shell seemed to
travel swiftly up the long bill and into the mouth. They are said to
probe in the soft sand to the full extent of the long bill, but I did
not see them do this.
C. W. Wickersham (1902) has described the food and the feeding habits
of the long-billed curlew very well as follows:
Crawfish, small crabs, snails, periwinkles, toads, worms,
larvae, grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, caterpillars when
found on the ground, spiders, flies, butterflies, and
berries, especially dewberries, all play minor or major
parts in their diet. The worms, larvae, etc., are pulled
out of the ground by the long bill, the end of which may
act as a finger having separate muscles to control it, and
often it is sunk into the ground as far as it will go to
reach some unwilling victim. The crustaceans are taken
on the beach, or, discovered beneath the surface by the
probing bill, are pulled out and eaten. The berries are
neatly picked off the bushes, while butterflies and other
insects are taken on the wing.
_Behavior._--Except on their breeding grounds, where they are concerned
in the welfare of their eggs or young, long-billed curlews are
exceedingly wary; when a flock is feeding, one or more birds usually
stand as sentinels, and at their cry of warning the whole flock raise
their wings and make off. Their flight is a bit erratic or snipelike at
first, but when well under way it is strong and steady. While migrating
or traveling for long distances they often fly high in the air in
wedge-shaped flocks, uttering occasionally their loud, whistling notes.
When alighting they drop nearly to the ground, make a graceful upward
sweep, and check their speed with a flash of cinnamon wings. They walk
gracefully and swiftly on land and can swim if necessary.
The night roosting habits are well described by Audubon (1840), who saw
them at their best in South Carolina. He writes:
The long-billed curlew spends the day in the sea marshes,
from which it returns at the approach of night to the sandy
beaches of the seashores, where it rests until dawn. As the
sun sinks beneath the horizon the curlews rise from their
feeding grounds in small parties, seldom exceeding 15 or
20, and more usually composed of only 5 or 6 individuals.
The flocks enlarge, however, as they proceed, and in the
course of an hour or so the number of birds that collect
in the place selected for their nightly retreat sometimes
amounts to several thousands. As it was my good fortune
to witness their departures and arrivals, in the company
of my friend, Bachman, I will here describe them. The sun
at length sunk beneath the water line that here formed
the horizon, and we saw the birds making their first
appearance. They were in small parties of 2, 3, or 5, and
by no means shy. These seemed to be the birds which we had
observed near the salt marshes as we were on our way. As
the twilight became darker the number of curlews increased,
and the flocks approached in quicker succession until they
appeared to form a continuous procession, moving not in
lines, one after another, but in an extended mass, and with
considerable regularity, at a height of not more than 30
yards, the individuals being a few feet apart. Not a single
note or cry was heard as they advanced. They moved for 10
or more yards with regular flappings, and then sailed for
a few seconds, as is invariably the mode of flight of this
species, their long bills and legs stretched out to their
full extent. They flew directly toward their place of rest,
called the “Bird Banks,” and were seen to alight without
performing any of the evolutions which they exhibit when at
their feeding places, for they had not been disturbed that
season. But when we followed them to the Bird Banks, which
are sandy islands of small extent, the moment they saw us
land the congregated flocks, probably amounting to several
thousand individuals, all standing close together, rose at
once, performed a few evolutions in perfect silence, and
realighted as if with one accord on the extreme margins
of the sand bank close to tremendous breakers. It was now
dark and we left the place, although some flocks were still
arriving. The next morning we returned a little before
day, but again as we landed they all rose a few yards in
the air, separated into numerous parties, and, dispersing
in various directions, flew off toward their feeding
grounds, keeping low over the water until they reached the
shores, when they ascended to the height of about a hundred
yards and soon disappeared.
A similar habit evidently prevails on the prairies, which Mr.
Wickersham (1902) describes very well as follows:
As evening falls he becomes restless, his hunting comes to
an end, his bobbing becomes more jerky and more and more
repeated, until with a loud whistle he jumps forward, his
long wings fly out and up and with the first unsteadiness
over he joins the bunch in a long line and betakes his way
with the others toward some distant marsh or pond. On, on
they go; the leader whistles, the others answer, suddenly
they all drop, sweep forward and up a little, and then,
with wings almost meeting above them and legs held daintily
down to break the shock, they all alight. For five minutes
there is no movement, no sound; there are no birds to be
seen where, a moment before, the graceful creatures had
alighted; suddenly there is a little flutter of wings and
before you know it numerous forms have run forward and bent
over the water to noisily quench their thirst. For another
five minutes there is as great a confusion and clamor as
formerly there was order and quiet; wings are fluttering,
hoarse, short cries are arising, feet are pattering up and
down, the water is heavily rippling from the motion of
many bills, and, in a word, all is chaos. One by one the
drinkers cease, calmness is gradually restored, and, after
pluming themselves, the birds draw one leg up under them,
tuck their head under one wing, neatly fold the other, and
sweet slumber reigns.
On its behavior with other species Mr. Silloway (1900) writes:
There is another side to the disposition of the long-billed
curlew, for this spring I was once startled by an unusually
piercing whistle, and looking upward I saw a curlew
swooping angrily upon a ferruginous roughleg that had
chanced to wander over the claimed domain of this pair
of _Numenii_. Time and again the curlew swooped upon the
unoffending _Archibuteo_ as the latter flapped heavily
along the edge of the coulee, and the cliff echoed with the
shrill whistles of the angry curlew. On the other hand, the
long-billed curlews are the victims of petty teasing by
the longspurs which throng the prairie. I have repeatedly
noticed McCown’s longspur (_Rhynchophanes mccownii_)
flutter up beside a curlew, sailing upward, or attempt to
strike the curlew, the latter on such occasions seldom
giving any attention to the petty annoyance mentioned.
E. S. Cameron (1907) says that he has seen nesting curlews make flying
attacks at Swainson and marsh hawks, just as the European curlews
attack the jaegers.
_Voice._--Long-billed curlews are noisy birds, especially on their
breeding grounds. I have recorded their ordinary notes of protest, when
near their nests or young, as loud musical whistles, like _quee-hee,
quee-hee, quee-hee_, sometimes prolonged into a long, rattling call,
_que-he-he-he-he-he_, loud and striking. Sometimes we heard a series
of somewhat guttural notes, or a melodious _coy, coy, coy_, somewhat
like the autumn gather call of the bobwhite. I have heard them in Texas
in the spring give rich, loud, musical notes as they flew, _wheety,
wheety, wheety_, very rapidly uttered, opening the bill with each
note. Our name “curlew” and the French “curlieu” are probably both
derived from one of the commonest and most characteristic calls.
P. A. Taverner (1926) says:
The commonest call note is a clear _pil-will_, so nearly
like that of the willet that it can not always be
distinguished from it. Other notes resemble those of the
upland plover. One especially delightful is a long-drawn
_curl-e-e-e-u-u-u_, sparkling clear and rising in the
middle about five notes, then dying gradually away,
lowering in scale and volume. The entire call lasts about
three seconds of time.
_Field marks._--The long-billed curlew can be easily recognized by its
large size, long, curved bill, and cinnamon color. It is much larger
than the Hudsonian and much more cinnamon in color, especially in the
wings. It is much like the marbled godwit in color, but its curved bill
is easily distinguished from the straight bill of the godwit.
_Fall._--I quote again from Mr. Wickersham (1902) as follows:
July is spent in raising the chicks and by the middle or
latter part of August, all is ready for the flight south
to Texas, Mexico, Florida, and the West Indies. Then it
is that we see them in great flocks of hundreds, bobbing
up and down all over the prairie, more nervous than ever;
and then it is that they are least wary at times and at
other times so very wary that it is impossible to approach
them. They are so nervous and upset that they do not seem
to know their own mind and it is at that season of the
year that their antics become almost as ridiculous as they
are just before the breeding season. The day comes when
you stroll out to take notes on the birds that you have
seen by the hundreds the day before only to find that they
have disappeared; not a bird answers your call, no hoarse
screaming betokens your approach; they have gone, gone
far away in long V-like squadrons and, unless you follow
them to their winter home in the southland, you will not
see their familiar forms for many months.
The long-billed curlew is now practically unknown in any of the Eastern
States, but it formerly appeared on the Atlantic coast about the middle
of July and in the Southern States in early August. It is still quite
common in California from the middle of July through September. The
main flight goes directly south to Texas and Mexico.
_Game._--Although long since removed from the game-bird list,
the “sickle-bill” was a fine game bird. Its large size made it a
tempting target. It decoyed readily and could be easily whistled
down by imitating its notes. The cries of a wounded bird were sure
to attract others, which would circle around again and again until
many were killed. For these and other reasons it is well that the
much-needed protection came in time to save this fine bird from certain
extermination.
Dr. D. G. Elliot (1895) writes:
Once when shooting in Florida, in the vicinity of St.
Augustine, a large flock of these birds passed overhead,
and I brought down some by two shots from my gun. Although
naturally much alarmed, the survivors immediately returned
to their wounded companions, which were calling aloud as
they lay upon the marsh, flying over and around them, with
hanging legs, and uttering answering notes of sympathy,
and approaching nearer and nearer until they were not many
feet above the ground. Repeated discharges of my gun failed
for a time to drive the unwounded birds from the vicinity,
but as each individual fell from the ranks, the rest would
swoop toward it, and with much crying seem to urge it to
rise and follow them. The air was full of rapid-flying
circling birds, each one screaming its best, and it was not
until a considerable number had fallen that the remainder,
convinced at length of the fruitlessness of their efforts,
and the danger present to themselves, departed for a more
secure locality.
_Winter._--The long-billed curlew is still quite common in Texas and
Mexico in winter. Mr. Wickersham (1902) says:
After reaching its winter home, the curlew undergoes little
change of habits except in his relation to other birds.
For a few days the big bunches stay together and then they
begin to separate into small bunches of from 2 to 20 birds.
It is rarely that a single one is seen entirely by himself
but two or three feeding together and then, perhaps a mile
off, two or three more and in this way scattered all over
the pastures and prairies is the way we find them in Texas.
They are rarely found in the brush or even in ponds or
swales surrounded by the brush, but far out on the open
prairie or in little mud flats on the larger swales we
rarely miss them. Here they feed all day looking for almost
any form of insectivorous or crustacean life.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--North and Central America, accidental in the West Indies and
Newfoundland. Failure to accurately separate the different curlews,
particularly on the Atlantic seaboard, causes some uncertainty
regarding their general ranges, but _americanus_ is evidently now very
rare east of the Mississippi River.
_Breeding range._--The long-billed curlew breeds (at least formerly)
north to British Columbia (150-mile House, probably Lac La Hache,
and Vernon); Alberta (near Calgary, probably Flagstaff, and Walsh);
Saskatchewan (Rush Lake and Quill Lake); Manitoba (Shell River,
Aweme, and Pilot Mound); North Dakota (Bathgate and Argusville); and
Wisconsin (Ceresco and Racine). East to Wisconsin (Racine); Illinois
(formerly Chicago); Iowa (Newton and formerly Ferry); Kansas (Neosho
Falls); Oklahoma (Camp Supply and Ivanhoe Lake); and Texas (Houston,
Corpus Christi, and Brownsville). South to Texas (Brownsville, and
Fort Davis); New Mexico (Fort Sumner, Santa Rosa, Los Pinos, and
Fort Wingate); Arizona (Sulphur Springs); Utah (Fairfield, and Skull
Valley); Nevada (probably Franklin Lake, Humboldt River, and Truckee
Valley); and northern California (Pitt River, Butte Valley, and
Eagleville). West to California (Eagleville); Oregon (Fort Klamath,
Camp Harney, Haines and Dalles); Washington (Kiona, Yakima, and Wapato
Lake); and British Columbia (Okanagan, Vernon, and 150-mile houses).
_Winter range._--The winter range extends north to California (San
Rafael and Sacramento Valley); southern Arizona (Pima County); rarely
New Mexico (Demning, Santa Rosa, and Carlsbad); Texas (Pecos, San
Angelo, Clay County, and Victoria); Louisiana (Vermilion Bay); and
formerly South Carolina (Charleston). East to formerly South Carolina
(Charleston and Frogmore); Georgia (Savannah, Sapelo Island, and
Darien); and Florida (mouth of the St. Johns River, Tarpon Springs,
and Fort Myers). South to Florida (Fort Myers); and rarely Guatemala
(Duenas, and Chiapan). West to rarely Guatemala (Chiapan); Oaxaca
(Juchitan); Jalisco (La Barca); Durango (Rancho Santriario); Lower
California (San Jose del Cabo, La Paz, Magdalena Bay, and San Quintin);
and California (San Diego, Owens Lake, San Joaquin Valley, San
Francisco, and San Rafael).
_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival are: North Carolina,
Corolla, April 15, Virginia, Chesapeake, April 15, and Locustvile,
April 16; District of Columbia, Washington, April 11; New York, Montauk
Point, April 28; Maine, Scarboro, May 2; Missouri, Warrensburg, April
1, St. Louis, April 2, and Appleton City, April 3; Illinois, Mount
Carmel, April 4, Quincy, April 10, and Canton, April 15; Indiana,
Liverpool, April 2; Iowa, Mitchell, April 3, Ferry, April 13, and
Coralville, April 15; Minnesota, Hallock, April 24; Oklahoma, Sentinel,
April 5; Kansas, Emporia, April 9, and Manhattan, April 13; Nebraska,
Valentine, March 28, Long Pine, March 29, Whitman, March 31, and Alda,
April 3; South Dakota, Vermilion, April 5, and Rapid City, April 10;
North Dakota, Argusville, April 8, Charlson, April 14, and Larimore,
April 15; Manitoba, Aweme, April 9, Margaret, May 2, and Killarney,
May 4; Saskatchewan, Eastend, April 16; Ravenscrag, April 28, Osler,
May 7, and Indian Head, May 9; Colorado, Springfield, April 3,
Colorado Springs, April 11, Denver, April 15, and Salida, April 29;
Utah, Salt Lake County, March 28, and Camp Floyd, April 12; Wyoming,
Sheridan, April 13, Cheyenne, April 15, and Jackson, April 18; Idaho,
Grangeville, March 14, and Neeley, March 15; Montana, Great Falls,
April 5, Terry, April 7, Corvallis, April 7, and Big Sandy, April 13;
Alberta, Provost, April 22, Veteran, May 2, and Flagstaff, May 14;
Oregon, Malheur Lake, March 28, Klamath Falls, March 28, Narrows, March
30, and Lawen, April 1; Washington, Prescott, March 23, and Chelan,
April 6; and British Columbia, Okanagan Landing, March 29, and Osoyoos
Lake, April 1.
Late dates of spring departure are: Florida, Palma Sola, May 11; North
Carolina, Cape Hatteras, May 20, and Cape Lookout, May 24; Maryland,
Hail Point, May 23; Missouri, Corning, May 25; Tepic, San Blas, April
28, and Los Penas Island, May 5; and Lower California, Turtle Bay,
April 14, and mouth of the Colorado River, May 15.
_Fall migration._--Early dates of fall arrival are: Lower California,
San Quintin, July 4, and San Jose del Cabo, August 26; Sonora, Altar,
September 14; New Hampshire, Rye Beach, August 12; Massachusetts,
Amesbury, July 21, Plymouth, August 9, and Cape Cod, August 27; Rhode
Island, Newport, July 15; New York, Orient Point, July 9, and Long
Beach, July 24; Maryland, Ocean City, August 19; South Carolina,
Frogmore, August 7, and Ladys Island, August 9; Florida, Tarpon
Springs, July 5; and Alabama, Dauphin Island, August 21.
Late dates of fall departure are: British Columbia, Okanagan Landing,
October 29; Washington, Grays Harbor, October 7; Oregon, Klamath Lake,
November 19; Montana, Big Sandy, August 25, and Choteau, September
4; Idaho, Neeley, October 1; Utah, Fillmore, November 19; Wyoming,
Cheyenne, August 9, and Yellowstone Park, August 22; Colorado, Denver,
September 12, Yuma, September 30, and Barr, October 22; Saskatchewan,
Eastend, August 6, and Quill Lake, August 11; Manitoba, Westbourne
Marsh, October 8 (Nash); South Dakota, Rapid City, August 3, and
Hermosa, August 15; Nebraska, Whitman, August 25, Valentine, September
1, and Long Pine, September 6; Michigan, Washtenaw County, September
12, and Ann Arbor, September 15; Ohio, Cleveland, September 15;
Missouri, Jasper County, October 15; Quebec, Montreal, September 21;
Massachusetts, Plum Island, September 2; Rhode Island, Jamestown,
September 9; New York, Fishers Island, September 10, and Montauk Point,
September 12; New Jersey, Cape May, September 14; and Virginia, Wallops
Island, September 6, and Cobb Island, September 25.
_Casual records._--As previously stated, the long-billed curlew is
now of casual or accidental occurrence east of the Mississippi River,
although it was formerly fairly plentiful on the Atlantic coast. Macoun
reports it as a rare emigrant in Newfoundland without particulars, and
in the lack of subsequent confirmation it seems probable that he was
misinformed. Preble (1908) records a specimen that was taken several
years previous in the vicinity of Fort Simpson, Mackenzie. Several
occurrences have been recorded for Alaska, among which are: Bethel,
five seen May 9, 1917, by J. J. Brown (authority of A. H. Twitchell);
a specimen, without date or exact locality, recorded by Macoun; St.
Michael, June 19, 1874 (Turner); and upper Kuskokwim, July 23, 1898
(Hinckley). A specimen also is reported as having been taken near
Spanishtown, Jamaica, in July, 1863.
Other West Indian records for this species are considered indefinite
and probably refer to _N. hudsonicus_.
_Egg dates._--Utah: 41 records, April 1 to May 22; 21 records, April
26 to May 9. Montana and Idaho: 24 records, April 20 to July 4; 12
records, May 16 to 29. Saskatchewan: 11 records, May 3 to July 4; 6
records, May 23 to June 10. Washington and Oregon: 7 records, May 4 to
20.
NUMENIUS ARQUATA ARQUATA (Linnaeus)
EUROPEAN CURLEW
_Contributed by Francis Charles Robert Jourdain_
HABITS
The European curlew is said to have occurred once on Long Island, N.
Y., in 1853, and the specimen is still extant in the New York State
Museum. It was originally recorded as a long-billed curlew, _Numenius
longirostris_, but was identified by William Dutcher, who recorded it
in the _Auk_ (1892). Its claim to a place in the American list does not
however rest on this ancient record, as E. Lehn Schiöler says that it
has also occurred both on the west and east coasts of Greenland. The
first record was that of Johan Petersen, who obtained a young male on
August 23, 1913, at Angmagsalik on the east coast. Another was shot at
Nanortalik in Julianehaab district in 1915 on the west side.
_Spring._--Although great numbers of curlew are present throughout
the winter on the mud flats and low lying coasts and estuaries of the
British Isles, there is little doubt that the majority of our homebred
birds migrate southward, and this is confirmed by the fact that when
the breeding birds appear on the moors, the shore haunting birds are
still present in their haunts and remain for several weeks longer.
The average date of the arrival of the breeding stock in the north of
England is about mid February; Chapman has recorded their arrival from
February 5 to March 11, and in years of heavy snowfall, such as 1886,
they were unable to reach their nesting ground till March 19. In mid
Derbyshire they generally arrive early in March.
_Courtship._--As William Farren (1910) remarks the watchfulness of
the curlew and the open nature of the country it frequents, make
observation of the courtship on the ground extremely difficult.
False nests or “scrapes” are almost invariably to be found in the
neighborhood of the nest, and O. R. Owen writes that in some parts of
Radnorshire, where the curlew breeds commonly, it is not unusual to
find two or three dozen “scrapes” in an afternoon. The curlews arrive
on the moors in flocks, which keep together for a week or so, but soon
resolve themselves into pairs. At this times, the moors reecho with
their songs. Mr. Farren describes it as follows:
The performance, with its accompanying trilling song,
resembles somewhat that of the redshank. It rises from
the ground and with rapid wing beats ascends to a good
height. Often when near the summit of its flight it
checks suddenly, almost throwing itself over backwards.
Recovering, it hangs poised kestrel-like in the air, and
while so hovering, and also during a short temporary
drop on motionless wings, it pours forth the trilling or
jodelling song. It rises again on quivering wings and
again sinks as before. This may continue for some time or
it may be varied by the bird circling round on extended
wings, when one is again reminded of the flight of a hawk.
More often than not the bird will stop before a circle
is completed and hover again over a fresh spot. So it
continues, circling, rising, and falling, and pouring forth
a joyful ripple of song. The song consists of two--or
three--rising notes, rapidly repeated, high pitched, but
liquid and flutelike. I would express the curlew’s song as
_gur-lech, gur-lech, gur-lech, gur-lech_, pronounced rather
distinctly at first and not too quickly, but quickening
after the first two or three repetitions. Toward the end
the syllables must be almost run together, losing all of
the first except the “g” and at no time sounding the “ch”
too hard but rather as in the Scottish “loch.”
Seton Gordon (1915) writes as follows:
The singer, flying along the moor a few yards above
the surface of the ground, checks his flight and rises
almost perpendicularly with wings rapidly beating the
air. On reaching a certain elevation he soars--glides
rather--earthward in a slanting direction, and it is now
that his song is uttered. Commencing usually in a couple
of long-drawn whistles, uttered in a very low key, the
song quickens, the notes are sharper and clearer, and have
at the middle of the performance a curious, distinctive
“break,” difficult to put into words. It is at this point
that the song is carried far across the moorland country,
but almost at once the key is lowered, the calls become
more subdued, more drawn out, until they end, as they
commenced, in low, melancholy tones. Sometimes one sees
a curlew making his way across a moor and constantly
fluttering up into the air. But one imagines that there
is something at fault, for time after time he utters
only the first note of his song and then almost at once
mounts again into the heavens. Can it be that he does not
succeed in reaching the correct altitude from which all
self-respecting curlew commence their appeals to their
adored ones? But perhaps the songster is not producing
that bottom note satisfactorily and thus is doing his
best to perfect it. It is, I believe, only the male birds
that practice these distinctive risings and dips in the
air, but I can assert from personal experience the hen
also makes use of the trilling, tuneful notes which most
ornithologists associate only with the cock bird during the
season of nesting.
_Nesting._--The nesting sites are somewhat varied. Often the eggs
are laid in a slight hollow, lined with grass or sometimes sprigs
of heather on moorlands among short or long heather; others will
breed among the long, wiry grass of high levels or on short-cropped
pasture lands. A tussock in the middle of a wet bog may be used, or,
exceptionally, the nest may be in a plowed field. There is not much
effort at concealment, but the sentry is generally on watch to warn the
sitting bird. Occasionally I have known a bird allow approach within
a few yards, and Mr. Fenwick records a case in which the sitting bird
allowed itself to be stroked and even lifted from the eggs. As a rule,
the bird leaves the nest long before the intruder comes anywhere near.
The nest is about 5 to 5½ inches across.
_Eggs._--The eggs, which are normally four, are occasionally only three
or sometimes five. Of this latter number I have about a dozen records.
The only recorded case of six was probably due to two hens laying
together. The eggs are very large for the size of the bird, pyriform
in shape and very thin shelled, and are not laid on consecutive days.
In color they range from light green to olive green or olive brown,
spotted or sometimes blotched with light or dark umber brown and ashy
shellmarks. Exceptional varieties are pale greenish blue or whitish
grey, almost unmarked. The measurements of 100 British eggs, made by
the writer, average 67.6 by 47.9 millimeters; the eggs showing the
four extremes measure =78.6= by =55.1=, =56.2= by 44, and 61 by =43=
millimeters.
_Young._--Incubation is carried on by both sexes, and the period is
29½ to 30 days. In spite of their long legs the young can run soon
after they are hatched, but remain in the nest longer than the young
of most waders, running out and concealing themselves on the approach
of danger. Both parents assist in looking after the young, and only a
single brood is raised in the season.
_Plumages._--The plumages and molts are fully described in A Practical
Handbook of British Birds, edited by H. F. Witherby (1920).
_Food._--During the winter months the main food consists of marine
mollusca, such as cockles (_Cardium edule_), mussels (_Mytilus
edulis_), _Mya tellina_, _Bythenia_, etc.; also Crustacea, especially
small crabs; occasionally fishes from rock pools, such as _blennies_
and Annelida (lugworms). In the breeding season land Mollusca, such
as snails (_Helix aspersa_, _H. nemoralis_, etc.) and slugs; Amphitra
(small frogs), Annelida (earthworms). Insects, including Diptera
and their larvae (chiefly Tipulidae), Lepidoptera and their larvae,
Orthoptera (_Acheta_, _Forficula_), Rhyncota (_Notonecta_, etc.), and
Coleoptera (_Rhizotragus_, _Anisoplia_, _Dytiscus_, _Scarabicus_,
_Aphodius_, _Harpalus_, _Zabras_, _Pterostichus_, etc.). Also vegetable
matter, seeds of _Polygonum_ and grasses, berries of crowberry
(_Empetrum nigrum_) and _Vaccinium myrtillus_; occasionally also
blackberries. Fragments of seaweed have also been found in the stomach.
_Behavior._--The curlew is not popular with the shore shooter, as he
is not only exceptionally wary himself but seems to take a delight in
warning other and less suspicious species. Howard Saunders says that he
has seen a curlew, after shrieking wildly over the head of a sleeping
seal, swoop down and apparently flick with its wing the unsuspecting
animal upon which the stalker was just raising his rifle.
Although a bird of the coast and bare moorlands, it can and does perch
not infrequently on trees. In North Brabant, where it breeds on the
vast expanses of moorland with scattered belts of small pine trees, I
have seen an excited pair perched insecurely on the tips of small trees
and keeping up an unceasing succession of anxious yelping notes while
their young crouched in the heather below. Although it usually wades,
the curlew can on occasion take voluntarily to the water and swims well.
_Enemies._--Naumann mentions the peregrine and gyrfalcon, as well as
the goshawk among the enemies of this species. Saxby, J. F. Peters,
and others have found remains of curlew at the feeding places of the
peregrine; and Ussher also states that it is also the case in Ireland.
_Fall._--Early in July the young birds are on the wing on the English
moors and are already beginning to collect into packs, which leave the
breeding grounds about the middle of the month and resort to the shore.
_Winter._--Probably most of the birds which winter on the English
coasts are migrants from northern Europe. They chiefly haunt the larger
estuaries and the wide mud flats of the east coast, assembling in
flocks of fifty to a hundred. When their feeding grounds are covered by
the tide they will sometimes work inland, or may be seen waiting for
the water to recede on some isolated clump of rock which commands a
view in all directions, all facing the same way.
DISTRIBUTION
_Breeding range._--The British Isles, but only locally in England in
the midlands and southeast; also in the Orkneys and Shetlands; but not
in the Faroes. On the Continent, France (only in Bretagne), Belgium,
Holland, Germany, Denmark (Jutland), Switzerland, Austria, Carinthia,
Galicia, Rumania (Dobrogea), Poland, the Baltic Republics, Sweden and
Norway, Russia, and Finland south to the Perm Government. In Asia it is
replaced by an eastern race (_N. arquata lineatus_), which ranges east
to Japan.
_Winter range._--Many winter in the British Isles, southern Europe
(the Mediterranean region), and a great part of Africa. Also in small
numbers to the Persian Gulf, but here it meets the eastern form.
_Spring migration._--At the Straits of Gibraltar the passage takes
place in March, but Irby saw a few late in April, while along
the Portuguese coast they pass from March to May. In the eastern
Mediterranean some leave Cyprus by the end of February, but stragglers
have been seen on March 30 and April 5 and others have been seen on
Crete at the end of April. In Iraq large flocks passed Feluja between
mid April and May 25, flying north in the evening.
_Fall migration._--Although long after the normal southward migration
the advent of hard weather will bring big flocks past Heligoland flying
west as late as November 19 to 20. The young birds begin to arrive
there as early as mid July from Scandinavia, and on the Portuguese
coast the passage lasts from late July to November and at Tangier from
September through October. At the Ionian Isles and on Cyprus they
arrive at the beginning of September, and the passage through Greece
lasts throughout September.
_Casual records._--The records for Greenland and eastern America have
been mentioned. In Iceland Faber recorded the first on September 6,
1819, and since then other occurrences have taken place without exact
date. To the Faroes it is only a straggler in the winter months. In the
Canaries it is an occasional visitor, chiefly to the eastern isles, and
has been seen there as late as June 14. It has also been recorded from
the Azores, Madeira (December 7, 1893, October 25, 1896, October 28,
1896, January 30, 1897, and great numbers on April 28, 1898) and the
Cape Verde Islands.
_Egg dates._--British Isles, April 17 to May 31 (42 dates), April 20
to May 10 (26 dates). Holland and Germany, earliest date April 6.
Scandinavia from about mid May onward, May 13 to 26 (6 dates).
NUMENIUS HUDSONICUS Latham
HUDSONIAN CURLEW
HABITS
A striking case of the survival of the fittest is seen when we compare
the relative abundance of the three common species of North American
curlews to-day with their status 50 years ago. Whereas, at that time
the Hudsonian curlew was the rarest of the three, it is now by far the
commonest. The vast flocks of Eskimo curlew, that formerly frequented
the Labrador coast every summer and visited the New England coast
at frequent intervals, have all disappeared. They were tame and
unsuspicious, were easily decoyed, and were therefore slaughtered in
enormous numbers on their feeding grounds; they made a long migratory
flight over the ocean from Nova Scotia to South America, where many
undoubtedly perished in stormy weather. The long-billed curlew, once so
common all over the interior prairie regions, and even on the Atlantic
coast, has gradually been driven westward and northward, until it is
now occupying a comparatively restricted range. The long-billed will
probably be the next of the curlews to disappear, perhaps within the
near future. But the Hudsonian curlew, on the other hand, has held its
own, and in some sections it has apparently increased. This increase,
however, is probably more apparent than real, due to comparison with
other species which are decreasing rapidly. The reasons for its success
in the struggle for existence are not hard to find. Its breeding
grounds are in the far north, where it is never disturbed; it has no
dangerous migration route; it does not ordinarily migrate in large
flocks, which are susceptible to vicissitudes of weather and great
slaughter at the hands of gunners; but, above all, it is a shy, wary,
wily bird, quite capable of taking care of itself and well fitted to
survive. Like the crow, it is more than a match for its enemies.
The Hudsonian curlew was evidently comparatively rare in Audubon’s
time, for he apparently knew very little about it. Wilson seems to have
overlooked it entirely or to have confused it with the Eskimo curlew,
and Nuttall’s remarks are not altogether clear on the subject. George
H. Mackay (1892_b_) says:
Speaking for Nantucket and Tuckernuck Islands, as far as
I am aware, not over 15 or 20 of these birds a year on an
average have been shot there during the past 17 years, and
the local saying, that “it does not pay to go after them,”
is true, they being too shy and too limited in number to
make it any object, either for gain or for pleasure. During
these 17 years there have never been more than 100 birds on
an average living on the above islands each year, and for
the past few years I have noticed a falling off from this
number.
I am quite sure that I have seen more Hudsonian curlews on Cape Cod
during the past 10 years that I saw during the previous 20. The species
certainly has not decreased, and I am inclined to think that it has
increased. The 1927 fall flight was unusually heavy.
_Spring._--From its winter range on the Pacific coast of South America
this curlew migrates through Central America to Florida and up the
Atlantic coast. It reaches Florida during the latter half of March, the
Carolinas about the middle of April, and Massachusetts about the middle
of May. During a week spent with Arthur T. Wayne on the South Carolina
coast May 18 to 25, 1915, I saw the last part of a heavy flight of
Hudsonian curlews. Mr. Wayne told me that the first birds come early
in April, but the height of the migration is between the third week
in April and the second week in May, when enormous numbers (he says
hundreds of thousands) may be seen every day. We saw no such numbers,
but numerous flocks were seen every morning flying in to feed on
fiddler crabs on the extensive marshes and flying out again at night to
roost on the sand bars and islands. They flew high in the air in
V-shaped flocks or in long irregular lines and their loud notes could
be heard almost constantly.
Herbert K. Job (1905) saw them here in “scores of thousands”; he spent
a night at each of several little low islands--mere sand bars--lying
off the coast, and says:
About half past 5 or 6 o’clock, when the sun was low in the
horizon or had set behind a cloud bank, the first advancing
line is seen, and a string of from a dozen to 50 Hudsonian
curlews come scaling over the beach, to alight on the bar,
down at the other end. After a few minutes another flock is
seen approaching. By half past 6 they are arriving fast,
and by 7 there are two or three flocks in sight all the
time, some of them containing as many as 75 birds. Meantime
I am shooting at them as they pass, with my reflex camera,
despite the dull light. As may be imagined, the company on
the sand has become immense, covering many acres. They keep
up a sort of murmuring noise, and now and then all fly up,
with a perfect storm and tumult of wings and voices, soon
to alight again. Even after dark they are yet arriving,
as one may hear. I hazard the guess that there are often
10,000 curlews at such a roost each night. At the first
glimmer of day they are off again for the marshes.
Mr. Wayne (1910) makes the following interesting suggestion:
This species supplanted the long-billed curlew between
the years 1883 and 1885, for previous to these dates the
former species was rare, but it gradually became more
abundant each year until it established itself firmly in
great numbers. The result was that the long-billed curlew
was driven from its accustomed range by a smaller species
in the struggle for existence. The long-billed curlews fed
almost entirely upon fiddlers, and the Hudsonian curlew
also subsisted upon them, and as the food supply was
inadequate, one species was forced to seek other paths of
migration.
The Hudsonian curlew seems to be a rare migrant everywhere in the
interior; some of my correspondents do not mention it at all and others
give only scattering records. But William I. Lyon writes to me that
he saw a flock of about 100 on May 22, 1926, in Illinois; they were
flying in V formation, uttering their characteristic four short
whistles, and breaking sometimes from a V into a line. Edwin Beaupre
tells me that “the foot of Amherst Island, in Lake Ontario, is a
favorite crossing place for these curlews in their northward flight.
May 24 is the date on which they may be looked for, passing through
this locality in one large flock.”
J. A. Munro (1911) records a heavy flight which occurred at Fisherman’s
Island, Toronto, during three days, May 24 to 26, 1910; a careful count
was made of passing flocks in which over 1,000 birds were recorded.
Probably the main flight from the Atlantic coast turns inland before
it reaches New England and flies by way of the Great Lakes to the west
side of Hudson Bay. The species is rare in New England in the spring.
Along the Pacific coast there is a heavy migration; the main flight
appears in southern California about the middle of March, progresses
slowly northward, reaches Alaska about the middle of May, and arrives
on the breeding grounds in northern Mackenzie by the end of May. In
California the main migration route is coastwise, the bulk of the
flight coming in April; but John G. Tyler (1913) records them as
“regular spring migrants” in the interior valleys. “Their favorite
resorts are large, open fields where shallow ponds occur, and in such
places they often gather in large numbers.” D. E. Brown’s notes record
them as common, or very abundant at times, in Washington, flocks of 40
or 50 birds being not at all uncommon; his dates run from April 7 to
May 14.
_Nesting._--The best account of the nesting habits of this species and
its behavior on its breeding grounds is given us by Dr. Joseph Grinnell
(1900), who found eight nests in the Kotzebue Sound region of northern
Alaska; he writes:
I found the Hudsonian curlew to be a common breeding bird
over the tundras from Cape Blossom eastward into the Kowak
Valley. In the vicinity of our winter camp on the Kowak,
the arrival of the curlews was on May 17. From the middle
to the last of June, in the Kowak delta, I became well
acquainted with the Hudsonian curlew. At this season they
were of course mated and most of them had eggs. They were
ordinarily met with on the open stretches of tundra, often
where these alternate with strips of timber and lakes.
Where such perches are afforded, solitary birds on watch
would be seen sitting on the tips of isolated dwarfed
spruces or even willow bushes. As soon as an intruder
entered the domains of a pair of curlew, the bird on watch
would give the alarm by a loud, ringing call note, and soon
both birds would fly to meet him. As long as the intruder
remains in the vicinity, the pair of birds keep flying
restlessly to and fro, now and then alighting on the ground
and walking about, but most of the time keeping up their
monotonous rolling whistle. This was the only note I heard,
except earlier in the season a long, faint whistle like
that of a distant locomotive, uttered by the male bird
while sailing slowly, on set motionless wings over the
nesting grounds. This is probably their song flight, though
it is certainly very simple. The far-off whistle, however,
puzzled me for some time as to its origin. I at first
thought it was a steam launch on the river somewhere, until
I finally connected the sound with the slow soaring of the
curlew overhead.
The eggs so closely resemble the monotonous lights and
shadows of the surrounding moss and grass that I have
stepped directly over the nest, all the while scrutinizing
every foot of the ground about me, without detecting the
eggs. Sometimes from the nature of the surroundings the
eggs are more conspicuous and can be seen 10 yards or more,
but this is the exception. While one is at the nest, the
parents fly close about one, almost deafening one with
their loud penetrating cries. If anything the male bird
is the most demonstrative of the two. The nest is simply
a saucer-shaped depression in the top of a low hummock of
moss or grass. The locality was always a wet swale or low
place in the tundra, in which the clumps of grass or moss
were often surrounded at their bases with water. The nests
were in no way protected, the eggs always being in plain
view, but the remarkable mimicry in their coloration is
generally of sufficient protection.
MacFarlane collected some 13 sets of eggs on the barren grounds west
of the lower Anderson River, but I find only one nest described in his
notes; this he said was “a depression in the ground, lined with a few
decayed leaves.” Stanton Warburton, Jr. took a set of three eggs near
Teller, Alaska, on July 4, 1924; he writes to me that “the nest was
situated on hard, dry tundra, the eggs occupying a slight depression
in light grasses; distinctive nesting material of grey lichen-light
material covered the cavity. Both birds were present.” A nest found
by Bishop J. O. Stringer on an island in the lower Mackenzie River is
described as a pile of grass, moss, and weeds.
_Eggs._--The Hudsonian curlew lays almost invariably four eggs, though
the set of three referred to above was heavily incubated. The eggs are
hardly, if at all, distinguishable from those of the European whimbrel.
They are ovate pyriform, rather pointed, in shape and show little or no
gloss. Doctor Grinnell (1900) describes them as follows:
Their ground color is very variable, from a bluish pea
green through olive buff to light olive green. The markings
are numerous and somewhat amassed at the larger ends of
the eggs. They consist of dots, spots, and blotches of
pale lavender, drab, Prout’s brown, and bistre. The latter
seems in every case the real pigment, and the varying depth
to which it is covered with subsequent layers of shell
material, seems to account for the different tints, even to
the palest lavender.
In the few sets that I have seen the prevailing ground colors are dark
and light shades of “olive buff,” with occasionally “Isabella color”
or “ecru olive.” In the markings I recognized various browns, such
as “bone brown,” “warm sepia,” “Saccardo’s umber,” “olive brown,”
and “buffy brown.” The measurements of 37 eggs average 57.5 by 40.7
millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure =61.9= by 41.7,
59.2 by =43.2=, =52= by 38.5, and 55 by =37.2= millimeters.
_Plumages._--I have never seen a downy young Hudsonian curlew, and,
so far as I know, it has never been described. Young birds are in
juvenal plumage when they reach us on migration. They are more easily
recognized by their much shorter bills than by any plumage differences,
as they look much like adults. The markings on the neck and breast are
finer and closer; the feathers of the back, scapulars, tertials, and
wing coverts are “warm sepia,” notched with cream-white or pale buff,
producing a spotted effect, most pronounced on the wing coverts and
tertials (in adults these parts are more narrowly edged with buff); the
rump is “sepia,” with large spots of “pinkish buff,” and the upper
tail coverts are barred with the same colors; the under parts are
more buffy than in adults and the whole effect is brighter and more
variegated.
A postjuvenal body molt in late fall or early winter, which almost
runs into a first prenuptial molt, produces a plumage, which can be
distinguished from the adult only by the faded juvenal wing coverts and
the bird becomes fully adult at the next postnuptial molt.
Adults have a complete postnuptial molt, beginning with the body molt
in August and ending with the molt of the primaries in the winter; soon
after the wings are molted, or from February to May they have a partial
prenuptial molt, including the body plumage, the tail, and some of the
scapulars and wing coverts.
_Food._--Hudsonian curlews are mainly shore feeders; on the beaches and
sand flats they pick up various insects, worms, small mollusks, and
crustaceans, often probing for the sand fleas in the wet sand; on the
mud flats they find similar animal food. I have also often seen them on
the marshes, or even on high, dry pasture lands, such as are frequented
by golden plover and Eskimo curlews, where they find grasshoppers,
spiders, beetles, and other insects. In South Carolina we saw them at
low tide on the oyster banks and on the mud banks riddled with holes of
fiddler crabs, on which they were doubtless feeding. In the Magdalen
Islands I have seen them on the uplands and among the sand dunes,
where they were evidently eating crow berries (_Empetrum nigrum_).
They are also said to eat blueberries, dewberries, and various seeds.
E. W. Hadeler tells me that he once saw them feeding on the bodies of
light-colored millers; the beach was lined with these moths, some dead
and others alive, and the curlews did not like to leave this abundant
supply of food.
Mr. Mackay (1892_b_) says:
They feed on fiddler crabs, grasshoppers, and the large
gray sand spiders (_Lycosa_) which live in holes in
the sand among the beach grass adjacent to headlands,
huckleberries, which they pick from the bushes, and beetles
(_Lachnosterna_, _Scarabaeidae_), all of which are usually
mixed with coarse gravel. When a flock of these birds is
on the ground where they have been feeding they become
scattered, 25 or 30 birds covering 15 or 20 yards’ space.
At such times they do not appear to be particularly active,
moving about in a rather slow, stately manner, although I
have once in a while seen them run.
L. L. Jewel (1913) writes:
One of the bird surprises of my life was to see a Hudsonian
curlew tiptoe and catch butterflies within 20 feet of my
front door at Gatun. The clearings in and around the town
seemed very attractive to these birds and they were fairly
tame. Marching or advancing by rushes, always with graceful
dignity, sometimes singly but more often in groups of four
or five, they foraged through the shorter grass, picking
up or catching on the wing their insect food. They usually
kept near the water’s edge or well down in dry gullies, but
also fed on higher ground at times.
_Behavior._--Although Hudsonian curlews may fly swiftly at times and
probably make good speed when traveling they appear to me to fly rather
slowly and heavily, with steady and rather moderate wing beats; they
often set their wings and scale for a long distance. When migrating
over land they usually fly high, in flocks, much after the manner of
ducks and geese; but when migrating over water or flying to and from
their roosting grounds they often fly in long lines close to the water.
Their flight has been said to resemble the flight of gulls when moving
in flocks, or to suggest that of herons when flying close to the water,
but I could never see any such resemblance.
Dr. Charles W. Townsend (1905) says:
They walk and run rapidly, stand still, often with one foot
several inches in front of the other, rest occasionally by
squatting down, with tarsi flat on the ground, or standing
upon one leg, with the other out behind.
William L. Dawson (1923) writes:
The curlews deploy, then, upon the dry sands of the upper
beach and either potter about on listless lookout for
passing insects or else squat upon the sand, tuck bill
under wing, and lose themselves in dreams. There is always
at least one wary fellow on guard, however, and let but
the smallest appearance of motion, be it only a khaki hat,
break the purity of the sky line among the attendant sand
dunes, and a quaver of warning puts the scattered flock on
guard. Sleepy heads are stealthily withdrawn; the birds
rise slowly and begin to creep toward their leader, their
neutral-colored bodies scarcely distinguishable against the
background of sand; and all meanwhile scanning the horizon
for the danger sign. If the alarm spreads, all run down
the beach slope for a quick take-off, pass over the surf
line, and then parallel the shore with moderate, firm wing
strokes until a safe distance has been reached.
_Voice._--John T. Nichols says in his notes:
The flight note of the Hudsonian curlew in migration
resembles somewhat that of the greater yellowlegs, but
is easily distinguished therefrom, being less modulated
and usually lower pitched. It commonly consists of four
short whistles, but is frequently prolonged, sometimes
accelerated into a trill. The more prolonged calls are
usually the dryer and seem characteristic of the noisiest
birds, flying highest or with most uncertainty. On its
northern breeding grounds (Nome, July, 1926) this species
keeps up a continual vocal protest while an intruder is
present. Its note then matches in form the trills which may
be heard in migration but is much more musical and varied
in quality. It may be described as polysyllabic, rolling,
usually 10 syllabled or less; modulated and varied in
tone--loud, reedy, sweet, mellow, or liquid. It is the same
when the bird is in the air as when it is on the ground.
Mr. Mackay (1892_b_) says that the rolling note sounds like “that
produced by a boy’s lead bird whistle filled with water.” They also
have a soft, musical _cur-lew_ note, more often heard in the spring.
Dr. E. R. P. Janvrin says in his notes: “The note uttered during
flight, usually just after the birds are put up and apparently an alarm
note, sounds like _krek, krek, krek_, quite loud and rather metallic.”
E. W. Hadeler refers to this note as _pip, pip_, uttered five or six
times in rapid succession.
John G. Tyler (1913) writes:
There are no birds with which I am acquainted that can
compare with these splendid waders in the rich, musical
quality of their voices. On the last day of one April I
encountered a large flock of curlews in a grain field, part
of which was being flooded at the time with irrigation
water. The nervous lispings that at my approach threatened
to break into the clamorous, screaming flight calls finally
subsided, and the birds fed and waded about in the water or
preened their feathers while standing storklike on one leg.
Suddenly I was thrilled with a medley of subdued pipings so
marvelously sweet and musical that I could hardly believe
the sound came from my flock of curlews. The faintest
whispering it seemed, yet the liquid melody was really
far-reaching and was, as I afterwards learned, distinctly
audible from a distance of a quarter of a mile when
atmospheric conditions were favorable. A strange nervous
unrest seemed to affect the entire group on the ground.
The whistlings became louder, and the cause was suddenly
revealed to me when a curlew call from overhead drew my
attention to a flock of new arrivals, nine in number,
that were circling preparatory to joining the company at
the pond. My surprise and admiration knew no bounds when
I realized the sublime heights at which these travelers
through the sky had been flying. Mere specks they appeared,
and yet their melodious call rang clear and distinct.
_Field marks._--A large, rather pale brown bird with a long, decurved
bill can easily be recognized as a curlew; the long-billed curlew is
larger, has a longer bill, and is much more rufous or cinnamon colored,
especially in the wings; the Eskimo curlew is, or was, smaller, with
a shorter bill, though young Hudsonians have rather short bills. Mr.
Nichols suggests that at close range the much barred under wing can
frequently be noticed; the outer primaries look blacker and plainer
than in long-billed, and a white streak near the edge of the wing, made
by the primary quills, is cut off abruptly at the base by a blackish
blotch.
_Fall._--Like most of the northern breeding shore birds, the Hudsonian
curlew moves off its breeding grounds as soon as the young are able
to shift for themselves, and begins its summer wanderings, or starts
on its southward migration early in July. There are two main lines of
flight, down the east and west coasts of the continent, as well as a
more scattering flight through the central valleys and plains. The
eastward flight is from the west coast of Hudson Bay, where many birds
linger through August, to the coasts of New England and southward. A
few Hudsonian curlews migrate as far east as Labrador; the species has
never been common there, but since the disappearance of the Eskimo
curlew it has been more in evidence; Lucien M. Turner recorded it only
twice in northern Ungava; a few specimens have been taken on the east
coast of Labrador.
Adults appear on the coast of Massachusetts about the middle of July
and the young birds about a month later; the heaviest flights come in
August and September, but young birds often linger well into October;
my latest date is October 20. They reach the Carolinas in July; Mr.
Wayne (1910) says that he has seen them as early as July 5 and not
later than October 2. They are reported as migrating over the Bermudas
in August and September, but the last of the birds do not leave the
West Indies until November.
Pacific coast flights occur on corresponding dates. Early in August,
when the blueberries and crowberries are ripening, large flocks of
this and bristle-thighed curlews come down to the Bering Sea coast
of Alaska, where large numbers are brought into the markets at Nome
all through August and early September. From there the migration is
southward along the Pacific coast. D. E. Brown’s dates for Pierce
County, Wash., run from August 6 to October 2, but probably there are
earlier dates. The earliest birds reach southern California about
the first week in July and the latest birds linger through October.
Meantime some of the birds have appeared in Peru early in August and in
Chile by the middle of that month.
_Game._--The Hudsonian, or “jack,” curlew is a gamey bird, which will
test the skill and try the patience of the most experienced sportsman.
It is so shy and vigilant that it is difficult to outwit. It is almost
impossible to stalk an old bird, but I have, on rare occasions, been
able to creep up on a young bird. Most of my chances have been at
single birds flying over, when several gunners have been spread over
ground where scattered birds were feeding. Once a flock of 15 birds
swung by my blind within range, but they did not alight to my decoys.
Referring to the “good old days,” Mr. Mackay (1892_b_) writes:
They were apparently as shy then as now, for even then it
was considered essential in order to take them to mortise
a hole in the ground for concealment in the locality
which they frequented or passed over, care being taken
to remove the soil taken out to some distance in a wagon
in order that the place might appear perfectly natural.
Stands were dug in the center of a clump of bushes, as
being less noticeable. In times past, on Cape Cod, I have
used a hogshead, sunken level with the marsh, from which
to shoot them, but even under such conditions I never
secured more than nine in one day, and that only once. The
Hudsonian curlew is a very observing bird and perceives at
once anything strange and out of harmony with the natural
surroundings of any locality which it has been in the
habit of frequenting, and in order to get a flock up to
the decoys considerable care must be exercised. Single
birds or pairs will, however, decoy fairly well if they
have not been harassed. These birds have a way of setting
their wings stationary and sailing, when headed for the
decoys, at a distance of 100 yards or more, the flock
separating out so that there are scarcely any two birds
together, and then hanging, as it were, in the air. During
this time they are most carefully listening and scanning
the decoys and surroundings. A movement causes them to
spring up in the air several feet, and as this is generally
when aim is being taken they are apt to be missed by being
undershot. In order to get them as near as possible I have
frequently set my decoys only a few feet to windward of
my stand, as it is customary for them, when heading for
the decoys, to keep falling off to leeward of them. They
are not an easy bird to kill, being strong and powerful,
and as the distance is usually great at which they are
shot at, owing to their vigilance, many go off wounded and
are not recovered. Should one or more be wing-broken they
frequently commence falling, which causes the remainder of
the flock to hover around for a short time, apparently to
give encouragement to the wounded ones, and while their
attention is thus absorbed they will often afford the
sportsman a second shot, if he keeps concealed. Were it
not for the satisfaction of getting so shy a bird, for, as
a rule, they are but indifferent eating, there would be
little inducement to waste the time necessary to obtain an
occasional one. I take a few every year by getting out of
my wagon into some place of concealment, when I observe
a flock in the distance on the ground, and letting my
companion drive around the other side and start them toward
me. Long familiarity with the ground enables me to form
some idea as to what course they are likely to pursue, and
I have obtained more or less in this manner.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--North and South America; accidental in Europe.
_Breeding range._--The Hudsonian curlew is known to breed only on
the Arctic coast of North America from Alaska (Norton Sound, Kobuk
River, Cape Blossom, and probably Camden Bay) to Mackenzie (Anderson
River region). It has, however, been noted in summer in Keewatin
(Fort Churchill and near York Factory) and may possibly breed in that
vicinity.
In common with several other shore birds, some individuals remain in
summer far south of their breeding grounds. At this season they have
been detected from New Jersey (Great Bay), south along the Atlantic
coast--Virginia (Wreck Island, Bone Island, and Wallops Island); South
Carolina (Mount Pleasant); to Costa Rica (Coronado de Terraba); and the
West Indies (Barbuda).
_Winter range._--The winter range extends north probably to southern
California (Santa Cruz Island, Santa Barbara, and Ventura County);
probably rarely Louisiana; and rarely (formerly more commonly) South
Carolina (Bullyard Sound and probably Charleston). East to formerly
South Carolina (probably Charleston, Sea Islands, and Frogmore);
probably rarely Florida (Pine Island); probably Cuba; probably rarely
Porto Rico (Gundlach); the Lesser Antilles (Barbuda); Guiana (Berbice
River and Cayenne); Brazil (Praia de Cajetuba); and Chile (Island of
Chiloe). South to Chile (Island of Chiloe). West to Chile (Island of
Chiloe, Valdivia, Valparaiso, and Tarapaca); Peru (Lima, Trujillo, and
Tumbez); Ecuador (Bay of Santa Elena); Galapagos Islands (Charles and
Narborough Islands); Venezuela (Isla de Aves); Costa Rica; Honduras
(Gulf of Fonseca); Guatemala (Chiapam); Clipperton Island; Chiapas (San
Benito); Jalisco (La Barca); Sinaloa (Mazatlan); Lower California (La
Paz, San Jose Island, San Francisco Island, and Colorado River Delta);
and probably southern California (Santa Cruz Island). A specimen
obtained at Rockaway Beach, New York, on December 24, 1912, probably
was either a crippled bird or otherwise physically deficient.
_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival are: North Carolina,
Corolla, April 15, and Churchs Island, April 19; Virginia, Hog Island,
April 1, and Cape Charles, April 13; Pennsylvania, Renovo, May 7; New
Jersey, Cape May, April 12; New York, Montauk, April 28, and Shelter
Island, May 9; Connecticut, Fairfield, May 6; Rhode Island, Newport,
April 27, and Block Island, May 3; Massachusetts, Nantucket, April
10, and Muskeget Island, April 20; Ontario, Brighton, May 7, and
Toronto, May 17; Mackenzie, Fort Anderson, May 29; northern California,
Alameda, March 27, and Palo Alto, March 28; Oregon, Newport, March 14;
Washington, Hoquiam, April 19, and Everett, April 26; British Columbia,
Comox, May 3, and Courtenay, May 11; and Alaska, Craig, May 12, Nulato
River, May 12, Hooper Bay, May 17, Kobuk River, May 17, and Fort Kenai,
May 18.
Late dates of spring departure are: Chile, Concon, April 25; Oaxaca,
San Mateo, May 13; Florida, Palma Sola, May 11, and St. Marks, May
19; Georgia, Savannah, May 13; South Carolina, Port Royal, May 22,
and Charleston, May 23; North Carolina, Pea and Bodie Islands, May 8;
Virginia, Locustville, May 27, and Alexandria, May 30; Pennsylvania,
Lancaster, May 27; New Jersey, Cape May, May 23; New York, Long Beach,
May 31, Canandaigua, June 1, and Branchport, June 2; Connecticut, East
Haven, June 4; Massachusetts, Cape Cod, June 23, and Nantucket, June
25; Ohio, Youngstown, May 24; Ontario, Point Pelee, May 30, Beaumaris,
June 4, and Brighton, June 10; Tepic, Las Penas Island, May 5; Lower
California, Colima Point, April 25, and San Jose del Cabo, May 1;
California, Santa Barbara, June 2; Oregon, Mercer, May 14, and Yaquina
Bay, May 18; Washington, Quillayute Needles, May 30, and Dungeness
Spit, June 3; and British Columbia, Courtenay, May 23.
_Fall migration._--Early dates of fall arrival are: British Columbia,
Courtenay, June 27; Washington, Lake Ozette, July 12, and Destruction
Island, July 15; Oregon, Newport, July 10; California, Alameda, July 7,
Los Angeles, July 12, and Farallon Islands, July 16; Lower California,
Los Coronados Islands, August 7, and Santa Rosalia, August 15; Peru,
Chimbote, August 2; Ontario, Point Pelee, July 24; Ohio, Lake County,
July 14; Massachusetts, Muskeget Island, July 12, Monomoy Island, July
14, Marthas Vineyard, July 16, and Boston, July 18; Rhode Island, Block
Island, July 10, and South Auburn, July 23; Connecticut, Milford,
July 20, and North Haven, July 26; New York, Rockaway, July 10, East
Hampton, July 11, and Orient, July 11; New Jersey, Tuckerton Bay, July
2, Long Beach, July 9, and Cape May, July 15; Pennsylvania, Erie,
August 1; Bermuda, August 14; Virginia, Chincoteague, August 1; North
Carolina, Pea and Bodie Islands, July 22; South Carolina, Charleston,
July 19; Georgia, Savannah, July 27; Alabama, Dauphin Island, July 27;
Florida, Bradenton, July 31, and Tarpon Springs, August 3; and West
Indies, Barbuda, August 12.
Late dates of fall departure are: Alaska, Craig, September 24, and St.
Lazaria Island, September 30; Mackenzie, Great Bear Lake, September
30; British Columbia, Courtenay, October 5; Washington, Clallam Bay,
October 9, and Point Chehalis, October 19; Ontario, Brighton, September
1; Quebec, Montreal, September 9; Nova Scotia, Wolfville, September
13; Maine, Northeast Harbor, September 5; Portland, September 9,
and Dover, October 12; Massachusetts, Monomoy Island, September 28,
Harvard, October 2, and Dennis, October 27; Rhode Island, Sakonnet
Point, September 25, Rock Island, September 28, and Newport, October
2; Connecticut, New Haven, September 19, and North Haven, September
20; New York, Montauk Light Station, September 28, and Orient Point,
September 30; New Jersey, Sandy Hook, September 13; and Virginia,
Wallops Island, September 23, and Hog Island, November 10.
_Casual records._--The Hudsonian curlew is of hardly more than
accidental occurrence in the interior but has been noted on a few
occasions. In addition to notes given under migration, mention may be
made of the following records: Colorado, a specimen at Colorado Springs
on September 23, 1900; New Mexico, a specimen at Fort Thorn in the
spring of 1854; Texas, Brownsville, several records in spring between
March 31 and May 24; Nebraska, Lincoln, October 8, 1898; Wisconsin,
Milwaukee, September 9, 1903, and Cedar Grove, September 23, 1922;
Iowa, Crystal Lake, Hancock County, May 25, 1895; Michigan, St. Clair
Flats, May 25, 1902, Saginaw City, fall of 1896, and Forestville, April
23, 1906; and Indiana, Calumet Heights, August 3, 1902. Reports exist
for other interior States but usually without satisfactory evidence.
Both Macoun and Hagerup list it as occurring in Newfoundland, but
without any presentation of the evidence. In Porto Rico, Gundlach
reported collecting it at Punta Arenas, and also refers to a specimen
in a collection at San Juan, Stahl secured two others which were
preserved in his collection, F. A. Potts obtained one May 21, 1921,
near Las Mareas, and observed others from July 31 to September 24,
1921, near Central Aguirre. According to Reinhardt (1861), it has
been taken on four occasions in Greenland (Godthaab, Julianehaab,
Fiskenaesset, and Jacobshavn). A specimen was recorded in 1854 by
Kjärbölling from Iceland and one was taken near Seville, Spain, May 3,
1872.
_Egg dates._--Alaska and Mackenzie: 11 records, May 31 to July 10; 6
records, June 14 to July 1.
NUMENIUS BOREALIS (J. R. Forster)
ESKIMO CURLEW
HABITS
The story of the Eskimo curlew is just one more pitiful tale of the
slaughter of the innocents. It is a sad fact that the countless swarms
of this fine bird and the passenger pigeon, which once swept across
our land on migrations, are gone forever, sacrificed to the insatiable
greed of man. “The Eskimo Curlew and its Disappearance,” by Prof. Myron
H. Swenk (1915), tells the story; it is well worth reading, but space
will permit only a few quotations from it. Edward H. Forbush (1912 and
1925) also gives a very good account of the tragedy. In some of the
following paragraphs the reader will find many references to its former
abundance and the extent of the slaughter which exterminated it. So we
shall consider here only the period of its rapid decline and some of
the causes which produced it.
Professor Swenk (1915) says of its disappearance in the West:
In Texas the Eskimo curlew came in immense flocks on the
prairies from 1856 to 1875, after which year the large
flocks disappeared. Small flocks were seen in 1886 and
1890. The last records of the species for Texas were 1902
and 1905, one and three individuals, respectively. The
species were first definitely recorded for Kansas from
Russell County in 1874. In that State these curlews were
abundant as late as 1878, but in 1879 their numbers were
much reduced and the birds decreased rapidly. There were
still a few in the Kansas markets in the early nineties.
The last record is for 1902. Eastwardly in the interior
the birds were always uncommon and disappeared early. The
last Michigan record is in 1883. The last Ohio record is in
1878. The last Wisconsin records are April 27, 1899, and
September 10, 1912, the latter specimen a male taken at Fox
Lake, Dodge County, Wis. The last Indiana record is, with
some doubt, April 19, 1890.
The last records of collected birds for Nebraska were made
in the spring of 1911 and of 1915. On March 22, 1911,
while Mr. Fred Geiger was shooting ducks near Waco, York
County, two of these birds came flying by within gun range,
and both were shot by him. The birds were identified by
an old-time hunter, and were then brought to Lincoln, and
mounted by Mr. August Eiche, in whose collection they
are at present. Although no Eskimo curlews were noted in
1914, a single bird was killed about 10 miles due south of
Norfolk, Nebr., on the morning of April 17, 1915. The bird
was alone when taken. It came into the possession of Mr.
Hoagland, who had it mounted by Allabaugh, a taxidermist of
Omaha, in whose shop I saw it in May.
But this was not the last word from Nebraska, for 11 years later
Professor Swenk (1926) published the following encouraging note of a
sight record:
In further substantiation of the undoubtable fact that the
Eskimo curlew is not yet extinct, I am now able to cite
a positive instance of its occurrence in Nebraska during
the present spring. On the morning of April 8, 1926,
Mr. A. M. Brooking, of Hastings, an ornithologist and
taxidermist who is very familiar with this species through
having spent much effort in assembling several specimens
of it for his extensive collection, while driving from the
village of Inland to Hastings along what is known as the
“north road,” saw a flock of eight birds alight in a newly
plowed field about 4 miles east of Hastings. He drove his
car up close to the birds, and when within 40 yards of
them was able to his astonishment to positively identify
them as unquestionably Eskimo curlews. Mr. Brooking knows
the species so well, and saw the birds so clearly, that
in my opinion this sight record can be accepted without
hesitation.
On the Labrador coast Eskimo curlews diminished rapidly in numbers
between 1870 and 1880. Hon. F. C. Berteau, a government official in
Labrador, in some notes published by W. J. Carroll (1910) says:
Up to 1889 dough-birds or Eskimo curlew were very numerous
in Labrador from late in August to the end of September.
They frequented the southern part of the coast only, never
appearing north of Indian Harbor at the northern entrance
to Hamilton Inlet. During the first 4 or 5 of the 10 years
during which I was collector of customs on Labrador, they
were very numerous, indeed, flying from the hills to the
shore and vice versa in flocks numbering from fifty to two
or three hundred. During the last years of my collectorship
they gradually diminished in numbers, until in 1890 or
thereabouts they entirely disappeared, and save for a few
seen on one or two occasions have never returned to the
coast.
The Hudson’s Bay Co. people at Cartwright annually put up
large numbers of hermetically sealed tins for the use of
the company’s officials in London and Montreal. I have seen
as many as 2,000 birds hung up in their store as the result
of one day’s shooting by some 25 or 30 guns. A fairly
accurate idea of the plentifulness of these birds will be
obtained from an account of my own experience. During the
season I used to leave the cruiser at 6 a. m. and return
at 9 for breakfast. I do not remember ever getting less
than 30 to 40 brace during the two hours or so that I was
shooting.
Dr. Henry B. Bigelow (1902), who visited the northeast coast of
Labrador in 1900, heard of only about a dozen which were seen on the
coast that fall, of which he saw five. Dr. Charles W. Townsend (1913)
reported that seven were “shot and one other seen on the beach at West
Bay, north of Cartwright, in August and September, 1912. The skins
of five were saved, and sent to Cambridge, where they were seen and
identified by Mr. William Brewster.”
Excessive shooting of this curlew on its migrations and in its winter
home in South America was doubtless one of the chief causes of its
destruction. Ernest Gibson (1920) saw “some 20 or 30 * * * in the
vicinity of Linconia,” near Buenos Aires, on February 13, 1899; and
a small flock was reported in the same locality on April 8, 1901. He
evidently has seen none since then. Mr. Forbush (1925) has recently
given us the latest news from Argentina in a letter from Dr. Roberto
Dabbene, in which he writes that five or six were seen in the Province
of Buenos Aires on February 7, 1924; one of these was captured and
another solitary individual was taken at the same place on January 11,
1925; both of these specimens are in the Museo National de Historia
Natural, at Buenos Aires. These and the other recent records may
indicate that there are a few Eskimo curlews still living; but the
species is reduced to such a low ebb that it is doomed to speedy
extinction, if not already gone.
One need not look far to find the cause which led to its destruction.
On its breeding grounds in the far north it was undisturbed by man. And
I can not believe that it was overtaken by any great catastrophe at
sea which could annihilate it; it was strong of wing and could escape
from or avoid severe storms; it could, like all shore birds, swim if
necessary; and its migration period was so extended that no one storm
could wipe it out. Several other species of shore birds make similar,
long ocean flights without apparent disaster. There is no evidence
of disease or failure of food supply. No, there was only one cause,
slaughter by human beings, slaughter in Labrador and New England in
summer and fall, slaughter in South America in winter and slaughter,
worst of all, from Texas to Canada in the spring. The gentle birds ran
the gauntlet all along the line and no one lifted a finger to protect
them until it was too late. They were so gentle, so confiding, so full
of sympathy for their fallen companions, that in closely packed ranks
they fell, easy victims of the carnage.
_Spring._--It was as a migrant only that we knew the Eskimo curlew.
As to how it reached the United States from southern South America we
know very little; but it probably followed the same route taken by its
companion the golden plover. It arrived in Texas early in March and
migrated northward through the prairie regions, mainly west of the
Mississippi River, through central Canada and the Mackenzie region to
the barren grounds on the Arctic coast. It was rare in spring east
of this narrow belt, and practically unknown west of it. The flight
through the United States was mainly accomplished during April and
through Canada in May, arriving on its breeding grounds before the end
of May.
Professor Swenk (1915) writes:
As to the abundance of these birds in Nebraska during the
early years of its statehood the observations of Prof.
Lawrence Bruner, who distinctly remembers the flights
which occurred in the vicinity of Omaha during the years
1866–1868, when he was a boy 10 or 12 years old, are
indicative. The birds would arrive about the time the
later willows began to bloom (latter April), being present
in force for a week or 10 days only, for by the time all
of the wild plum blossoms had fallen (middle May) the
birds were gone. Usually the heaviest flights occurred
coincident with the beginning of corn-planting time, and
enormous flocks of these birds would settle on the newly
plowed fields and on the dry burnt-off prairies, where they
searched industriously for insects. These flocks reminded
the settlers of the flights of passenger pigeons and the
curlews were given the name of “prairie pigeons.” They
contained thousands of individuals and would often form
dense masses of birds extending for a quarter to a half
mile in length and a hundred yards or more in width. When
the flock would alight the birds would cover 40 or 50 acres
of ground.
Dr. E. W. Nelson (1887) called this “the most abundant curlew in
northern Alaska, especially along the coasts of Bering Sea and Kotzebue
Sound.” At Saint Michael a number were seen passing north on May 12,
1878. He says that they were “always more numerous than _hudsonicus_,
and sometimes flocks of 150 or more” were seen. But Dr. Joseph Grinnell
(1900) looked for it in vain about Kotzebue Sound.
_Nesting._--For all that we know about the nesting habits of the
Eskimo curlew, we are indebted to Roderick MacFarlane, who found this
species breeding abundantly on the barren grounds east of Fort Anderson
and up to the Arctic coast. He collected some 30 sets of eggs there
between 1862 and 1866. He says in his notes that “this curlew never,
in this quarter at least, breeds in wooded tracts, the barren grounds
proper being the real habitat of the species during the season of
nidification.” It is “very difficult to find the nests” as the birds
“get off long before our approach, while the eggs nearly resemble the
grass in color.” Some birds were seen to leave the nests. The nests
are described as mere hollows in the ground, “lined with a few decayed
leaves” and sometimes having “a thin sprinkling of hay.” The birds
“generally ascend in the air in a straight line after getting off the
nest.”
_Eggs._--The normal set was evidently four eggs, but MacFarlane sent
home several sets of three. The eggs are rather pointed ovate in shape
and have very little gloss. Many eggs closely resemble certain types
of Franklin gull’s eggs. The ground colors vary from browns to olives,
the latter predominating. The olive colors run from “buffy olive”
or “citrine drab” to “olive buff,” and the brown colors from “light
brownish olive” to “buckthorn brown.” Some eggs are boldly marked with
heavy blotches, which are sometimes confluent about the larger end;
more often they are irregularly spotted and blotched; and some eggs
are sparingly marked. The markings are in dark browns, “bister,” “bone
brown,” “buffy brown,” and blackish brown, with underlying spots and
blotches of various shades of “brownish drab.” The measurements of
36 eggs average 51.3 by 35.5 millimeters; the eggs showing the four
extremes measure =54.5= by 36, 52 by =39.5=, =47.5= by 36, and 51 by
=33= millimeters.
_Plumages._--There are not enough specimens of Eskimo curlews,
collected during the proper seasons, to work out the molts and
plumages satisfactorily. There are no specimens of downy young or very
young juvenals available. Young birds in juvenal plumage, as seen
on migration, are much like adults, but the feathers of the mantle,
scapulars, tertials, and wing coverts are more broadly edged, but less
conspicuously notched, with “pinkish buff”; and the under parts are
less extensively covered with the dusky markings.
The postnuptial molt of adults is mainly accomplished after they have
left us in the fall, beginning in September; the wings are probably
molted after the birds have reached their winter home. There is
a prenuptial molt of the body plumage, visible during the spring
migration, the new feathers, being more pinkish buff, especially on the
under parts.
_Food._--Professor Swenk (1915) says of its food habits in the west:
The Eskimo curlew was a bird of such food habits that it
is a distinct loss to our agriculture that it should have
disappeared. During the invasion of the Rocky Mountain
grasshopper (_Melanoplus spretus_) it did splendid work
in the destruction of grasshoppers and their eggs. Mr.
Wheeler states that in the latter seventies these birds
would congregate on pieces of land which had not been
plowed and where the grasshopper eggs were laid, reach down
into the soil with their long bills, and drag out the egg
capsules, which they would then devour with their contents
of eggs or young hoppers until the land had been cleared
of the pests. A specimen examined by Aughey in 1874 had 31
grasshoppers in its stomach, together with a large number
of small berries of some kind. The bird in its migrations
often alighted on plowed ground to feed on the white
grubs and cutworms turned up by the plow, or in meadow
lands, probably feeding on ants in the latter situation.
Richardson records finding them feeding on large ants at
Fort Franklin in late May, 1849. The curlews were rarely
seen near water, but were upland birds almost exclusively
during the spring migration over the Great Plains region.
Doctor Coues (1874) describes its food on the Labrador coast, as
follows:
Their food consists almost entirely of the crowberry
(_Empetrum nigrum_), which grows on all the hillsides in
astonishing profusion. It is also called the “bearberry”
and “curlew berry.” It is a small berry, of a deep purple
color, almost black, growing upon a procumbent, running
kind of heath, the foliage of which has a peculiar
moss-like appearance. This is their principal and favorite
food and the whole intestine, the vent, the legs, the bill,
throat, and even the plumage, are more or less stained
with the deep purple juice. They are also very fond of a
species of small snail that adheres to the rock in immense
quantities, to procure which they frequent the land-washes
at low tide. Food being so abundant, and so easily
obtained, they become excessively fat. In this condition
they are most delicious eating, being tender, juicy, and
finely flavored; but, as might be expected, they prove a
very difficult job for the taxidermist.
_Behavior._--Lucien M. Turner gives, in his Ungava notes, a vivid
description of a large flock of Eskimo curlews, which I quote, as
follows:
I saw none until the morning of the 4th of September, 1884,
as we were passing out from the mouth of the Koksoak River.
Here an immense flock of several hundred individuals were
making their way to the south. They flew in that peculiar
manner which distinguishes the curlews from all other birds
in flight, a sort of wedge shape, the sides of which were
constantly swaying back and forth like a cloud of smoke
wafted by the lightest zephyr. The aerial evolutions of
the curlews when migrating are, perhaps, one of the most
wonderful in the flight of birds. Long, dangling lines,
either perpendicular or horizontal, the lower parts of
which whirl, rise, or twist spirally, while the apex of
the flock is seemingly at rest. At other times the leader
plunges downward successively followed by the remainder
in most graceful undulations, becoming a dense mass then
separating into a thin sheet spread wide; again reforming
into such a variety of positions that no description would
suffice.
Mr. Mackay (1892_c_) says:
Of those I have observed in New England during a series
of years I may say that most of their habits closely
resemble those of the golden plover. In migration they fly
in much the same manner, with extended and broadside and
triangular lines and clusters similar to those of ducks and
geese at such times. They usually fly low after landing,
sweeping slowly over the ground, apparently looking it
over, generally standing motionless for quite a little
while after alighting, which, owing to their general color
approximating so closely to the withered grass, renders it
difficult at times to perceive them. I have had a flock of
50 or 60 alight within 30 yards of me, and have been unable
to make out more than two or three birds. If disturbed
they will frequently alight again at no great distance,
if not previously harassed, and under the same conditions
they can be approached at all times, for they are either
very tame or very shy. They seek out and are found in the
same localities selected by the golden plover with which
they generally associate if any are in the vicinity, there
always being a strong friendship between them. They are not
so active as the plover; on the ground they appear less
inclined to move about, especially after landing and during
rainy weather when I have at times noticed them standing on
the ground quite close together, every bird headed to the
wind, with heads and necks drawn down and resting on their
backs, with the rain running off their tails. At such times
they could be approached on foot to within half a gunshot,
showing little fear.
Doctor Coues (1874) writes:
The curlews associate in flocks of every size, from three
to as many thousand, but they generally fly in so loose
and straggling a manner that it is rare to kill more than
half a dozen at a shot. When they wheel, however, in any of
their many beautiful evolutions, they close together in a
more compact body, and offer a more favorable opportunity
to the gunner. Their flight is firm, direct, very swift,
when necessary much protracted, and is performed with
regular, rapid beats. They never sail, except when about
to alight, when the wings are much incurved downward, in
the manner of most waders. As their feet touch the ground,
their long, pointed wings are raised over the back, until
the tips almost touch, and then deliberately folded, much
in the manner of the solitary sandpiper (_Rhyacophilus
solitarius_).
_Voice._--Professor Swenk (1915) describes the notes as follows:
The Eskimo curlew had several notes. During flight they
uttered a fluttering _tr-tr-tr_ note, which was given by
many individuals at once, and described by Coues as a “low
conversational chatter” and by Mackay as “a soft, melodious
whistle, ‘_bee, bee_.’” Mr. W. A. Elwood describes this
note as “a short, low whistle” continually repeated by
many of the birds simultaneously while in flight. Mr. A.
J. Leach recalls the notes as resembling quite closely the
note of the bluebird when in flight, only perhaps shorter
and more of a twittering whistle, and, as it was given by a
large number, perhaps all, of the flock as they took wing
and while flying, it was difficult to catch the individual
note. This note was constantly uttered while the birds were
flying and was often audible before the birds could be
seen. Before alighting, as they descended and sailed, they
gave a soft whistle, somewhat like the note of the upland
plover, according to Professor Bruner, while as they walked
over the ground when feeding they uttered a chirruping
whistle, as if calling to each other.
_Fall._--The adult birds must have started off their breeding grounds
early in July for the first arrivals reached the coast of Labrador by
the end of that month. Their course at first was east-southeast, or
perhaps nearly due east, across Hudson Bay to the Labrador Peninsula,
where they lingered for a week or two to feast and fatten on the
abundant harvest of berries. Turner saw them as far north as the mouth
of the Koksoak River, and says in his notes:
From the 10th to the 20th of August immense flocks of these
birds appear on the level tracts from Davis’ Inlet to the
Gulf of St. Lawrence, each day adding to their number until
the ground seems alive with them. They feed on the ripening
berries of _Empetrum_ and _Vaccinium_, becoming wonderfully
fat in a few days. By the 8th of September it is asserted
that none remain.
Audubon (1840) writes:
On the 29th of July, 1833, during a thick fog, the
Esquimaux curlews made their first appearance in Labrador,
near the harbor of Bras d’Or. They evidently came from the
north, and arrived in such dense flocks as to remind me of
the passenger pigeons. The weather was extremely cold as
well as foggy. For more than a week we had been looking
for them, as was every fisherman in the harbor, these
birds being considered there, as indeed they are, great
delicacies. The birds at length came, flock after flock,
passed close round our vessel, and directed their course
toward the sterile mountainous tracts in the neighborhood;
and as soon as the sun’s rays had dispersed the fogs that
hung over the land, our whole party went off in search of
them.
I was not long in discovering that their stay on this
coast was occasioned solely by the density of the mists
and the heavy gales that already gave intimation of the
approaching close of the summer; for whenever the weather
cleared up a little, thousands of them set off and steered
in a straight course across the broad Gulf of St. Lawrence.
On the contrary, when the wind was high, and the fogs
thick, they flew swiftly and low over the rocky surface of
the country, as if bewildered. Wherever there was a spot
that seemed likely to afford a supply of food, there the
curlews abounded, and were easily approached. By the 12th
of August, however, they had all left the country.
The eastward flight reached as far as Newfoundland, where they were
fairly numerous along the eastern and southeastern shores. There was
also a migration, probably down the west coast of Hudson Bay, which
reached the Atlantic coast through Ontario and the Great Lakes region.
But the main flight was through Labrador, across the Gulf of St.
Lawrence to Nova Scotia and then due south across the ocean to the
Lesser Antilles and South America; their course in South America is
not well known, but it was probably across eastern Brazil, to Uruguay,
Argentina, and Patagonia, where they arrived in September.
In fair weather the 2,000-mile trip across the ocean was probably made
in one continuous flight, though I believe that these birds were able
to alight on and rise from the water if necessary. But if bad weather,
severe southeasterly storms, thick fogs, or heavy rains occurred during
their passage, they were forced to land, sometimes in enormous numbers
on the coast of New England, less often on the shores farther south, or
on the Bermudas; if severe westerly gales occurred they were sometimes
driven far out to sea or even across the Atlantic to the British Isles.
Our flights in Massachusetts could be looked for during the latter half
of August and through September. On Cape Cod they used to frequent much
the same localities as the golden plover, old fields and pastures,
often several miles from the shore, and the drier portions of the salt
marshes, where they found an abundance of grasshoppers, crickets, and
other insects; on Monomoy they were often found on the low sand hills
which were largely covered with gray mosses or lichens. Mr. Mackay
(1892_c_) writes:
Those which do visit us almost invariably land with their
boon companions, the American golden plover, of whose
flocks I have frequently noticed they were the leaders,
and I can scarcely call to mind, as I write, an instance
where any number of Eskimo curlew have landed without there
being more or less golden plover present at the same time.
Those birds which may come can not, if they would, remain
any longer than is absolutely necessary, for they are so
harassed immediately after landing that the moment there
occurs a change in the weather favorable for migration they
at once depart. They appear to leave the coast at Long
Island, N. Y., and strike farther out to sea, and then are
not seen on the Atlantic coast for another year.
_Game._--The gunner’s name for the Eskimo curlew was “dough-bird,” not
“doe-bird,” for it was so fat when it reached us in the fall that its
breast would often burst open when it fell to the ground, and the thick
layer of fat was so soft that it felt like a ball of dough. It is no
wonder that it was so popular as a game bird, for it must have made a
delicious morsel for the table. It was so tame and unsuspicious and it
flew in such dense flocks that it was easily killed in large numbers.
On the Labrador coasts and in Newfoundland the inhabitants killed all
they could and preserved them for winter use, according to Mr. Berteau
(Carroll, 1910), “by parboiling them and packing them in tins and jars
and covering them with melted butter or lard.” Coues (1874) tells of
shooting them in Labrador, as follows:
Although the curlews were in such vast numbers, I did not
find them so tame as might be expected and as I had been
led to suppose by previous representations. I was never
able to walk openly within shooting distance of a flock,
though I was told it was often done. The most successful
method of obtaining them is to take such a position as they
will probably fly over in passing from one feeding ground
to another. They may then be shot with ease, as they rarely
fly high at such times. The pertinacity with which they
cling to certain feeding grounds, even when much molested,
I saw strikingly illustrated on one occasion. The tide
was rising and about to flood a muddy flat, of perhaps an
acre in extent, where their favorite snails were in great
quantities. Although six or eight gunners were stationed
upon the spot, and kept up a continual round of firing
upon the poor birds, they continued to fly distractedly
about over our heads, notwithstanding the numbers that
every moment fell. They seemed in terror lest they should
lose their accustomed fare of snails that day. On another
occasion, when the birds had been so harassed for several
hours as to deprive them of all opportunity of feeding,
great numbers of them retired to a very small island, or
rather a large pile of rocks, a few hundred yards from the
shore, covered with seaweed and, of course, with snails.
Flock after flock alighted on it, till it was completely
covered with the birds, which there, in perfect safety,
obtained their morning meal.
I can remember hearing my father tell of the great shooting they used
to have on “the plains” at Cohasset when I was a small boy, about 1870.
As he has now gone to the happy hunting grounds I can not give the
exact figures, but he saw a wagon loaded full of “dough birds” shot on
the plains in one day.
The greatest killings were made on the western plains during the spring
migration, which Professor Swenk (1915) describes as follows:
During such flights the slaughter of these poor birds was
appalling and almost unbelievable. Hunters would drive out
from Omaha and shoot the birds without mercy until they
had literally slaughtered a wagonload of them, the wagons
being actually filled, and often with the sideboards on
at that. Sometimes when the flight was unusually heavy
and the hunters were well supplied with ammunition their
wagons were too quickly and easily filled, so whole loads
of the birds would be dumped on the prairie, their bodies
forming piles as large as a couple of tons of coal, where
they would be allowed to rot while the hunters proceeded to
refill their wagons with fresh victims, and thus further
gratify their lust of killing. The compact flocks and
tameness of the birds made this slaughter possible, and at
each shot usually dozens of the birds would fall. In one
specific instance a single shot from an old muzzle-loading
shotgun into a flock of these curlews as they veered by the
hunter brought down 28 birds at once, while for the next
half mile every now and then a fatally wounded bird would
drop to the ground dead. So dense were the flocks when the
birds were turning in their flight that one could scarcely
throw a brick or missile into it without striking a bird.
In hunting these curlew the field glass was used by the
hunters to follow their flights. The fields where they were
prone to gather were patroled many times during the day and
carefully scanned with the glass to discover the flocks on
the ground. When the birds came in they would be up quite
high, perhaps from 200 or 300 yards to a quarter of a mile,
and in preparing to alight they would turn and wheel,
towering in the air while they whistled softly, would hover
a while, and then all drop and come down, flying along over
the ground for a short distance before alighting. The birds
would always alight all at once and very close together,
and if the day were warm they would sit down very close
together on the ground, forming bunches, when they could
be readily discovered with the field glass and approached
close enough to get a shot.
There was no difficulty in getting quite close to the
sitting birds, perhaps within 25 or 35 yards, and when at
about this distance the hunters would wait for them to
arise on their feet, which was the signal for the first
volley of shots. The startled birds would rise and circle
about the field a few times, affording ample opportunity
for further murderous discharge of the guns, and sometimes
would realight on the same field, when the attack would be
repeated. Mr. Wheeler has killed as many as 37 birds with a
pump gun at one rise. They weighed just about 1 pound each
when they were fat. Sometimes the bunch would be seen with
the glass alighting in a field 2 or 3 miles away, when the
hunters would at once drive to that field with a horse and
buggy as rapidly as they could, relocate the birds, get
out, and resume the fusillade and slaughter. On rainy days
the birds would fly restlessly from one field to another,
moving about in this way most of the day and seeming
unusually plentiful because of being so much in the air.
_Winter._--There is little known about the winter habits of the Eskimo
curlew except that it formerly associated with the golden plover,
the upland plover, and the buff-breasted sandpiper on the pampas of
Argentina and Patagonia, where it is now but a memory of the past.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--North and South America, accidental in eastern Asia and Great
Britain.
The Eskimo curlew is now nearly or quite extinct. Although formerly
abundant, its occurrence in both North and South America has been so
frequently confused with _Numenius hudsonicus_, that it is extremely
difficult to establish its migration range. Like the golden plover,
however, this species followed an elliptical route, usually passing
south in the fall off the coast of the United States, the point of
departure from the mainland being the coast of Labrador, Nova Scotia,
or (more rarely) Long Island, New York. In spring the return trip was
made up the Mississippi Valley and the prairie States at which season
it was practically unknown on the Atlantic coast.
_Breeding range._--The only known nests and eggs of the Eskimo curlew
have been obtained in northwestern Canada, Fort Anderson, Rendezvous
Lake, Franklin Bay, and Point Lake.
_Winter range._--The northern limits of the winter range are not known,
but probably extended rarely to Brazil (Ypanema). South to Uruguay
(Montevideo); Argentina (Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Concepcion, and
the Chupat Valley); and Chile (Island of Chiloe, and Paposo). It also
has been detected on the Falkland Islands (Abbott, 1861).
_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival in North America
are: Texas, Gainesville, March 7, and Boerne, March 9; Arkansas,
Fayetteville, March 31; Missouri, St. Louis, April 10, and Vernon
County, April 16; Kansas, Emporia, April 13; Nebraska, Alda, April 2;
Iowa, Burlington, April 5, and Grinnell, April 10; South Dakota, Brown
County, April 16, and Mackenzie, Fort Resolution, May 26, and Fort
Anderson, May 27.
A specimen of this species was taken at San Geronimo, Guatemala, in
April; and one at Lake Palomas, Chihuahua, April 8, 1892. A specimen
was taken at Chalmers, Ind., on April 19, 1890. In Massachusetts one
was obtained at Cape Cod in May, 1873, and about 50 were reported near
the mouth of the Rowley River, May 17, 1916. Spring arrivals also have
been noted in Alaska, St. Michael, May 12, 1878, and Cape Lisbourne,
May 25, 1886.
Late dates of spring departure are: Argentina, Concepcion, March 1;
Texas, Long Point, April 23, and Fort Stockton, May 4; Missouri, Jasper
County, May 1; Kansas, Lawrence, May 6; and South Dakota, Vermilion,
May 3, and Harrison, May 10.
_Fall migration._--Early dates of fall arrival are: Quebec, Bras d’Or,
July 29, Caribou Island, August 12, and Indian Tickle, August 16;
Massachusetts, Nantucket, August 18, and Edgartown, August 21; West
Indies, Barbados, August 27, Carriacou, September 5, and Grenada,
September 22; Brazil, Amazon River, September 4; and Argentina,
Concepcion, September 9.
Late dates of fall departure are: Mackenzie, Fort Anderson, August 2;
Quebec, Koksoak River, September 4, Montreal, September 7, and Magdalen
Islands, September 20; New Brunswick, Tabusintac, September 8; Prince
Edward Island, New London, September 1; Maine, Hog Island, September 2,
and Pine Point, September 23; Massachusetts, East Orleans, September 5,
Monomoy Island, September 10, and Nantucket, October 2; Connecticut,
Saybrook, October 13; New York, Lockport, October 2; and West Indies,
Barbados, November 4.
There are a few records in the interior for this season, among which
are: Ontario, Wolf Island, October 10, 1873; Pennsylvania, Erie,
September 17, 1889; Ohio, Cincinnati, September, 1878; Michigan,
Kalamazoo, October 28, 1879; Illinois, Summit, August 11, 1872; and
Wisconsin, Fox Lake, September 10, 1912.
_Casual records._--The Eskimo curlew has been taken or reported from
several points outside its normal range, among which are: Porto Rico,
once near San Juan (Gundlach); Bermuda, September, 1874; Greenland, two
records (Reinhardt); Pribilof Islands, St. Paul Island, May 26, 1872;
“Bering Sea,” May 22, 1874; Siberia, Cape Wankarem, August 6, 1881;
five records for Great Britain (Slains, Aberdeenshire, September 28,
1878; near Stonehaven, Kincardineshire, September 6, 1855; one on the
Alde, Aldeburgh, Suffolk; one at Woodbridge, Suffolk; and one purchased
in the flesh at Dublin, October 21, 1870); and Iceland (Kjaerbölling).
The supposed occurrence of this species in southern California (San
Diego region and near Tia Juana) probably refers to _N. hudsonicus_,
as does also the record for the Galapagos Islands (Charles Island) and
South Carolina (Charleston).
_Egg dates._--Mackenzie: 28 records, June 8 to July 12; 14 records,
June 18 to 25.
NUMENIUS PHAEOPUS PHAEOPUS (Linnaeus)
WHIMBREL
_Contributed by Francis Charles Robert Jourdain_
HABITS
The latest and best authority on the birds of Greenland, E. Lehn
Schiöler, writes that in all probability the whimbrel breeds on the
southern part of the west coast of Greenland, perhaps generally in the
south, but more especially in the southwest. The only other American
record of this species is one from south of Sable Island, Nova Scotia,
on May 25, 1906.
_Spring._--The whimbrel arrives on the British coasts from about
mid-April to June 12, but is very frequently noted during the first
days of May, from which it derives one of its local names, the “May
bird.” On migration it prefers to haunt the low-lying coast and the
adjacent country, feeding on the mud flats and marshes. When on the
wing they fly at a great height, but can be recognized by their clear
seven-syllabled whistle, _tetty, tetty, tetty, tet_.
_Courtship._--Practically nothing is recorded in the standard works
on British ornithology on the courtship of this species, but some
observations have been made both in Iceland and on the Shetlands.
Reimschneider writes that in Iceland one hears its notes all through
the long summer day and far into the night, a very long-drawn _kwiu_,
uttered with inflated throat and scarcely opened bill. The nuptial
song of the male is a long-drawn fluty trill, much slower and longer
than the alarm note. The bird hardly rises above the ground, but flies
with half opened bill for short distances, trilling, then makes quick
and short wing strokes and slowly descends to earth again with extended
wings, when the cry is again uttered. Bernard Hantzsch (1905) gives a
fuller description, which, however, varies in some details. The male is
perched on some hillock, from which with wide-opened bill he utters a
rolling _di-di-di_. Now he is off, with his long feet trailing behind
and head and neck outstretched. With short and very rapid wing strokes
he rises high in the clear sky till almost out of sight, meanwhile
uttering his soft fluty _du-du-du_, sometimes for minutes together.
Then follows a slightly higher and quicker series of notes, ending with
a beautiful, soft trill, louder and faster than that of the golden
plover. He then descends spirally toward the nesting place, thence
again starting on his upward flight. The female also trills, but the
song flight is peculiar to the male.
_Nesting._--The breeding grounds of the whimbrel are the vast
expanses of moorland, overgrown with heather and mosses, which are
characteristic of the Arctic tundra. The actual nest is a well-defined
hollow among the heather or rough grass, scantily lined with a few bits
of ling or dry grass and moss. Some nests contain hardly any material
and are merely pressed down and hollowed by the bird. They do not nest
as a rule close together and the breeding place is jealously guarded
by the male who rises fearlessly to attack and drive off almost any
bird which approaches within a 100 yards of the eggs. Even skuas are
attacked in this way, but where they are numerous the whimbrel stands
but a poor chance of rearing young. In the Shetlands the eggs are laid
in the last days of May and early in June, while in Iceland the normal
time is at the beginning of June and exceptionally late in May.
_Eggs._--These are normally four in number, exceptionally three only,
especially in late layings, and Hantzsch (1905) records one clutch of
five. They are pyriform, and large for the size of the birds, with thin
shells. The ground color varies as a rule from pale olive green to
pale brownish buff, blotched and spotted with olive brown or reddish
brown and with ashy grey shell markings. In some varieties the ground
is a beautiful clear green and the blotches very bold and conspicuous,
while another scarce type has a bluish grey ground with only large
brownish ash blotches. The measurements of 100 eggs, by Doctor Rey and
the writer, average 58.9 by 41.2 millimeters; the eggs showing the four
extremes measure =65.1= by 41.7, 57 by =44=, =52= by 41.6 and 55.3 by
=36= millimeters.
_Young._--Both sexes have incubation patches and from Chislett’s (1923)
observations, confirmed also by Hantzsch, both share in the work. The
only note we have as to the length of the period is that of Hantzsch
(1905) who gives it as three to three and one-half weeks. In the case
of a nest watched by Chislett the first two young hatched were led away
by one bird while the other continued to incubate. This was on June
23 and the following day was cold with a high wind. The third chick
wandered from the nest and was sometimes brooded by the incubating
bird, which left the fourth egg for that purpose, but she never seemed
thoroughly at ease except when covering both egg and chick. By the
following morning the last chick had hatched out. Only one brood is
reared in the season.
_Plumages._--The plumages and molts are fully described in A Practical
Handbook of British Birds edited by H. S. Witherby (1920).
_Food._--This species feeds largely on earthworms, and also during
the winter months on sandworms (_Arenicola_). Insects are also
freely taken, chiefly beetles (Coleoptera), but also Orthoptera,
especially earwigs (_Forficula_) and crickets (_Acheta_), larvae
of flies (Diptera) etc. During the breeding season many small land
mollusca are eaten, especially snails (_Helix ericetorum_), slugs
(_Limax agrestris_), etc., and in the autumn, marine mollusca, both
univalves and bivalves. Small Crustacea, including small crabs, shrimps
(_Crangon_) and Gammaridae are also freely taken and the berries of
moorland plants such as _Empetrum nigrum_ (crowberry) and _Vacinium
myrtillus_.
_Behavior._--The boldness of this species in defending its nest has
already been referred to. It has been frequently seen to attack and
drive off birds much larger and more powerful than itself, such as
the raven and the larger gulls. During the winter months it appears
to be less of a shore feeder than the curlew, frequently visiting the
inland marshes in preference to the mud flats and shores. Chislett
(1923) describes its gait as quite different to that of the curlew, its
progress being much more rapid and direct. Instead of approaching the
nest in a leisurely way with many detours and pauses, it walks with
rapid, jerky strides, almost directly to its objective.
_Enemies._--The large gulls and skuas, though often successfully driven
off when approaching singly, are often successful in destroying the
eggs or young where present in numbers and the enormous increase in the
numbers of the great skua in the Shetlands has proved very detrimental
to this species. In Iceland the Arctic fox is also an enemy to be
counted with and the crow tribe (raven and hooded crow) are always
ready to take advantage of any chance opportunity.
_Fall._--The young are fledged according to Hantzsch (1905) within a
month of hatching and about the beginning of August begin to collect
into flocks which increase in size daily. In the second half of August
he records great flocks of over a hundred birds which leave the island
about the middle of September. The latest date on which Jönsson records
them on the Westmann Isles is October 10.
_Winter._--Exceptionally, small parties remain in Iceland during the
winter. Thus in the winter of 1899–1900 they were noticed by many
observers over Hjalteyri and the adjacent district. On the other hand,
many individuals remain all the year round in their winter quarters,
keeping together in small parties and evidently non-breeding birds.
DISTRIBUTION
_Breeding range._--In the British Isles, very sparingly and almost
exterminated on certain islands in the Shetland group. A few pairs are
said to have bred at various localities on the mainland, chiefly in
the north of Scotland and perhaps also on some of the outlying isles.
Breeds freely on the Faroes and Iceland and probably in southwest
Greenland. On the continent and northern Scandinavia and Finland and in
North Russia, south to Kanzan, Samara, Ufa, Perm, and Orenburg; also in
West Siberia at least to Tara and Tobolsk, but in East Siberia replaced
by _N. ph. variegatus_. Possibly also breeds in Russia in Voronezh,
Kief, and the middle Urals, but proof still lacking.
_Winter range._--Passes through Europe and western Asia to the coasts
of Africa south to Cape Province, Madagascar, the Seychelles, Comoro
Isles, Aldabra, and Mauritius. In Asia to Arabia, passing through Iraq
to West India, south to Ceylon and the Islands in the Bay of Bengal.
_Spring migration._--The average date of arrival of the migrating
flocks at the Faroes is given as mid April, while in Iceland they
arrive about the end of April or early in May; at the Westmann Isles on
the south coast the earliest and latest dates are given as April 20 and
May 5 by Jönsson.
_Fall migration._--The departure from Iceland begins about mid
September, on the Westmann Isles between September 20 and October
10 (Jönsson), while the Faroes are abandoned by September 29
(exceptionally as late as October 3).
_Casual records._--It has occurred several times on Jan Meyen, once
Bear Island (June 14, 1898), several times on Spitsbergen, and also
on Kolguev. In the Atlantic it occurs on the Canaries, Madeira, the
Azores, and the Cape Verde Islands. A specimen came on board a steamer
in the vicinity of Sable Island, Nova Scotia, on May 23, 1906 (Latitude
43° north, Longitude 60° west); and one was obtained at Gilgo Inlet,
Great South Bay, Long Island, N. Y., on September 4, 1912.
_Eggs dates._--In Scotland, May 19 to June 11 (13 dates); Faroes, June
4 to 24 (34 dates), May 25 (1 date); Iceland, June 4 to 23 (22 dates).
NUMENIUS TAHITIENSIS (Gmelin)
BRISTLE-THIGHED CURLEW
HABITS
Although this species has been recognized for over 140 years,
surprisingly little has been learned or published about it. It was
discovered by Latham in 1785 from Tahiti, the largest of the Society
Islands, hence the specific name given by Gmelin in 1788, _Scolopax
tahitiensis_. But the credit is due to Peale for discovering the most
peculiar character of the species, the elongated shafts of some of the
flank feathers which are lacking in barbs and from which we derive the
name, “bristle-thighed.”
It was long supposed to be a bird of the South Pacific islands and the
first birds captured in Alaska were regarded as accidental stragglers.
During the last century there were only three published North American
records, all for Alaska; the first specimen was taken by Bischoff on
May 18, 1869, on the Kenai Peninsula, the second by Nelson on May 24,
1880, at St. Michael, and the third by Townsend on August 28, 1885, on
the Kowak River. Since then it has been found to be a fairly common
fall migrant in Alaska and it probably breeds somewhere in the interior
of that territory.
_Spring._--Dr. E. W. Nelson (1887) gives the following account of the
capture of his bird:
On May 24, 1880, while I was shooting black brant, a
pair of these birds settled near by on a rising stretch
of land covered with large tussocks. They uttered a loud
whistling call note very much like that of _hudsonicus_,
but something in their general appearance led me to stalk
and secure one of the birds. To my gratification it was a
bristle-thighed curlew, and I made great efforts to secure
the mate, which had stopped a hundred yards or so beyond.
As she raised on my approach I fired at long range and the
bird fell mortally hurt on a distant hillside, where it was
lost amid a host of large tussocks.
Bischoff’s bird was taken on May 18; and H. B. Conover (1926) collected
one at Hooper Bay on May 22, 1924. These three dates, only six days
apart, probably indicate the normal time of arrival of birds of this
species in Alaska after their long flight over the Pacific Ocean from
the Hawaiian Islands, the nearest of their winter resorts. This is a
really wonderful flight and it is surprising that we have no evidence
to indicate that they deviate from their direct course at all, as we
have no records of any specimens from any point to the westward or to
the southward of the Alaska Peninsula. The species is comparatively
scarce on the Bering Sea coast of Alaska, from which we might infer
that an overland flight is made from the vicinity of the Kenai
Peninsula to the breeding grounds somewhere in the northern interior of
Alaska.
_Summer._--The breeding grounds and the nesting habits of the
bristle-thighed curlew are entirely unknown, an interesting problem
for some enterprising ornithologist to work out. Mr. Conover (1926)
suggests that “the main breeding ground is probably above the timber
line on some of the mountain ranges” of Alaska. Herbert W. Brandt says
in his notes:
From the native information I was able to gather I believe
that these birds may breed at the eastern end of the
Askinuk Mountains, or in the Kusilvak Mountains and perhaps
the mountains to the northward of Mountain Village on the
Yukon River. Their early loitering appearance at Hooper Bay
so shortly after nesting makes it entirely unlikely that
they had traveled very far, but it seems rather strange
that we did not encounter them in their spring migration
and further it is apparently doubtful that they should
enter the Bering Sea coast territory by following down
either the Yukon or the Kuskoquim River valleys.
Dr. Charles H. Townsend shot a specimen of this curlew at Kotzebue
Sound (Kobuk River) on August 25; it was a young bird which had
evidently recently come from its breeding grounds. We saw none of this
species about Nome in July; but after I left, Rollo H. Beck, a member
of our expedition, collected quite a series of them in August. Two of
his birds, now in my collection, were taken at Cape Nome on August 24,
1911. Mr. Conover (1926) writes:
By the end of July we had entered the Kashunuk Slough and
traveled down it until we were about 20 miles from where
it enters Hooper Bay. At this place was an Eskimo village
where we stopped for a few days to have a goose drive;
and it was here that we saw the bristle-thighed curlew in
abundance. On July 31 a pair was seen and collected, and
on August 3 one more was taken. August 4 was the big day,
as several hundred of these birds were seen on the tundra
feeding on blueberries. About a dozen were taken by our
party, and I personally believe I saw over a hundred, while
another member of the expedition, who was off in another
direction, estimated that he saw three times as many. All
the specimens taken were old birds.
The above facts would seem to indicate that the main breeding grounds
are somewhere in the interior of extreme northern Alaska, probably on
the barren grounds; that the spring migration is well inland; and that
there is a heavy fall migration along the Bering Sea coast. The eggs
and downy young are entirely unknown and there are not enough specimens
available to work out the molts and plumages, which probably correspond
to those of closely related species.
_Food._--Probably the feeding habits of this curlew are not very
different from those of the Hudsonian curlew, but the only food
mentioned by observers consists of berries. Birds collected in Alaska
were feeding on blueberries. They are said to feed on _Canthium_
berries in the Hawaiian Islands; and birds shot on Midway Island by Dr.
Paul Bartsch (1922) were “crammed full of _Scaevola_ berries.”
_Behavior._--Doctor Bartsch (1922) found this bird “quite abundant on
both” Midway Islands in November, “where in company with the golden
plover it frequents all parts of the island excepting those covered by
brush. These birds were quite tame as well as curious and when flushed
would frequently fly about us, emitting their peculiar cry.”
Dill and Bryan (1912) reported about 250 on Laysan Island in the
spring; they say:
Just before sunset and early in the morning the
bristle-thighed curlews would come up around our camp
uttering their peculiar complaining notes. They roosted on
the roofs of the old buildings at night, sometimes as many
as 20 birds in one flock. We saw them feeding on different
parts of the island but usually about the lagoon or along
the beaches.
Donald R. Dickey photographed a bristle-thighed curlew on Laysan Island
in the act of robbing a nest of the man-o-war bird, of which he tells
me:
This was not a sporadic bit of deviltry engaged in by
one perverted individual. Instead, it was characteristic
of most, if not all, of the curlews present on Laysan at
the time we were there. In other words, they indulged in
organized banditry, working about the island in troupes
accompanied by numbers of turnstones and an occasional
golden plover which were partners in crime with the curlew.
The turnstones jammed their bills straight into the
lighter-shelled eggs, but the curlew, frequently at least,
got access to the contents of the larger eggs by raising
them in their bills and then dropping them back on the hard
sand until they broke. They can pick up and run away with
an egg up to the size of a man-o-war bird’s egg. In the
case of the latter, the more dexterous birds seized the egg
and held it endwise in the bill. It seems difficult for
them to pick it up otherwise.
Dr. Alexander Wetmore has sent me the following notes on this subject:
That a bird of the shore-bird family should destroy eggs
may seem almost unbelievable in view of the habits ordinary
in this group, yet in work in the Hawaiian Bird Reservation
in 1923 we found the bristle-thighed curlew, as well as
the turnstone, making regular practice of eating the
eggs of the birds nesting on these distant islands. The
sooty and gray-backed terns were the greatest sufferers,
as the curlew drove their long bills through the eggs
with ease, or seized them in their long mandibles to
carry them away and eat them at their leisure. On close
observation we found that curlews attacked the eggs of all
birds indiscriminately, even pulling an egg from beneath
a frigate bird when the incubating bird raised on the
nest for a moment, the theft being committed so adroitly
that the egg seemingly was not missed. Mr. Donald Dickey
in his motion pictures succeeded in filming a spirited
scene in which a bristle-thighed curlew after a number of
attempts accomplished the seemingly impossible feat of
carrying away a frigate bird’s egg held firmly between its
mandibles, while a group of apparently admiring turnstones,
robbers themselves but incapable of such herculean acts
of banditry, scurried about in the background. On another
occasion a curlew flew up to a red-footed booby’s nest in a
bush several feet from the ground in the temporary absence
of the owner, impaled the egg, and dragged it away to be
devoured. The booby was still brooding disconsolately in
her empty nest two days later. On another day a curlew
deliberately opened an old albatross egg found in the sand
and ate eagerly from the putrid interior. As this egg had
been lying unprotected from the sun for at least four
months previous, its condition may be imagined, yet the
bird returned avidly again and again to continue its horrid
repast though I approached within 10 feet.
_Voice._--Mr. Conover (1926) says:
The call and appearance of this species are entirely
different from that of the Hudsonian curlew. The latter
gives a very short whistling call, which is roughly as
follows: _Whe-whe-whe-whe_. The former, on the other hand,
has a call very similar to one of the black-bellied plover
and sounds something like wheeeu-whu. In appearance the
bristle-thigh is tawnier above and has a very reddish-brown
unbarred rump, which is a very good field mark.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--Alaska and islands in the Pacific Ocean.
_Breeding range._--Unknown, but considered probable in northern or
northwestern Alaska.
The bristle-thighed curlew does not seem to be abundant and
consequently has been under observation at comparatively few points.
Specimens have been observed or taken in summer in Alaska at Kotzebue
Sound, Hooper Bay, Kobuk River, Lopp Lagoon, and Mint River. One also
was taken on St. George Island, of the Pribilof group, on May 26, 1917.
_Winter range._--During the winter they are found north to the Hawaiian
Islands (Lisiansky, Laysan, French Frigate Shoal, Bird Island, and
Hawaii); east to Hawaii, Palmyra Island, Fanning Island, Christmas
Island, Marquesas Islands, Society Islands (Tahiti), and the Paumotu
Archipelago (Vincennes Island); south to the Low or Paumotu Archipelago
(Vincennes Island), Cook Islands (Palmerston Island), and probably New
Caledonia; west to probably New Caledonia, Phoenix Islands (Canton and
Phoenix Island), Gilbert Islands, the Marshall Islands (Jaluit Island),
and the Hawaiian Islands (Lisiansky Island).
_Migration._--Early dates of arrival for bristle-thighed curlews in
Alaska are: Fort Kenai, May 18, 1869; Nome River, May 23, 1905; and
Cape Mountain, May 28, 1922.
They have been detected in the Kotzebue Sound region as late as August
26, 1885.
Family CHARADRIIDAE, Plovers
VANELLUS VANELLUS (Linnaeus)
LAPWING
_Contributed by Francis Charles Robert Jourdain_
HABITS
The status of this bird in North America is a remarkable one. Up
to 1927, with the exception of Greenland, where according to Lehn
Schiöler, it is an occasional visitor, it had only been recorded on
about seven occasions from the American Continent. Excluding Alaska,
all the other records are from the eastern seaboard, the Bahamas
and Barbados. In December, 1927, large flocks, numbering thousands,
according to one reporter, were recorded from a number of places along
the east coast of Newfoundland, in the middle of the country and
also on the west coast. Among the birds obtained was one sent from
Bonavista, Newfoundland, by Canon A. G. Bagley on December 31, which
still bore the ring with which it had been marked as a nestling in May,
1926, at Ullswater, Cumberland, England, by Dr. H. J. Moon.
_Spring._--In the British Isles the migratory movements are rather
complicated and irregular, but many birds which have wintered in the
south and near the great estuaries and marshes begin to work their way
back to their breeding places inland, and to the north of Scotland
which is practically deserted by them during the winter months.
_Courtship._--The lapwing is a highly gregarious species and even in
the height of the breeding season, when territorial jealousy on the
part of the males is apparent, several pairs are generally to be found
nesting within a short distance of one another. The courtship habits
have been closely studied by the late S. E. Brock in Scotland, and more
recently by William Farren, R. H. Brown, and J. K. Stanford, so that
there is plenty of material at hand.
Even in the autumn and early winter months when the weather is open,
especially after frosts, a certain amount of sexual activity is
evident. Some of the males show indications of territorial defense
and fighting takes place intermittently. It is not till the winter
is over and the males have returned to their breeding grounds, which
is generally from late February to early March, that the nesting
territory is definitely parceled out among the males. The areas may
vary considerably in shape and size and are not always clearly defined,
but each bird shows distinct signs of jealousy at any invasion on the
part of a neighbor and aerial combats take place from time to time,
though sometimes a male will desert the group of “scrapes” which marks
his territorial center and adopt a new series. These “scrapes” form
an important part in the ritual of courtship. On the appearance of
a female the male utters a grating note while standing upright and
moving wings and tail up and down rhythmically. He then drops to the
ground and, as Brock describes it, “lying far forward on his breast,
shuffles the body, and scrapes energetically with the feet, which may
be seen in rapid motion. At short intervals the tail is spasmodically
bent downwards, the action corresponding with energetic footwork.” He
then rises jerking bits of stubble over his shoulder, and in this way a
little group of hollows or “scrapes” is formed, one of which ultimately
becomes the nest. Apparently the female makes choice from several sites
originally selected by the male.
From time to time the male makes the spring flight which has been well
described by Brock.
Rising from the ground the male executes a few labored
flaps, moving the wings with exaggerated slowness, owllike;
thence he quickens his pace and rising suddenly at an
abrupt angle, commences the song, the greater part of
which, however, is emitted as the bird falls again. During
the utterance of the song is a pause occurring after the
penultimate note, the performer throws himself sideways
almost on his back, instantly recovering himself with
a flurry of wings. The bird now scuds rapidly over the
ground at a moderate height, making a pronounced humming
sound with the motion of his sharply driven pinions, and
occasionally tilting himself from side to side, much in the
manner of a snipe when flushed.
The song is well rendered by Brock as _whey-willuchooee-willuch-willuch-
cooee_. The first syllable long and hoarse, the second and third
_willuch_ uttered rapidly and staccato, then a pause, during which
the partial somersault is executed, followed by the loud and musical
final note. The Norfolk marshmen’s transliteration is also good, “Three
bullocks a week, week after week.”
Sometimes two rival males will rise together in the air almost
perpendicularly each trying to rise above the other.
At intervals the upper bird stoops suddenly to the lower,
an attack usually avoided by an agile turn of the wing,
but occasionally a distant and hollow clap is audible,
indicating an exchange of blows apparently with the
wing. On at length parting company both combatants break
into full song flight, repeating it twice or thrice ere
resettling in their respective stations.
These encounters seem as a rule not to be of a very serious character
and the occasional fights between rivals carried on near the ground,
in which one bird swoops repeatedly from one side or the other at its
opponent, which in turn avoids the attack by little upward springs or
swerving aside, seem to be of a more serious character. When a hen
bird approaches, the male bird runs toward her and describes a half
circle round her with stiff and constrained air. Then he makes for
the nearest “scrape” and at once drops into it, working with furious
energy and occasionally dropping bits of straw over his shoulder.
At first the hen makes no response, but about a fortnight after the
beginning of the courtship she approaches the spot where he is at work
by indirect stages. The male then rises and steps forward, with his
back to the hen, slowly lowering his bill to the ground and raising
his tail perpendicularly, thus displaying his richly colored undertail
coverts. The female now settles into the “scrape” and imitates the
actions of the cock, but with less energy, the male meanwhile retaining
his strange uptilted attitude and collecting nesting material which
is jerked over his shoulder toward the “scrape.” When at length the
hen leaves the “scrape” the male reenters and sometimes the hen also
repeats the process. Coition takes place a few days before the eggs are
laid and immediately afterwards the hen works in the “scrape” with far
more energy than before, the male often taking his place in another
scrape. Both birds go through the ceremony of throwing bits of nest
material over the shoulder. No serious attempt is made on the part of
other males to interfere with a paired hen, and she on her part seems
to avoid any strange cock bird.
_Nesting._--Although it is usual for several pairs to breed in company
the actual nests are usually some distance apart, and nearly always on
slightly raised ground. They may be found on plowed land or on pasture
and occasionally moorland, and vary somewhat in size, some being
merely muddy hollows with a few bits of straw and bent, while others,
especially on grass lands, are fairly substantial edifices of dead
vegetable matter collected round the nesting “scrape” originally made
by the male.
_Eggs._--Normally four, but on rare occasions five, have been recorded,
and when a bird has been robbed twice, sets of three and even two or
one egg may be found late in the season. When the birds have been much
persecuted as many as 20 have been laid in one season by a single
female. They are pyriform in shape and lie in the nest with the points
touching one another. As a rule there is not much variation, the usual
ground color being stone color or brownish olive with black spots and
blotches chiefly towards the large end. Some eggs have the ground
almost hidden by dense black markings, and there are types in which
the spots are mainly replaced by short black lines. More remarkable
varieties are those in which the ground color in bluish white or some
shade of greenish olive, with scanty markings of black, and the rare
erythristic type in which the ground color is pale brick red or deep
red brown with rich red brown markings. This wonderful variation has
been recorded from Friesland as well as many parts of the British
Isles. The measurements of 100 eggs measured by the writer average 47
by 33.7 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure =58= by
32.5, 47.4 by =37.2=, =42.3= by 33 and 44.7 by =31.2= millimeters.
_Young._--Incubation is performed by both sexes, but much the greater
part by the hen, the male being on guard to give the alarm. Incubation
begins with the third or fourth egg and the period is as a rule 24 or
25 days, but in some cases is said to extend to 27 or even 28 days. The
adults are very bold and demonstrative when the eggs are chipping and
will even strike sheep or dogs. The young remain in the nest until the
down has been thoroughly dried and at first do not travel far afield,
crouching when the parents give the alarm. They can swim readily
and are led by the old birds from dry uplands toward water meadows.
Directly the young are able to fly they assemble into flocks. Only one
brood is reared during the season.
_Plumages._--The plumages and molts are fully described in A Practical
Handbook of British Birds, edited by H. F. Witherby (1920).
Ridgway (1919) says that the sexes are alike, and that he has been
unable to verify the supposed differences in the wing formula of male
and female. It is, however, easy to distinguish the sexes in life by
the shape of the wing of the male, which is, as described by Frohawk
and others, much more rounded in shape than that of the female.
_Food._--This consists largely of earthworms, mollusca (including
the large slugs _Arion_ and _Agriolimax_ as well as the smaller
snails, _Helix_ sp.; also during the winter months marine shell
fish, _Tellina_, _Bythinia_, _Physa_, etc.) and insects. This latter
family includes Coleoptera (_Otiorhynchus_, Carabidae, _Ocypusolens_,
_Aphodius_, _Agriotes_, various species of _Geodephaga_, etc.),
Diptera, including larvae of Tipulidae, Lepidoptera (many larvae
of moths such as _Noctua segetum_, _N. exclamationes_, etc.), and
Orthoptera. Vegetable matter is also eaten, but not largely. Seeds of
_Ranunculus repens_, _Polygonum aviculare_, and _Spergula_ have been
recognized, also fragments of seaweed (Algae) in winter. Spiders and
marine crustacea are also recorded.
_Behavior._--The lapwing is preeminently a gregarious bird. All
through the winter months it is to be met with in flocks, sometimes
of great size, and even in the breeding season it is rare to find a
single pair nesting out of sight and earshot of its neighbors. The
curious “wobbling” flight enables the species to be recognized at great
distances. Unlike some other gregarious species, such as the starling,
the lapwing is not expert in the art of simultaneous maneuvers and
it is a common sight to see a big flock rise together on the wing
and break up at once into two bodies moving in different directions.
Then gradually birds from the smaller body will gravitate toward the
larger flock and after a time the two will reunite, but there is a
lack of leadership and confidence in their movements which at once
distinguishes them from the smartly wheeling flocks of dunlins, knots,
or other gregarious waders. Sometimes a party of golden plover will
associate on the wing with a flock of lapwing, but here, again, the
difference is very striking.
_Enemies._--Probably the rook destroys more eggs and small young than
any other foe except man, but the jackdaw, hooded crow, and carrion
crow are all apt to devour the eggs. I have seen a sparrow hawk drop
from a tree onto a bird rising from its nest and bind onto it for a
time, but the lapwing broke free after a struggle. It is not uncommon
to find remains of birds on the feeding tables of the sparrow hawk near
a breeding ground. The peregrine also sometimes takes lapwing, but its
erratic tumbling flight renders it a difficult prey.
_Fall._--Ringing has proved that some of the British-reared birds find
their way to Iceland, France, and Portugal. In mild winters there are
always a considerable number of flocks in our southern counties, but
hard frosts or deep snow will cause them to move to the south coast or
to emigrate.
Although a most useful bird from the agriculturist’s point of view, the
lapwing is shot freely during the autumn and winter, chiefly by shore
shooters, while the demand for its eggs as delicacies has also been
detrimental to its status. In Holland the earliest clutches are all
taken for the market and this has had no injurious effect, as the birds
lay again and are then protected strictly.
DISTRIBUTION
_Breeding range._--Europe north to the Arctic Circle, the British
Isles, but only exceptionally in the Faroes, and not in Iceland. In
Finland to latitude 68° on the Muonio River and in Russia north to
Archangel. Southward it breeds in Andalusia and in the Balkan Peninsula
to Macedonia, but not in Greece or the Mediterranean Islands. Breeding
in Morocco requires confirmation. It also breeds across Asia east to
the Pacific, south to Transcaspia and Yarkand.
_Winter range._--Many birds winter in the British Isles, but on the
Continent they move to southern Europe and northern Africa, visiting
the Atlantic isles occasionally (Canaries, Madeira, etc.). In Asia,
Asia Minor, Palestine, Iraq, Persia, and north India, China, North
Burma, and Japan.
_Spring migration._--The northward movement of continental birds
depends much on the weather. In mild winters they have appeared in
Denmark in January and February, but the average date is about March
6. In Sweden the arrival is also irregular, from mid February to mid
March, but in south Finland not till late in March. In central Europe
the birds arrive as a rule on the breeding grounds early in March, and
the Mediterranean passage is generally over by the beginning of that
month.
_Fall migration._--Migrants from the north arrive at Gibraltar about
mid October, while in Malta the passage takes place in November, and
in Greece at the end of October. In Iraq they arrive from October 22
onward, but chiefly in early November.
_Casual records._--Greenland, occasional visitor (Julianehaab 1847;
Fiskenaes 7, I, 1820, etc.) Iceland; numerous records between September
and March; Labrador (Cartwright, January, 1917); Newfoundland, White
Hills, November 23, 1905 and recently (December, 1927); Nova Scotia
(Ketch Harbor, March 17, 1897); Long Island, New York (Merrick, 2
specimens, December 26, 1883 and Meccox Bay, Waterville, autumn 1905);
Bahamas (Hog Island, November, 1900); Barbados (December 24, 1886);
West Alaska (small islets in Norton Sound); Madeira (Machico, December
6, 1891, December 2, 1889, December 4, 1893, January 14, 1895, March
10, 1895, December 15, 1896, and November 28, 1897); Jan Mayen (30 on
April 8, 1883).
[AUTHOR’S NOTE.--The most remarkable occurrence of this species took
place during the fall and winter of 1927–28. A specimen was taken
on Baffin Island in October; and they appeared in large numbers in
Newfoundland (Bonavista) in December, where one man was reported to
have killed 60 individuals, one of which carried a band of British
Bird Magazine that had been attached in Cumberland, England, in May,
1926. Capt. Donald MacMillan reported them at Anatalok Bay, Labrador,
on December 22, and a specimen was obtained January 6, 1928, at North
Head, Grand Manan, New Brunswick.]
C. L. Whittle (1928) has suggested the following theory, as to the
possible cause of this unusual flight:
As to the cause of the movement of lapwings to Newfoundland
and the route taken, it is perhaps helpful to study
the Pilot Charts of the North Atlantic above referred
to. During the month of December, the 16th and 17th, a
well-developed cyclone of exceptional intensity had its
center well to the east of Spain, with a low pressure of
28.30 inches, and with accompanying strong southeasterly
winds from western Europe. These winds might easily have
been instrumental in driving lapwings to Iceland, five
to seven hundred miles distant, and to Greenland. Later,
polar winds and a search for food may have played important
parts in forcing a movement southwesterly to northern
Labrador, and then southeasterly, following the coast to
Newfoundland. Here, near the shore, snowless tundras, which
probably would furnish a food supply, may have existed,
even in December, with the result that the recently
scattered birds became gradually concentrated.[2]
[2] See also A Transatlantic Passage of Lapwings, by
H. F. Witherby, in British Birds, vol. 22, pp. 6–13.
_Egg dates._--March 2 to 19 (9 dates); March 26 to 31 (18 dates); April
1 to 14 (60 dates); April 15 to 30 (29 dates, probably including many
second layings); late date June 22. All the above from England.
EUDROMIAS MORINELLUS (Linnaeus)
DOTTEREL
_Contributed by Francis Charles Robert Jourdain_
HABITS
The claim of this species to a place in the American list rests on a
single occurrence at King Island, Alaska, on July 23, 1897.
_Spring._--The regularity of the appearance of the dotterel on
migration at almost the same spots year after year and approximately
about the same time in spring, has proved a great disadvantage to the
species, as being very tame and unsuspicious and much sought after, not
only as a delicacy for the table, but also on account of the demand for
its feathers on the part of fly-fishers, it was mercilessly shot on
the way to its breeding grounds in the north of England and Scotland.
The usual date of arrival was about the last week of April and the
beginning of May and little “trips” might be looked for annually at
certain favored spots along the route northward. Exceptionally early
arrivals have been recorded on March 25, April 4 and April 8, but these
are quite unusual.
_Courtship._--Owing no doubt partly to the inaccessible nature of its
haunts and also partly to its scarcity, there is nothing on record in
the literature as to the courtship of this bird. All writers are agreed
that the migrants which pass through England are in small flocks or
“trips” and are still unpaired. In 1922 I was on the high field of West
Finmark and there was still a great deal of snow about, but here and
there islands of gray rock stood out from the snow field. Here we met
with dotterel in fair numbers, evidently pairing and house hunting.
They shared the ground with a few snow buntings and ptarmigan, and it
was obvious that already certain spots had been selected for breeding.
Sometimes three birds would be seen wheeling round a bare patch of moor
and rock and freely uttering their courting notes, which reminded us of
those of the ring plover. We saw nothing to suggest the existence of a
nuptial song flight, but further observations at this period would be
of great interest.
_Nesting._--In Scotland and the English lake district the breeding
haunts of this species must be looked for at about 2,500 to 3,500 feet
or even higher, not on the mountain tops, but on plateaus or slopes
below the highest points. Here, where the only vegetation consists of a
scanty growth of heather mixed with wiry grass, mosses and lichens, and
occasional fragments of gray rock crop out here and there, the dotterel
is at home. Few living things haunt their solitudes; a stray raven or
eagle may pass over occasionally, but as a rule there is hardly a sign
of life anywhere. There is some evidence that one or two “scrapes”
are made by one pair of birds, but we have no information as to which
of the two is responsible for making the hollow. The eggs are laid
in a natural depression adapted by the bird, roughly about three and
one-half inches across and fairly deep, as a rule, but generally filled
with fragments of lichen or the red leaves of the cranberry, so that
the eggs are not difficult to see though their coloring harmonizes with
the surroundings.
_Eggs._--Normally three, but frequently two only, while instances of
four are comparatively rare. They are more elliptical and less pyriform
than most waders’ eggs and are not unlike some types of eggs of the
Arctic tern, though almost always more boldly blotched. In color they
range from yellowish olive to clay color, occasionally with a greenish
tinge and are boldly spotted and blotched with deep blackish brown
and a few ashy shell marks. The average of 100 British eggs, measured
by the writer is 41.1 by 28.8 millimeters; the eggs showing the four
extremes measure =46.7= by 31.3, 44.5 by =31.5=, =37.5= by 29 and 41.6
by =27.4= millimeters.
The sexes are not easy to distinguish in the field, but nearly all the
positive evidence from birds shot off the eggs goes to prove that the
male is generally to be found incubating. H. H. Slater shot two males
from eggs. H. J. Pearson and Gloger had similar experiences, and Bengt
Berg, who has watched this bird at close quarters, says that only the
male incubates. Many accounts have been published of the behavior of
the sitting bird. When flushed from the eggs it returns by a circuitous
route, cowering like a mouse, as one observer describes it, sometimes
stopping to look round and sometimes doubling back on his tracks like
a hunted hare, but all the time, in spite of the numerous turns and
twists, gradually approaching the eggs to which at last a short direct
run is made. Viewed from behind the bird is exceedingly difficult to
follow with the eye in its environment, so that close watching is
necessary to mark it down. When the nest has once been discovered, or
if the bird is brooding young, it will show extraordinary boldness and
will even allow itself to be lifted off the nest by the hand, settling
down again as soon as it is removed. Bengt Berg actually succeeded in
photographing a bird in the act of accepting a worm from the hand. The
only information as to the length of the incubation period is Heyshams
oft-quoted assertion that it rarely lasts more than 18 or 20 days. Only
a single brood is reared in a season, but the hen will lay a second
time about a fortnight after the first clutch has been destroyed.
_Young._--In one case when Seton Gordon came across a nest with
half-grown chicks, both parents showed signs of great excitement
and almost complete disregard of his presence, running backward and
forward and frequently uttering their soft whistle which sounded
something like _twee, twee, tuur_, the first two notes pitched in a
high key and the last a purring sound difficult to express in writing.
On other occasions only a single old bird accompanied the young and
considerable differences were apparent in their behavior, some showing
signs of great anxiety when the young were approached while others were
apparently almost indifferent and remained some distance off.
_Plumages._--The plumages and molts are fully described in A Practical
Handbook of British Birds edited by H. F. Witherby (1920).
_Food._--On its breeding grounds it feeds on insects (Diptera,
Coleoptera, and their larvae). Collett records _Bembidium_ and _Elater_
larvae; Petenyi records _Dorcadion_, _Silpha_, and _Pachygastra_.
Earthworms are also taken, according to Saxby, Collett, and Berg. H. J.
Pearson also records vegetable matter, apparently seeds of _Empetrum
nigrum_ or crowberry. H. B. Tristram writes that in its winter quarters
in Palestine it subsists largely on small snails (_Helix_).
_Behavior._--The dotterel is a quiet, unobtrusive bird, not associating
much with other waders and generally met with in small parties out of
the breeding season. Its general brown coloring is not striking and no
doubt it is frequently overlooked. Its flight is strong, the clean-cut
wings, as Gordon says, “moving with swift and powerful strokes only a
few feet above the surface of the ground.”
_Enemies._--Naumann (1887) states that the chief enemies of the
dotterel are the falcons (peregrine, hobby, and merlin) and the
short-winged hawks (goshawk and sparrow hawk).
_Fall._--At Heligoland Gätke (1895) observed large numbers of young
birds of the year on passage on one or two occasions; on August 22,
1882, great numbers passed, although wind and rain prevailed, and on
September 4 in fine weather one flight alone took five minutes to pass,
an unprecedented occurrence.
_Winter._--Lord Lilford found it abundant in its winter quarters on the
plains of Tunisia consorting with sand grouse, lapwings, golden plover,
little bustards, and cranes. He failed to get within shot on foot, but
killed many from horse, donkey, or camel, though the birds would run
about fearlessly within a few feet of the Arab plowmen.
DISTRIBUTION
_Breeding range._--In the British Isles confined to a few localities
in the North Pennine and Cumbrian Hills, and in Scotland chiefly to
levels of 3,000 to 4,000 feet in the Grampians and Cairngorms, and very
locally north and west. On the Continent, in northern Scandinavia,
north Finland and Russia, Nova Zembla, Waigatz, and Kolguev. It is
found locally in the Riesengebirge, Styria, Transylvania, etc. It is
also said to breed in southeast Russia. In Asia it is found across
Siberia and on the New Siberian Isles in the tundra and south to the
mountain ranges of central Asia.
_Winter range._--Extends to North Africa, Palestine and Syria, Iraq,
Arabia, and Persia.
_Spring migration._--In the western Mediterranean it is scarce on
spring passage, but Brehm obtained one at Cartagena, Spain, on March
31. It is also of rare occurrence at Malta in spring and seldom
recorded from Greece. At Muonioniska flocks arrive from the south about
May 29 and remain for a week or two before proceeding to their breeding
grounds on the tundra.
_Fall migration._--The great bulk of migrants seem to pass through
eastern Europe southward through Palestine, but small numbers pass the
Straits of Gibraltar in August and September, and it is not uncommon
on Malta in October and November (early date, August 23; late date,
December 11). Whitaker notes its arrival in Tunisia in September and
October.
_Casual records._--Saxby records one on the Shetlands in mid-June,
1869. It is a rare visitor to the Canaries and has not been recorded
there for many years. The supposed record from Spitzbergen is probably
a mistaken identification, but it has occurred in Japan and on King
Island, Alaska (July 23, 1897).
_Egg dates._--British Isles, 8 dates between May 30, and June 15; 5
dates between June 21 and July 14; probably including some second
layings. In Scandinavia, 14 dates between June 3 and 15; 33 dates
between June 16 and 30; 2 dates between July 1 and 6.
SQUATAROLA SQUATAROLA (Linnaeus)
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER
HABITS
I use the above name rather than the latest check list name,
_cynosurae_ because I can not see any valid reason for recognizing a
North American race of this cosmopolitan species. A slight average
difference in size is of little significance in a species which shows
such a wide range of individual variation. Recent investigation has, I
believe, convinced even Mr. Bangs that this race, which he described,
has no standing. The bird which breeds in northeastern Siberia has been
separated under the name _hypomelaena_; this may be a good race, though
material to establish it is rather scanty in this country. Probably it
is the Siberian race which breeds on the Bering Sea coast of Alaska.
For life-history purposes the species, as a whole, will be considered.
The black-bellied plover is an aristocrat among shore birds, the
largest and strongest of the plovers, a leader of its tribe. It is
a distinguished-looking bird in its handsome spring livery of black
and white; and its attitude, as it stands like a sentinel on the
crest of a sand dune or on some distant mud flat, is always dignified
and imposing. Its wild, plaintive, and musical whistle arouses the
enthusiasm of the sportsman and serves both as a warning and as an
invitation to the lesser fowl that look to it for leadership.
Its breeding range is circumpolar, but decidedly spotty; there are very
few places where it breeds at all commonly. On migrations it is widely
distributed over nearly all of the Northern Hemisphere. It was never
as abundant in this country as the golden plover and apparently never
traveled in such immense flocks; hence it was never slaughtered in such
enormous numbers. Moreover, it is much wilder, more wary, and better
able to take care of itself; consequently it has held its own much
better and has proven more of a success in the struggle for existence.
Nevertheless, it has been considerably reduced in numbers during the
past 75 years. I am inclined to think that the reduction in numbers
is more apparent than real and that the birds have learned to avoid
certain localities, where they were once so abundant and where they
have been so persistently pursued by gunners. George H. Mackay (1892)
has shown a decided decrease on Nantucket, which he attributes to such
a cause. From my own 30 years’ experience on Cape Cod I know that
this has taken place there; I have noticed a gradual decrease in the
numbers of black-bellied plover that come to Chatham and Monomoy during
the fall flight, until now I often see no more than half a dozen in
a day, where formerly we used to see them in hundreds. On the spring
flight, however, they are often very abundant there, and apparently
have increased since spring shooting was stopped; formerly they were
much more abundant in the fall than in the spring, but the reverse
is now the case. This is a striking example of the bird’s sagacity.
Francis N. Balch told me that he saw at least 4,000 black-bellied
plover on Monomoy on one day during the height of the spring flight in
1927. This compares favorably with Nuttall’s much quoted statement that
flocks of more than 1,000 gathered near Boston about 100 years ago.
Some of the figures given below will show that there are still plenty
of black-bellied plover left in places where they are not too much
molested.
_Spring._--From the northern part of its winter range in the southern
States the black-bellied plover starts on its northward migration in
April and there is a general northward movement, entirely across the
continent, all through May; the last of the migrants do not leave the
northern States until the first week in June. Arthur T. Wayne (1910)
says that, in South Carolina, “when the wind is from the south and
the tide is low in the afternoon, these birds migrate in small flocks
in a northwesterly direction,” probably taking an overland route to
their breeding grounds. But there is also a heavy northward migration
along the Atlantic coast, at least as far as New Jersey, whence I
believe the main flight swings inland, though there is a well-marked
spring migration in Massachusetts, mainly during the last half of
May, which seems to have increased in recent years. During the latter
part of May, 1927, I was privileged to see, through the kindness of
Dr. Harry C. Oberholser, the greatest flight of black-bellied plover,
dowitchers, and turnstones that I have ever seen. On the coast of New
Jersey, in the vicinity of Tuckerton Bay and Little Egg Harbor, we
made actual counts, or careful estimates, of all birds seen and the
totals were far ahead of any he had recorded there in recent years.
Seven day’s records show a total of over 20,000 black-bellied plover;
on our two best days, May 27 and 28, we recorded 6,200 and 5,600; and
on our poorest day, May 25, we counted only 238, showing that they
came in waves. The black-bellied plover were often associated in the
large flocks with ruddy turnstones; we saw one immense flock which we
estimated to contain 3,500 birds of these two species. This great flock
was a thrilling sight, as it swept in over the marsh like a great cloud
and alighted; twice, while we were watching, it arose like a swarm of
insects, circled about, separated into two divisions, joined again, and
alighted. We did not see it depart.
This seems to be the best place on the New Jersey coast to observe
shore birds in large numbers, where they alight to rest and feed on
the large, flat, marshy islands. These are mud islands raised but
a few feet above high water and some of them are partially flooded
during spring tides; they are mainly covered with salt-marsh grasses,
intersected by tidal creeks and dotted with small pond holes or bare
muddy splashes. The plover alighted on the bare spaces or in the short
grass, where the large flocks seen in the distance seemed to whiten the
ground. These large flocks, with sentinels always alert, were utterly
unapproachable; and even the small flocks and single birds were as shy
as ever. At low tide they resorted to the extensive mud flats to feed,
though they doubtless fed on the meadows also.
On Cape Cod they frequent the same localities as in the fall; my
earliest date is April 19 and my latest date for adult birds is June
29. The spring flights here and in New Jersey are made up mainly of
adult birds, mostly in full plumage, but many are mottled and there are
always some “pale bellies,” or young birds.
The black-bellied plover is an abundant spring migrant up the
Mississippi Valley and through central Canada. We saw it in
Saskatchewan during the last week in May and first week in June. C.
G. Harold tells me that it is abundant around the prairie lakes and
sloughs in Manitoba. Prof. William Rowan (1926) calls it abundant in
Manitoba; his notes mention a flock estimated at about 3,000 seen on
May 23, 1925, at Beaverhill Lake. He says:
At our lake it is one of the later arrivals in the
spring, seldom appearing before the middle of May. It
stays generally in some numbers till the end of the month
and may linger till the second week of June. Flocks are
usually small, anything up to 30, except when the birds
are ready to start on the next lap north, when they may
aggregate many hundreds if not thousands. On May 23, 1925,
we estimated the ground covered by a single flock of grey
plovers, knots, and a sprinkling of goldens at about one
and a half acres. They were not scattered, but neither were
they closely packed. The grays made up about 75 per cent of
the whole. The sitting flock looked like a large patch of
snow.
S. F. Rathbun has sent me the following notes from Washington which
illustrates the abundance of this species on the Pacific coast:
May 12, 1927. This morning was a dark one with a steady
drizzling rain and light wind following the storm of the
preceding two days. On reaching a very wide expanse of
grassy salt meadows bordering the bay we found them dotted
nearly everywhere with many of the smaller sandpipers and
black-bellied plover, the birds being in small and large
flocks and mostly grouped around the many shallow pools
with which the meadows were flecked. It was one of the
finest sights we have ever seen where shore-birds were
concerned. The beautiful black-bellied plover in full
nuptial dress were scattered over a wide area, rarely as
single birds, but ordinarily a number in company and not
infrequently in flocks of considerable size. One such flock
consisted of 50 individuals, shortly after being joined
by another of some 30 birds, the combination of so many
large black-breasted birds making a striking sight. When
first alighting the birds would stand motionless, following
which they would then move slowly about, although at times
individuals might take wing, make several turns in the air
and then alight among the others on the ground. When in
its full plumage this plover is very noticeable even a long
distance off, and when on the ground is always wary and
alert. On alighting if it does not stand motionless, the
bird will immediately move to the nearest height of land,
if such there happens to be, and from such point of vantage
will then scan the landscape, and should there happen to
be a number in company you will always find two or three
maintaining a lookout while the remainder move about rather
unconcernedly.
At times associated with the many sandpipers would be a
number of knots, but as a rule this latter species was
found in flocks by itself with this exception, that always
with a flock of knots would be one or more black-bellied
plover, such acting as sentinels for the former. And
this being the case, the knots would then unconcernedly
feed, as they seemed to rely implicitly on the plovers’
watchfulness, and we never noted this confidence misplaced.
And this fact must in instances prove the salvation of
those shore birds more or less unsuspicious and having
this plover in company, for they seem to be governed by
its actions. Sometimes, with a warning note, the sentinel
would suddenly take wing and instantly was followed by the
entire flock of other birds en masse, and all would then
fly about perhaps for a time before once more alighting on
some spot selected by the plover acting as the sentinel. At
one time during our stay there were between three and four
thousand of these plover on the meadows, and we were told
that on the preceding day during the height of the storm
this number must have been exceeded.
_Courtship._--I have never seen any signs of courtships during the
spring migration, though I have often looked for it; nor have I ever
seen any mention of it by others. Hence I infer that it is accomplished
after the birds arrive on their breeding grounds. Herbert W. Brandt
says in his Alaska notes:
During courtship the male spends considerable time on the
wing, speeding about like a racer; and amid the constant
din of wild-fowl notes his cheery whistle _to lee, to
lee_, is one of the pleasant sounds that greet the ear.
But once the female is incubating her lord becomes as
serious and silent as his sober black waistcoat, so that
by early June it seemed as if every plover had left the
country. He carries on his courtship regardless of weather,
now mounting high, the next moment skimming low, with
beautiful and bewildering grace, his wild whistling call
meanwhile rising above the din of the storm. The advance
guard of migrants of this plover arrived from the south in
a “nor’wester” on May 7, passing like phantom voyagers, and
the next instant were lost in mid-air in the swirling snow.
_Nesting._--Mr. Brandt has sent me the following notes on the nesting
habits of the black-bellied plover in the Hooper Bay region of Alaska:
We found this jauntily attired plover the most common
nesting species of the larger shore birds, frequenting the
upland rolling tundra, where it preferred the ridges. It
often chose for a nesting site the edge of one of the more
prominent bluffs which formed the margin of the valleys,
from which location the sitting bird could view the entire
surrounding country. On these barren areas, where even the
close-cropped moss struggles for existence, the vegetation
is mottled with black and white, and as a consequence
the eggs, in spite of their exposed situation, are very
difficult to find. One must almost touch them to be sure
that they are there, so completely do they harmonize
with their background. This protective coloration is so
perfect that in one case a bird deserted its nest and the
eggs remained unprotected for three days, during which
time jaegers, which were continuously hunting overhead
and about, were, even with their sharp eyes, not able to
distinguish them.
The nest is prepared by the female by scratching out in the
moss a circular depression some 6 inches in diameter and
about 1½ inches deep and lining it with a few white sprigs
of reindeer moss. Here she lays her four large beautiful
eggs, each set showing marked variation in size, shape, and
markings. These eggs are distinctive, having a considerably
lighter background than those of the golden plover, while
the black markings are not so numerous and are more evenly
distributed.
They do not nest in proximity to one another, as of the 40
or more nests observed no two were closer together than
a quarter of a mile. The female is anything but a close
sitter and departs from the eminence on which the nest is
situated long before the intruder arrives. If the eggs
are fresh, often neither bird exhibits any interest while
a person is at the nest and they do not even make their
appearance as long as he remains in their vicinity. As the
hatching point approaches, however, the birds become more
solicitous, protesting vigorously; the male develops into
a militant sentry and rushes out to meet the intruder,
repeatedly whistling _lee-ah_ in a scolding tone, but
staying well out of gun range. He is very combative and
drives away any jaeger or large gull that infringes on
his area. The female often leaves her eggs to join in the
attack, and even the swift-flying long-tailed jaeger can
not avoid their onslaughts but beats a hasty retreat. I
have seen a male plover strike a jaeger so hard that it
reeled unsteadily in mid-air, but the coward made no effort
to retaliate.
Roderick MacFarlane’s notes contain the records of seven nests found
in the vicinity of Franklin Bay, Mackenzie. The nests were all found
between July 4 and 10, in 1864 and 1865. The first was on an island
in the bay and was “composed of a few withered grasses, placed in a
hole or depression on the side, or face, of a very gentle eminence.”
At least two other nests were on islands. The female was snared on one
nest, but was devoured by a snowy owl, which also ate the four eggs.
The nesting habits of the grey plover, as this species is called by
Europeans, are apparently similar to those of our bird. Henry J.
Pearson (1896), who found seven nests on Kolguev, describes them thus:
The positions of the nests were interesting; only two were
on the lower ground near the Gobista; one was a mile both
from the sea and the river; all the others--also several
old nests--were on the tundra not far from the edge of
the bluffs which form the margin of the river basin. Grey
plovers seem to prefer this position, which gives them
good posts of observation and allows them to take their
young easily into the marshes below to feed. We found a
ready way of locating the nest of this bird was to watch a
pair of Richardson’s skua hunting over the tundra, for as
soon as they approached the nest of the plovers, both the
latter rose into the air and drove the skuas away. We never
observed these birds breeding near each other, each pair
appearing to take possession of about a mile of country.
All the nests were slight depressions in the peat, lined
with a little lichen.
If the black-bellied plover breeds in Greenland it must be very rare
there, for Dr. W. Elmer Ekblaw tells me that he saw it only twice
during the four years that he spent there. A flock that he saw on
Sutherland Island, south of Etah, on August 17, 1914, was made up of
old and young birds and the latter may have been reared there.
_Eggs._--Mr. Brandt has described the eggs so much better than I can
that I prefer to quote from his notes, as follows:
Of the more than 40 nests that we examined of the
black-bellied plover each held four eggs when its
complement was completed. Owing to the proportionate
thickness compared with its length the shape of the egg
is ovate pyriform inclining to subpyriform. The shell is
strong, finely granular, and on every egg I have seen the
lustre is uniformly dull. The ground color and markings
vary so much that hardly any two sets are the same. This
ground color appears to follow three different shades,
which are pinkish, greenish, or brownish. These types are
often quite pronounced when the eggs are fresh, but the
delicate tints fade with age. The pink type ranges from
“pale ochraceous salmon” to “light buff”; the green type
is “pale glass green”; while the brown variety is often as
dark as “cinnamon drab.” The eggs are never densely spotted
and are always most heavily marked about the large end,
but the very tip of this end is usually bare of spots, so
that, if viewed upon the long axis, a wreath of spots is
observed. These spots are usually medium in size and are
distinct, although in a few unusual examples the spots
become confluent at the large end. The primary markings are
irregularly circular and never elongated, while upon the
unusual egg these jet ornaments are of thumb-nail size.
In rare instances the markings assume the form of short
penlike scratches which mark the surface at various angles
in the same manner as is occasionally found on the eggs of
other members of the Charadriidae. The spots are uniformly
“blackish brown” to black, but, where the pigment is spread
more thinly, “deep brownish drab” or “dusky drab” tones may
be noted, while here and there “hazel” to “liver brown”
may be observed where the pigment is extremely thin. The
underlying spots are never numerous but always present
and are more prominent on some specimens than on others.
They vary in tone from “pale mouse gray” to “deep violet
gray,” dependent upon the ground color, while one specimen
with small primary spots is conspicuously beautified with
“chicory blue.” A series of these noble eggs is a study
in black and whitish, and while the individual egg is
conspicuous, yet, when resting on their mottled birthplace,
it is evident that nature has most happily endowed them
with protective coloration.
The measurements of 174 eggs average 52.2 by 36.5 millimeters; the eggs
showing the four extremes measure =58= by 38, 55.5 by =38.2=, =47.5=
by 34.7 and 51.9 by =34= millimeters. The measurements of eggs from
different localities do not throw much light on the relationship of the
proposed subspecies; 120 eggs from Hooper Bay average 52.4 by 36.7,
14 eggs from Franklin Bay average 52 by 36, and 40 eggs from European
localities average 51.6 by 35.9 millimeters.
_Young._--Several observers have proven that both sexes share in the
incubation. Mr. Brandt says in his notes:
The first downy young appeared on June 21 after an
incubation lasting 23 days, and they were just as
inconspicuous and distinctive as were the eggs whence
they emerged. At that time both parents were fearless
in their defense, employing all the wing-dragging and
distress maneuvers known to ground-nesting birds. This was
exhibited even by the male, which is rather unusual. The
downy young are variegated, sulphur-yellow and black above,
and harmonize well with the abundant yellowish moss of the
tundra. They conceal themselves by lying with head down and
with their legs drawn under their bodies and are thus very
difficult to detect.
_Plumages._--In natal down the young black-bellied plover resembles
the young golden plover, except that the band around the neck and the
under parts are purer white. The forehead, crown, and sides of the head
are variegated with black, white, and bright yellows, varying from
“lemon chrome” to “baryta yellow”; the back, rump, wings, and thighs
are mottled with black and the above shades of yellow; the nape, a
broad band around the neck and the entire under parts are pure white;
the cheeks below the eyes are white bordered below by a black stripe
extending from the bill to the auriculars.
In fresh juvenal plumage, as seen on the breeding grounds, the forehead
and lores are mainly white; the crown and all the upper parts of the
body are sepia, the feathers broadly tipped or notched with yellow,
varying from “light cadmium yellow” to “light orange yellow,” the
spots being largest and brightest on the rump; the chin is white,
but the rest of the under parts are buffy gray and pale buff, the
feathers of the throat, breast, and flanks with median dusky streaks
and faint dusky tips; the greater wing coverts are more narrowly edged,
but more conspicuously notched than in the adult. Young birds are in
juvenal plumage during migration, but the yellows have mostly faded to
creamy white or white, though the rump spots are often quite yellow. A
partial postjuvenal molt takes place late in the fall and in winter,
involving much of the body plumage, but generally not the rump and
back. Generally the molt is finished by December, but often not until
January; by this time the light edgings and notches have worn away,
giving the bird a very dark appearance. The first winter plumage is
much like the adult winter, but it can be distinguished by the creamy
or golden tips and notches of the juvenal wing coverts, by the faded
yellow spots on the rump and by some old, worn scapulars and tertials.
Young birds have an incomplete and very variable first prenuptial
molt, at which the sexes begin to differentiate. Young males acquire
more of the adult nuptial plumage than young females; sometimes the
breasts become almost wholly clear black; but in the upper parts there
is generally only a sprinkling of new, adult, broadly white-tipped
feathers, most of the first winter plumage being retained, with some
old, worn scapulars, tertials, and tails. Young females show much less
black on the breast and much more winter plumage on the back. Young
birds apparently renew the primaries in February and March and the
first postnuptial molt, the following summer and fall, produces the
adult winter plumage.
Adults have a partial prenuptial molt between February and May,
involving the body plumage, usually the tail, some of the wing coverts
and tertials, but not all the scapulars, back and rump feathers.
The complete postnuptial molt, begins with the acquisition of white
feathers in the under body plumage in August and the body molt lasts
through September, while the birds are migrating. The wings are molted
later, from September to December. In winter plumage the black breast
is entirely replaced by dull white, more or less marked or shaded
with pale, ashy brown; and the upper parts are dull, ashy brown, the
feathers tipped with white and subterminally shaded with blackish
brown. No trace of the nuptial body plumage is left and adults and
young look very much alike.
_Food._--The main feeding grounds of the black-bellied plover along
the coasts are on the broad, tidal, sand flats, and mud flats; there
are many such flats about Chatham and other places on Cape Cod, where
the receding tide leaves many square miles of flat mud or sand, dotted
with little islands of tall marsh grass. These are favorite resorts
for plover, where they may be seen away off on the edge of the water,
perhaps a mile from the shore, feeding on marine worms, small mollusks,
crustaceans, and marine insects. As the advancing tide drives them
in onto the marshes or sand dunes, they find other food; Mr. Mackay
(1892) says that “they feed also on the larvae of one of the cutworms
(Noctuidae) which they obtain on the marshes. They also eat the large
whitish maritime grasshopper (_Oedipoda maritima_).”
In the interior they feed, around the shores of the larger lakes and
on open flats, on various forms of aquatic life. They also resort to
some extent to meadows and upland pastures, where the grass is short,
and to plowed fields; here they do some good by devouring grasshoppers,
locusts, cutworms, grubs, beetles, and earthworms. They also eat some
seeds and berries. Mr. Forbush (1912) says that Prof. Samuel Aughey
found the stomachs of two of these birds “crammed with the destructive
Rocky Mountain locust.”
Grinnell, Bryant, and Storer (1918) mention a bird taken in California
which had in its stomach “14 small snails, 1 small bivalve mollusk,
and parts of 2 or more small crabs.” I once watched a bird in Florida,
which fed for some time on the broken remains of a dead crab.
_Behavior._--Mr. Brandt, in his notes, pays the following tribute to
the power of flight of this fine bird:
Only those who have met the lordly black-bellied plover
on his native heath can appreciate how he seems to rule
with a martial air the domains under his control.
Powerful of wing stroke, trim of form as a grayhound,
and erect of carriage, this, the largest of our common
plovers, is the athlete of the wild birds of the North.
Neatly vestured in his silvery white and ebony black, he
is the fleetest racer of the air among a field of highly
developed specialists. To consider him swifter than the
graceful long-tailed jaeger or the far-ranging golden
plover is indeed a startling claim, but my judgment is
that the black-bellied plover can pass through the air
faster than any other feathered creature in the North. At
some time in the future it will be of great interest for
some enterprising ornithologist to test out in his racing
aeroplane the various flying speeds of the northern birds.
It is my prediction that the shore birds will be found to
lead the field there, and that the big black-bellied plover
will surpass them all. The Pacific godwit is a wonderful
air master, darting here and there with but the slightest
effort, yet our plover seems to have only one gear, and
that high speed. This may be best appreciated during
the gales that are of such frequent occurrence in that
storm-swept land. The bird can quarter, or fly into the
teeth of the wind, with such power as almost to disregard
it.
The above picture is not overdrawn, for this plover is one of our
strongest fliers. Migrating flocks fly high in great bunches or massed
formations, after the manner of many ducks. When flying short distances
or when coming in over the flats they fly low and are often strung out
in lines. Their flight seems to me to be steadier or more duck-like
than that of the smaller shore birds. The powerful, pointed wings move
very swiftly; Doctor Oberholser and I once made a number of accurate
counts of the wing beats of this and several other species in normal
flight; eight counts for this plover averaged 240 beats a minute, or 4
beats a second; the slowest was 225 and the fastest 250.
The black-bellied plover is wont to stand erect, with head held high,
in an attitude of dignified yet alert repose; it can be recognized
by its bold outline almost as far as it can be seen, away out on
the shimmering sands. It is a wary sentinel for all of its smaller
companions and it is utterly useless to attempt to approach it in an
open situation. It runs swiftly along at the water’s edge, stopping
frequently to look about or striking quickly at some morsel of food.
Dr. Charles W. Townsend (1905) says that they throw “the feet well
out in front as they run. Their usual stride is 3 or 4 inches, but I
have several times measured tracks that were 6 inches apart.” It is
interesting to watch them bathing; they squat down in shallow water and
spend much time in splashing, fluttering the wings, and dipping their
heads; then comes the drying process, shaking the water out of the body
plumage, flapping wings and wagging tails, followed by a long period of
careful preening. Francis H. Allen writes to me of another method of
bathing, as follows:
At one time they took to bathing, one after another, and
one pretty little performance was to fly up about a foot
and come splashing down into the water with much fluttering
of wings. One started this play, and another and another
took it up till half a dozen or more had gone through it.
They also hopped on one foot in the water, as shore birds
so often do on the beach, and, in this, one set the fashion
and others followed it. This hopping altogether seems to be
quite common play with various species.
Like most shore birds, they can swim quite easily, as the following
note from Francis M. Weston will show:
On March 27 I was watching a small flock of black-bellied
plovers feeding on a sand bar at low tide. One of the birds
was separated from the others by a deep pool about 6 feet
wide, and, in order to join them, entered the water and
swam across the pool. While in the water, it reminded me
very much of a diminutive gull--it floated high in the
“stern” with the forward part of the body low in the water.
The transit of the pool was made so quickly that there
was no time for a detailed study of the bird’s motions.
Thinking that the plover was wounded and had had to swim
through lack of ability to fly, I approached the flock,
when all took wing and flew to another bar several hundred
yards distant. An examination of the pool showed that it
was more than a foot deep--far too deep for a bird of that
size to wade.
_Voice._--To my mind the whistle of the black-bellied plover is one of
the sweetest and most fascinating of all the Limicoline voices; it is
not quite as melodious as that of the piping plover, nor is it quite as
startling as the loud call of the yellowlegs; but it heralds the coming
of one of our finest shore birds and hence it produces a thrill. The
sportsman loves to hear it and he can imitate it quite easily. John T.
Nichols has contributed the following notes on it:
The flight note of this species is a clear, mellow, ringing
whistle--_pe-oo-ee_. Although shortened and otherwise
varied at different times, this note is the only one
ordinarily heard from single individuals or small flocks.
In general it may be said that the diagnostic flight or
identification note of plovers is used more extensively
than in yellowlegs and other species, for instance, and
that they seem to have less variety of calls.
A second note heard from a flock of birds either in the air
or alighted, and in chorus when such a flock is flushed,
circling and hovering in uncertain manner, is a soft,
mellow _quu-hu_. A dissimilar unloud _cuk cuk cuk, cuk,
cuk, cuk cuk cuk cuk_ which I heard from a single bird in
Florida in September, alighted with decoys and running
about, completes my knowledge of the calls of this plover.
The ordinary call note, referred to above, has a sweet, mellow, and
plaintive quality, with a tinge of wildness, which enlivens the
solitude of the ocean beaches; I should write it _pee-u-wee_, the
first, loud, rich, and prolonged, the second lower and shorter, and the
third higher pitched, more plaintive, and softer. Grinnell, Bryant,
and Storer (1918) describe the note as “a loud, ringing _wher-rell_,
far reaching and, at a distance, clear and mellow in quality.” Dr. E.
R. P. Janvrin tells me that he has “also heard them utter a loud note
resembling that of the common tern, but not so harsh and more musical,
which is apparently an alarm note.”
_Field marks._--The black axillars, on the under side of the wing next
to the body, are very conspicuous when the bird is flying and form
the most reliable field mark in all plumages. The general outline of
the bird is characteristic, with its large head, short, heavy bill,
and erect carriage. The upper parts are light colored in all plumages,
especially so in spring, the upper tail coverts are nearly white and
there is a white band in the spread wing. In the fully black-breasted
plumage the black of the under parts does not extend so far back as on
the golden plover and the crown is much whiter. The presence of a hind
toe may be detected at a short distance.
_Fall._--The southward migration begins early in July and spreads out
entirely across the continent. Before the end of August the last of the
black-bellied plover have left their breeding grounds. The first of the
adults sometimes reach Massachusetts as early as the second week in
July; my earliest date is July 7; but the main flight comes in August
and most of the adults have left by the middle of September, though
I have seen adults here as late as October 29. The young birds come
later; I have seen them as early as August 10, but they usually do not
come in any numbers until September, and the heaviest flight is between
September 15 and October 15; a few linger into November. While here
they mingle freely with knots, turnstones, and red-backed sandpipers;
any of the smaller sandpipers are likely to be associated with them.
Professor Rowan (1923) gives much the same dates for Alberta and says
that the young birds are plentiful through October and “may stay right
into November, even for a week or two after the lakes have frozen
over.” M. P. Skinner tells me that he has seen them in Yellowstone Park
late in September with the thermometer down to zero. Mr. Rathbun tells
me that “the black-bellied plover is a regular and somewhat common
spring and autumn migrant along the coast of Washington and about Puget
Sound.” D. E. Brown’s notes from that region give dates extending from
August 26 to October 2.
_Game._--It is as a game bird that the black-bellied plover or
“beetlehead,” as it is called on Cape Cod, has achieved its greatest
reputation. There is no shore bird that is better known or more eagerly
sought; for it is not only a large plump bird but it is a swift flier,
and one of the wariest, most sagacious, and most difficult of the beach
birds to secure. To meet with any success in shooting this plover the
sportsman must be familiar with its habits in the locality where he
is shooting, must be well concealed in a skillfully made blind, and
must know how to imitate its notes perfectly. The old black-bellied
birds are particularly wary and will not come to the decoys unless the
surroundings are quite natural in appearance. Mr. Mackay (1892) says:
After many unsuccessful attempts to capture them one
becomes imbued with the fact that the old birds are well
calculated, under ordinary circumstances, to avoid danger;
they succumb only to those sportsmen who have served a long
apprenticeship, and who have acquired a knowledge of their
habits.
John C. Cahoon (1888), a veteran gunner and collector, has described
various methods used on Cape Cod, as follows:
Stands are built on the meadows and marshes by cutting
bushes of about the proper height and sticking them in the
grass or mud so as to form a circle of convenient size for
one or more gunners. If bushes can not be found handily,
dry seaweed, grass, and other materials are sometimes used.
On the mud flats bunches of sedge grass afford concealment,
but the most successful method is to make a bar in the sand
flats and sink a box, or dig a pit in the sand. It requires
considerable labor to build and keep a bar in order, also
to sink a box. The bar is laid bare before any of the
surrounding flats, consequently the birds, finding no other
feeding place uncovered, fly to the bar. One other way in
which large numbers are sometimes taken is to find out
the locality on the high beaches where they roost during
high tide, and digging a hole in the sand for a place of
concealment. They usually come to the same spot to roost
each high tide and by examining the beach these places can
be easily found, by the numerous footprints in the sand.
The blind should be completed soon after the tide begins to
flow, as these birds leave the flats as soon as the tide
commences to cover them. For the young, or “pale bellies,”
all that is needed is a pit dug with the sand thrown out
around the top edge and a few decoys placed out the right
distance from the pit. For the old “black breasts” it is
necessary to have the top covered over with boards and
dry sand spread on them and have an opening in the sides
and front, to shoot from. It is best not to put out any
decoys, as the old birds will seldom alight to decoys on
the beaches, even if they are made to look very natural.
Most of my shooting has been done on the flats or beaches, from sedge
grass or seaweed blinds. On the inner side of Monomoy the water is
very shallow and at dead low tide the birds are away off, perhaps a
mile from shore, on the edge of the water. The flats near shore are
dotted with islands of sedge grass, where the gunner can easily conceal
himself in the tall grass, with the decoys set out on the open mud. As
the tide comes in rapidly over the shallows, preceded by an advancing
line of foam, the birds begin to move, flying up to the marshes or
beaches. A blind may be made on the inner side of the beach by digging
a deep hole in the sand and piling up seaweed around it. In either case
the blind must be in some well-established fly way between the feeding
grounds and the resting places and must be well enough made to offer
good concealment. The best shooting comes on the first part of the ebb
and the latter part of the flood tide. The gunner must keep out of
sight and be ever on the alert, for at any moment he may hear the wild,
ringing cry or see single birds or small flocks dash by at high speed.
They seldom alight to the decoys, though they often circle over them
and are usually much scattered.
I have often found it good sport to stalk “beetleheads” on the beaches,
where they rest at high tide. One kills very few birds in this way, as
the chances are all in favor of the bird. Young birds are less wary
than old blackbreasts and a few can sometimes be obtained by crawling
up back of a sand dune and shooting them as they jump. This involves
plenty of exercise, requires perseverance, and calls for quick work
with the gun, and the bird generally escapes. Walter H. Rich (1907) has
described this very well, as follows:
Yet let the gunner peep ever so carefully over the edge
of the bank where he lies hidden and each wary feeder
becomes at once a motionless statue. Had he not seen their
animation a moment before he might think he had come upon
a wooden congregation of decoys. While he is still they
make no movement, but let him stir, either for nearer
approach or to draw back from view that he may get a better
position, and the instant his head goes out of sight behind
the long salt grass the flock noiselessly takes wing with
easy, graceful flight, alighting some hundreds of yards
away to feed comfortably until the dangerous admirer, with
stealthy caution and much toilsome trudging through the
shifting sand dunes, once more approaches too near for
safety, when the same performance again takes place. It
makes little difference how the approach is managed, the
result is generally the same; the gunner peers cautiously
at the spot where a moment since the flock was busily
feeding, and seeing them not soon discovers them 200 yards
away, apparently just as ready to tease him as before.
_Winter._--These plover, no longer black bellied now, spend the winter
in the southern United States and from there southward to central
Brazil and Peru. They winter commonly as far north as South Carolina
and the southern half of California, less commonly in North Carolina,
and casually farther north. I have seen them in immense flocks on the
great mud flats among the Florida keys and we had them with us all
winter on the beaches and sandy islands about Tampa Bay. They showed
their sagacity by their confiding tameness on the protected bathing
beaches and by their extreme wildness on the outer islands, where it
was almost impossible to approach them within gunshot range.
The gray plover of the Eastern Hemisphere goes as far south in winter
as southern Africa, Madagascar, and Australia. Charles Barrett,
referring to Australia, says in his notes:
This species sometimes associates in large flocks, but more
often is seen singly, or in pairs, feeding on mud flats
and along the sea beaches. It is a wary bird. Arriving in
spring (September) or early summer in the southern portions
of the continent it becomes widely distributed, but seems
to restrict itself mainly to the seashore. However, it
does wander inland at times, having been recorded, for
example, from the midlands of Tasmania. It leaves Australia
apparently in March or April (autumn) on the northern
flight to its breeding haunts.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--Cosmopolitan.
_Breeding range._--The breeding range of the black-bellied plover
in North America is confined to the Arctic coast north to Alaska
(Wainwright, Point Barrow, Colville River delta, Barter Island,
Collinson Point, and probably Demarcation Point); northern Mackenzie
(Cape Bathurst and probably Cape Kellett); Victoria Land (Taylor
Island); and Franklin (Fury Point and Melville Peninsula), East to
Franklin (Melville Peninsula); possibly Keewatin (Cape Fullerton); and
possibly Greenland (Sutherland Island). South to possibly Keewatin
(Cape Fullerton); Mackenzie (probably Bernard Harbor, Colville Hills,
and Franklin Bay); and Alaska (Hooper Bay). West to Alaska (Hooper Bay
and Wainwright).
In common with several other shore birds, nonbreeding specimens of this
species are frequently found during the summer months at points far
south of the breeding grounds. At this season they have been taken or
observed in Maine (Western Egg Rock); Massachusetts (Monomoy Island,
Marthas Vineyard, and Harvard); New York (Quogue, Freeport, Rockaway,
Long Beach, and Geneva); New Jersey (Tuckerton, Great Bay, and Absecon
Bay); Ohio (Bay Point); Virginia (Cobb Island and Cape Charles region);
South Carolina (Mount Pleasant, Magnolia Beach, and White Point Swash);
Florida (Fort De Soto, Amelia Island, Key West, Fernandina, and Daytona
Beach); Alabama (Dauphin Island); Louisiana (Breton Island); Texas
(Corpus Christi); Jamaica (Port Henderson); and the Galapagos Islands.
In the Palaearctic region it breeds from the eastern tundras of Arctic
Europe eastward throughout Arctic Asia to Kamchatka and on Kolguev and
the Siberian Islands.
_Winter range._--The American winter range extends north to Washington
(Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Dungeness Spit); Texas (Brownsville,
Corpus Christi, Rockport, and Matagorda); Louisiana (Breton Islands);
Alabama (Dauphin Island); and Virginia (Wallops Island). East to
Virginia (Wallops Island and Sandy Island); North Carolina (Pea Island
and Southport); South Carolina (Mount Pleasant and Port Royal); Georgia
(Darien, Cumberland, and St. Marys); Florida (Amelia Island, Fort
George, Seabreeze, Mosquito Inlet, Lake Okeechobee, Miami, and Upper
Matecumbe Key); the Bahama Islands (Abaco, Eleuthera, Watling, Acklin,
and Great Inagua); Haiti (Monte Christi); probably French Guiana
(Cayenne); and Brazil (Cajetuba and the Amazon region). South to Brazil
(Amazon region); and Peru (Callao). West to Peru (Callao, Chimbote,
and Tumbez); Ecuador (Bay of Santa Elena); the Galapagos Islands
(Albemarle); Colombia (Cartagena); probably Costa Rica (mouth of the
Martina River); probably Guatemala (Chiapam); Oaxaca (San Mateo);
Lower California (San Jose del Cabo, La Paz, and San Geronimo Island);
California (Coronado, Wilmington, Santa Cruz Island, Los Banos, San
Francisco, and mouth of Eel River); Oregon (Newport); and Washington
(Point Chehalis and Strait of Juan de Fuca).
Three specimens at Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in December, 1872,
constitute the only winter record for that region.
In the eastern hemisphere it winters from the coasts of southern Europe
and Asia to southern Africa, Madagascar, the Seychelles, and Australia.
_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival are: Pennsylvania,
Neville Island, April 26; New Jersey, Atlantic City, April 27, Cape
May, April 30, and Ocean City, May 5; New York, Montauk Point Light,
April 30, Great South Bay, May 1, and Long Beach, May 2; Rhode Island,
South Auburn, April 23, and Newport, May 9; Massachusetts, Cape Cod,
April 19, Monomoy Island, April 22, and Billingsgate, April 27; Nova
Scotia, Pictou, May 17; Missouri, Courtney, April 1, and Concordia,
April 19; Illinois, Hennepin, April 2, and Rantoul, April 16; Indiana,
Knox County, March 30; Ohio, Oberlin, April 24; Michigan, Forestville,
May 2; Ontario, Toronto, May 11, and Oshawa, May 14; Iowa, Keokuk,
April 22, Sioux City, May 8, and New Hampton, May 12; Wisconsin,
Racine, April 14, and Leeds Center, April 17; Minnesota, Heron Lake,
April 21, and Hutchinson, May 7; Nebraska, Vesta, April 21, and
Lincoln, May 10; South Dakota, Pitrodie, May 1, and Vermilion, May 3;
North Dakota, Rice Lake, May 5, Bathgate, May 9, and Harrisburg, May
10; Manitoba, Margaret, May 5, and Whitewater, May 20; Saskatchewan,
Wiseton, May 4, and Indian Head, May 9; Mackenzie, Fort Resolution,
June 2; Colorado, Denver, May 11, and Loveland, May 14; Utah, Provo,
May 11; Alberta, Camrose, May 1, Sturgeon River, May 12, Tofield, May
19, Veteran, May 22, and Fort Chipewyan, May 23; British Columbia,
Comox, April 23, and Courtenay, April 24; Yukon, Dawson, May 20; and
Alaska, Kuiu Island, May 3, Fort Kenai, May 6, Hooper Bay, May 9, and
mouth of the Yukon River, May 12.
Last dates of spring departure are: Panama, mouth of the Rio Venado,
March 27; Bahama Islands, Andros, April 14; Green Cay, April 29, and
Nassau, April 28; Florida, St. Marks, May 8, New Smyrna, May 14,
Pensacola, May 16, Daytona Beach, May 24, and Cedar Keys, May 27;
Alabama, Dauphin Island, May 19; Georgia, Savannah, May 13; South
Carolina, Frogmore, May 17, and Hilton Head, May 24; North Carolina,
Cape Hatteras, May 20, and Churchs Island, May 30; Virginia, Cobb
Island, May 19, and Wallops Island, May 26; Maryland, Dulaneys Valley,
May 13; Pennsylvania, Erie, May 19; New Jersey, Cape May County, May
23, and Elizabeth, May 30; New York, Jamaica, May 26, Lake Canandaigua,
May 30, and Orient Point, May 30; Connecticut, Westport, May 28,
Fairfield, May 30, and Norwalk, June 1; Rhode Island, Block Island, May
29, and South Auburn, June 5; Massachusetts, Ipswich, May 30, Dennis,
June 2, and Cape Cod, June 6; Quebec, Godbout, June 9; Louisiana,
Mermerton, May 2; Missouri, Concordia, May 23; Kentucky, Bowling Green,
June 3; Illinois, Chicago, May 26, and Waukegan, May 27; Indiana,
Indianapolis, May 30; Ohio, Oberlin, May 22, Youngstown, May 23, and
Painesville, May 27; Michigan, Detroit, May 26, Jackson, May 28, and
Charity Island, June 1; Ontario, Bowmanville, May 25, Toronto, May
26, Kingston, May 30; Iowa, Emmetsburg, May 25, National, May 26, and
Sioux City, May 31; Wisconsin, Shiocton, May 27, and Madison, May 30;
Minnesota, Waseca, May 24, Hallock, May 26, and Heron Lake, June 2;
Texas, Point Isabel, June 2, and Corpus Christi, June 7; Oklahoma,
Norman, May 25; Kansas, Wichita County, May 22; Nebraska, Alda, May 21;
South Dakota, Vermilion, May 24, and Forestburg, June 1; North Dakota,
Jamestown, May 15, Towner County, May 25, and Jerusalem, June 1;
Manitoba, Margaret, May 31, and Shoal Lake, June 3; Saskatchewan, Hay
Lake, June 2, and Kutanajan Lake, June 10; Colorado, Denver, May 30;
Montana, Baker, May 23; Alberta, Flagstaff, June 1, and Fort Chipewyan,
June 8; Yucatan, Cozumel Island, April 18; Oaxaca, San Mateo del Mar,
May 15; Vera Cruz, Tampico, April 10; Lower California, San Geronimo
Island, April 14, and San Quentin, May 10; California, Alameda, May 21,
and Santa Barbara, May 26; Washington, “east side of mountains,” May
18; and British Columbia, Masset, June 16.
_Fall migration._--Early dates of fall arrival are: British Columbia,
Comox, July 5; Oregon, coastal region, July 26; California, Venice,
July 4; Alameda, July 22, and Santa Barbara, July 24; Alberta,
Alliance, August 3; Colorado, Denver, August 21, and Barr, August 31;
Saskatchewan, Kiddleston, July 7, and Last Mountain Lake, August 19;
Manitoba, Oak Lake, July 31, and Shoal Lake, August 8; North Dakota,
Grafton, August 23; South Dakota, Forestburg, August 11; Nebraska,
Lincoln, August 7; Texas, Rockport, August 12, Tivoli, August 15, and
San Angelo, August 31; Wisconsin, Lake Koshkonong, August 14; Iowa,
Burlington, August 13; Ontario, Toronto, July 23, Beamsville, August
2, and Hamilton, August 9; Michigan, Little Lake, July 24, Greenville,
August 10, and Charity Island, August 20; Ohio, Painesville, August
12, and Columbus, August 23; Indiana, Millers, August 8; Illinois,
La Grange, August 21, and Chicago, August 24; Quebec, Godbout, July
30, and Bras d’Or, August 5; Maine, Portland, July 31; Massachusetts,
Essex, July 18, Attleboro Falls, July 21, and Monomoy Island, July 7;
Rhode Island, Point Judith, July 12, and South Auburn, August 13; New
York, Quogue, July 1, Montauk Point Light, July 20, Orient, July 24,
and Shinnecock Bay, August 5; New Jersey, Great Bay, July 19, Stone
Harbor, July 22, and Cape May, July 27; Pennsylvania, Erie, August
1, and Whites Island, August 10; Maryland, Plum Point, August 10;
Virginia, Cobb Island, August 19; North Carolina, Charlotte Inlet, July
4, Cape Fear, July 7, and Carolina Beach, July 10; Georgia, Savannah,
August 12; Alabama, Dauphin, and Petit Bois Islands, August 21;
Florida, Key West, August 8, Daytona Beach, August 17, and Pensacola,
August 28; and Lesser Antilles, Barbados, August 22, and Grenada,
August 27.
Late dates of fall departure are: Alaska, Wainwright, September 13,
Taku River, September 26, Kenai River, October 7, and Craig, November
14; British Columbia, Okanagan Landing, September 28, and Chilliwack,
October 23; Alberta, Vermilion-Innisfrea, September 16, and Whitford
Lake, October 29; Montana, Priest Butte Lakes, September 4; Colorado,
Fort Collins, October 28, and Denver, November 13; Mackenzie, Great
Bear Lake, September 5, and Fort Simpson, September 17; Keewatin,
Swampy Lake, September 5; Manitoba, Oak Lake, October 31; North Dakota,
Grafton, October 27; South Dakota, Fort Sisseton, October 25, and Sioux
Falls, November 7; Nebraska, Lincoln, October 21; Kansas, Hamilton,
October 13, and Lawrence, October 29; Minnesota, Minneapolis, October
28; Wisconsin, Lake Mills, October 2; Iowa, Keokuk, October 28, and
Sioux City, November 3; Ontario, Point Pelee, October 18, Ottawa,
November 11, and Kingston, November 16; Michigan, Detroit, November 3,
Sault Ste. Marie, November 5, and Charity Island, November 21; Ohio,
Youngstown, November 11, Painesville, November 29; Illinois, Chicago,
November 3, and La Grange, November 6; Missouri, Independence, November
5, and Courtney, November 9; Franklin, Winter Island, August 17;
Nova Scotia, Pictou, October 11, and Wolfville, November 8; Quebec,
Montreal, November 1, and Tabusintoc, November 3; Massachusetts,
Monomoy Island, November 14, and Boston, November 29; Connecticut,
South Norwalk, November 7; New York, Orient, November 26, and Long
Beach, November 26; New Jersey, Sandy Hook, October 25, and Cape May
County, November 7; and Pennsylvania, Erie, November 10.
_Casual records._--Two specimens of the black-bellied plover were
obtained on Clipperton Island, November 19, 1901; Gundlach reported
taking two at San Juan Bay, Porto Rico, Stahl had two others, while
F. A. Potts saw one near Central Aguirre on September 9 and 10, 1921,
and a flock of six or seven noted on several occasions near Salinas,
during December, 1920; the species is of casual occurrence in Bermuda
(Mangrove Bay, September 5, 1848, Sand Hills, November 5, 1874, and
Warnick Camp, November 13, 1874); both Reinhardt and Hagerup record
them from Greenland; and one (possibly the European form) was obtained
in late October, at Kaalualu, Hawaii (Henshaw). Although seemingly
on the regular migration route, the only records for Arkansas are two
specimens taken at Fort Smith, September 19, 1892.
_Egg dates._--Bering Sea coast of Alaska: 24 records, May 27 to June
4; 16 records, May 29 and 30. Arctic coasts of Alaska and Canada: 26
records, June 10 to July 11; 13 records, June 28 to July 5.
PLUVIALIS APRICARIA ALTIFRONS (Brehm)
EUROPEAN GOLDEN PLOVER
_Contributed by Francis Charles Robert Jourdain_
HABITS
The claim of the golden plover of Europe to a place in the American
list rests on its occurrence not infrequently in Greenland. The latest
authority on Greenland birds, Mr. E. Lehn Schiöler, in his great work
_Danmarks Fugle_ (vol. 2), refers the Greenland birds to the northern
race of European golden plover, _Pluvialis apricarius altifrons_
(Brehm). It is now generally agreed that there are two races of this
species, and that the black breast is more strongly developed on the
northern form, while the southern race, _P. apricarius apricarius_
(Linnaeus) has only a marbling of black on the breast in spring. In
Greenland it has occurred both on the east and west sides, but has not
been proved to breed there though suspected of doing so.
_Spring._--In the British Isles the northern golden plovers are said
by Abel Chapman to arrive in Northumberland as early as mid February,
spreading over the lower ground and remaining in packs, while the
breeding birds arrive later and are soon distributed over the moors
in pairs. While the southern birds remain on the moorlands to breed,
the northern visitors pass on to their nesting grounds in the Faroes,
Iceland, and Scandinavia.
_Courtship._--Our information is, as might be expected, scanty, owing
to the inaccessible nature of its breeding ground and its retiring
habits. Abel Chapman (1889) describes the loud wild spring call, which
he renders as _tirr-pee-you_, and adds that after this has ceased
one hears only the well-known plaintive pipe of alarm and a peculiar
rippling song or warble which is wholly indescribable. This, he says,
is the joyous note of courtship and is analogous to the drumming of the
snipe, etc. A fuller description is that of Seton Gordon (1915) who
writes as follows:
During the season of courtship and indeed up to June is
heard the song of the golden plover and this song is one
of the most striking things in the habits of moorland
birds. Before commencing to sing the cock bird mounts
into the air to a height of at least 100 feet and flies
slowly, deliberately around the spot where his mate is
listening to him below, uttering as he flies a musical
whistling cry of two syllables sounding like _whee-wheeu_,
the last being long drawn out. His flight during this
time is quite distinctive, he no longer cleaves the air
with sharp and rapid wing beats, but moves his wings with
slow deliberate strokes, holding them V-shaped for an
instant between the beats. Should he cease his song--even
for a few moments--the normal flight is at once resumed.
His cry on these occasions carries over a great stretch
of moor, and I think can be heard at a greater distance
even than the vibrating notes of the curlew. After some
time, during which these long-drawn whistles are regularly
continued, the singer shoots earthward, uttering, just as
he is reaching the ground, a curious purring cry, repeated
rapidly five or six times. On paper the sounds resemble
_trooeu, trooeu, trooeu_. These descriptions apply strictly
to the southern race, but the habits of the two forms in
the breeding season are identical and the Icelandic birds
perform their song flights in the same way as the Scotch
birds. Hantzsch points out very justly that the golden
plover is not at all quarrelsome in disposition, and though
rival males may vie in song with one another they meet
frequently quite amicably and the natives have long noted
the toleration which the plover extends to the dunlin and
which has earned for the latter the name Loa-thraoll, or,
as our forefathers put it, Plover’s-page.
_Nesting._--There is no concealment about the nest; the vast expanses
of moorland or tundra are sufficient protection. Sometimes the nest
hollow may be found on a tiny hillock, sometimes in wiry grass or among
sparse or burnt heather. Such lining as there is is usually scanty and
consists of the materials at hand, leaves, bents, or a bit of heather
stem. Unoccupied scrapes may generally be found near at hand. Even
where the birds are plentiful, as in some parts of Iceland, the nests
are generally a considerable distance apart.
_Eggs._--Normally four in number, occasionally three only, especially
in late layings. Hantzsch (1905) records one instance of five in a
nest, and five have also been met with in the southern race. They are
pyriform and laid with the points meeting and are very beautiful. The
ground varies from a pale greenish blue to very rich and warm shades of
creamy brown, to almost orange, tinged brownish, heavily blotched with
irregular markings of deep chocolate or blackish. The measurements of
40 eggs from Iceland average 52.3 by 35.2 millimeters; the eggs showing
the four extremes measure =55.1= by 36.4, 51.6 by =38.3=, =49.2= by
33.8 and 52.3 by =33.2= millimeters.
Incubation is carried on by both sexes, as Alfred Taylor has watched
the male and female change places on the eggs. This explains the rather
contradictory accounts from various authors. H. H. Slater, Seebohm,
and R. Collett only shot males from the nest, while Saxby, Hantzsch,
and Heatherley only saw the female on the eggs. Miss F. Pitt only
noted the male on the eggs during the last week of incubation, but
flushed the hen once at an earlier period. Early estimates of 16 and
20 days as the incubation period are certainly erroneous. F. Heatherley
watched one nest for 24 days, but the eggs were probably laid some
days earlier and in an incubator one egg hatched on the 27th day (W.
Evans). Although such wary birds, it occasionally happens that a nest
is placed in a hollow of the ground from which no view of the country
is possible to the sitting bird. Riding at night suddenly up to a nest
of this kind in Iceland, we found the incubating bird did not stir from
the eggs while three men and ponies stood round, and it was not until
a hand was placed within 3 inches that the bird flew off. As a rule,
the melancholy piping note is the first intimation of the presence of a
breeding pair and shows that they are on the alert.
_Young._--The young leave the nest as soon as their down is dried and
are cared for by both sexes. They grow very fast, and Hantzsch states
that after 10 or 14 days they can flutter a little way, but the full
flying period is about 4 weeks.
_Plumages._--The plumages and molts are fully described in A Practical
Handbook of British Birds, edited by H. F. Witherby (1920).
_Food._--On its breeding grounds the food consists of insects, chiefly
Coleoptera (_Notiophilus_, _Agriotes_, _Sitones_, _Curculio_ and
larvae); Lepidoptera (_Agrotis_); larvae and imagines of Diptera,
Hymenoptera (_Formica_ and _Forficula_); also Mollusca (small
terrestrial species, snails and slugs); Aunclida (earthworms) and
Arachnida (spiders). On migration and in winter quarters it has been
recorded as eating marine mollusca (_Vitrina_, _Littorina_, _Rissoa_,
_Lacuna_, etc., and fry of _Mytilus edulis_), also small crustacea
(Isopoda) and seeds of various plants (_Glaux maritima_, _Carex_,
_Polygonum_, etc.), and berries of _Rhamnus_, _Vaccinium_, _Empetrum_,
etc.; also seaweeds (Algae).
_Behavior._--Outside the breeding season the golden plover is a
gregarious bird, nearly always to be met with in flocks of varying
sizes and often associating with flocks of lapwings and feeding
together. On the alarm being given, both species take to wing, but in
characteristically different ways. The golden plover rise together
and form a compact body, maneuvering together in any direction, while
the lapwings rise gradually in an unwieldy mass, which breaks up from
time to time and the component parts move in different directions.
The pointed wings and more rapid strokes of the golden plover also
contrast strongly with the slow, flappy, irregular flight of the
lapwing. When on migration the golden plovers often adopt a loose
V-shaped formation.
_Enemies._--The peregrine occasionally takes toll of the flocks in the
autumn and spring months, while the skua gulls, or jaegers, and in
some districts the hooded crows, destroy eggs or young. The fox, no
doubt, occasionally snaps up an isolated nest of eggs or young.
_Fall._--About the end of October or early in November the flocks of
northern golden plover arrive on the marshes of the east coast of
England, sometimes in enormous numbers, but their length of stay is
determined by weather conditions, to which they are very susceptible,
showing extreme restlessness before the approach of stormy or windy
weather and leaving the district altogether in hard winters.
_Winter._--Many birds winter on the coast of the British Isles unless
the weather is severe, feeding chiefly on small marine mollusca but, as
a rule, avoid the mud flats, which are the favorite resort of the grey
plover (_Squatarola_), except occasionally in very dry weather, feeding
chiefly on the pasture lands and in the wheat fields in the daytime and
leaving at dark for the higher ground.
DISTRIBUTION
_Breeding range._--The northern race breeds in Iceland, the Faroes,
probably a pair or two on Bear Island, northern Scandinavia, Finland,
and North Russia and Siberia to the Yenisei. The southern race breeds
in the mountainous parts of the British Isles, southern Scandinavia,
Denmark, sparingly in Belgium, Holland, and North Germany, and in
Russia south to the Perm Government.
_Winter range._--It is not possible to separate the winter ranges of
the two forms at present, but golden plover migrate across Europe to
the Mediterranean and north Africa, occasionally visiting the Atlantic
isles, and are said to have occurred in the Gabun on the west and
Somaliland and Lama in East Africa; in Asia its limits are Aden,
Baluchistan, and Sind.
_Spring migration._--At the Straits of Gibraltar the northern migrants
pass in February and March (late date March 6, L. H. Irby), but on
the Portuguese coast W. C. Tait states that they leave at the end of
February. In the eastern Mediterranean the passage is noted at Cyprus
in early March. At Heligoland Gätke says they arrive during May and
early June on their way to Scandinavia, but the Icelandic flocks arrive
about mid-April as a rule.
_Fall migration._--On the southward migration Gätke records the arrival
of the birds of the year as early as July, but adds that the old birds
only begin to arrive toward the end of October. On the west side of
the Mediterranean Tait records the arrival of the earliest birds in
October, but the main passage in November; and Farier also notes the
passage at Tangier in October and November; while on the eastern side
they reach Cyprus about the beginning of November.
_Casual records._--Fischer recorded a pair on Jan Mayen on June 29,
1883, and it has occurred on the Azores, but is only a rare straggler,
Madeira (recorded by Harcourt and also by Schmitz on January 13, 1896)
and the Canaries, where Bannerman describes it as a rare visitor
(records scanty and indefinite).
In Africa records from the Cape (J. Verreaux), Lamu, East Africa
(Layard), and the Gabun (Du Chaillu) require substantiation. It is
also stated to have occurred in Somaliland, but the normal winter
quarters lie north of these localities. In Asia it has been shot at
Gwadar, Baluchistan, in January, 1872, by W. T. Blanford, and one
was obtained by Brooks near Schwan on January 27, 1878, as well as a
second at Karachi on January 7, 1919, by Captain Hanna. The only other
Indian record is one obtained by Reid at Lucknow. In Greenland (several
records).
_Egg dates._--Iceland: May 21 to June 1 (5 dates); June 2 to 29 (18
dates). North Norway, June 10 to 20 (5 dates). North Russia and
Siberia, June 10 to July 1 (10 dates). Most eggs of the southern race
are laid in the British Isles from May 10 onward, but exceptionally
eggs have been met with from April 16 to the end of that month, and in
Friesland eggs have been taken on April 19.
PLUVIALIS DOMINICA DOMINICA (Müller)
AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER
HABITS
The golden plover is not only one of our most beautiful shore birds in
its brilliant spring plumage, but its wonderful migration excites our
admiration and the comparison of its former abundance with its present
scarcity furnishes a striking picture of the ruthless slaughter that
has squandered our previous wealth of wild life. A few quotations will
serve to illustrate the enormous flights of golden plover that swarmed
over both American continents during the past century. Robert B.
Roosevelt (1884) thus refers to a flock he saw near Montauk Point, Long
Island, many years ago:
A gentle hollow spreads before us for several acres
literally covered with the ranks of the much-desired, the
matchless golden plover. As they stand in serried legions,
the white mark on their heads gives a strange checkered
weirdness to the phalanx; and we involuntarily pause,
spellbound by the novelty of the spectacle. Our host
himself, though an old hand, owns that he has never before
gazed on such a sight. There they stand, with heads erect
and bodies motionless, just out of gunshot. Their number
is computed by our companion to be not less than 3,000,
closely packed, and apparently awaiting our onset. Warily
crawling to within 70 yards, we halt as we see unmistakable
evidences of uneasiness and suspicion among the crowded
ranks. They stoop, they run, they rise with “a sounding
roar,” to which the united report of our four barrels
savagely responds. Away, away with headlong speed scatters
and dissolves that multitudinous host, and we hasten to
secure our spoils.
Writing of conditions in Argentina about the middle of the last
century, W. H. Hudson (1922) writes:
The golden plover was then one of the abundant species.
After its arrival in September, the plains in the
neighborhood of my home were peopled with immense flocks of
this bird. Sometimes in hot summers the streams and marshes
would mostly dry up, and the aquatic-bird population,
the plover included, would shift their quarters to other
districts. During one of these droughty seasons, when my
age was 9, there was a marshy ground 2 miles from my home
where a few small pools of water still remained, and to
this spot the golden plover would resort every day at noon.
They would appear in flocks from all quarters, flying to it
like starlings in England coming in to some great roosting
center on a winter evening. I would then mount my pony
and gallop off joyfully to witness the spectacle. Long
before coming in sight of them the noise of their voices
would be audible, growing louder as I drew near. Coming to
the ground, I would pull up my horse and sit gazing with
astonishment and delight at the spectacle of that immense
multitude of birds, covering an area of 2 or 3 acres,
looking less like a vast flock than a floor of birds, in
color a rich deep brown, in strong contrast to the pale
gray of the dried-up ground all round them. A living,
moving floor and a sounding one as well, and the sound,
too, was amazing. It was like the sea, but unlike it in
character since it was not deep; it was more like the wind
blowing, let us say, on thousands of tight-drawn wires of
varying thicknesses, vibrating them to shrill sound, a mass
and tangle of 10,000 sounds. But it is indescribable and
unimaginable.
Edward H. Forbush (1912) tells of two men who killed plover enough
to fill a tip car two-thirds full in one day, during a big storm on
Nantucket in the forties. Again he speaks of a great flight which
occurred there on August 29, 1863, “when golden plover and Eskimo
curlew landed on the island in such numbers as to almost darken the
sun. Between seven and eight thousand of these birds were killed on
the island and on Tuckernuck.” He says that from 1860 on the species
began to decrease, due to the demand created by the failing supply of
passenger pigeons, and that in 1890 alone two Boston firms received
from the West 40 barrels closely packed with curlew and plover, with 25
dozen curlew and 60 dozen plover to the barrel.
By the end of the last century this species had about reached its
lowest ebb; it had become scarce where it once abounded; no more big
flights occurred; and in many places it was rarely seen. But protective
measures came in time to save it from extermination; the stopping of
the sale of game and the removal of this species from the game-bird
list were badly needed. Since the last move was made the species has
shown some signs of recovery. Edwin Beaupre (1917) says that “after an
absence of almost 15 years, the golden plover has apparently resumed
its migratory visits to eastern Ontario.” Prof. William Rowan (1923)
says:
This year has been an exceptional golden-plover year. At
the place referred to above, somewhere over a thousand
birds were seen on the 20th of May alone, in moving flocks
varying in number from 30 individuals to several hundreds.
This was evidently not unique; for about the same time I
got a report from quite another part of the Province that
this species was unusually abundant, while from yet another
quarter I got a very good description of the bird in a
letter with a request that I name it for the inquirer, a
careful bird observer. Her comment was that she had never
seen the species before, but that it was, at the time of
writing, present on the plowed fields in enormous numbers.
And John T. Nichols tells me that “of recent years there has been a
distinct increase” on Long Island. If shooting conditions in its winter
home could be controlled, its future would be assured.
_Spring._--From its winter home on the pampas of Argentina and Uruguay
the golden plover starts early on its long northward migration. Dr.
Alexander Wetmore (1926) noted that--
The northward migration began with a flock of nine seen
January 23, 1921, at a little fresh-water pool on the beach
near La Paloma, Uruguay; when flushed these passed on to
the west. Single individuals were seen near San Vicente,
Uruguay, in flight toward the northwest on January 24 and
30. At Lazcano, Uruguay, birds in passage north were seen
in early morning on February 7 and 8, and one was recorded
February 18 at Rio Negro, Uruguay. On March 8 at Guamini,
Buenos Aires, 15 came in at dusk to roost on a little mud
bar in company with Hudsonian godwits. The migration seemed
almost at an end then, as later I saw only four at Tunuyan,
Mendoza, on March 23; and on April 5 only a few were heard
calling with other shore birds in flight northward over
Tucuman, Tucuman.
The exact route followed through the interior of South America is not
definitely known, but it is not known to migrate along either coast of
that continent. Austin H. Clark (1905) has advanced the theory that
it prefers to fly with a beam wind and that it selects the route over
which the prevailing winds will produce this condition. He suggests the
following as the probable route:
In returning the birds would first go north (across the
prevailing westerlies) until in the vicinity of Buenos
Aires and the country just to the west of it, where they
would encounter northeasterly winds, which would turn them
inland, up the valley of the La Plata and along the plains
to the east of the Andes, the course gradually becoming
more northerly, and then northeasterly in the area covered
by the southeast trades. They would reach the Amazon
Valley in its western half, and then under the guidance of
the northeast trades fly northwest toward the Isthmus of
Panama and Central America. The course from here would be
northwest across the trades to Texas and the Mississippi
Valley. The birds follow up this valley northward and then,
on reaching Canada, fly northwest across the prevailing
southwesterly and westerly winds to their breeding grounds
in western Arctic America.
Another theory advanced by Prof. Wells W. Cooke (1912), into which the
facts seem to fit equally well, is that--
Birds follow that route between the winter and summer
homes that is the shortest and at the same time furnishes
an abundant food supply. The plover seeks the shortest
treeless route overland, and alighting on the coast of
Texas travels leisurely over the Mississippi Valley
prairies, which are abundantly supplied with food, to the
plains of the Saskatchewan, and thence to the Arctic coast.
Not until Texas is reached can the movements of the golden
plover be definitely traced, and at no place between Peru
and Texas has it ever been recorded as common. In fact, the
records as they stand are what they should be if the plover
escapes the forested regions of northern South America and
Central America by a single flight of from 2,000 to 2,500
miles from the valleys of eastern Peru to the treeless
prairies of Texas.
The golden plover is practically unknown west of the Rocky Mountains in
the spring; it has always been a rare straggler on the Atlantic coast
at this season; and even as far east as Ohio it rarely occurs. Its main
route is through the prairie regions west of the Mississippi River. I
have seen what was probably the last of the migration, during the first
week of May, along the coastal prairies of Texas, and have watched
the late spring flight in Saskatchewan during the last week in May;
probably I missed the heaviest part of the flight in both cases. On May
26 to 28, 1917, while driving about Quill Lake, Saskatchewan, I had a
good chance to observe a considerable flight of these beautiful birds,
all apparently in full spring plumage. The flocks appeared from the
southward during the early forenoon, flying swiftly in ever-changing
formations, rising to a height of 30 or 40 feet and then sweeping low
close to the ground. They all seemed to follow the same course over the
burnt-over prairies and the freshly plowed and harrowed lands near the
shore of the lake. Occasionally a flock would stop and scatter about to
feed; their black bellies and golden-spangled backs were surprisingly
inconspicuous on the black ground and among the yellow stubble. They
were very shy and restless, constantly on the move, and if followed
up too closely they were on the wing again and soon disappeared over
the northern horizon. It was almost impossible to approach them on
foot when they were on the ground, though a flock would occasionally
fly by within gunshot. One that I shot on the ground was 75 paces
away, measured distance. Some of the flocks were accompanied by a few
buff-breasted sandpipers.
Professor Rowan (1926) says that in Alberta:
The arrival of this species at our lake is precipitate,
for there may be none to-day and hundreds to-morrow. The
flocks would appear to arrive by night, for they are there
at daybreak, when one usually takes the first walk around.
They are not birds of the shore line in the spring, but
like the buff-breasted sandpiper, they seem nevertheless
chiefly to frequent country adjacent to some large lake.
This, together with their mode of arrival, in considerable
flocks and evidently at night, suggests that they have
traveled a considerable distance from their last stopping
place. They stay with us some days and then go in the
manner in which they came, _en masse_. We have no records
earlier than May 8 when the birds may first be expected,
but the main contingent arrives nearer the 16th or 17th,
while by the 23d or 24th they have usually all gone. Their
period with us is therefore brief as compared with the
majority of shore birds.
The remainder of the journey is quickly completed, for, at Point
Barrow, John Murdoch (1885) says:
They are among the earlier waders to arrive, as stragglers
generally appear about the 20th to the 25th of May, before
there is much bare ground. In 1882 a small party in full
breeding plumage, and apparently all males, arrived May 21,
but no more arrived until June 11. The tundra was at this
time bare only along the edge of the beach, and the ice and
snow was not yet gone from the lagoons. This party remained
in nearly the same place for a couple of weeks, feeding on
small red worms which they found in marshy spots, and all
but two of them were taken, although they were very wild.
Along through the first and second week in June they
continued to arrive in small parties, and from that time on
are quite plenty scattered in pairs and threes all over the
tundra. They are very wild and difficult to approach, and
very noisy. In addition to their ordinary well-known call
note, they have in the breeding season, a loud but very
melodious cry of _tud’ling!_ many times repeated, uttered
as the bird flies along rather high, with long slow strokes
of the wings.
_Nesting._--Roderick MacFarlane was very successful in finding nests
of golden plover in the Anderson River region and other parts of the
Arctic barren grounds. He sent a large number of eggs to Washington
and I find in his notes references to over 120 nests, on which some
data were given, mostly very brief. He says that “golden plover were
in great abundance in the barren grounds, as well as along the Arctic
coast. They seldom or never nested in the wooded country, though a
few specimens were found on the open plains or commons, which occur
on the borders of that tract.” Some of the nests on the Arctic coast
were “near the beach” or even “within a few yards of the sea water.”
The nests were evidently mere hollows in the open tundra, lined with
dead leaves; there were no attempts at concealment, but the protective
coloring of the eggs made them very difficult to find. He says that
“when a nest of this plover is approached the female invariably gets
off it at a quick pace, between a run and a walk, which it continues
at short intervals until the intruder be attracted to a distance
therefrom, when it flies away. The male generally joins its mate in
this.” On a few occasions, when surprised, the bird fluttered away
for a short distance, but soon began to run as usual. Often the bird
left the nest when the men were 100 yards away from it. Once when
they had hunted in vain for an hour and a half, they retired and
watched. “After a few minutes she came on at a cautious run, stopping
frequently and making occasional excursions in different directions,”
and finally settled on the eggs. They found that several of the party
had repeatedly passed quite close to, and one had nearly trodden on the
eggs. Watching the bird return to the nest, which she generally does
within a few minutes, seems to be the best way of finding a nest.
Of the nests found near Point Barrow, Mr. Murdoch (1885) says:
The nest is exceedingly hard to find, although it is not
concealed at all, but is simply a depression in the bare
black clayey tundra lined with a little dry moss. The only
vegetation on this part of the tundra is white and grayish
moss, which harmonizes so extraordinarily with the peculiar
blotching of the eggs that it is almost impossible to see
them unless one knows exactly where to look. A favorite
nesting site is on the high banks of the gullies or small
streams. No nests were ever found in the grass or in swampy
ground.
W. Sprague Brooks (1915) found only one nest near Demarcation Point,
Alaska, of which he says:
I found this nest on June 25 with three eggs about
one-quarter incubated. The male was on the nest. It took
several days to find the nest, for the bird would leave
when I was a long way off and begin running about and
feeding as though it had nothing else to do. By placing
a lump of tundra each day where I first saw the bird I
eventually found her nest, a mere depression in some
greenish moss which, with scattered bits of brown dead
vegetation, harmonized extraordinarily with the eggs.
When the bird saw that its nest was finally discovered it
showed great distress and ran toward me until about 20
paces distant, where it stood tottering as if about to
fall, with one wing raised over its back. In a short time
the bird, with tail down and a wing dragging, would walk
slowly from me. As I never followed, the bird would return
and totter a while, repeating the same performance several
times until secured for the proper identification of the
eggs.
_Eggs._--The golden plover’s normal set is of four eggs, but MacFarlane
collected many sets of three and one of five. These are quite uniformly
ovate pyriform in shape and have only a slight gloss. The ground colors
vary from “cinnamon buff” or “light pinkish cinnamon” to “light buff,”
“cartridge buff,” or “cream color,” hence more buffy or less olivaceous
or grayish than in eggs of the black-bellied plover. They are boldly
and profusely marked, more or less irregularly, with large and small
spots and irregular blotches of very dark browns or black, “Vandyke
brown,” “clove brown,” and brownish black. Sometimes there are a few
underlying small spots of “drab gray.” The measurements of 143 eggs in
the United States National Museum average 47.5 by 32.5 millimeters; the
eggs showing the four extremes measure =56= by 31, 50 by =34.5=, =42=
by 34, and 46 by =30= millimeters. Both sexes incubate. The period of
incubation for the European species is said to be 27 days.
_Plumages._--In the downy young golden plover the forehead, crown,
back, wings, rump, and thighs are mottled with bright “wax yellow” and
black, the yellow being mainly at the tips of the down. A broad patch
under the eye, extending back to the ears, and the chin, are white; a
spot in front of the eye and an indistinct band above it, the hind neck
and the throat are yellowish white, the hind neck being mottled with
black; a broad band from the lores to the nape is pale yellow, mottled
with black. The remaining under parts are grayish white.
In fresh juvenal plumage, on the breeding grounds, the crown and all
the upper parts are brownish black, the feathers tipped or heavily
notched with bright yellow, “light cadmium” to “buff-yellow,” brightest
on the rump; the wing coverts are pale sepia, notched paler yellow
or white; the breast is pale drab, barred, spotted or notched with
pale dusky and dull yellow, “mustard yellow” to “Naples yellow”;
the belly is white, partially barred with pale dusky; and the tail
feathers are sepia, indistinctly barred with darker sepia and tipped
with dull yellow. By the time that young birds reach us on migration
in September, the bright yellows of the upper parts have faded
considerably, and the duller yellow on the breast has disappeared
entirely. This plumage is not molted until after the birds leave us;
late in the fall, November or later, a partial molt of the body plumage
produces the first winter plumage, which can be distinguished from
the adult only by the juvenal tail and some retained scapulars and
tertials. What happens the next spring we have not the material to
show. Most of the birds that we see here in the spring are in fully
adult nuptial plumage, but I have seen quite a number of birds, some
taken on their breeding grounds, that showed, more or less, old, worn,
winter plumage; these may be young birds in their first nuptial plumage.
The postnuptial molt of adults begins with the body molt in August,
the new pale drab and whitish feathers of the winter plumage appearing
first in the black under parts; this molt continues through September
while the birds are migrating. But the primaries are not molted until
winter, November to February. In winter the plumage of the under parts
is very pale drab, shading off to almost pure white on the chin and
belly; the adult tail is irregularly barred with dusky and grayish
or yellowish white; the feathers of the mantle are brownish black,
narrowly edged with yellow, not notched or spotted as in spring. The
prenuptial molt of the body plumage begins in March and lasts until
May in some individuals; many old winter feathers are often found in
breeding birds, especially in the wing coverts, scapulars, tertials
and back. The beautiful nuptial plumage is too well known to need
description here.
_Food._--The favorite feeding grounds of the golden plover are rolling
pasture lands where the grass is short or scanty, prairies, plains,
plowed lands and occasionally open sand or mud flats. Its food consists
almost entirely of insects, chiefly Orthoptera which abound in the
pasture lands. It is said to feed mainly on grasshoppers, but George
H. Mackay (1891), who is very familiar with it, says that he has never
seen it eat any, though he has watched it through a strong glass near
at hand. He says:
I have also examined the stomachs of a good many which
I have shot on Nantucket, and have never found any
grasshoppers in them, nor in fact anything but crickets
(which seem their principal food there), grass seeds, a
little vegetable matter, like seaweed, coarse sand, and
small stones. I have also frequently shot them with the
vent stained purple, probably from the berries of the
_Empetrum nigrum_.
They must find abundant food in the north, for they are always very
fat when they arrive here. The large numbers of grasshoppers, locusts,
crickets, and other insects that they destroy make them very beneficial
birds to the farmers of the west, where they also do much good by
eating the grubs, cutworms, and wireworms on freshly plowed lands,
their favorite resorts in spring. On the shores and open flats they
find some small mollusks and crustaceans. The crops of two which Lucien
M. Turner collected in northern Ungava were filled with ripening
berries of _Empetrum nigrum_ and remains of spiders. Hantzsch found
them eating beetles and caterpillars on Baffin Island.
_Behavior._--The flight of the golden plover is exceedingly swift,
strong and protracted, as it must be to make such wonderful migrations.
Over the prairies the flocks sweep along in compact and ever changing
formations, skimming close to the ground at times and then rising high
in the air, frequently whistling as they go. William Brewster (1925)
has described their flight, as seen at Umbagog Lake, Maine, as follows:
They habitually flew faster than any of the other waders
and perhaps more swiftly than any of the ducks except
the hooded merganser. Their long, pointed wings, lifting
high and cutting deep at each stroke, beat rapidly and
ceaselessly, yet so easily and smoothly as to indicate
comparatively slight muscular effort. If they happened
to pass near at hand or overhead their flight was likely
to impress one as having not only exceeding speed but
irresistible momentum, also as of solid projectiles,
hurtling through the air. Seen at a distance they appear
to be moving more slowly and looked not unlike passenger
pigeons.
When preparing to alight the flocks often perform extensive evolutions,
circling and turning, as they sweep about over the ground, as if
selecting a satisfactory landing place. When a suitable spot is chosen,
they all alight in a compact bunch, raising their wings high above
their backs before folding them, and soon scatter over the ground to
feed. When on the ground they are very active, running rapidly and
gracefully, stopping suddenly to look around, with head held high, and
then striking quickly at some morsel of food. Mr. Mackay (1891) says:
When scattered over considerable ground, as is usual after
they have been any length of time on their feeding ground,
every bird apparently on its own hook, if alarmed, a
note is sounded; they then rise so as to meet as soon as
possible at a common center, which gained, away they go in
a compact body. During the middle of the day they are fond
of seeking the margins of ponds, where they sit quietly
for a long time, if undisturbed. When disturbed they are
almost certain to return, in a short time, to the same spot
from which they have been started, that is, if they have
been resting or feeding there any length of time. When
suspicious, it is very difficult to approach, decoy, or
call them; if not harassed, they are as a rule quite tame
and gentle, and can be easily driven up to with horse and
wagon.
_Voice._--John T. Nichols says in his notes:
The flight note of the golden plover in migration is a
far-reaching _que-e-e-a_, with a quaver in the middle and
falling at the end. Though with a thrilling plover quality
it at the same time has an affinity to the killdeer’s
cry, being less mellow and whistled than the note of the
blackbelly, which it also suggests, reversed.
Mr. Mackay (1891) says that when these birds are approaching decoys
every bird seems to be whistling “a note like _coodle, coodle,
coodle_.” Mr. Forbush (1912) calls its note “a plaintive _too-lee-e_,”
or “a bright whistle, _queep-quee-lee-leep_.” Others have given
different renderings of some of the above notes.
_Field marks._--The bird with which the golden plover is most likely to
be confused is the black-bellied plover, but the golden is a smaller,
more slender, bird, with a generally darker appearance. When seen in
flight the tone of the tail is very dark and the axillars, under the
wings, are grey, whereas in the black-bellied the tail is decidedly
whitish and the axillars are very conspicuously black in all plumages;
furthermore the black-bellied has a conspicuous light wing bar, which
is lacking in the golden. The notes of the two are quite different.
When in hand the golden is seen to have no hind toe. Mr. Nichols
suggests that the golden has a swifter, more buoyant flight, suggestive
of the killdeer.
_Fall._--Mr. Murdoch (1885) refers to the beginning of the migration as
follows:
The nesting season continues till the first or middle
of July, about which time the adults begin to collect
in flocks, feeding together around the ponds on the
higher tundra, associated sometimes with a few knots or a
struggling curlew. The old birds leave for the south about
the end of July, and no more plovers are to be seen until
about the middle of August, when the young, who heretofore
have been keeping out of sight, scattered over the tundra,
gather into flocks, and for several days are quite plenty
on the dryer hills and banks, after which they depart.
Stragglers may be seen up to the end of August.
The main trend of the fall migration is southeastwards, mainly west and
south of Hudson Bay, but perhaps across it also, to the Atlantic coast,
mostly north of New England. In favorable weather the flight is over
the ocean from Nova Scotia to South America over, or to the eastward
of, Bermuda, and the Lesser Antilles. Mr. Clark (1905) figures out that
this is the course they would take, if they flew with a beam wind,
across the prevailing winds. Of their course after landing in British
Guiana, he says:
From this point their course is not accurately known;
but if we apply this theory, they would follow down the
northeastern tributaries of the Amazons until they came
within the influence of the southeast trades, which would
carry them southwest, over central Amazonia toward Peru and
Bolivia. Somewhat northwest of the Matto Grosso region, the
birds would come under the influence of the easterly winds
on the southern border of the trades, which would turn them
south, and gradually (as they became more northeasterly)
southeast, which would bring the plover into the prairie
region of the Argentine. Here the prevailing westerlies
of the pampas region would be felt, and the birds would,
under their influence, continue down the eastern part of
Patagonia toward Tierra del Fuego.
To add strength to his theory he says that there are specimens in the
British Museum from Mount Roraima and the Maroni River, Surinam, and
from Peru taken in September and October.
Some birds on the fall migration wander as far north and east as Baffin
Island and northeastern Labrador. Lucien M. Turner refers in his notes
to several adults which he saw and two which he collected, near the
mouth of the Koksoak River, between July 24 and August 19, 1882; and I
have a specimen in my collection taken near Hopedale, Labrador, a young
bird. Hantzsch found this plover breeding on Baffin Island.
Edwin Beaupre (1917) writes:
In September, 1906, a great flight of plover passed over
the city of Kingston, which is located on the extreme
eastern end of Lake Ontario. The flight was first noticed
about 8 o’clock in the evening, and to one familiar with
the soft, sweet piping of the golden plover, there was no
difficulty whatever in recognizing the bird. A record of
the flight showed that eight flocks passed over the city,
flying very low, at intervals of about 10 minutes. Toward
midnight it was impossible to enumerate the flocks, the
flight being continuous. This must have been the main
migration for that year, and it continued until 4 o’clock
in the morning, covering eight hours. Allowing a speed of
25 miles an hour--a conservative estimate--the distance
between the leading flocks and the rear guard must have
been approximately 200 miles. What a sublime spectacle
this would have been had one the privilege of seeing it in
the open light of day! The vanguard of this great aerial
aggregation must have reached almost to the Atlantic
seaboard, while the rear flocks were trailing their
wonderful way over the eastern waters of Lake Ontario. They
no doubt began their ocean journey some miles south of
the coast of Nova Scotia, but not far enough to seriously
affect their regular route to Argentina, in which country
they escape the hardship of a Canadian winter.
The above quotation and the fact that William Brewster (1925) recorded
the golden plover as visiting the Umbagog Lake region in Maine
“regularly and rather plentifully not so many years ago,” suggests the
idea that some of the birds we used to see in New England came by an
overland route. However, our big flights were probably birds that came
in from the sea under stress of bad weather, either before or during
easterly storms accompanied by heavy rains or thick fog. According to
Mr. Mackay’s (1891) records, covering a period of 32 years from 1858 to
1890, the last week in August seems to be the best time to look for a
flight, though he says “it is unusual to see any but scattering birds
before the 10th of September.” My earliest record for adult birds is
August 9; practically all the birds which come in August are adults.
The young birds come in September; my latest date is October 7. The
appearance of either adults or young on our coast has always been very
uncertain and irregular, dependent on the necessary weather conditions
coming at the proper time.
Mr. Mackay (1891) says:
While I have continually shot the young birds on Nantucket,
and in other parts of Massachusetts, their arrival is a
much more uncertain event than that of the older birds,
there being some years when I have seen none, and others
only a few. I have never known a year when they were
anything like as numerous as I have seen the older birds.
During some years large flocks of golden plover pass over the Bermudas
in September and October, according to Capt. Savile G. Reid (1884),
“but, unless in stormy weather, they do not alight in any great
numbers. Numbers appeared in September, 1874, frequenting the grassy
slopes of the north shore--their favorite haunt--and even the parade
grounds, during the continuance of a three day’s revolving gale.”
Col. H. W. Feilden (1889) writing of conditions in Barbados, the
easternmost of the West Indies, says:
Stragglers arrive as early as July and the beginning of
August, but the main flights come with the first heavy
weather after the 27th of August, and long experience and
observation proves that this date is kept year after year
with wonderful accuracy. The course of all the migratory
Charadriidae across Barbados in the autumn is from the
northwest to southeast, and if the wind blows from
southeast the birds are brought down to the island, for it
appears to be a tolerably well established observation that
birds prefer migrating with a “beam” wind. A shift of wind
from the northeast, with squally weather to the southeast,
is ardently longed for by the Barbados sportsmen toward the
end of August, as this forces the migratory hosts to alight
instead of passing over at a great height, as they are
seen to do when the wind is from the northeast. The first
arrivals of this species are invariably black-breasted
birds, showing that the old birds precede the young, and
the first comers are nearly all males. The young birds
without black on the breast appear about the 12th of
September, and continue to pass till the end of October,
sometimes stragglers are as late as November. Even in the
most favorable seasons, only a fraction of the immense
flights that pass over the island ever alight.
Much has been written about the Atlantic flight of the golden plover
and remarkably little has been said about the southward flight in the
interior, but such a flight occurs regularly, though in much smaller
numbers. Professor Rowan (1926) says that in Alberta:
We have notes of hundreds going south in a single day in
mid September, when the main movements occur annually.
An interesting feature of the fall migration of golden
plover is that it consists entirely of young birds. The
earliest record we have is August 18 and the next August
24. These are rather early, September being the chief
month of arrival. The fall movements are protracted, and
we may have small flocks with us till toward the end of
October. Another feature of the autumn migration is a
change of habit. The birds, while often noted on pasture
(particularly if in large flocks) more usually frequent the
muds and behave like the majority of other waders. They
associate freely and habitually with other species. They
behave like the strays of the spring. Being birds of the
year there is no doubt in their case that they are sexually
undeveloped.
We have a single record of an adult bird in the fall
collected by Harrold on August 22. It was noted the
previous day, but not secured, and proved to be a female
well advanced in its moult. There is one other reliable
autumn record for an adult golden plover from the Province,
seen at Sullivan Lake in July by Mr. T. E. Randall. Until
we have spent the whole of July at our lake or some other
suitable observation station, it will be impossible to say
that adults never--except accidentally as strays--come
south through the Province, but all evidence available
indicates that they do not do so.
I can not wholly agree with Professor Rowan’s evident belief that all
the birds that migrate through the interior are young birds and that
very few young birds take the Atlantic route. However, the dates given
by numerous observers in the Mississippi Valley and in Texas would seem
to indicate that they were nearly all referable to young birds, as they
are generally late dates. The main migration route for both adults and
young is evidently the Atlantic route; the species is comparatively
rare in the interior, south of Canada. It is still rarer on its
southward migration along the Pacific coast; the dates are mostly late,
probably for young birds; D. E. Brown has sent me two records from
Washington. October 7, 1917, Gray’s Harbor County, and November 14,
1915, Clallam County. Apparently most of the adults take the Atlantic
route; the young birds are spread out over the whole country, but are
much more inclined to the eastern route.
_Game._--The golden plover has been a famous game bird. It was a most
desirable table bird, as it was usually very fat and its flesh had a
delicious flavor on account of its clean, upland feeding habits. The
uncertainty of its appearance and its enormous numbers at favorable
times made its pursuit most interesting. During the years of its
abundance it was slaughtered in almost incredible numbers. Audubon
(1840) writes:
While at New Orleans, on the 16th of March, 1821, I was
invited by some French gunners to accompany them to the
neighborhood of Lake St. John to witness the passage of
thousands of these birds, which were coming from the
northeast and continuing their course. At the first
appearance of the birds early in the morning, the gunners
had assembled in parties of from 20 to 50 at different
places, where they knew from experience that the plovers
would pass. There stationed, at nearly equal distances from
each other, they were sitting on the ground. When a flock
approached, every individual whistled in imitation of the
plover’s call note, on which the birds descended, wheeled,
and, passing within 40 or 50 yards, ran the gauntlet,
as it were. Every gun went off in succession, and with
such effect that I several times saw a flock of a hundred
or more reduced to a miserable remnant of five or six
individuals. The game was brought up after each volley by
the dogs, while their masters were charging their pieces
anew. This sport was continued all day, and at sunset, when
I left one of these lines of gunners, they seemed as intent
on killing more as they were when I arrived. A man near the
place where I was seated had killed 63 dozens. I calculated
the number in the field at 200, and supposing each to have
shot 20 dozen, 48,000 golden plovers would have fallen that
day.
John C. Cahoon (1888) describes a method of shooting golden plover
employed by old gunners on Cape Cod, as follows:
Several weeks before the time for the flights to occur,
they go to an old field or pasture that they know the birds
usually come into and burn off the old grass and bushes
for quite a space. Then a hole is dug large enough for one
or two persons to sit in comfortably, with only the top of
their heads above the surface. In a few weeks the grass
springs up and the green patch is easily distinguished from
its duller surroundings by the plover flying about, and
they are sure to come to this place. The gunner, with his
decoys out, sits in his pit with only the top of his head
out, which is covered with a green cap. A flock, before
alighting to the decoys, will usually circle about several
times, often flying directly over the gunner’s head only a
few yards away. An experienced gunner will not shoot when
they are so near and scattered, as he could kill but one or
two, but will wait for them to bunch at the right distance,
which they are sure to do while turning, and seize that
opportunity to fire, killing many at one shot.
Mr. Mackay (1891) says: “They are extremely gregarious, and I have had
the same flock return to my decoys as many as four times after some of
their number had been shot each time.” This remark probably refers to
adult birds, which come readily to decoys or in response to skillful
whistling; I have seen a single bird whistled up from so far away
that it was hardly visible. Professor Rowan (1926) says that he has
“found it practically impossible to whistle them within gun range.” He
probably refers to young birds, of which Mr. Mackay (1891) writes:
These young birds invariably appear wild and wary, much
more so than the old ones. They are also very erratic in
their movements and flight when with us. They usually will
not pay so much attention to the decoys or call whistle as
do the old birds; and I have seen them, when very shy and
after being disturbed, mount up into the air and nearly
turn over on their backs while flying with great velocity.
It is a noteworthy fact that when a flock of these young
birds is approaching no dependence can be placed on their
movements. They may sometimes sweep down within a few yards
of the sportsman, passing with great rapidity over his
head, all scattered; or down close to the stand and then
up into the air; or they may turn suddenly. My experience
has taught me not to wait, as is my custom with the older
birds, to get them together before shooting, but fire at
them whenever and wherever I can if they are within range.
The older birds rarely indulge in any similar antics.
During the days of spring shooting in the west golden plover were often
shot, without decoys, by making a blind or selecting some natural
hiding place within their regular fly ways, which were generally quite
well established and known. It was always difficult to stalk them on
foot, but where there were no fences they could be stalked successfully
by a hunter on horseback or in a wagon.
_Winter._--The golden plover arrive in their winter home early in
September, or rarely late in August, where they remain until February
or March. W. H. Hudson (1920) writing of the days when these birds were
plentiful, says:
The American golden plover is abundant and well known to
every one by its native name, _Chorlo_, throughout southern
Argentina. Its wild, clear notes are first heard about
the last week in August, and among the first comers many
individuals are seen still wearing the nuptial dress.
After their long journey from the Arctic regions they are
lean and not worth shooting; two months later they become
excessively fat, and are then much appreciated by gourmets.
But although so regular in their arrival, they do not
regularly visit the same localities every season; the bird
may be abundant in a place one year and scarce or absent
altogether the next. During the spring, from September to
December, they prefer open plains with short grass and in
the neighborhood of wet or marshy ground; at the end of
December, when the giant thistle (_Carduus mariana_), which
often covers large areas of country, has been burnt up
by the sun and blown to the ground, they scatter about a
great deal in flocks of from one to four or five hundred.
At noon, however, they all resort to a lagoon or marshy
place containing water, congregating day after day in
such numbers that they blacken the ground over an area of
several acres in extent, and at a distance of a quarter of
a mile the din of their united voices resembles the roar
of a cataract. As population increases on the pampas these
stupendous gatherings are becoming more and more rare.
Twenty-five years ago it was an exceptional thing for a
man to possess a gun, or to use one when he had it; and if
Chorlos were wanted a gaucho boy with a string a yard long
with a ball of lead attached to each end could knock down
as many as he liked. I have killed them in this way myself,
also with the bola perdida--a ball at the end of a long
string thrown at random into a cloud of birds.
Doctor Wetmore (1926) saw golden plover on migration in Paraguay
during September; they “came to the open shores of lagoons with other
sandpipers, but were more often seen in flocks of 30 or 40 scattered
over open savannas where the grass was not too long.” He saw them also
in Argentina during November and December, where they seemed “to be
restricted during the resting period to the better watered grass-grown
eastern pampa.”
Again (1927) he says:
The golden plover in the south has been most common on
open plains, but ranges to some extent on the mud flats of
the coast. It is in this last area that the species may
be expected to survive as the pampas become more closely
occupied by man. These birds are hunted extensively and
so many have been killed both in the north and south that
their numbers have been greatly reduced. Though recorded
in its nesting range as only fairly common at best, the
region where the golden plover is found at this season is
extensive, so that the number of birds in existence is
still considerable. Careful watch should be kept on its
abundance.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--North and South America, accidental in Europe.
_Breeding range._--The breeding range of the American golden plover
has not been definitely separated from that of its western relative
(_Pluvialis d. fulva_). It has, however, been found that in Alaska
_fulva_ is more nearly confined to the northwestern coastal regions,
while _dominica_ is in the interior and on the northern coast.
The breeding range may be defined as extending north to Alaska (Point
Barrow, Collinson Point, and Demarcation Point); Baffin Island
(Kangianga, Tikerakdjuak, and Kangidli); and Franklin (Walker Bay, Bay
of Mercy, Winter Harbor, Wellington Channel, and probably Igloolik).
East to Baffin Island; Franklin (probably Igloolik and Winter Island);
and northeastern Keewatin (Whale Point). South to Keewatin (Whale
Point); Mackenzie (Casba River, Lac de Gras, Bernard Harbor, Rendezvous
Lake, Fort Anderson, and Fort McPherson); and Alaska (Gens de Large
Mountains, Beaver Mountains, and probably Nushagak). West to Alaska
(probably Nushagak and Point Barrow).
It also has been detected in summer in Greenland (Jacobshavn and
Godthaab), but there is no evidence of breeding in that region.
_Winter range._--The winter range of the American golden plover extends
north to rarely Chile (Arica); and rarely Brazil (Villa Maria, Matto
Grosso, and Rio de Janeiro). East to rarely Brazil (Rio de Janeiro
and Santa Catarina); Uruguay (Montevideo); and Argentina (La Plata,
Cape San Antonio, and Bahia Blanca). South to Argentina (Bahia Blanca,
Sierra de la Ventana, Carhue, and Mendoza). West to western Argentina
(Mendoza); and rarely Chile (Arica). On rare occasions individuals may
pass the winter season at more northern points as Nauta, Peru (Sharpe),
and Old Harbor, Costa Rica (Carriker). Winter occurrences at other
northern localities probably refer to crippled birds or erroneous
identifications.
_Migration._--The main migration route of the American golden plover is
of an elliptical nature. In late summer, after the breeding season, the
birds move southeast across northern Canada to the coasts of Labrador
and Nova Scotia, from which points they fly, apparently without
stopping, to the northeast coast of South America, passing thence
through the interior to the pampas region of Argentina. The northward
flight in spring is made farther west, through Central America, up the
Mississippi Valley to the prairie Provinces of Canada.
Individuals and small flocks are, of course, noted more or less
regularly in both spring and fall, both on the Atlantic coast and
in the interior, but the main route should be borne in mind when
considering the following dates of arrival and departure.
_Spring migration._--Early dates of arrival in the spring are: Porto
Rico, Mameyes, February 16; Bermuda, March 9, 1852 (only spring
record); New York, Long Island City, April 17, and Fair Haven Light,
May 3; Massachusetts, Revere, March 6, and Somerville, March 20; Nova
Scotia, Pictou, May 17; Quebec, Godbout, May 31; Franklin, Igloolik,
June 14; Louisiana, New Orleans, March 16, Avery Island, March 28;
and West Baton Rouge, April 2; Arkansas, Fayetteville, March 20;
Missouri, St. Louis, March 23, Kansas City, April 11, and Kings Lake,
April 12; Illinois, Mount Carmel, March 12, Lebanon, March 17, and
Chicago, March 22; Indiana, Terre Haute, March 22, Greencastle, March
28, and Muncie, March 30; Ohio, Sandusky, March 26, West Liberty,
April 2, and Columbus, April 4; Michigan, Pittsfield, April 20; Iowa,
Scranton, March 25, Newton, March 27, and Keokuk, April 14; Wisconsin,
Clinton, April 9, and Racine, April 14; Minnesota, Heron Lake, April
12, Waseca, April 21, and Wilder, April 24; Texas, Gainesville, March
7, Mont Belvieu, March 8, Boerne, March 9, and Indianola, March 15;
Oklahoma, Caddo, March 11; Kansas, Richmond, March 22, Lawrence, March
29, Manhattan, April 4, and Emporia, April 18; Nebraska, Kearney, April
8; South Dakota, Fort Sisseton, April 13, Huron, April 25, and White,
April 26; North Dakota, Larimore, May 2, and Grafton, May 3; Manitoba,
Aweme, April 23, Treesbank, May 1, Portage la Prairie, May 8, and
Margaret, May 8; Saskatchewan, Osler, May 8, and Indian Head, May 9;
Mackenzie, Fort Simpson, May 15, and Fort Resolution, May 23; Alberta,
Alliance, May 5, Mundare, May 12, Camrose, May 7, and Red Deer, May 9;
and Alaska, Beaver Mountains, April 29, Sitka, May 5, Flat, May 11,
Fort Reliance, May 13, Fairbanks, May 17, and Point Barrow, May 21.
Late dates of spring departure are: Argentina, Rio Negro, February 18,
Mendoza, March 23, and Tucuman, April 5; Guatemala, Duenas, April 12;
Louisiana, Avery Island, May 3, and Breton Island, May 13; Kentucky,
Crab Orchard, May 10; Missouri, Hunnewell, May 18, and Boonville, May
31; Illinois, Addison, May 10, Rantoul, May 12, and Chicago, May 17;
Indiana, Lebanon, May 23; and Michigan City, June 2; Ohio, Sandusky,
May 19, Bay Point, May 23, and Wauseon, May 27; Iowa, Gilbert Station,
May 16, Cedar Rapids, May 17, and Clear Lake, May 20; Wisconsin,
Racine, May 4, and Madison, May 30; Minnesota, Hallock, May 20, Wilder,
May 22, and Twin Valley, May 30; Texas, Corpus Christi, April 28,
Gainesville, May 12, and Point Isabel, May 15; Kansas, Manhattan, May
4, Paola, May 7, and Lawrence, May 8; Nebraska, Valentine, May 25;
South Dakota, Sioux Falls, May 23, White, May 25, and Harrison, May 27;
North Dakota, Devils Lake, May 23, Jerusalem, June 1, and Larimore,
June 7; Manitoba, Aweme, May 29, Margaret, June 3, and Shoal Lake, June
6; Saskatchewan, Indian Head, May 22, Winston, May 29, and Churchill
River, June 2; Colorado, Denver, May 17; Alberta, Mundare, May 26,
Sedgewick, May 30, and Fort Chipewyan, June 1; and British Columbia,
between Shusicap Falls and Mabel Lake, May 29 (only spring record).
_Fall migration._--Early dates of arrival in the fall are: British
Columbia, Graham Island, July 27, Sumas Lake, August 19, and
Chilliwack, August 26; Keewatin, Cape Eskimo, August 4; Manitoba,
Aweme, August 6, Shoal Lake, August 21, and Margaret, August 27; North
Dakota, Fort Berthold, September 16; South Dakota, White, September 12,
great bend of the Missouri River, September 18, and Harrison, September
20; Nebraska, Nebraska City, August 3, and Ames, August 22; Minnesota,
St. Vincent, August 29, and Hibbing, September 13; Ontario, Toronto,
August 25, and Brighton, August 28; Michigan, Houghton, September 5,
Charity Island, September 9, and Detroit, September 10; Ohio, Columbus,
August 23, New Bremen, September 1, Youngstown, September 2, and
Cleveland, September 8; Indiana, Waterloo, August 25, and Lebanon,
September 29; Illinois, Rantoul, August 6, Glen Ellyn, September 10,
and Chicago, September 13; Louisiana, mouth of Mermentau River, August
11; Mississippi, Bay St. Louis, September 26; Newfoundland, St. George
Bay, August 17; Quebec, Gaspe Peninsula, August 29, and Montreal,
August 31; Prince Edward Island, Malpeque, August 23; New Brunswick,
Scotch Lake, August 21; Nova Scotia, Sable Island, August 20; Maine,
Portland, August 12; Massachusetts, Ipswich, July 18, Plymouth,
August 7, Nantucket, August 12, Cape Cod, August 15, and Monomoy
Island, August 18; Rhode Island, Newport, August 12, and Kingston,
August 19; Connecticut, Bridgeport, August 14, and Guilford, August
27; Rhode Island, Point Judith, August 21; New York, Montauk Light
Station, August 9, Long Island City, August 12, Syracuse, August 22,
and Shinnecock Bay, August 29; New Jersey, Great Bay, July 19; Cuba,
Guantanamo, September 30; Lesser Antilles, Barbados, July 24, Grenada,
August 24, St. Croix, August 31, and Sombrero, September 2; British
Guiana, Auni, August 30; and Paraguay, Puerto Pinasco, September 6.
Specimens also have been detected at Bermuda as early as July 25
(Hamilton).
Late dates of departure in the autumn are: Alaska, Nome, September 14,
Baranof Island, September 18, Kenai River, October 7, and St. George
Island, October 18 (there is a strong possibility that all of these
Alaskan records refer to the Pacific form, _Pluvialis d. fulva_);
British Columbia, East Kootenay, October 13, Chilliwack, October 14,
and Comox, November 4; Alberta, Edmonton, September 23, delta of the
Athabaska River, October 10, and Beaverhill Lake, October 22; Montana,
Terry, September 23, and St. Marys Lake, October 1; Wyoming, Rock
Creek, October 25; Colorado, Newcastle, October 5; Mackenzie, Manito
Islands, September 14, Lower Slave River, September 29, and Fort Liard,
October 5; Saskatchewan, Indian Head, October 2, and Quill Lake,
October 11; Manitoba, Aweme, October 16; South Dakota, Fort Pierre,
October 21, and Fort Sisseton, October 26; Nebraska, Lincoln, November
14; Kansas, Emporia, October 22, and Lawrence, October 23; Minnesota,
Madison, October 22, St. Vincent, October 26, and Lanesboro, November
2; Iowa, Bronson, November 9, and Keokuk, November 9; Ontario, Toronto,
October 23, Brighton, November 3, and Ottawa, November 4; Michigan,
Gibraltar, October 12, Mainstee, October 17, and Detroit, November 4;
Ohio, New Bremen, October 23, Painesville, October 31, and Youngstown,
November 11; Indiana, English Lake, November 15; Illinois, Morgan Park,
October 28, Hinsdale, November 4, and Urbana, November 8; Arkansas,
Crocketts Bluff, October 22; Greenland, August 7; Franklin, Baffin
Bay, September 3; Quebec, Koksoak River, September 19, Kamouraska,
October 19, Montreal, November 8, and Quebec City, November 10; Nova
Scotia, Sable Island, October 22, and St. Marys Bay, October 23; Maine,
Lewiston, October 16, and Portland, November 15; Vermont, Wells River,
October 14; Massachusetts, Monomoy Island, October 13, Plymouth,
October 24, and Provincetown, November 19; Rhode Island, South Auburn,
October 12, and Newport, October 24; Connecticut, West Haven, October
25, and Hartford, October 24; New York, Ithaca, October 29, Rockaway,
October 30, Orient Point, November 5, and Auburn, November 8; Bahamas,
Cay Lobos, October 25; Porto Rico, Anegada Lagoon, November 4; West
Indies, Barbados, December 7; and Costa Rica, San Jose, December 15.
_Casual records._--South of New Jersey on the Atlantic coast, this
species has been recorded on a few occasions, among which are: District
of Columbia, Washington, one about 1860; Virginia, Smiths Island,
September 28, 1897, and Wallops Island, several occurrences between
August 12 and October 3 (Warren); North Carolina, several records in
spring between April 15 (Waterlily), and May 10 (Currituck), and in
fall between August 29 (Martins Point), and September 29 (Churchs
Island); South Carolina, Chester County, September 19, 1877, Christ
Church Parish, November 27, 1912, and Charleston, November 4, 1911, and
December, 1880; and Florida, Miakka, November 19, 1901, and December,
1900.
On the Pacific coast of the United States it is only casual:
Washington, several records in the fall between September 9 (Port
Townsend), and November 14 (Dungeness); Oregon, Netarts Bay, September
7, 1912; and California, Playa del Rey Lagoon, October 4, 1923, Santa
Cruz, October 22, 1888, and possible at Coronado, January 12–20, 1908
(Torrey). Suckley reported it from the vicinity of San Francisco,
and Kobbe from Menlo Park and Vallejo, but both of these records are
indefinite.
The American golden plover has been obtained a few times in Great
Britain, Essex, August, 1896, Perthshire, August, 1883, Leadenhall
Market, fall of 1882, and Mayo County, September, 1894; while a single
specimen was taken on Heligoland, December 20, 1847.
_Egg Dates._--Arctic coasts of Alaska and Canada: 176 records, June 1
to July 15; 88 records, June 25 to July 2.
PLUVIALIS DOMINICA FULVA (Gmelin)
PACIFIC GOLDEN PLOVER
HABITS
The Pacific golden plover is a smaller and more brightly colored
subspecies of the American golden plover. It breeds on the Arctic coast
of Siberia from the Yenesei River to Bering Strait and on the Bering
Sea coast of Alaska. On the coast of Alaska north of Bering Strait
it intergrades with the American form, and there is some evidence
that it intergrades or hybridizes with the European golden plover at
the western end of its range. It is known as the Asiatic or eastern
golden plover by European writers. It winters from India and China to
Australia, New Zealand, the Hawaiian Islands, and many other islands in
the southern Pacific Ocean.
_Spring._--This plover makes even more wonderful migratory flights than
its American relative, for between its winter and its summer homes it
travels twice each year over thousands of miles of trackless ocean;
many individuals may become lost or perish, but the majority of them
seem to find their way by some marvelous sense of direction. The reader
is referred to an excellent paper on the migration of this plover to
and from the Hawaiian Islands by Dr. Henry W. Henshaw (1910). Of the
spring migration he writes:
During the last two months of their stay in the Islands
both the migrating plover and turnstones get very fat,
and it is probable that individuals that are not in good
condition do not attempt the flight, or if they do do not
survive the attempt. Toward April most plover seem to be
in full breeding plumage, and I feel sure that none of the
birds assuming the breeding dress remain behind unless sick
or wounded. There is, however, a small contingent, both
of plover and turnstones, that summer in the islands, and
these appear to consist wholly of immature individuals,
which, as a rule, are thin and not in good trim.
When the time to migrate comes, small parties, from a dozen
or even less to flocks of 200 or more, strike boldly out
to the northward, apparently without hesitancy or doubt of
the result. Mr. Haswell, of Papaikou, which is on the coast
about 15 miles north of Hilo, soon after daybreak during
the early days of April, 1900, saw several flocks rise
to a great height and, after widely circling about a few
times as if to orient themselves, finally disappear in a
northerly direction.
It is probable, however, that day migration is not the rule
with plover and other shore birds. Apparently it is more
usual for the flocks to feed by day and leave just before
nightfall, as do many other birds in different parts of the
world. Mr. R. C. L. Perkins states that several times he
“witnessed these departures always late in the afternoon or
just before dark.”
How fast the birds fly or how long it takes them to make the 2,000
mile flight across the ocean to the Aleutian Islands, we do not know.
If they fly at the rate of 40 miles an hour without stopping, it would
take over two days. They probably can not sustain such a prolonged
effort without food. Practically all shore birds are known to alight on
and arise from the water at will; so the chances are that they stop to
rest on the way. They probably obtain some food from floating masses
of seaweed, from the refuse left by whales, or from the numerous forms
of minute animal life to be found on the surface. These birds have
frequently been seen migrating at sea hundreds of miles from land, and
one observer has actually seen one resting on the water. Evidence that
they do so is furnished by the fact that native gunners in Trinidad,
according to some notes sent to me by Julian Lyder, detect the newly
arrived birds by a salty taste on the feathers.
The plover leave the Hawaiian Islands during April and May. We have no
data as to when they reach the Aleutian Islands, but they arrive in the
Commander Islands about the middle of May, and the first arrivals were
noted at Nijni Kolymsk, Siberia, on May 30. On the Pribilof Islands
they have been known to arrive as early as April 18, but they usually
come about the first week in May. A. H. Twitchell tells me that he has
seen them at Bethel, Alaska, as early as May 8, and Herbert W. Brandt
says in his notes from Hooper Bay:
When the first small flocks of this noble Asiatic visitant
appeared on Point Dall on May 16 the receding snow seemed
to emphasize its golden splendor. It never became really
common like its larger relative, the black-bellied plover,
but numerous individuals and small bands were observed
which, however, proved to be transients, for they all
departed by early June. They usually associated with the
gaudily attired ruddy turnstone and the combined lavish
color effect of these two feathered gems was lovely indeed
to behold. The Eskimos claim that, when seal hunting off
Point Dall, they often encountered birds of the present
species flying shoreward, so perhaps many of these
long-flighted migrants moved directly from the western
section of the Aleutian Islands across Bering Sea to their
Alaskan summer homes.
_Nesting._--Mr. Brandt has sent me the following notes on the nesting
habits of this plover:
The breeding realm of the aristocratic golden plover in
the Hooper Bay region is confined to a narrow belt on
the mountain slopes well above brush line in the Askinuk
Range. Here at an altitude of from five to eight hundred
feet dwells a pair nearly every half mile, or about the
same relative distance apart that the black-bellied plover
families maintain between themselves on the tundra below.
The only nest of the Pacific golden plover to come under
my observation was found on June 27 at an altitude of 600
feet on the Bimute spur of the Askinuk Range. On this
upper mountain slope amid the scattered rocky outcrops
exists a grim Arctic flora of mosses and lichens which
in patches is mottled black and grayish white. On one of
these velvet-like spots a little top moss is removed by the
birds so as to make a slight depression in which the four
beautiful eggs are placed. The lining of the nest is simply
a few short unarranged stems of the reindeer moss that no
doubt grew on the site. The nesting cavity is 4 inches in
diameter and only half an inch in depth, thus making it
notable as perhaps the most meager of the limicoline abodes
we found. The parti-colored eggs and their environs blend
as one in coloration, so, even in that jaeger-ridden land,
they enjoy unusual protective security. The male bird alone
was present during my stay in the vicinity of his abiding
place and failed to exhibit either the extreme timidity or
the agitation so characteristic of the black-bellied plover.
Henry Seebohm (1901) gives the following account of finding a nest near
the banks of the Yenesei River in Siberia:
On the top of the bank I found myself on the real tundra.
Not a trace of a pine tree was visible, and the birches
rarely exceeded 12 inches in height. There was less grass,
more moss and lichen, and the ground was covered with
patches of yellow mud or clay, in which were a few small
stones, that were apparently too barren for even moss or
lichen to grow upon. The tundra was hilly, with lakes,
swamps, and bogs in the wide valleys and plains. As soon
as I reached the flat bogs I heard the plaintive cry of a
plover, and presently caught sight of two birds. The male
was very conspicuous, but all my attempts to follow the
female with my glass, in order to trace her to the nest,
proved ineffectual; she was too nearly the color of the
ground, and the herbage was too high. Feeling convinced
that I was within 30 paces of the nest, I shot the male,
and commenced a diligent search. The bird proved to be
the Asiatic golden plover, with gray axillaries, and I
determined to devote at least an hour looking for the nest.
By a wonderful piece of good fortune I found it, with four
eggs, in less than five minutes. It was merely a hollow in
the ground upon a piece of turfy land, overgrown with moss
and lichen, and was lined with broken stalks of reindeer
moss. The eggs more resembled those of the golden than
those of the grey plover, but were smaller than either.
Miss Maud D. Haviland (1915_a_) had considerable experience with this
plover on the Yenesei and took some excellent photographs of it; she
writes:
I first saw a few birds at Dudinka, where they were
probably on migration, and afterwards the species was
common all the way down to Golchika. Each pair occupied
perhaps 2 furlongs of tundra. I should think that every
acre of moss and lichen from the Yenesei to the Lena in
summer is thus parceled out. Your progress across the
tundra in July is heralded and attended by a chorus of
plaintive cries. Both birds meet you a quarter of a mile
from the nest and never leave you until you are at the
boundaries of their own territory, and they can safely hand
you over to their next neighbors for espionage. Covert, of
course, there is none--but it is needless to say more. The
suspiciousness and patience of the golden plover are the
same all the world over; and I will not dwell upon them to
those who themselves have no doubt walked vainly for half a
day about the bird’s breeding grounds in this country and
listened to its maddening but at the same time most musical
protests.
The first nest was found on July 4. It was a shallow
depression, lined with dry lichen haulms on a slope of the
tundra. The bird, which must, I think, either have been
deaf or else exceedingly stupid, did not move until I was
well over the hill and within 60 yards of her, when she
jumped up and feigned a broken wing.
_Eggs._--The eggs are similar to those of the American golden plover;
the ground colors average paler. In three sets they run from “light
buff” to “cream color”; Mr. Brandt’s eggs run from “ivory yellow” to
“vinaceous buff”; and in two eggs figured by Mr. Poynting (1895) the
ground colors are in shades of “olive buff.” Mr. Brandt says in his
notes:
The eggs of this bird are no doubt subject to much
variation for the two sets are very different. On one the
surface markings are distinct and elongated longitudinally
while on the other clutch large blotches almost cover the
larger end. These spots are brownish black to black where
the pigment is rich, but when occasionally it is thin, as
on a few outlying edges, it becomes brick red. Pursuant to
the usual rule with many of the boldly marked eggs of the
shore birds the underlying spots are few and ill defined.
These are in lavender tones from pale mouse gray to grayish
lavender.
The measurements of 34 eggs average 48 by 33.2 millimeters; the eggs
showing the four extremes measure =51.8= by 32.5, 48.5 by =34.9=,
=45.2= by 32.4, and 46.4 by =31.5= millimeters.
_Young._--The incubation period is probably the same as it is for the
European bird, 27 days; both sexes incubate the eggs and care for the
young. Thayer and Bangs (1914) write:
Mr. Koren watched the habits of the birds closely and found
that the males appear to do all the incubating in the early
stages, the female at that time never being near the nest.
Later on, when the eggs are nearly ready to hatch, she
appears again and takes her turn with the male. When the
young are hatched, both parent birds are always with them.
At Cape Chelakhskai, August 27, 1912, large flocks of young
birds were seen ready to migrate.
Miss Haviland (1915_a_) says:
As soon as the young ones were able to run alone, which,
roughly speaking, was about July 20, the birds left the
higher ground and began to collect into flocks in the
marshy places of the tundra. I am inclined to think that
the young birds must need to wash and drink a great deal,
as otherwise it is not easy to understand why all the
waders of the tundra should leave the nesting sites so
early and wander down to the sphagnum swamps. Some of the
Asiatic golden plover even crossed the mud hills and came
down to the banks of the river.
_Plumages._--The downy young Pacific golden plover is like the American
bird of the same age except that the yellow is rather brighter, about
“lemon chrome,” and decidedly more extensive; it predominates over the
black on the crown, back, and rump; there is very little white anywhere
except in the patch under the eye and on the chin, throat, and under
parts. Miss Haviland (1915_a_), however, says:
The white tract between the homogeneous mottling of the
crown and nape, and the successive black and yellow
bands which lie above and behind the eye, and which in
_C. apricarius_ is sometimes hardly discernible, is very
pronounced in _C. fulvus_ and has enlarged at the expense
of the colored bands below it. The nape and upper part of
the body are more spotted with white, and there is little
or no yellow on the cheek below the eye.
Subsequent plumages and molts are apparently similar to those of the
other golden plovers. Doctor Henshaw (1910) writes:
It is of interest to note that in fall this plover migrates
before it molts; in spring it molts before it migrates.
The first birds to reach the archipelago in August are,
as stated, adults, and while they are practically in full
breeding dress they begin to molt into the winter dress
almost at once. The molting season for the species is
long, and many individuals, doubtless birds of the year,
may be found the last of December still molting into the
fall and winter dress. By the middle of February numerous
individuals are already beginning to molt a second time
and to assume the distinctive nuptial plumage, which, in
the case of these early birds, is practically completed
during the month of March, though individuals continue to
moult far into April and some no doubt complete the final
stages in Alaska. Doubtless the individuals to molt first
in spring are the adults which arrive first, and finish
the fall molt first; and doubtless, too, these are the
birds first to leave Hawaii for their breeding grounds in
Alaska. So protracted is the molt of the species that it
is probably true that during the stay of this plover in
Hawaii--from middle August till May--there is not a month
when some individuals are not molting.
There is no reason for believing that the plover summering
in the islands which, as before stated, are chiefly if not
wholly immature birds, participate in the spring molt. At
all events the Hawaiian summer plover and turnstones that I
have seen were, without exception, in the winter garb.
_Food._--Lucien M. Turner (1886) says that, on their first arrival in
Alaska, the plover “feed principally on berries of the _Vaccinium_ and
_Empetrum_, as many of these berries do not dislodge until succeeding
growths push them off.” Others have noted the same habit in late summer
and early fall. Some observers on the Pribilof Islands have noted
that they frequent the killing grounds and feed extensively on the
blowfly maggots there. But Preble and McAtee (1923) say that in the two
stomachs that they examined “none of these larvæ were found, their food
contents consisting of beetles, 72.5 per cent; flies, 22.5 per cent;
Hymenoptera, 4 per cent; and seeds of crowberry (_Empetrum nigrum_), 1
per cent.”
Doctor Henshaw (1910) writes:
During its stay in the islands the plover, as also the
turnstone, feed chiefly in the upland pastures and
clearings, up to 6,000 or 7,000 feet, and on newly
plowed cane land. Both the sugar planter and the stock
raiser have much to thank the plover for, since, while
the birds feed on small seeds to some extent, they live
chiefly on insects, and according to Perkins, on insects
of much economic importance, since they depend largely
on the caterpillars of two of the most widely spread and
destructive of the island “cut worms.” These insects are
most abundant when the grass on the island pastures is
green and luxuriant, and this usually is in winter, when
rains are most copious.
_Behavior._--The general behavior of the Pacific golden plover is not
different from that of its commoner relatives. My personal acquaintance
with it was made on the high rolling tundra and the foothills back of
Nome, Alaska. Here we found it quite common during the middle of July,
where it was evidently breeding or had been breeding; and we collected
quite a series of adults, juvenals, and even downy young. As we walked
over the tundra, we frequently heard their rich, melodious, whistling
notes, or saw a richly colored adult, in full nuptial plumage, standing
like a sentinel on some little hummock or ridge. Occasionally one would
try to entice us away by running slowly through the hollows or by
fluttering along the ground as if injured; but eventually it would take
wing and circle back to where its young were probably hidden.
Mr. Brandt says in his notes:
The Pacific golden plover’s adroit movements in
approaching his nest, made to deceive the hostile eye,
were interesting, and well illustrate the tactics of the
members of the plover family found about Hooper Bay. He
would run rapidly without visible bodily effort, and then
stop abruptly and remain motionless, not even turning his
head. His course always lay across the little ridges, never
along them, and he would follow the slight depressions, but
usually came to a halt on a little eminence. When close to
me, in order to get a wider range of vision, he would raise
himself on the terminal joints of his toes and stretch up
his neck, all with a jerky motion, the whole reminding me
somewhat of the action of the burrowing owl. If agitated
he ran rapidly to and fro, uttering an occasional piping
note, but seldom taking wing.
_Voice._--John T. Nichols describes the notes of this plover very well
as follows:
I have met this western race of the golden plover only on
its breeding grounds (at Nome, Alaska) where its notes
are quite unlike the flight note of the eastern bird in
migration, though some have almost an identical quality
with that call. Running about on the ground, voicing noisy
protest at the invasion of its ground, it has two unlike
cries used interchangeably, _peep!_ etc.; _toodlee_,
etc.; the first plaintive, the second mellow. Other less
frequent notes are _tudleu_ and _tdlu-eep_ suggesting the
semipalmated plover. When the two members of a pair alight
together for a moment a note of greeting suggests in form
the whip-poor-will’s call, _piterweeu, piterweeu, piterwit_
or _peeperwip, peeperweeu, peeperwip_.
A different, striking note is associated with what seems
to be nuptial display. A bird circles at moderate height
waving widespread wings in slow, measured, tern-like
manner, meanwhile uttering a loud, long-drawn, sweet
_pee-er-wee_, and in a few minutes dives to the tundra
and alights. The form of this call is rather that of the
black-bellied plover though its tone is that of the golden.
Miss Haviland (1915_a_) describes similar notes and observes that,
“roughly speaking, the alarm note of the common golden plover is
monosyllabic; that of the Asiatic golden plover is dissyllabic; and
that of the gray plover is distinctly trisyllabic in character.”
_Fall._--The plover which breed in Alaska migrate over Bering Sea,
stopping on the Pribilof Islands; the first birds, probably adults,
come during August; the young birds come later, mainly in September and
October, with one very late date, November 5. The few available dates
for the Aleutian and Commander Islands are also late, September and
October, probably young birds. The first birds to reach the Hawaiian
Islands are adults in breeding plumage; they arrive about the middle or
latter part of August; and Doctor Henshaw (1910) says “that they are
invariably in good flesh and that some are very fat. Later arrivals,
however, no doubt young of the year, are comparatively poor in flesh
and require considerable time to fatten.” This flight to these islands
is a most remarkable feat, for, even granted that they can rest and
feed to some extent on the surface of the ocean, it still remains a
mystery how they can find this little group of islands in the middle
of such a vast expanse of ocean. Doctor Henshaw (1910) makes some
suggestions which throw some light on the subject; he says:
About September the wind that prevails in the North Pacific
immediately south of the Aleutians is from the northwest.
It is generally believed that migrating birds prefer to
fly on a beam wind. By heading southwest, birds migrating
to Hawaii might have the northwest abeam till about the
neighborhood of latitude 30° where they would be almost
sure to pick up the northeast trades. By then changing
their course to southeast they would be enabled to fly with
wind abeam till they sighted the islands. The Hawaiian
Archipelago with the chain of low islands and sand spits to
the northwest afford a reasonable chance for a successful
landfall, since unitedly they stretch away in a very thin
line for some 2,200 miles. Moreover the islands are close
enough together so that migrants high in air would not be
likely to miss them by passing between.
The birds which breed in Siberia are probably those that migrate
through Mongolia and Japan and spend the winter in India, Burma, the
Malay Archipelago, and Australia.
_Winter._--Maj. G. Ralph Meyer has sent me the following notes on this
plover in the Hawaiian Islands:
The plover are very plentiful and I see them passing over
every day. They usually arrive about the middle of August
and remain until the middle of March. Along about that
time of the year they seem to congregate on the flats on
the northeast end of the island and probably leave from
there on the long flight to Alaska. During the winter they
alternate between the plains of the high central plateau of
the island and the lowland on both sides of the island. On
the east side there is some low grassy land and they are
common there. On this side they frequent tide flats during
the low tides and then go up into the central plateau
during the high tides. They perhaps spend some of the time
in sheltered ponds on this side and wherever they can find
muddy flats on which to feed.
The call note when flying is usually a whistled _too-whee_,
easily imitated. They answer to the call note very readily
and we use this when hunting them. We use plover decoys,
placing them in the mud flats during high tide, and then at
the turning of the tide the birds come from the direction
of the mountains to feed. The decoys are placed on the
highest part of the flats, so that the birds will have no
other place to alight. We face the decoys up the wind, as
the birds usually face that way when they are feeding. As
they come near we call to them, merely imitating their
call. They will circle around and finally decoy very nicely
if they are not alarmed by any sudden movement. When
circling around decoys they make a sort of chuckling noise,
which I can not describe except as a chuckling whistle.
Occasionally a wandering tattler will decoy and very often
we get turnstones. On one occasion last year I saw a flock
of about 20 to 30 birds, apparently turnstones, flying in a
“V” or semicircle formation, and the leader was undoubtedly
a plover. The birds were a couple of hundred feet in the
air, so I could not be sure of the turnstones, but I was
sure of the plover. He was leading them, for they followed
him wherever he went. On a visit to Hawaii in July, 1916,
I found plover on the slopes of Mauna Loa, one of the high
mountains of the island. I have never seen them on this
island during the summer.
W. B. Alexander tells me that this plover is--
a common visitor to Australian coasts, especially in
summer, though some appear to be present at all seasons.
While in Australia this species is usually found in small
flocks and is partial to reedy swamps and the margins of
lakes, as well as to estuaries fringed with mangroves. In
fact, it evidently likes cover, though it may be met with
on the open sea beach.
In his notes from Australia, Charles Barrett says:
All parts of the Commonwealth receive their quota of golden
plover, and in the southern portions of the country the
birds are seen about the end of October (early summer).
The species is nowhere very plentiful (A. J. Campbell),
but I have seen it often, singly, or in small flocks, in
different localities, chiefly along the seashore and on
swampy land, seeking small shellfish, etc. Sometimes it
associates with the black-bellied plover (_Squatarola
squatarola_). In the Capricorn Group I met with it in fair
numbers on the Masthead Island beaches. Like other migrants
observed among the isles, the plover were fresh arrivals,
and each day their numbers increased. They were in poor
condition and seemed to be exhausted after their great
migratory flight. Some of the specimens taken by collectors
in our party still retained some of the breeding plumage;
in one example the breast was almost black.
In New South Wales I observed this species on the sand
spits at the sea entrance to Wallis Lake in October, 1921.
They were wary, but through field glasses we could see
them busily seeking for food. In my own State, Victoria,
specimens have been taken both in the summer and winter
plumage. The birds frequent open grass country, as well
as the seashore; in fact, they are more abundant often
in country of this class than elsewhere in a district.
Frequently, however, they are seen along river banks and on
sea beaches, feeding in company with other species.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--Alaska, Asia, Australia, and Oceania; casual in Europe and on
the Pacific coast of North America.
_Breeding range._--The Pacific golden plover breed mainly in Siberia
but, as mentioned under _Pluvialis d. dominica_, they range also to
western Alaska, where they apparently meet and intergrade with their
eastern relatives. The breeding range may be stated as extending north
to eastern Siberia (Yenisei River, Cape Chelyuskin, Liakhof Island,
Nijni Kolymsk, Cape Baranof, Chaun Bay, and Cape Serdze); and Alaska
(Wainwright). East to Alaska (Wainwright, probably Point Hope, probably
Cape Blossom, Cape Prince of Wales, Nome, St. Michael, and Igiak Bay).
South to Alaska (Igiak Bay); and Siberia (Bering Island, Kamchatka, and
the Yenisei River). West to western Siberia (Yenisei River).
_Winter range._--The winter range extends north to India, China, Japan,
and to Hawaiian Islands (Midway, Kauai, and Maui Islands). East to
the Hawaiian Islands (Maui), Polynesia, and New Zealand. South to New
Zealand and Tasmania. West to Tasmania, Australia, Melanesia, Java,
Borneo, and India.
_Migration._--The migration of the Pacific golden plover nesting in
Alaska, appears to be entirely oceanic, the flight in both directions
being without intermediate stops. Nonbreeding individuals frequently
remain all summer in the Hawaiian Islands and at other points in
Oceania.
_Spring migration._--Early dates of arrival are: China, Soochow, April
18, Shanghai, April 21, and Canton, April 30; Japan, Hakodate, May 7;
Siberia, Bering Island, May 15, and Nijni Kolymsk, May 30; and Alaska,
St. Michael, May 2, Bethel, May 8, Portage Bay, May 13, Hooper Bay, May
16, and Cape Prince of Wales, May 19.
_Fall migration._--Late dates of fall departure are: Alaska, mouth of
the Yukon River, October 12, St. Paul Island, October 25, and Attu
Island, October 31; and Siberia, Bering Island, October 28.
_Casual records._--This species has been reported as a casual from
Algeria, Malta, Italy, Spain, Heligoland, Poland, and the British
Isles (B. O. U.). In North America, specimens identified as this race,
have been collected in British Colombia, Comox, November 2, 3, and 4,
1903, and Masset, August 10, 1920; Washington, Kahlotus, December 19,
1924; Idaho, Lake Chatcolet, October 1, 1923; and Maine, Scarborough,
September 11, 1911.
_Egg Dates._--Bering Sea coast of Alaska: 15 records, May 23 to July 1;
8 records, June 11 to 27. Siberia: 5 records, June 30 to July 5.
OXYECHUS VOCIFERUS (Linnaeus)
KILLDEER
HABITS
_Contributed by Charles Wendell Townsend_
It may be said of the killdeer that it is probably the most widely
distributed and best known of all our shore birds. Unlike most of
the group, it is not confined to the borders of lakes and of the
sea but is found in meadows, pastures, and dry uplands often many
miles from water. Unlike, also, the majority of our shore birds,
its sojourn here is not limited to the migration periods, for it
breeds and winters throughout a large portion of the United States.
It is not of a retiring disposition, and it often makes its presence
known by loud calls and cries, to which it owes both its common and
scientific names--killdeer and _vociferus_. Its strikingly marked
and handsome plumage makes it very conspicuous when it is in motion,
as is nearly always the case. In all these respects it resembles the
European lapwing, a resemblance to which both Wilson and Audubon called
attention. Wilson (1832) says that “this restless and noisy bird is
known to almost every inhabitant of the United States.”
During the latter part of the last century and early in this
persecution by shooting brought down the numbers of the killdeer so
that in certain parts of the country where it formerly bred it became
extremely rare. Thus, Forbush (1925) says:
The killdeer was once a common breeding bird in New
England. Early in the present century it became so reduced
in numbers that it was believed to have been practically
exterminated as a breeding species. * * * Legislation
protecting it perpetually has resulted in a gradual
increase of the species which is now nesting locally but
not uncommonly in the coastal region and river valleys of
southern New England.
Other evidence of a similar nature is that of W. J. Brown (1916), who
says: “Ten years ago the killdeer was a rare summer resident in the
Province of Quebec. During the past five seasons the bird has become
very numerous and is now a common breeder.”
The killdeer is one of the most beneficial of birds; it is a delight
to the eye as it runs along the field or swiftly flies and skims the
ground, and its familiar calls are pleasing. Long may it flourish
unharmed by man!
_Spring._--The migration of the killdeer is not as marked as is that of
other shore birds whose winter station is far removed from the summer
breeding grounds, for it breeds in many places where it winters. As a
spring migrant it is one of the earliest of shore birds; indeed, there
are few land birds that precede it, coming generally in small scattered
flocks, which are augmented if the birds loiter on the way. Prof.
William Rowan writes of its migration at Edmonton, Alberta:
It is the first wader to come North in the spring and the
last to go South in the fall. It may arrive as early as the
middle of March and stay till the middle of November. These
are remarkable dates for a shore bird in this country,
since the lakes remain frozen as a rule till the end of
April and exceptionally right into May. Even the rivers may
remain solid till the middle of April.
Lynds Jones says that the killdeer, robin, and bluebird arrive about
the same time in Ohio. M. P. Skinner writes of the killdeer in the
Yellowstone Park that--
Usually this bird arrives on warm mornings, but on one
occasion they came on a morning when the thermometer
registered below zero, but a few hours later at 10 o’clock
there was a sudden change and the temperature shot up above
40° F.
The killdeers migrate by day and also by night, their calls proclaiming
them during the darkness.
_Courtship._--The most noticeable courtship performances of the
killdeer are those that take place in the air--the nuptial flight--but
those that occur on the ground, although less often seen, are also
spectacular.
Of the courtship in the air Dwight Isely (1912) says that in Kansas
“during the first month or six weeks after their arrival killdeers seem
to spend a large part of their time in courtship. The male will fly
back and forth over a field giving its cry sometimes for over an hour
without intermission.”
Arthur T. Wayne (1910) says of the bird near Charleston: “During very
cold weather the killdeer rises several hundred yards in the air,
hovering on almost motionless wings and uttering its far-reaching
notes. I have known a pair to remain in the heavens for fully an
hour during the coldest weather.” M. P. Skinner of the Yellowstone
Park writes: “Although the killdeer is not a song bird I have heard
some quite musical notes and even tuneful sequences from him. On the
4th of April one was heard singing while flying low in a circle over
the nesting ground, and the performance was strongly suggestive of a
nuptial flight song.”
S. F. Rathbun of Seattle has communicated the following interesting
account of his observations on the subject:
The evolutions were participated in by both birds of the
pair that I watched on several occasions, and, as my
knowledge goes, very early in spring prior to nesting. At
this time these birds were evidently mated. As they fed
about the margin of a small pond, one invariably following
the other, suddenly the bird In the lead would spring into
the air and mount upwards by a succession of wide, sweeping
spirals, with its mate in pursuit constantly uttering its
notes in a short and hurried manner. Higher and higher was
the flight, but restricted over the certain area of the
pond until both disappeared from one’s vision, although
the note continued to be faintly heard. As I continued to
watch, the birds’ cry ceased and down from the sky I first
noted a speck falling, then both came into plain sight, one
following the other, and then both alighted. This descent
was as quickly made as if the birds fell out of the ether.
After alighting the former actions were again indulged in,
and shortly after the high flight was again made. These
actions were repeated several times during my stay of over
two hours in the vicinity.
From these reports it is evident that the courtship flight is performed
in various ways, and, as Audubon (1840) says, “It skims quite low over
the ground, or plays at a great height in the air, particularly during
the love season, when you may see these birds performing all sorts of
evolutions on the wing.”
Of courtship display on the ground Theed Pearse (1924) writes:
On two occasions that I saw one getting up he ran a short
distance and then went through what looked like a sexual
display. Crouching on the ground and leaning toward one
side with wings lowered and then opening the tail in fan
shape over the back so that the cinnamon tail coverts
came conspicuously into view, at the same time uttering a
trilling note.
Aretas Saunders (1926) thus describes the display:
Two birds would crouch side by side but facing in opposite
directions. Then they would droop the tips of the wings
so that they exposed the ochraceous patch of the lower
back, spread the tail, and tip the breast forward, slowly
lifting the wing tips till they came way above the back,
but never covered it from view. All the while they kept up
a continual call, the long-trilled note _t-r-r-r-r-rrrrr_.
The displaying birds would often begin the performance or
end it with a little fighting.
Ira N. Gabrielson (1922) reports a case where--
the male had taken his station some distance from the
female and at intervals whirled rapidly about, uttering a
curious stuttering note as he did so. Every few seconds the
female advanced a few steps toward the male, but when he
stopped to observe the effect of this display she quickly
turned her back and appeared perfectly indifferent. This
was repeated several times until the female suddenly flew
away.
This behavior of the female is very characteristic and common in avian,
as well as in other courtship. In whirling about, the brown tail
coverts must show prominently and the “stuttering note” may be another
term for the “trilling note” used by other writers.
_Nesting._--The killdeer nests in the open, generally in a situation
that gives the bird on the nest an extended view. The nest may be
close to water--river, lake, or pond more often than the sea--but it
is generally in fields a few feet to several hundred yards or even a
mile or two from water. Pastures, meadows, cultivated fields, and bare
gravelly ground are favorite nesting places for this bird. Gravel roads
and the spaces between the ties of a railroad and even a graveled roof
have all been chosen by this bird for laying its eggs.
As a rule, the ground is slightly hollowed out for the eggs and a
few chips of stone, wood, or weed stalks are placed in and about the
hollow. Within narrow bounds there is considerable variation, and
I have here set down some of the numerous nests described. Ira N.
Gabrielson (1922) says:
In this region [Oregon] the favorite nesting place was
at the base of a hill of corn. As usual, little or no
attempt was made to build a nest--a few pebbles and bits of
corn husks being the usual type. This material is seldom
concentrated into a nest but is scattered over an area of 1
or more square feet, the eggs being deposited on the ground
at some point within this area. * * * A rather unusual
nest was found. It was placed in a small depression and
carefully lined with shredded corn husks.
Harold C. Bryant (1914) reports in Merced County, Calif.--
Another nest found May 15 was unique in the fact that it
was placed in a small grassy knoll surrounded by water, and
that the cavity was well lined with short stems of devil
grass.
J. M. Bates (1916) says of nests found in Nebraska:
The dirt is scooped out the size of my hand and is laid
with thin, flat scraps of magnesian sand shale averaging
an inch long. While a few dead stems lie with the stones,
there is no appearance of design in their presence.
Charles R. Stockard (1905) says of the killdeer in Mississippi:
The eggs are never hidden in the grass or weeds but are
placed in slight depressions on the bare ground or on
short grass turf. The saucerlike depression of a nest has
scattered in it bits of shells, small pebbles, short pieces
of weeds or sticks, and often small bits of crayfish armor.
This rubbish is never arranged so as to form a real nest,
since only a few bits of it are scattered in the depression.
M. P. Skinner writes as follows of this bird nesting in the Yellowstone
National Park:
All the nests I have found were on high, dry land, although
never more than two or three hundred yards from water,
while some were within 20 feet of it. One nest was in a
depression in the meadow grass, but not otherwise lined
or showing any construction. All the other nests were
on knolls or ridges, either on gravel soil or on gray
formation; they were in depressions varying from a shallow
saucer-shaped hollow to one that was 2 inches deep by 3
inches in diameter; and in each case the birds appear
to have taken possession of a previous hollow, although
possibly deepening and otherwise forming it to their
purpose. All nests were unlined, although one had a few
sprays of sage and phlox around the edge and another had a
few shreds of dried and bleached wood scattered about.
John G. Tyler (1913), writing of the nests in Fresno district,
California, says:
A typical nest throughout the cultivated sections is
composed of a handful of white pebbles about the size
of peas and very uniform in size, mixed with an equal
number of dry shells of melon seeds of the previous year.
Frequently a few dry, broken-up pieces of melon stems are
used also, the whole being spread out over a space the size
of a saucer, with the eggs resting in the center * * *. On
the summer-fallow fields only a few dry grass blades line
the place where the eggs rest, while around the ponds of
the west side, the eggs generally lie half covered in the
powdered alkali dust without a scrap of nest lining.
W. J. Brown (1916) speaks of finding many attempts at excavating nests
in the ground not far from the real nest. He suggests they may be decoy
nests. Mrs. Henry W. Nelson (1900) reports a case where the eggs were
laid in the bare gravel driveway and were moved by the gardener to
the edge of the turf out of the way of carriages. The bird continued
to incubate. W. Lee Chambers (1901) relates the case of a killdeer’s
nest between the ties on a used railroad track; F. W. Aldrich, of one
between double tracks of a well-used railroad, and notes of a similar
case to the latter have been sent by F. A. E. Starr.
Gayle Pickwell (1925) found near Lincoln, Nebr., the nest of a killdeer
in a rubbish heap of broken glass, old bottles, and other material with
which the dark mottled eggs harmonized so closely in color that they
were invisible until closely approached. In fact killdeers’ eggs are so
protectively colored for the usual surroundings that the instinct of
nest concealment by furtive abandonment is exhibited by the killdeer as
in the case of most shore birds.
The most unusual case of the nesting of the killdeer is that observed
by Mr. Pickwell (1925) in the same locality on the gently sloping
tarred and graveled roof of a race-track grandstand, some 50 feet above
the ground. The eggs were laid in a slight cup-shaped depression among
the crushed stones. Close observation showed that the relative position
of the eggs in the nest was changed daily between 10.30 a. m. and 3 p.
m., and it was not unusual to find them with their points away from
the center of the nest. The young were found on the ground near the
building while still but feeble walkers. In what manner the old ones
transferred them from the roof was not observed.
_Eggs._--[AUTHOR’S NOTE: The number of eggs in a set is almost always
four, but five and three have been found. Mr. Pickwell (1925) says the
roof-nesting killdeer “laid at least three clutches of eggs during the
season extending from early April to the last of June, and she may have
raised two broods.” The eggs are ovate pyriform in shape, usually quite
pointed, and they have no gloss. The ground colors vary from “light
buff” or “cream color” to “cartridge buff” or “ivory yellow.” They are
irregularly spotted, blotched, or scrawled, often quite boldly, with
blackish brown or black; some eggs have “sepia” blotches and some a
few underlying spots of “pale drab gray.” The measurements of 92 eggs
average 36.3 by 26.6 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes
measure =41.5= by 27, 39.5 by =28= and =33= by =25= millimeters.]
_Young._--The incubation period according to the observations of J. A.
Spurrell (1917) is from 24 to 25 days; according to Ira N. Gabrielson
(1922) it is 25 days. J. M. Bates (1916) found it to be 26 days and
Althea E. Sherman (1916) found that 28 days elapsed between the laying
of the last egg and hatching.
Both sexes incubate (F. L. Burns, 1915), and both take care of the
young. Robert B. Rockwell (1912) relates the following:
“Mr. [L. J.] Hersey was fortunate enough to see one set of eggs hatch.
He says the parent birds carried every bit of shell away from the nest
within two hours after the hatching.” As soon as the moisture has dried
from the down, the young are on their feet and leave the nest and the
parents often lead them to the nearest water. They bob and call at an
early age. Althea R. Sherman (1916) had watched a nest very closely
from the beginning, but she says of the young: “So protective was their
coloration, so adroit was parental management that they were not seen
after leaving the nest until they had attained the size of adult house
sparrows.” The young often escape notice by lying motionless on the
ground. At such times they may sometimes be picked up without showing
signs of life.
Both parents play the usual wounded-bird act to beguile the intruder
from the eggs or young. The following detailed account by Ira N.
Gabrielson (1922) is worth giving here:
It is impossible to approach the nest on foot without
alarming one or other of the birds, as one was always on
guard some distance away. At the appearance of a person
walking, the one on guard would fly in a circle about the
nest, giving the alarm, at the first note of which the one
on the nest ran rapidly until some distance away and then
took wing to join its mate in circling about the intruder.
A man ploughing corn was viewed with absolute indifference
by both birds, the team often passing down the row next
to the nest without disturbing the sitting bird. At an
alarm, however, both birds flew about the field unless
the intruder persisted in approaching the nest. In such
a case one of the birds dropped to the ground near the
person, invariably on the side away from the nest, and
fluttered about apparently in the greatest distress. The
attitude most frequently assumed was as follows: one wing
was held extended over the back, the other beat wildly in
the dust, the tail feathers were spread and the bird lay
flat on the ground, constantly giving a wild alarm note.
This performance continued until the observer came very
near when the bird would rise and run along the ground in a
normal manner or at most with one wing dragging slightly as
long as pursuit was continued. If the observer turned back
toward the nest, however, these actions were immediately
repeated. When the parents had succeeded in luring the
intruder about 100 yards, they seemed satisfied as they
then flew away.
M. P. Skinner found that when he scared one bird from the nest, the
mate was apt to steal around behind him and take its place on the nest.
He says that
In addition to their broken-wing tactics, both of the
killdeer at times would pretend to brood anywhere on the
foundation, evidently to lead me to think that that was
where their nest was. * * * On one occasion I found an
adult with one young about four days old. The youngster ran
under the old one and into its feathers; then the old bird
squatted down, covering it. Just then I saw the other bird
come running and exchange with the first parent, nestling
down over the youngster.
While the broken wing tactics are used by the birds for man, dogs,
and other predatory animals, in order to draw them away from the eggs
or young, quite different tactics are used for browsing animals that
might step on them. Thus Howard Lacey (1911) noticed that a flock of
driven goats divided. “I walked up to the place expecting to find a
rattlesnake, and found instead a killdeer standing over her eggs with
upspread wings and scolding vigorously.” Norman Criddle (1908) writes
“If the danger came from a cow or horse, the tactics were changed
and the birds with both wings and feathers spread out would run into
the animal’s face, and so by startling it drive the intruder away.”
This habit of scaring away a browsing animal probably accounts for
the following experiences related by M. P. Skinner. The change to the
broken-wing tactics appears to show great discernment and intelligence
on the part of the bird.
Twice when riding near two different unsuspected nests, the
birds got up with startled cries and faced me with their
tails spread horizontally and quivering, although I was on
horseback and towered high above them. After a few moments
they made off with pretended broken wings, limping, falling
down and fluttering.
Aretas A. Saunders (1926) observed a parent very zealous in the care of
its young:
This brood of young was accompanied by a parent. They
occupied a certain section of the shore of the pond, where
the young hid beneath the rushes when danger approached,
and ran over the mud flats at other times. The parent
remained near, and drove all other birds from the vicinity.
While shore birds and marsh birds were abundant all around
the Mill Pond, at this point they kept away because of the
parent killdeer. The parent was extremely belligerent, and
I watched it attack other killdeers, yellowlegs, spotted
sandpipers, soras, and song sparrows that happened to
wander in the vicinity. All birds seemed glad to leave the
vicinity.
_Plumages._--[AUTHOR’S NOTE: The most distinctive feature of the downy
young killdeer is the long, downy tail, black above and elsewhere
barred with “pinkish buff” and black, with long, hair-like, buffy down
below protruding beyond the rest of the tail; the forehead, chin,
throat, a ring around the neck and the under parts are pure white,
except for a tinge of pinkish buff in the center of the forehead; a
broad, black stripe above the forehead extends around the crown to
the occiput; a black stripe extends from the lores, below the eyes to
the occiput; there is a broad black stripe entirely around the neck,
below the white; the crown, auriculars, back and inner half of the
wings are grizzled “vinaceous buff” and dusky; there is a black space
in the center of the back and a black band across the wing between the
grizzled inner half and the white distal half.
The juvenal plumage is similar to that of the adult, but the head
markings are less distinct; the feathers of the nape are tipped with
“amber brown” and those of the back, scapulars, wing coverts and
tertials are more or less broadly tipped or edged with the same, more
broadly on the scapulars and wing coverts and more narrowly on the
upper back and tertials; the intermediate white band on the breast is
always more or less suffused with brownish.
The postjuvenal molt is apparently very limited and the first winter
plumage is largely the juvenal plumage modified by wear. It is much
like the adult except for the worn and faded edgings of the wing
coverts, and some of the scapulars and tertials and the tail, which
are retained. At the first prenuptial molt, which may take place from
February to June, the plumage becomes practically adult.
Adults have a complete postnuptial molt, mainly in August and
September, and a partial prenuptial molt of the body plumage in early
spring. Nuptial and winter plumages are practically alike.]
FOOD.--The killdeer is man’s friend. It consumes great quantities of
insect pests. The most complete study of its food by examination of
stomachs has been made by W. L. McAtee (1912) who sums up as follows:
“In all 97.72 per cent of the killdeer’s food is composed of
insects and other animal matter. The bird preys upon many of the
worst crop pests and is a valuable economic factor.” Of this
large proportion he finds that beetles constitute 37.06 per cent;
other insects--grasshoppers, caterpillars, ants, bugs, caddis
flies, dragon flies, and two-winged flies, 39.54 per cent; other
invertebrates--centipedes, spiders, ticks, oyster worms, earthworms,
snails, crabs, crawfish, and other crustaceans, 21.12 per cent. The
2.28 per cent of vegetable matter is chiefly made up of weed seeds such
as button weed, smart weed, foxtail grass, and nightshade. He found
that various kinds of weevils were eaten such as those of alfalfa,
cotton boll, clover, rice, white pine, etc. In a single stomach he
counted 41 alfalfa weevils.
Harold C. Bryant (1914_a_), during an outbreak of grasshoppers in
California, found that the contents of one stomach was 100 per
cent grasshoppers, and he estimated that each killdeer averaged 33
grasshoppers daily. Arthur H. Howell (1906) has found that the killdeer
is among the most important of the birds that eat the cotton-boll
weevil. Samuel Aughey (1878) found 258 locusts and 190 other insects
in the stomachs of nine birds taken in Nebraska. E. R. Kalmbach (1914)
found in the stomach of a killdeer taken in a western alfalfa field
316 weevils; in another 383. C. W. Nash (1909) has found the stomachs
of killdeers taken in orchards completely filled with weevils. E.
R. Kalmbach (1914) has also found May beetles both in adult and
grub form in the stomachs, wireworms, and insects that attack sugar
cane, corn, carrots, grape vine, sweet potato, tobacco, and sugar
beets. Caterpillars, he found to be a favorite article of diet, also
grasshoppers and crickets, crane flies and their larvae. One stomach
contained hundreds of larvae of the salt marsh mosquito. He adds:
The killdeer thus befriends man, but it does something also
for the domestic animals, not only by eating horseflies
and mosquitoes, as just mentioned, but also by preying on
ticks, including the American fever or cattle tick, which
has caused such enormous losses in some parts of the South.
Arthur T. Wayne (1910) says: “This species is very partial to fields
which are being ploughed, and at this time they are always very tame,
following each furrow as soon as it is turned over in order to secure
the worms which are exposed.” I have watched a killdeer in a ploughed
field swallowing a large earthworm. Several strenuous gulps were needed
before the act was accomplished.
_Behavior._--The interesting behavior of this bird during courtship and
in the care of the eggs and young has already been detailed under the
appropriate headings. In general it may be said that the killdeer has
the usual plover habits when feeding of alternately running and then of
standing still, as if to listen or look, always with head up, and of
dabbing suddenly at the ground for its food. Like some other species
of plover, it occasionally bobs or “teeters” in a nervous manner. This
varies from a slight bob of the head, which is first hitched up and
then brought down, to a bob combined with a tilting up and down of the
whole body on the hips. In swift running they excel, and this serves
them to good purpose in the pursuit of insects.
M. P. Skinner writes: “When they get out on bare ground their speed
is really astonishing. I have had them run along the road ahead of my
horse for quite a distance.” In plover fashion and unlike sandpipers,
the killdeer in feeding does not keep in a compact flock but spreads
out irregularly. John F. Ferry (1908) writes: “A curious sight was that
of numbers of these birds scattered about the lawns at Leland Stanford
University while the sprinklers were in operation. This recalled the
robins on the lawns of the Eastern States.”
Sometimes a number fairly close together may be found crouching on the
sand or gravel asleep, or they may sleep standing, often on one foot.
One or more are awake, however, watching, all from time to time open
their eyes and look about. Notwithstanding their striking coloration,
one may walk almost to a flock under these circumstances without
noticing them. The “ruptive” marks about the head and neck break the
continuity of the surface and the bird is not recognized as such.
The flight of the killdeer is rapid, generally close to the ground when
the bird is on the lookout for food, but at other times, especially
in courtship, as stated above, the flight may be at a great height.
They usually fly about singly in a wavering and erratic manner, but
sometimes in considerable flocks. Widely scattered birds when startled
usually unite into a compact flock and fly away together. W. L. Dawson
(1923) says: “I have seen flocks of 50 killdeers bunch closely and turn
in silence and disappear in perfect order.”
Whenever the killdeer is unmolested, as is the case now under
protection, it becomes very tame, as is shown above in the account of
the birds at Stanford University. N. S. Goss (1891) writes:
“In Coatapec, Mexico, a pair came daily to feed and dress up their
feathers beside a little run or gutter in the center of the narrow
paved street opposite my room in the hotel, regardless of the people on
the sidewalks, only running or dodging to avoid a person crossing or to
keep out of the way of a pack of mules, etc.”
_Voice._--The killdeer is at times the noisiest of birds and is hated
by the gunner, for its alarm cries disturb every bird within a long
range. The “song” has been described under courtship. F. M. Chapman
(1912) well characterizes some of its cries as “half-plaintive,
half-petulant.” _Kill-deé kill-deé_ is the common cry from which it
takes its name, for it omits the _r_ at the end. But it has a great
variety of other cries with which it rends the air, and I find in
my notes the following: _kee-kee_; _eet-eet-eet_; _kee-ah, kee-ah_;
_dee-dee-dee_; _tsee-he, tsee-he_; _tso-he, tso-he_; _ker, ker, ker_,
and piercing _tee-ars_. It is, of course difficult to express these
cries properly on paper, and a great variety of syllables have been
recorded by different writers.
Aretas A. Saunders (1926) gives the following excellent description:
The calls are mainly of three sorts. The first is the
common call heard when one approaches one or more birds, or
the vicinity of a nest: _dee dee dee dee-ee kildee dee-ee_,
etc., the notes usually slurred slightly upward at the end,
at least the longer ones. A second call is the long trilled
_t-rrrrrrrrrrrrrr_, often heard when the nest or young are
threatened, and when the birds are fighting or displaying.
The third call is one from which the bird evidently has
derived its name. It is usually indulged by birds flying
about in the air in loose flocks, particularly early in the
morning or toward evening. A number of observers or writers
on the notes of this species seem not to have separated
this call from the first one. It differs always by the fact
that the notes slur downward, instead of upward, on the
end. I should write it _kildeeah kildeeah kildeeah_, at
least in those forms where the first note is lower in pitch
than the second. It is often rendered, however, when the
first note is highest in pitch, when it sounds more like
_keedeeah keedeeah_.
The name _chewekee_ by which it has long been known on the Carolina
coast, according to Arthur T. Wayne, is probably descriptive of its
cries.
_Field marks._--The killdeer is a marked bird in the field, both on
account of its plumage and on account of its voice. Its plover ways,
its long straw-colored legs, its long tail with buff-colored upper
coverts and rump and the two black bars on the breast are all good
field marks. It can not be mistaken for any other bird if these points
are borne in mind.
_Fall._--The fall, for the same reason as the spring migration, is not
as marked with the killdeer as with our other shore birds. William
Rowan (1926), writing of Alberta, says: “The latest killdeers have been
noted in the fall weeks after the freeze-up.” Dr. Arthur P. Chadbourne
(1889) recorded a memorable reverse flight of killdeer in fall on
the Atlantic coast, due to the great November storm of 1888, which
distributed them within a mile or two of the coast as far north as Cape
Sable, Nova Scotia.
_Game._--Fortunately the killdeer is now on the protected list from
which it should never be removed, for it is too valuable and attractive
a bird to be shot for sport. Before this protection occurred, the
birds, as we have seen, were almost exterminated in some parts of the
country. In other parts, luckily, they seem to have come under the
protection of food prejudice. Thus W. L. Dawson (1909), writing of the
birds of Washington State, says, “Fortunately for them, the flesh of
the killdeer is not esteemed for food by humans, so they are allowed to
gather in peace in full companies.”
_Enemies._--Besides man, now happily pacified, the killdeer has little
to fear in the way of enemies besides a few of the larger hawks and
owls. H. H. Kopman (1905) relates a curious case where he found a
killdeer caught by the leg at a crayfish hole, with one toe already
eaten off. He released the bird and cared for the wound. The bird was
able to stand and to fly away the next morning.
_Winter._--It is a pleasure to have this bird wintering throughout
the southern parts of our country. B. W. Williams (1919), writing of
these birds wintering in Florida, says: “They mingled freely with other
shore birds on the beach, mud flats, and oyster beds.” M. P. Skinner,
of the birds observed at Pinehurst, says: “All through the winter, the
killdeer seemed to be roughly paired. They might separate two or three
hundred feet while feeding, but they always came together again soon,
and any intruders were promptly chased off. The first actual mating
that I saw was on January 28, 1927.”
With enlightened public opinion, a knowledge of the beneficial
character of this fine bird and its perpetual protection, there seems
to be every prospect that the killdeer will always remain a joy to
nature lovers and an aid to farmers.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--North and Central America, casual in South America and the
British Isles.
_Breeding range._--The killdeer breeds north to probably Mackenzie
(Fort Resolution); Alberta (Fort Chipewyan); Saskatchewan (Buffalo
Lake and Churchill River); Manitoba (probably Fort Churchill); Ontario
(probably Moose Factory and Ottawa); and Quebec (Montreal, Godbout, and
Magdalen Islands). East to Quebec (Magdalen Islands); Maine (Bangor
and Saco); New Hampshire (Portsmouth); Massachusetts (Harvard, Cape
Cod, and Chatham); Connecticut (West Haven); New York (Plum Island,
New York City, and Staten Island); New Jersey (Red Bank and Sea Isle
City); Delaware (Lincoln); Maryland (Cambridge); North Carolina (Pea
Island and Fort Macon); South Carolina (Ladys Island and formerly
Frogmore); Georgia (Savannah and St. Simons Island); eastern Florida
(Gainesville, Fruitland Park, Indian River, and Kissimmee); and the
northern Bahama Islands (Little Abaco and New Providence). South to the
northern Bahama Islands (New Providence); the west coast of Florida
(Tarpon Springs, and probably James Island); Alabama (Leighton and
Greensboro); Louisiana (State Game Preserve and Mermenton); Texas
(Houston, Brownsville, Hidalgo, Eagle Pass, and Fort Hancock); Durango
(Sestin); Chihuahua (Pachico and San Diego); and Lower California
(Cape San Lucas). West to Lower California (Cape San Lucas, Victoria
Mountains, San Quentin Bay, and Volcano Lake); California, (Poway
Valley, Escondido, Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, San
Francisco, probably Cahto, and Fort Crook); Oregon (Tule Lake, Link
River, Fort Klamath, Bandon, Dayton, and Portland); Washington (Yakima,
Fort Steilacoom, Tacoma, and probably Lake Chelan); British Columbia
(Okanagan Landing and Cariboo District); and probably Mackenzie (Fort
Resolution).
There also is a somewhat questionable breeding record for the killdeer
in Yucatan (Sisal). The breeding range in the northeastern United
States became greatly restricted when this region was extensively
developed, but the birds now seem to be increasing in numbers in this
area.
_Winter range._--The winter range of the killdeer extends north
to British Columbia (Chilliwack and probably Okanagan Lake); Utah
(Antelope Island and Provo); Colorado (Mesa County, Boulder, and
Denver); rarely Kansas (Harper and Onaga); rarely Iowa (Wall Lake
and Grinnell); Illinois (Knoxville, La Grange, and Chicago); rarely
Indiana (Vincennes, Bicknell, La Fayette, and Indianapolis); rarely
Ohio (Hillsboro, probably Oberlin and Salem); and rarely Massachusetts
(Marblehead). East to rarely Massachusetts (Marblehead, Boston, and
Monomoy Island); rarely Connecticut (Jewett City, Meriden, and North
Haven); rarely New York (Long Island and New York City); New Jersey
(Atlantic City and Five-mile Beach); District of Columbia (Washington);
Maryland (Cambridge); Virginia (Broadwater, James River, and Back Bay);
North Carolina (Pea Island and Ocracoke); South Carolina (Waverly
Mills, Mount Pleasant, and Frogmore); Georgia (Savannah, Blackbeard
Island, Darien, and St. Marys); Florida (Amelia Island, St. Augustine,
Daytona Beach, Titusville, and Upper Matecumbe Key); the Bahama
Islands (Nassau, Cat Island, Watling Island, and Acklin Island); Haiti
(Monte Christi, Sanchez, Samana, and El Valle); and Porto Rico (San
Juan). South to Porto Rico (San Juan, Caguas, and Mayaguez); rarely
Panama (Davila); and Costa Rica (mouth of the Diquis, San Jose, and
Miravalles). West to Costa Rica (Miravalles); Guatemala (Atitlan and
Coban); Jalisco (Ocotlan); Sinaloa (Mazatlan); Lower California (San
Jose del Cabo, La Paz, San Quentin, and the Colorado River delta);
California (Escondido, Los Angeles, San Fernando, Santa Barbara, San
Francisco, and Napa); Oregon (Corvallis, Rickreall, and Netarts Bay);
Washington (Camas, Tacoma, Dungeness Spit, and Bellingham Bay); and
British Columbia (Chilliwack).
The killdeer winters also in Bermuda, and is of casual occurrence at
this season in southern New Hampshire (Isle of Shoals) and in Michigan
(Plymouth).
The West Indian killdeer has been described as a distinct subspecies
(_Oxyechus vociferus rubidus_), and is resident. The North American
form does, however, regularly migrate to those islands, and it may
winter there in larger numbers than is now known. Extensive collecting
at this season will be necessary to decide this matter.
_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival are: New York,
Montauk Point, February 17, New York City, February 20, Branchport,
March 1, Albany, March 3, and Rochester, March 5; Connecticut, New
Haven, February 24, Jewett City, March 2, Fairfield, March 3 and
Carrollton, March 4; Rhode Island, Block Island, February 27, Westerly,
February 28, Newport, March 4; Massachusetts, Muskeget Island,
February 28, and Amherst, March 10; Vermont, Rutland, March 27; Maine,
Waterville, March 11, and Farmington, March 28; Quebec, Montreal,
March 25; Michigan, Petersburg, February 4, Ann Arbor, February 14,
Vicksburg, February 21, and Kalamazoo, February 28; Ontario, Point
Pelee, March 2, London, March 4, Hamilton, March 8, Toronto, March 20,
and Ottawa, March 26; Iowa, Bentonsport, February 22, Keokuk, February
28, Iowa City, February 28, Fairfield, March 3, and National, March 5;
Wisconsin, Unity, March 1, Camp Douglas, March 2, and Racine, March 3;
Minnesota, Heron Lake, March 5, Jackson, March 10, Red Wing, March 12,
and Lanesboro, March 13; Kansas, Harper, February 4, Wichita, February
7, Topeka, February 15, Onaga, February 22, and Independence, February
25; Nebraska, Omaha, February 19, Dunbar, February 21, and Falls City,
February 23; South Dakota, Yankton, March 10, Huron, March 11, and
Rapid City, March 12; North Dakota, Argusville, March 15, Fargo, March
18, and Bismarck, March 23; Manitoba, Margaret, March 23, Aweme, March
23, Pilot Mound, March 25, Treesbank, March 28, and Winnipeg, April 12;
Saskatchewan, Indian Head, March 27, Eastend, March 27, Lake Johnston,
March 30, April 2, and Carleton House, April 6; Wyoming, Yellowstone
Park, March 12, and Laramie, March 16; Idaho, Neeley, February 1,
Meridian, February 3, and Rathdrum, February 19; Montana, Wisdom, March
5, and Missoula, March 12; and Alberta, Flagstaff, April 2, Nanton,
April 8, Veteran, April 10, Red Deer, April 11, and Edmonton, April 15.
Late dates of spring departure from the southern part of the winter
range are not numerous, but killdeers have been observed in spring in
Panama, March 3; Costa Rica, San Jose, March 15, and Porto Rico, San
Juan, March 26.
_Fall migration._--The arrival of these birds in that part of the
winter range that is south of the breeding range, likewise has not been
carefully recorded. Arrivals at this season have been reported from
Porto Rico, Aguadilla, October 7; Guatemala, San Geronimo, October
29, Costa Rica, San Jose, October 15; and Nicaragua, Escondido River,
November; and Panama, November 26.
Late dates of fall departure are: Alberta, Veteran, September 15,
Innisfree-Mundare, September 17, and Edmonton, September 22; Montana,
Missoula, December 25 (possibly winters occasionally); Idaho,
Meridian, December 14, and Rupert, December 23; Saskatchewan, Eastend,
October 10; Manitoba, Treesbank, October 11, Winnipeg, October 12,
Aweme, October 15, and Margaret, October 15; North Dakota, Charlson,
October 8, and Fargo, October 15; South Dakota, Forestburg, October
30, Sioux Falls, November 7, and Yankton, November 11; Nebraska,
Nebraska City, November 10, Beatrice, November 16, and Lincoln,
November 18; Kansas, Hayes, November 3, Onaga, November 8, Lawrence,
November 11, and Harper, November 25; Minnesota, Correll, October 23,
Hutchinson, October 25, Elk River, October 26, and St. Paul, November
26; Wisconsin, Genoa Junction, November 13, Madison, November 14, and
Racine, November 16; Iowa, Emmetsburg, November 13, Grinnell, November
15, Keokuk, November 17, and Coralville, November 20; Ontario, Reaboro,
November 4, Port Dover, November 8, Listowel, November 10, and Harrow,
November 15; Michigan, Croswell, November 4, Sault Ste. Marie, November
5, Jackson, November 9, Livonia, November 13, and Ann Arbor, November
19; Quebec, Montreal, October 26; Maine, Phillips, October 24, and Cape
Elizabeth (exceptional), December 25; New Hampshire, Hampton Beach,
December 25; Vermont, Bennington, November 12; Massachusetts, Harvard,
December 5, and Chatham, December 17; Connecticut, Meriden, November
22, and Hartford, November 30; and New York, Collins, November 22,
Rhinebeck, November 24, Branchport, November 29, and Montauk Point,
December 10.
_Casual records._--The killdeer has been taken both north and south of
its normal range in the Western Hemisphere, and casually in the British
Isles. In Nova Scotia it was reported from Halifax Harbor on December
5, 1876, and at Meaghers Beach, on January 1 (Downs); Macoun (1909)
notes it as a rare migrant in Newfoundland without further details; and
a specimen in the British Museum was taken in the Hudson’s Bay region.
In Alaska, one was reported as seen in August, 1898, on the Kuskokwim
River (Hinckley), and a specimen was collected on the Stikine Flats,
May 10, 1907 (Willett).
In South America specimens have been reported from several countries
but so few in number it does not appear likely that any part of that
continent should be included in the regular range. Among these records
are: Chile and Paraguay (specimens in the British Museum, date and
exact locality of collection unknown); Peru (Tambo Valley, October
25, 1867, Callao [Cassin], Pacasmayo, June, 1877 [Taczanowski], and
Arequipa [Sclater and Salvin]); Ecuador (Chaupi, in June [Salvadori and
Festa], and Sical, specimen in British Museum); and Colombia (specimen
from Medellin in the British Museum).
This species has been taken or observed on a few occasions in England
and Scotland (Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, 1867, near Christchurch, Hanto,
April, 1857, Kent, April, 1908, Hampshire, April, 1859, and the Scilly
Islands, January, 1885), and in Ireland (County Dublin, January 12,
1928).
_Egg dates._--California: 73 records, March 15 to July 2; 37 records,
April 3 to May 13. Michigan and Wisconsin: 15 records, April 5 to
July 6; 8 records, April 29 to June 13. Pennsylvania and New Jersey:
29 records, April 1 to July 17; 15 records, May 2 to 29. Florida: 11
records, May 3 to June 30; 6 records, May 22 to June 9. Texas: 11
records, March 3 to June 2; 6 records, April 3 to June 1.
CHARADRIUS SEMIPALMATUS Bonaparte
SEMIPALMATED PLOVER
HABITS
_Contributed, by Charles Wendell Townsend_
This charming little wader, familiarly known as ring-necked plover
or ringneck, is, during migrations, an abundant frequenter of our
seashores as well as of the shores of lakes and rivers. But it was not
as abundant in the latter part of the last century and in the beginning
of this, for, as William Brewster (1925) says: “Both ringnecks and
peeps began to diminish appreciably in numbers soon after 1890, and
have since continued to do so, no doubt because of the ever-multiplying
gunners.” Fortunately the Federal law for migratory birds, passed in
1913 and extended to Canada in 1916, enforced by the enabling act
in 1918, has since protected the ringneck at all times, and he has
responded markedly. Flocks of several hundred are now common where
flocks of 30 or 40 were becoming rare. Their confiding nature and
handsome plumage make them most interesting and attractive.
_Spring._--Like most of the shore birds, the semipalmated plover seems
to be in a great hurry to visit the breeding grounds. While, in the
region of Massachusetts he leisurely wends his way southward from about
July 12 to the end of October, a period of four months, the spring
flight rarely lasts little longer than a month, from May 7 to June 14.
Wells W. Cooke (1912) says: “At least four-fifths of the dates on the
spring migration of this species fall in May. This is true for the
entire district between the winter and summer homes, and the dates
indicate that the migration in the United States occurs chiefly between
May 10 and June 1.”
Migration occurs both by day and by night. Flock after flock may be
seen on favorable days flying north along a beach, and the distinctive
calls of the bird may be heard at night. I have recognized them clearly
on a foggy May night when the birds were passing over the city of
Boston. There are also records of the striking of lighthouses by these
plover during the night.
It is evident that late migrants flying north in the spring must be
late in returning, if they rear families, while those that return early
in July must have been the early ones to migrate north. On July 30,
1918, I saw three semipalmated plover flying north along the shore at
Ipswich. They were in full cry, and I wondered whether they were very
late spring migrants or early autumn migrants temporarily turning back,
or sterile birds that had no interest in the breeding grounds.
_Courtship._--In the latter part of May and early in June on the
southern Labrador coast I have seen this bird flying about in circles
uttering its loud and rapidly repeated courtship song. The song, which
is entirely unlike the call note, may be heard, and the courtship
performance watched, not only in the spring but in the autumn
migrations, for there is a recrudescence of the amatory instinct at
this season in most birds. The song, if such it may be called, is then
generally given from the ground and may be likened to a whinny or to
the sound of a bouncing ball. The notes are at first slowly repeated,
but the speed increases until the notes follow one another so rapidly
that they nearly run together. The birds that utter this song crouch
low with tails spread and slightly cocked, wings partly open, and
feathers, particularly of the breast and flanks, puffed out. Sometimes
one walks in this way around another, sometimes two face each other,
crouched motionless and then spring at each other and up into the air
like fighting cocks. Sometimes one runs after another which, on taking
flight is followed by the first, but the most amusing form of this
courtship is where two, thus flattened, spread, and puffed, walk slowly
side by side as if they were doing a cakewalk, all the time uttering
their clucking song.
H. S. Swarth communicates the following notes regarding courtship
seen in northwestern British Columbia: “On as late a date as June 25
a male bird was seen going through with the mating antics, following
the female about with head lowered and breast puffed out to an absurd
degree, uttering frequently a low call note.”
_Nesting._--A mere depression in the sand without lining or with
only a few bits of shells or grass generally constitutes the nest
of this species. P. B. Philipp (1925), writing of his experience in
the Magdalens, says: “A nest as such is not constructed. A shallow
hollow is scratched in the sand, and this is lined with bits of dead
eel-grass, or a hollow is scratched in a bunch of dead seaweed.” H. S.
Swarth sends the following notes of his experience with the nesting of
this bird in the Atlin region of northwestern British Columbia:
A pair or two are pretty sure to be found where favorable
conditions exist, but as the species requires an expanse
of sandy or gravelly beach and as such beaches are not
the rule about the lakes of the region, there are long
stretches of shore line where the plovers are not found.
They avoid rocky or stony beaches that are so favored by
the spotted sandpipers.
He found his first nest, an unusual one, on the shore of Lake Atlin on
June 10, and thus describes it:
The “nest” was in hard-packed gravel in a hole about 1 inch
deep and with practically vertical sides. This depression
was nearly filled with small chips and a very few straws.
The eggs were nearly perpendicular in the nest, points
down. It must have been some little labor for the bird to
make this excavation, for the gravel was hard enough to
retain the shape of the hole throughout the rest of the
summer. I returned to the spot in September and found the
cavity still sharply defined.
Audubon (1840) says of his experience in Labrador that this plover
forms no nest, but makes a “cavity in the moss, in a place sheltered
from the north winds and exposed to the full rays of the sun, usually
near the margins of small ponds formed by the melting of the snow, and
surrounded by short grass.”
_Eggs._--[AUTHOR’S NOTE: The semipalmated plover lays four eggs, often
only three. They are ovate pyriform to subpyriform in shape, with
little or no gloss. The ground colors vary from “buckthorn brown” or
“clay color” to “cartridge buff,” “olive buff” or “pale olive buff.”
They are boldly and irregularly marked with small or large spots or
blotches of black, brownish black or very dark browns; some eggs
are heavily blotched with “warm sepia” or “chestnut brown”; there
are usually a few small underlying spots of “pale drab gray.” The
measurements of 100 eggs average 33 by 23.5 millimeters; the eggs
showing the four extremes measure =36.2= by 24.3, 35.5 by =25.5= and
=29.5= by =22= millimeters.]
_Young._--The duration of incubation is not known. In the allied ringed
plover of Europe the period of incubation is stated by Dr. W. H.
Bergtold (1917) to be 22 and 23 days.
In the past it has generally been assumed that, with the exception in
the case of the phalaropes, the female among the shore birds incubates
the eggs and takes charge of the young. Joseph Dixon (1927) says:
“After several seasons’ experience with breeding shore birds in the
north the writer has come to believe that in more of our Limicolae
than is generally known it is a common practice for the males to take
a leading part in domestic duties not only in incubation but also in
the care and training of the downy young.” With specimens in hand
during the breeding season, he found incubating patches in the male
semipalmated plover, and he says that “the males did a large part of
the incubation and that it was the males that were the most fearless in
the face of danger when caring for their young.”
P. B. Philipp (1925), on the other hand, studying the nesting bird
in the Magdalens, writes: “I judge that the female does most of the
incubating, three birds shot off the nest being of this sex.” H. S.
Swarth also sustains the side of the female, for he writes: “With
binoculars it is often possible to distinguish the sexes of the
plovers, and it could be seen that it was the male who tired first in
such efforts [shamming injury] to deflect danger from the nest. Even
when he withdrew entirely, the female continued her protests until we
were well out of her territory.” Dr. L. B. Bishop (1900), however,
reconciles both points of view, for he says: “Bare pectoral spaces
showed that both sexes assisted in incubation.”
The young leave the nest and run after the parents almost as soon as
they are hatched. Bishop (1900) in the Yukon River region found an egg
that was already pipped. He says: “I removed the young bird from the
shell, and within half an hour the down was almost dry, the eyes were
open, and it could hop about on its ‘knees.’”
Dr. W. H. Osgood (1909) reports the following observation by N.
Hollister on a downy young of this species: “Although it was perfectly
able to run about as fast as the adults, it at once lay flat to the
ground when approached, with head extended forward in the sand, making
it very difficult to see, so closely did it match the ground in color.”
The actions of the parent incubating the eggs when a human intruder
appears is well told by H. S. Swarth in a communication, as follows:
The breeding bird skulked from the nest at the first
appearance of an intruder, and, after performing an
unobtrusive retreat to a distant point, launched out in
conspicuous protest at the trespass. The call notes served
to summon the mate, and sometimes even another pair of
birds, all hovering about overhead or racing close by
over the sand. A liquid call note, not particularly loud,
was uttered constantly, and both birds of a pair would go
through the form of pretended injury, dragging themselves
over the sand with drooping wings and spread tail.
In another case--
A bird was flushed, as it had been many times before, at
a point 300 yards or more above the water line, and I sat
down quietly to watch her from the shelter of a scrubby
willow. She flew to a distance, but returned in a few
minutes, to run aimlessly about over the gravel nearby.
Gradually she drew away, running over and between logs and
other drift, her manner changing from one of noisy protest
to furtive withdrawal behind any available cover. Finally,
about 20 minutes after I began to watch, she settled down
on the gravel, as it developed, upon the eggs.
At Seal Island, off the southern point of Nova Scotia, I found
several breeding pairs of semipalmated plover, here, probably, at
its most southern breeding place. On one occasion I came upon a bird
that performed the usual wounded bird act, falling on its side and
fluttering its wings as if badly injured. Presently it made off,
fluttering and dragging its spread tail on the ground, keeping up this
method of progression for over a hundred yards, although I had stood
still. I then walked in the opposite direction and found a downy young
running off in company with the other parent.
On another occasion at Great Caribou Island, Labrador, one of these
birds appeared greatly excited at my presence, alighting near me,
bobbing nervously, and protesting in conversational tones. Then it flew
away, but immediately returned and flew by several times within a few
yards, apparently in great fury, but not daring to hit me.
_Plumages._--[AUTHOR’S NOTE: In natal down the young semipalmated
plover is darkly colored above. The entire upper parts, from forehead
to rump, are mottled with “deep olive buff” and black. The auriculars
and a broad band encircling the back of the head are velvety black;
there is a distinct black stripe from the bill to the eye and from the
lores to the auriculars. A spot under the eye, a ring around the neck,
and the entire underparts are pure white.
In fresh juvenal plumage the crown, back, rump, scapulars, and wing
coverts are “buffy brown,” narrowly edged with creamy or buffy white,
the edgings broadest on the wing coverts; the lores, cheeks, and a
broad band across the chest are “buffy brown” to “sepia”; the forehead,
throat, a ring around the neck, and the entire underparts are white;
the tail is like the adult, but tipped with “pinkish buff.” The buffy
edgings mostly wear away before the partial postjuvenal molt, which
occurs in late fall. The first winter plumage is like the adult winter
plumage, except that some of the juvenal wing coverts are retained and
the head is as in the juvenal. At the next molt, a partial prenuptial,
the plumage becomes practically adult; only a few old wing coverts
remain.
Adults have a partial prenuptial molt in the spring involving the body
plumage, some scapulars and wing coverts, and a complete postnuptial
molt from July to December; I have seen the wings molted as early as
July 30 and as late as December 10. The sexes are alike in immature
and winter plumage and not very different in spring, when the black
markings of the female are duller or mixed with grayish brown. In both
sexes in winter the black markings are replaced by grayish brown.]
_Food._--The semipalmated plover is an active feeder and in this way
is sometimes beneficial to man. In the stomachs of 12 birds shot on
beaches I have found worms, small mollusks (_Litorina_, _Mytelis_),
various crustaceans (_Orchestia_, _Gammarus_, _Limnoria_), and insects.
W. L. McAtee (1911) says that this bird eats the larvae of the salt
marsh mosquito (_Ædes sollicitans_). Samuel Aughey (1878) investigated
the relation of birds to insects in Nebraska during the great invasion
of Rocky Mountain migratory locusts on the western prairies and plains
of the United States from 1873 to 1876. Of 11 stomachs of this species
examined, he found the average number of locusts in each was 38; of
other insects, 19. Junius Henderson (1927) states that this plover “on
coast, feeds largely on crustaceans, mollusks, eggs of marine animals,
and insects; interior, feeds on locusts and other Orthoptera, and many
other insects.” Audubon (1840) says: “At this period (September) they
are now and then observed on plowed lands, where they appear to procure
different species of seeds and insects.”
_Behavior._--The behavior of this bird during courtship and in the care
of the eggs and young has already been described. On beaches and mud
flats it is sometimes difficult to see, notwithstanding its strikingly
marked plumage. As the piping plover matches the dry sand, so the
semipalmated plover matches the wet sand, its favorite feeding grounds.
Here one may walk almost onto them without seeing them if they stand
motionless, as they often do. While sleeping on the dry sand, even with
the black and white markings in plain sight, they are also difficult
to see. W. V. Praeger (1891) writes as follows of a wounded bird he
observed hiding in a hollow in the sand:
While admiring the perfect blending of its brown shades
with the surroundings I saw in its white rings one of the
commonest objects of the seashore--the empty half of a
bivalve shell. The white about the base of the bill was the
“hinge,” the collar the outer rim, and the top of the head
the cavity of the shell filled--as they usually are--with
sand.
Gerald H. Thayer (1909), writing of the very similar ringed
plover of Europe, speaks of the “eye-masking and ‘obliterative’
shadow-and-hole-picturing pattern.”
Although this bird migrates and feeds both by day and night, it often
happens that a flock is discovered at sunset out of reach of the tide,
clustered together as if they had settled down for the night. That
they spend the night there in some cases at least is shown by William
Brewster (1925), who says: “I have repeatedly observed them standing
motionless, singly or in clustering groups, on some mud bar to which
they had thus returned, keeping them in view until it was too dark to
see them longer and finding them all there the next morning.”
During high tide, when their best feeding grounds are covered, these
birds, like many other shore birds, are very apt to be found sleeping
on the upper beach above the reach of the waves. The flock is generally
huddled closely together, some standing but many squatting with their
breasts resting on the sand, often in the lee of bunches of seaweed.
While some sleep with heads turned to one side and bills thrust into
the feathers of the back in the usual manner of birds, others sleep
with heads sunk down between the shoulders. Generally some of the flock
are awake and on the lookout, while the others open their eyes from
time to time.
In flight the flocks are often compact, twisting and turning as if
animated by a single thought, but they also fly in loose order. On
alighting they at once spread out on the sand in true plover fashion,
and do not, like sandpipers, keep together and move along close to the
wave line. Another plover habit which at once distinguishes them from
sanderlings or other sandpipers of a similar size, is that of running
about with heads up and dabbing suddenly at the ground from time to
time instead of moving along with heads down diligently probing the
sand. With erect figures they run about in various directions, often
pausing and standing still as if in thought, occasionally jerking or
bobbing their heads and necks and ever and again swiftly dabbing at
some morsel of food.
The semipalmated plover associates most frequently with the least and
semipalmated sandpipers, but it also flies with sanderlings and other
larger waders. Sometimes these birds fly in mixed flocks, but as a rule
the ringnecks keep by themselves in flight, but readily join other
species on the ground.
On the seacoast the ringneck frequents the outer beaches, the shores
and mud flats of estuaries and tidal pools, and the sloughs in the
salt marshes. Inland it visits similar regions on the shores of lakes
and rivers as well as upland fields in search of food. As I have said
elsewhere (C. W. Townsend, 1905):
Like all shore birds also, the ringneck is often
exceedingly fat in the autumn, and I have known the fat
of the breast to split open when the bird struck the
ground after being shot when flying at a height. The fat
is not only everywhere under the skin, but it develops
all the viscera, and the liver is often pale from fatty
infiltration. How birds under these circumstances are able
to fly so vigorously on their long migrations, or even to
fly at all, is certainly a mystery.
_Voice._--The courtship song has already been described. The common
call note is a clear, rather plaintive, whistle of two notes, very
distinctive and frequently emitted while the birds are on the wing. It
is expressed by Hoffmann (1904) by the syllables _chee-wee_; Nichols
(1920) writes it _tyoo-eep_. It is cheerful and businesslike compared
with the sweet and mournful whistle of the piping plover. When calling
to others as they alight, or when standing on the sand, they often emit
a single note, sweet and clear, but at times harsh and rasping.
_Field marks._--The semipalmated plover is easily distinguished in the
field from the killdeer by its smaller size, its single neck ring,
and by the absence of the rufous color on the rump. Its darker colors
distinguish it from the piping plover. From the sandpipers, even at a
distance on the sand, it is distinguished most readily by its plover
behavior, as already described. In flying they show a faint white line
on the wings which contrasts with the general brown of the upper parts.
The neck ring is noticeable both in the flying and walking bird, and
the orange yellow of the tarsi and base of the bill can be made out
with glasses. In the young, which arrive on the Massachusetts coast
about a month behind their elders in the autumn migration, the ring is
gray instead of glossy black, and the tarsi are pale yellow. It may be
distinguished from the Wilson’s plover by the fact that that bird has a
much longer bill, wholly black.
_Game._--Although this little plover was formerly shot as game in
the same manner as is described under the least and semipalmated
sandpipers, it is now protected at all seasons. Besides its value as a
destroyer of harmful insects, its greatest value is aesthetic. On the
beaches of the sea and lakes its graceful flight, handsome plumage,
and confiding ways are a source of great pleasure, and on this account
alone it is worthy of protection for all time.
_Fall._--The fall migration, as stated above, is a long and leisurely
one, differing markedly in this respect from the spring migration.
When a favorable spot is found, abounding in food and free from
disturbances, these birds are apt to tarry there for some time. Here
they grow fat and here they indulge in courtship performances as if it
were the spring of the year. On beaches and marshes, where in former
times gunners, hidden in blinds, were lurking to destroy them, all is
now peace and quiet for these little birds, and their journey southward
is undisturbed.
Of the fall migration Wells W. Cooke (1912) writes:
At one of the most southern breeding places near York
Factory, Keewatin, in 1900, the most advanced young were
still in the downy stage July 10 (Preble), and yet by this
time the species is already in full fall migration, and the
earliest individuals have appeared several hundred miles
south of the breeding range. * * * Though most semipalmated
plover migrate early, a few stay until freezing weather.
The adults migrate first, while the young rarely arrive on the
Massachusetts coast before August 15.
_Winter._--Although the majority of the species winter south of the
United States, as is shown under “winter range,” some are to be found
at this season on the shores of the Southern and Gulf States earning
their living in pursuit of their small prey.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--North and South America.
_Breeding range._--The breeding range of the semipalmated plover
extends north to Alaska (Morzhovia Bay, Hooper Bay, and the Colville
delta); northern Mackenzie (Mackenzie delta, Lower Anderson River,
Franklin Bay, Horton River, and Bernard Harbor); Keewatin (Whale
Point); Franklin (Annanostook and Kingnite Fjord); Victoria Land;
Baffin Island; and western Greenland (Disco). East to western Greenland
(Disco); Labrador (Port Burwell, Okak, and Tessiujaksoak); Newfoundland
(Straits of Belle Isle); eastern Quebec (Upper Hamilton River,
Wapitagun Island, Magdalen Islands, and Mingan Islands); and Nova
Scotia (Sable Island). South to Nova Scotia (Sable Island and Yarmouth
County); probably rarely New Brunswick (Grand Manan); northern Ontario
(Moose Factory); Manitoba (Hayes River and Fort Churchill); southern
Mackenzie (Artillery Lake); Yukon (Lake Marsh); and British Columbia
(Graham Island). West to British Columbia (Graham Island); and Alaska
(Berg Bay, Glacier Bay, and Morzhovia Bay).
In common with several other shore birds, nonbreeders remain throughout
the summer in southern latitudes. At this season they have been taken
or observed south to Venezuela (Margarita Island), Galapagos Islands,
Costa Rica, the West Indies, and Jalisco (Ocotlan), while they
frequently are fairly common on the coasts of the United States and
at points in the interior, Ohio (Lakeside and Oberlin), and Michigan
(Detroit).
Kumlien and Hollister report obtaining young not yet able to fly
at Lake Koshkonong, Wis., but if their identification was correct,
this record must be considered accidental. The species also has been
reported in summer from eastern Siberia (East Cape), where it may breed.
_Winter range._--The winter range extends north to California (rarely
Palo Alto); Texas (Brownsville and Corpus Christi); Louisiana (State
Game Preserve); Mississippi (Biloxi); probably Alabama (Coffee Island);
South Carolina (Dewees Island); and Bermuda (Somerset). East to Bermuda
(Somerset); South Carolina (Port Royal); Georgia (Savannah, Blackbeard
Island, and Darien); Florida (Amelia Island, Mayport, Daytona, Mosquito
Inlet, Upper Metacumbe Key, and Key West); the Bahama Islands (Abaco,
New Providence, Watling Island, and Great Inagua); Haiti (Monte Cristi,
and Samana); Porto Rico; the Lesser Antilles (Anegada, Sombrero Key,
St. Bartholomew, Carriacou, and Trinidad); Guiana (Abary River and
Cayenne); Brazil (Island of Mixiana, Cajetuba Island, Pernambuco,
Bahia, Abrolhos Island, Peranagua, and Santa Catarina); and Argentina
(Puerto Deseado). South to Argentina (Puerto Deseado and Jujuy); and
Chile (Calbuco). West to Chile (Calbuco, Coquimbo, and Moreno Bay);
Peru (Chorillos, Ancon, Trujillo, and Payta); Ecuador (Puna Island,
Guayaquil, and Santa Elena); Galapagos Islands (Albemarle and Narboro);
Costa Rica; Honduras (Manatee Lagoon); Guatemala (Chiapam); Oaxaca (San
Mateo); Sinaloa (Mazatlan); Lower California (La Paz); and California
(San Diego, San Pedro, Saticoy, Pacific Grove, and rarely Palo Alto).
_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival are: Virginia,
Arlington Beach, April 30; District of Columbia, Washington, May 3;
Pennsylvania, Wayne, May 5, and Erie, May 8; New Jersey, Cape May,
April 24, Camden, May 5, and Long Beach, May 10; New York, Long
Island, April 19, Orient, May 2, Geneva, May 5, and Rochester, May 16;
Connecticut, New Haven, May 1, and Fairfield, May 4; Rhode Island,
Newport, April 15; Massachusetts, Rehoboth, April 21, Monomoy Island,
April 28, and Dennis, May 5; Maine, Saco, May 5; Quebec, Quebec City,
May 6, Montreal, May 19, Godbout, May 28, Eskimo Point, June 3, and
Fort Chimo, June 11; Nova Scotia, Pictou, May 9, and Antigonish, May
15; Franklin, Winter Island, May 31; Missouri, St. Louis, April 2,
and Kahoka, April 4; Illinois, Rantoul, April 9, near Chicago, April
25, and Cantine, April 26; Indiana, Denver, May 1, Terre Haute, May
5, and Bloomington, May 9; Ohio, Sandusky, April 20, Cleveland, April
21, and Oberlin, April 24; Michigan, Ann Arbor, May 5, Jackson, May
8, and Grand Rapids, May 9; Ontario, Toronto, April 21, Hamilton,
April 24, Ottawa, May 9, and Guelph, May 15; Iowa, Sioux City, April
22, Ogden, April 24, and Emmetsburg, April 27; Wisconsin, Madison,
May 5; Minnesota, Heron Lake, May 8, and Minneapolis, May 11;
Kansas, Lawrence, April 22, Emporia, April 25, and McPherson, May 3;
Nebraska, Lincoln, April 27; South Dakota, Vermilion, April 20, and
Brookings, May 8; Manitoba, Brandon, April 28, and Reaburn, May 9;
Saskatchewan, Lake Johnston, May 10; Mackenzie, Fort Simpson, May 16,
and Fort Resolution, May 23; Alberta, Veteran, April 24, Camrose,
May 6, Tofield, May 12, Peace River, May 20, and Fort Chipewyan, May
23; northern California, Eureka, April 17; Nevada, Smoky Creek, May
4; Washington, Destruction Island, April 24, and Grays Harbor, April
30; British Columbia, Ucluelet, April 28, and Comox, May 3; Yukon,
Forty-mile, May 23; and Alaska, Admiralty Island, May 8, Bethel, May
10, Bristol Bay, May 15, Coronation Island, May 15, and Hooper Bay, May
19.
Late dates of spring departure are: Brazil, Cajetuba Island, April
18; Colombia, Sabanilla, March 27; Porto Rico, Luquillo, March 5, and
Vieques Island, March 30; Haiti, Samana, April 13; Bahamas, Abaco,
April 28, and Green Cay, April 29; Florida, Daytona Beach, May 25,
Punta Rassa, May 25, and Pensacola, May 30; Georgia, Savannah, May
13; South Carolina, Kiawah Island, June 2, and Bulls Bay, June 7;
North Carolina, Pea and Bodie Islands, May 17; Cape Hatteras, May 20,
and Raleigh, May 22; Virginia, Cape Charles, May 24, Smiths Island,
May 25, and Wallops Island, May 30; District of Columbia, Alexander
Island, May 22, and Washington, May 25; Maryland, Patapsco Marsh, May
29; Pennsylvania, State College, May 30, Wayne, June 1, and Erie, June
2; New Jersey, Cape May County, May 23, Elizabeth, May 30, and Camden,
June 1; New York, Canandaigua, June 7, Geneva, June 9, Orient, June
10, and New York City, June 14; Connecticut, New Haven, June 1, and
Fairfield, June 8; Massachusetts, Lynn, June 5, Harvard, June 9; and
Dennis, June 10; Maine, Portland, June 3; Louisiana, Lobdell, May 18;
Missouri, St. Joseph, May 13, and Corning, May 18; Illinois, Chicago,
May 29, Morgan Park, May 30, and Rantoul, June 2; Indiana, Lake County,
May 27; Ohio, Columbus, May 28, Oberlin, May 29, and Lakeside, June 2;
Michigan, Detroit, May 30, Sault Ste. Marie, May 31; Ontario, Ottawa,
May 31, Hamilton, June 3, and Toronto, June 6; Iowa, Emmetsburg,
May 20, and Sioux City, May 30; Wisconsin, Shiocton, May 28, and
Madison, May 30; Minnesota, Lanesboro, May 23, Hallock, May 29, and
Minneapolis, June 4; Texas, Corpus Christi, May 18; Kansas, Lawrence,
May 18; Nebraska, Lincoln, May 20; South Dakota, Vermilion, May 19,
Dell Rapids, May 22; and Forestburg, May 27; Manitoba, Lake Winnipeg,
June 7, and Shoal Lake, June 12; Lower California, San Geronimo Island,
April 13, Cerros Island, April 17, and Gardeners Lagoon, April 24;
California, San Diego, April 23, Alameda, May 14, Fresno, May 15,
and Santa Barbara, May 22; Washington, Tacoma, May 18; and British
Columbia, Indian Cove, May 29.
_Fall migration._--Early dates of arrival in the fall are; British
Columbia, Nootka Sound, July 23, Tahsis Canal, July 26, and Okanagan
Landing, July 28; Washington, The Olympiades, July 16; California,
Alameda, July 8, and Santa Barbara, July 12; Lower California, Santa
Rosalia Bay, August 16, and San Jose del Cabo, August 23; Saskatchewan,
Big Stick Lake, July 19, and Cochrane River, July 23; Manitoba, Red
Deer River, July 22, Lake Winnipegosis, July 22, and Oak Lake, July
28; North Dakota, Kenmare, July 18; South Dakota, Forestburg, July 27,
Nebraska, Lincoln, August 9; Texas, Tivoli, September 2; Minnesota,
Minneapolis, July 17; Iowa, Sioux City, August 5, and Marshalltown,
August 10; Ontario, Toronto, July 22, Coldstream, July 29, and
Brighton, July 31; Michigan, Charity Island, July 25, Jackson, July
25, and Detroit, July 31; Ohio, Bay Point, July 3, Oberlin, July 6,
Cedar Point, July 8, and Lakeside, July 17; Indiana, Bass Lake, August
1; Illinois, Chicago, July 22, and La Grange, August 7; Missouri, St.
Louis, August 20; Mississippi, Beauvoir, July 22; Louisiana, Bayou
Chene, August 29; Maine, Portland, July 18, and Squirrel Island,
July 31; Massachusetts, Lynn, July 18; Marthas Vineyard, July 20,
and Harvard, July 26; Rhode Island, South Auburn, July 23, and Block
Island, July 25; Connecticut, New Haven, July 30; New York, Long Beach,
July 3, Orient, July 6, and Brockport, July 28; New Jersey, Long Beach,
July 19, Brigantine Beach, July 25, and Elizabeth, July 31; North
Carolina, Myrtle Sound, July 10; South Carolina, Frogmore, July 20, and
Charleston, July 21; Florida, Palma Sola, July 10, Daytona Beach, July
19, and Pensacola, July 26; Bermuda, August 12; the Bahama Islands,
Long Island, July 17; Cuba, Batabono, August 26; Lesser Antilles,
Grenada, August 24, and Dominica, August 29; Panama, Toro Point, July
23; Brazil, Santa Catarina, August 4; and Colombia, Santa Marta region,
September 13.
Late dates of fall departure are: British Columbia, Chilliwack,
August 23, Atlin, August 24, and Okanagan Landing, September 3;
Mackenzie, Fort Simpson, September 1, and Fort Resolution, September 1;
Saskatchewan, Indian Head, September 2; Manitoba, Shoal Lake, September
14, Aweme, September 14, and Oak Lake, September 20; Nebraska, Lincoln,
October 14; Minnesota, Lanesboro, September 15; Iowa, Emmetsburg,
September 24, and Grinnell, October 22; Ontario, Toronto, October
26, and Point Pelee, October 29; Michigan, Portage Lake, October 25,
and Detroit, October 29; Ohio, Oberlin, October 21, and Youngstown,
November 2; Indiana, Hobart, September 24, and Peru, October 2;
Illinois, Rantoul, October 15, and Chicago, October 28; Kentucky,
Lexington, September 17; Missouri, St. Louis, September 25; Prince
Edward Island, North River, October 27; Nova Scotia, Wolfville, October
22; New Brunswick, Scotch Lake, September 23; Quebec, Montreal, October
20; Maine, Lewiston, October 13; Massachusetts, Lynn, October 12,
Cambridge, October 26, and Dennis, October 27; Connecticut, Fairfield,
October 22, Norwalk, October 26, and New Haven, October 31; New York,
East Hampton, October 22, Port Chester, October 25, and Long Beach,
October 28; New Jersey, Sandy Hook, October 25; and Pennsylvania, Erie,
November 2.
_Casual records._--The semipalmated plover is more or less rare in the
southern Rocky Mountain region where records are so few that it can be
considered only as casual. Among these records are: Utah, Salt Lake
City (reported by Nelson); Colorado, Denver, April 27, 1907, Loveland,
May 6, 1890, and Grand Lake, Middle Park (Carter Collection); and
Arizona, Fort Verde, September 8, 1884, Colorado River, September and
October, 1865 (Coues), and Tucson, April, 1883 (Scott).
_Egg dates._--Labrador and Ungava: 42 records, June 7 to July 7; 21
records, June 18 to July 1. Quebec to Nova Scotia: 33 records, June 5
to 29; 17 records, June 15 to 23. Arctic coast of Canada: 18 records,
June 16 to July 20; 9 records, June 23 to July 4. Alaska and British
Columbia; 19 records, May 27 to July 6; 10 records, June 1 to 9.
CHARADRIUS HIATICULA Linnaeus
RINGED PLOVER
_Contributed by Francis Charles Robert Jourdain_
HABITS
The ringed plover breeds both on the east and west coasts of Greenland,
ranging north to Sabine and Clavering Islands and Denmark Harbor on
the east side and to Inglefield Gulf on the west. It is also said to
breed near Cumberland Sound in Baffin Land, but this may refer to the
semipalmated plover, _Charadrius semipalmatus_, and it has occurred
casually in Barbados, Chile, and southern Alaska.
The subdivision of the ringed plover into geographical races is
attended with considerable difficulties owing to the presence of
passing migrants on many of its breeding grounds. The Siberian form,
_Charadrius hiaticula tundrae_ is generally recognized, but is only
distinguishable with certainty in summer plumage. Probably the
Alaskan specimen belongs to this race. E. Lehn Schiöler, with fine
series of carefully sexed birds before him, separates the Greenland
breeding birds from the typical race under the name of _Ch. hiaticula
septentrionalis_, but material with accurate data is too scarce in
other collections to enable us to hazard an opinion.
_Spring._--In northeast Greenland, where Manniche found this species
breeding plentifully, the birds arrived about the end of May or the
beginning of June, at the same time as the other waders. Icelandic
birds arrive early: April 22 to 28 (Faber).
Dr. W. Elmer Ekblaw says in his notes:
The ringed plover is one of the most noticeable birds of
the shorelands of northwest Greenland. Few beaches are
unoccupied by these noisy little birds, and rarely is one
out of sound of their shrill piping. They are quite as
common about the streams and pools of the interior and
along the seepage swales of the ground moraines. They come
to the land as early as May 29 and stay until the last week
in July. Almost invariably they are mated when they arrive
and only rarely does one see more than a pair together,
except where they congregate about swales or shallow pools
to feed. They are sociably inclined and do not hesitate to
make their nests near the Eskimo villages, probably feeling
more secure from Arctic foxes when near dogs and human
habitation.
_Courtship._--The courtship of this species has been well described by
Farren, Selous, and Stanford. The former (1910) says:
Ringed plovers may be seen in pairs skimming low over the
ground, circling to a far height and descending again
like a flash, almost touching the ground as they do so.
They do not follow each other, but each describes similar
evolutions, overlapping and crossing the other’s line of
flight. Their long pointed wings, showing much white, give
a fictitious impression of size and as they alight on the
ground after skimming a short distance with curved drooping
wings they seem suddenly to vanish from sight as they touch
ground; in place of the long-winged graceful flyer is a
little plump-shaped gray bird, very difficult to see as it
runs with short quick steps over the sand.
Edmund Selous (1901) also describes a male as advancing toward the
hen a few steps at a time, and moving his legs with a rapid vibratory
motion during the pauses. Stanford (1927) remarks that the courtship is
by no means easy to observe even with the aid of a powerful glass.
In one party on the beach on March 20, where at least
two males were contending for one female, the males ran
backward and forward with short, quick steps, and when
another male was near the feathers of the back and the tips
of the closed wings were elevated, the tall depressed and
spread out to its full extent to show the white tips of the
feathers, and the whole body arched with the head and neck
drawn in, the black gorget being puffed out to nearly twice
its normal size. In this crouching attitude the males ran
aimlessly to and fro for half an hour at a time, but making
no real attempt to attack each other.
Another male--
kept running in front of the hen and sinking down on the
beach every few yards exactly as if settling down on a
nest. Occasionally while brooding in this way he would
tilt himself forward onto his breast with the closed wing
tips pointing up almost vertically over his back, the tail
depressed, and the legs scratching out sand and stones
behind him. The indifference displayed by the hen to this
performance was as noticeable as it usually is in the case
of lapwings’ “rolling” on the ground. On several other
occasions in April I saw cock ringed plovers settle down
and appear to brood for several minutes exactly as if they
were on a nest; in one case the bird kept turning round
and round on one spot, and twice at least this action was
followed by an attempt at coition.
The love flight often covers nearly a mile of ground, and both birds
take part--crossing and recrossing with their bodies twisting from
side to side and soft beats of the wings. The double note, according
to Stanford, has a remarkably vibrant quality at these times and the
throat appears to be swelled out.
_Nesting._--Both nesting sites and the nests themselves of this species
vary considerably. The commonest site is among the sand and shingle
above high-water mark on the seashore. In some cases the eggs are
laid in a hollow scratched in the sand with no lining of any kind, in
others small fragments of cockle shells and small stones are collected
and imbedded, while other nests are more or less substantially built,
from a few dead bents carelessly arranged to well-made cups in which
almost any material available is utilized, such as driftwood, rabbits’
droppings, stems of leaves, and shore plants, etc. On some beaches
where there is no sand the eggs may be found lying on the bare pebbles,
while on the north Norfolk coast they are often placed under shelter of
sea heath, and nests have been met with in cornfields, several miles
from the sea, or on open grassland in sewage farms inland.
_Eggs._--Normally four in number, occasionally three on late layings,
while instances of five are rare. In color they vary from stone color
to ocherous or clay yellow sometimes with a warm tinge, spotted as a
rule rather sparingly with brownish black. Occasionally varieties with
large blotches of sepia are met with and white eggs have been recorded
as well as bluish eggs, without markings. The shell is deep green when
viewed from within. The measurements of 100 British eggs, made by the
writer, averaged 35.9 by 25.9 millimeters; the eggs showing the four
extremes measure =39= by 26.5, 37 by =28.5=, =32.2= by 25 and 32.7 by
=24= millimeters. Eggs from Iceland and other northern localities are
decidedly smaller.
_Young._--Incubation is shared by both sexes which relieve one another
at short intervals and the period is variously estimated at from 22 to
25 days; probably 24 or 25 days represents the average. The young are
hatched within 24 hours and leave the nest as soon as the down is dry.
Apparently a second brood is reared in some cases, but many of the late
nests may be second or third layings.
Doctor Ekblaw writes:
The old birds were wildly agitated whenever I approached,
and by the customary simulation of injury attempted to
lead me away from the nest. The fledglings ran about as
soon as hatched, and like all little shorebirds were quick
to respond to a warning signal and sink into pebble-like
immobility. The weather was so cold that the old birds did
not leave the young, for when the brood was separated both
parents sheltered some of the little ones.
_Plumages._--The plumages and molts are fully described in A Practical
Handbook of British Birds, edited by H. F. Witherby (1920).
_Food._--Insects, including Coleoptera (_Apion_, _Aphodius_,
_Haliplus_, _Hydroporus_, etc.), Crustacea, especially the smaller
species (Gammaridae, Amphipoda, etc.), Mollusca, chiefly small marine
univalves, such as Littorina, Annelida (earthworms), and vegetable
matter (seeds of _Polygonum_, etc.).
_Behavior._--This is an attractive and inoffensive species, sociable
in its habits and met with in flocks of considerable size out of the
breeding season, when their simultaneous maneuvers on the wing are
a very characteristic feature of the great estuaries, the flocks
appearing to change from light to dark as the upper or under surfaces
are exposed. They may also be seen on the mud flats, making short runs
at intervals, when the movements of the legs and feet are so rapid that
the eye can not follow them.
_Voice._--John T. Nichols contributes the following:
A rather clear, not very loud, low-pitched whistle, given
on the ground as much as in the air, rather infrequent.
This may be written _kruip_ or _puik_, occasionally
distinctly two syllabled and suggesting the semipalmated
plover’s call, but lower pitched. It was heard in late
September from several birds loosely associated with a
larger number of scattered dunlin on tidal sands north
of Liverpool. They usually took wing in silence, and the
species seems to be a rather silent one as seen here
and elsewhere on British shores in September. They were
very likely not traveling, and their voice therefore not
comparable with that of the semipalmated on home shores.
Also the note described is very likely not analogous with
the full, loud-flight note of the transient semipalmated
plover.
_Enemies._--During the autumn and winter months the flocks are
occasionally harried by a migrating merlin (_Falco columbarius
aesalon_), and some clutches of eggs are annually destroyed by
marauding Corvidae (crows) and Laridae (gulls). On some parts of the
coast which are much exposed, great damage is done by exceptionally
high tides, as many nests are built close to the high-water mark.
_Fall._--In Greenland Manniche (1910) observed that the old birds left
in pairs about the first week in August, as soon as the young were
grown up. The young birds immediately went to the shores and estuaries,
consorting with young sanderlings and turnstones and leaving for the
south early in September. At the Westmann Isles in south Iceland they
leave between September 20 and October 10.
_Winter._--In the British Isles the wintering birds are to be met
with in flocks on most of our larger estuaries. When on the wing they
sometimes associate with dunlin and also occasionally with redshanks.
DISTRIBUTION
_Breeding range._--In the Old World, commonly in the British Isles and
sparingly in the Faroes and Iceland; also probably on Bear Island and
a few pairs in Spitsbergen as well as on Waigatz, Kolguev, and Nova
Zembla. On the European Continent, from the Arctic Ocean south to the
Mediterranean, chiefly on the seacoasts, and only locally by lakes and
rivers. In the Mediterranean it is local on some of the islands and
nowhere plentiful. The north Asiatic race has been separated, while in
the New World its breeding range includes both coasts of Greenland and
perhaps the east coast of Baffin Land, unless the last statement is due
to confusion with the semipalmated plover.
_Winter range._--Many remain in the British Isles through the winter,
but birds from northern Europe migrate to the Mediterranean region and
Africa, where they have been recorded as far south as Cape Province and
Natal, the majority wintering south of the Sahara. The Atlantic Isles
(Canaries, Madeira, and Azores) are visited on passage, and Asiatic
birds have been recorded from the Indo-Malayan archipelago and even
Australia, though some doubt has been cast on this.
_Spring migration._--The principal passage at Gibraltar takes place in
March, the latest birds leaving in April. From about mid March to mid
April old birds are on passage northward and the breeding ground in
Norway is reached in April, and in Sweden from late March onward.
_Fall migration._--In northern Europe (Norway and Sweden) the southward
movement takes place in September and at the Straits of Gibraltar the
passage lasts from September to November. At Heligoland young birds
begin to pass as early as the end of June and the beginning of July.
_Casual records._--In Jan Mayen it apparently occurs in some numbers,
but is not known to breed. Barbados, one, Chancery Lane, September
10. Gould’s record of one from Port Stevens, Australia, is a somewhat
questionable one. One obtained at Sultanpur, south of Delhi, November,
1878; another at Gilgit, October, 1879. (These records must refer to
the Siberian race, as also probably the Chilean occurrence and that
from Sitka, Alaska.)
_Egg dates._--In northeast Greenland Manniche found eggs from June 17
to July 18, while in Nova Zembla the young were recently hatched at the
beginning of August and eggs probably laid late in June or early in
July. In the British Isles eggs have been met with in March, but most
eggs are laid from the end of April onward. April 16 to 30 (5 dates),
May 1 to 14 (10 dates), May 15 to 31 (21 dates), June 1 to 30 (23
dates), July 1 to 30 (7 dates).
CHARADRIUS DUBIUS CURONICUS Gmelin
LITTLE RINGED PLOVER
_Contributed by Francis Charles Robert Jourdain_
HABITS
The little ringed plover owes its place in the American list to a
casual occurrence at Kodiak Island, Alaska. It is noteworthy that in
J. F. von Brandt’s paper in the Journal für Ornithologie, 1891, the
Alaskan specimen is recorded as “_Charadrius alexandrinus_ Pall.” There
is also a specimen in the United States National Museum (No. 39523)
which is said to have been taken at San Francisco, but some doubt
appertains to the latter record.
_Spring._--The range of this species does not extend far to the north
in western Europe and it is only a rare straggler to the British Isles.
In northern Germany it appears in fair numbers on the larger rivers and
at lakesides, about the middle of March, but except in southern Sweden
few cross the Baltic to breed.
_Courtship._--H. F. Witherby (1919) has some interesting notes on
this species which was breeding in company with the Kentish plover
(_Charadrius alexandrinus_) near Dunkerque, in northern France.
On April 28 the little ringed plovers were flying round
after each other, with a beautiful slow, long, flap of
the wings, much like the flight of a large butterfly and
uttering a pleasing little song. This was evidently a
“courtship” action and we found many “scoops” in the sand,
but no eggs.
Liebe describes the song flight as beginning with a zigzag oblique
ascent, followed by short horizontal flights at various angles over
the gravelly bed where the hen is sitting, uttering meantime his
musical whistle, which is answered by the bird beneath, and ending
in a sharp descent in a curve toward the water’s edge and thence
with low, skimming flight to the hen. The little ring plover is a
much more demonstrative and noisy species than the ringed plover and
when its breeding haunts are approached instead of running off with
a low whistle and then flying a short distance ahead, it flies round
and round the intruder with loud repeated whistling notes. Naumann
(1887) expresses the pairing song by the words “_duh, du dull lull
lullullul_,” taken in slow time and ending with a wonderful trill only
to be heard on the breeding ground.
_Nesting._--Continental writers lay much stress on the fact that this
bird by preference always makes the nest in gravelly patches rather
than in sand. This is not invariably the case, as the bird builds
freely on sand banks in rivers where there is no shingle or gravel,
and at times also on dry mud. It may be found nesting far inland,
but nearly always in the neighborhood of water and shows a decided
preference for the shores of fresh-water lakes and the larger rivers
rather than the seashore.
_Eggs._--The normal clutch is four, though three is not an uncommon
number, and generally they are readily distinguishable from those of
the other sand plovers. They are more pyriform in shape than those of
the Kentish plover, and average less in size than either of the two
other common European species. In color the ground color is often
grayish when fresh but dries out to a yellowish stone or pale reddish
ocherous, with many fine streaks and spots of dark brown and numerous
small ashy streaks or spots. On the whole the markings are paler and
scantier than with the Kentish plover, but in rare cases large blotches
of rich brown and ash colors are found in some sets, and others show an
approach to the normal type of Kentish plover. The eggs are laid in a
mere hollow without lining in the gravel. The measurements of 100 eggs
(68 by the writer and 32 by Rey) average 29.8 by 22.08 millimeters; the
eggs showing the four extremes measure =32.8= by 23, 30.1 by =23.5=,
=27.3= by 21.1, and 28.6 by =21= millimeters.
_Young._--Incubation is said by Naumann (1887) to be apparently
performed by both sexes, but in warm and sunny weather the eggs are
left for long periods uncovered. The period is over 22 days, probably
23 or 24 (not 16 or 17 as erroneously given by Naumann). Only one brood
is reared in the season as a rule, but some dates are extremely late
and point to an occasional second brood.
_Plumages._--The plumages and molts are fully described in A Practical
Handbook of British Birds, edited by H. F. Witherby (1920).
_Food._--Definite records are scanty, but it is evident that the main
food consists of insects, including the smaller Coleoptera and their
larvae; Diptera and larvae; Neuroptera (Phryganeidae or caddis flies
and larvae). Naumann also found a small worm in one case in the stomach.
_Behavior._--Witherby (1919) writes:
The little ringed plover is even more demonstrative than
the Kentish and it is shyer and more difficult to mark onto
its nest or young. Both species have a very plaintive alarm
note which they utter constantly as they fly round the
intruder, but the Kentish is less fussy and less noisy than
the little ringed. When one is near the young both species
go through various outcries, such as running along the
ground crouching low with head stretched out, lying on the
side with one wing up, the legs stretched out and the tail
spread, or with the breast on the ground and both wings
half spread, but the performance of the Kentish is much
less abandoned than that of the little ringed.
P. W. Munn (1921) also writes:
The behavior of the birds at their nest is totally
different from Kentish plovers, which are not demonstrative
whilst they have eggs; but the little ringed plover flies
wildly round and round, twisting and doubling and uttering
its wild whistle, or else runs frantically about on the
ground, whistling plaintively.
_Enemies._--The eggs are occasionally taken by Corvidae, and the birds
themselves sometimes fall victims to Accipitres.
DISTRIBUTION
_Breeding range._--Central and southern Europe, from France, Denmark,
southern Sweden, southern Finland and 64° N. in Russia, south to the
Mediterranean and its islands and Africa north of the Sahara. In Asia
its range extends across Siberia to the Pacific and includes also
Japan. In India and the Philippines, Hainan, and Formosa it is replaced
by other subspecies. It does not breed in the British Isles, but nests
in Madeira and the Canaries.
_Winter range._--Winters in tropical Africa, south to the Gold Coast,
Fernando Po, the lower Niger, Lakes Rudolf, Albert and Victoria Nyanza,
and the Red Sea coast; in Asia to Arabia and India and also to the
Sunday Islands and perhaps New Guinea.
_Spring migration._--In south Spain it arrives about mid March and is
widely distributed in April, while in the eastern Mediterranean the
passage takes place in Crete and Corfu in April. On Heligoland it is
only a rare straggler.
_Fall migration._--The north German breeding birds leave for the south
at the end of September. Farther south the presence of immigrants from
the north among the breeding birds is seldom noted.
_Casual records._--In the British Isles there are about 10
well-authenticated records; April (2), August (4), and October (1
or 2). The supposed records from Iceland and the Faroes are not
authenticated. Gaetke only records 2 at Heligoland in 50 years.
_Egg dates._--In northern Africa eggs have been found from March
onward; in Spain and the Balearic Isles, March 16 (1 date), April 15 to
30 (3 dates), May 1 to 14 (4 dates), 15 to 30 (3 dates); late dates,
June 12 and July 11. In France and Germany, May 3 to 17 (7 dates), 18
to 31 (8 dates); June 1 to 15 (5 dates); late dates, July 19 and 22.
CHARADRIUS MELODUS Ord
PIPING PLOVER
HABITS
_Contributed by Winsor Marrett Tyler_
Wilson and Audubon were familiar with the piping plover as a common
summer resident on the sandy beaches of the Atlantic coast. Audubon
found it breeding as far north as the Magdelen Islands and wintering
abundantly on the coast of Florida.
During the years between the time of these early writers and the
present, the species has been subjected to many seasons of spring and
autumn shooting which, in the closing years of the nineteenth century,
brought the bird nearly to the point of extinction.
It is readily seen why persistent shooting threatened this bird’s
existence. Its breeding range on the coast extends for hundreds of
miles in a northerly and southerly direction, but owing to the bird’s
very restricted nesting site it is narrowed in many places to a strip
of beach only a few yards wide. Fortunately legislation intervened and
removed the smaller plovers from the list of game birds, so that at
the present time the piping plover is fast becoming one of our common
summer residents again.
_Spring._--Compared to most of the waders, the piping plover has a
short and safe migration route. Moving along the coast where spring is
further advanced than in the interior of the country, and having to
pass over no large bodies of water on its way to its breeding ground,
the bird pushes northward early in the season, often arriving in New
England during the last days of March, the first of the shorebirds to
reach our beaches.
_Courtship._--In his notes A. C. Bent describes the courtship thus:
“I saw and heard the nuptial flight and song of this bird. He flew in
large circles or figure 8s low over the back beach near the marsh for
several minutes, giving constantly a peculiar twittering whistling
song.” Another entry in his notes under date, May 20, reads: “Saw
piping plover mating, two males following one female. They were running
around her in crouching attitude, with wings spread and trailing and
with tail spread in display, uttering whistling notes.”
I once saw a male bird come up behind a crouching female and stand at
full height close to her with his breast feathers puffed out and head
held high, his neck stretched upward so that it was long and slim,
the bird both in posture and shape resembling an upland plover. For
a minute or two he stood thus while his feet beat a rapid tatoo on
the sand. In this attitude of display he appeared bright colored and
conspicuous in contrast to the female and the band across his breast
(complete in his case) stood out sharply defined against the adjacent
snowy feathers.
_Nesting._--The typical nesting site of the piping plovers is the belt
of sand bordering lake or ocean well above high-water mark, where the
surface is becoming diversified and pebble strewn and wisps of beach
grass begin to grow. Here they lay their eggs, commonly with little
preparation for their reception other than a slight hollowing of the
light sand, but not infrequently they collect small stones, bits of
shell, or driftwood and line their nests with them or lay them near by.
The following quotations indicate differences in the appearance of
the nests. In a letter to Mr. Bent, Allen H. Wood describes a very
unusual nest. He says: “The nest was a hollow scooped in a mass of
sand which had been piled up to a height of nearly 10 inches. Whether
the birds formed the pile or not, I do not, of course, know, but a
very careful examination failed to show how else the pile could have
been formed.” A. C. Bent speaks in his notes of finding at Dartmouth,
Mass., “three nests containing four eggs each, all on a high, sandy and
pebbly beach in the heart of a tern colony. The nests were hollows in
the sand, profusely lined with broken pieces of white shell and were
quite conspicuous.” E. W. Hadeler found on the shore of Lake Erie, at
Painesville, Ohio, a paved nest. He says in his notes that there were
“four eggs, almost the same color as the ground and stones, laid in a
slight depression on some very small flat stones and around the nest
were stones of all shapes and sizes.” Philipp and Bowdish (1917) in
New Brunswick “found a small colony of breeding birds, five nests,
each containing four eggs, being located. The nests were on sandy
beach, some in the open, others among sparse clumps of beach grass.
They were slight hollows in the sand, some quite unlined, others with
a well-formed rim of bits of broken shell or slate.” In a letter to
Mr. Bent, Edward R. Ford calls attention to some birds nesting in an
unusual environment. He says:
At Dune Park, Ind., the piping plover, to the number of
five or six pairs, has taken advantage of the widening of
the beach (through the operations of a sand company which
has removed part of the dunes) and lays its eggs at a
considerable distance from the water’s edge. The old ridges
formed by the tramway beds, from which the rails have been,
for the most part, removed; the old cinder heaps, bits of
scrap iron and other odds and ends of human labor, with
here and there patches of vetch and coarse grass, seem well
suited to its requirements.
In common with some of its near relatives, the piping plover has the
habit of making additional hollows in the sand in the vicinity of the
hollow in which its eggs are laid. These hollows have been termed cock
nests and have been compared to the nests which the male of some of the
wrens builds while his mate is sitting.
My notes, taken on Cape Cod in the company of Charles A. Robbins in mid
April, refer to this subject:
After some 10 minutes, during which time the two birds
stood motionless on the sand facing the wind, they began to
move about, the male taking visible interest in the female
and following her as she walked away. They came to a place
back of the beach where stones lay sparsely scattered on
the dry sand and little bunches of beach grass and patches
of Hudsonia were growing. Here the male stopped at a spot
between two stones, lowered his breast to the ground and
kicked out alternately with his legs scratching the sand
from beneath him. Then moving off a little way he did the
same in another spot while the female came to the place
between the stones and continued the hollowing process
which he had begun. Nearly, if not quite, in time with
their rapidly moving legs, the birds uttered a series
of short, high-pitched whistles, all on the same note,
having the piping quality of their common call. When the
scratching stopped, the notes stopped.
During perhaps a quarter of an hour the birds continued
to scratch and pipe until several little hollows had been
begun and abandoned. The female, however, scratched for the
most part in the hollow between the stones, digging it out
to a depth of an inch. Soon this phase of activity passed
off and the birds began to feed.
During the hour the birds were under observation neither
one made its bobbing motion.
_Eggs._--[AUTHOR’S NOTE: Four eggs are the almost invariable rule with
the piping plover; rarely only three are laid in second sets, and I
have found one set of five. They are ovate to short ovate in shape and
have no gloss. The ground colors vary from “light buff” to “cartridge
buff” or buffy white. They are sparingly, but quite evenly, marked with
small spots, or fine dots, of blackish brown or black, and sometimes
with a few underlying spots of “pallid purplish gray.” They are almost
invisible on the sand or among small pebbles. The measurements of
71 eggs average 31.4 by 24.2 millimeters; the eggs showing the four
extremes measure =34.4= by 25.3, 31.8 by =26.4=, =29.2= by 23.8 and 30
by =23= millimeters.]
_Young._--Gayle Pickwell (1925) describes in detail the hatching of an
egg and ascertained that the young birds may leave the nest a few hours
later. He says: “It soon refused to remain in the nest. Finally, it
left, and while it was tottering insecurely away the parent bird came
running up with little chuckles of solicitude.”
Alexander G. Lawrence, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, says in his notes:
Careful search of the sand spit revealed a number of small
white moving points, which later search proved to be baby
piping plovers. While I was chasing one it tripped, fell on
its back, and lay as if stunned, deceiving me so completely
that I turned to get my camera to make a close-up picture
of the little fellow. No sooner had I moved away than he
sprang up and ran pell-mell over the sand, and the chase
commenced again.
C. A. Bobbins (1919) describes further the behavior of the young birds
thus:
Of course it frequently happens that there is no time for
concealment. Then the young birds attempt to escape by
running, the tiny legs working with surprising rapidity and
carrying them over the ground so swiftly and smoothly that
they looked like balls of down blowing before the wind.
Also, if their escape up the beach is cut off and they
continue to be closely pressed, they do not hesitate to
take to the water. Even those only a few hours out of the
shell swim well and navigate their frail craft, if not with
intelligence, at least in a direction away from the source
of danger.
_Plumages._--[AUTHOR’S NOTE: The downy young piping plover is sand
colored above. The crown, back, wings, rump, and thighs are variegated
with “cream buff,” “cartridge buff,” and grayish white, sprinkled
or peppered with browns; on the wings the color deepens almost to
“chamois.” The forehead is buffy white; there is a more or less
distinct V-shaped mark of dark brown in the center of the crown and
a circle of small brownish tips around the edge of it. The wings and
thighs are marked with brown spots. A white collar encircles the hind
neck, and the entire under parts are white. The juvenal plumage appears
first on the scapulars and sides of the breast, then on the remaining
underparts, back, and crown; the last parts to become feathered are the
throat, belly, and rump; then the wing quills appear, and lastly the
tail. In fresh juvenal plumage the feathers of the crown and mantle are
“drab gray” or “smoke gray,” broadly tipped with “pinkish buff,” giving
a decidedly pinkish tone at first; but these pink tips soon fade and
wear away, leaving a dull-gray crown and mantle, faintly mottled with
pale tints of buffy and dusky. The black bands on the forehead and neck
are entirely lacking.
The first winter plumage is acquired by a limited body molt early
in the fall and by wear and fading of much of the plumage that is
retained. It is like the adult winter except for the worn and faded
edgings on what juvenal feathers are retained, mainly wing coverts and
scapulars. A partial prenuptial molt early in the spring produces a
nuptial plumage which is practically adult.
Adults have a complete molt in late summer and fall--August to
October--and a partial prenuptial molt in late winter and spring,
mainly in March. In winter plumage the crown and mantle are “pale ecru
drab,” without the pale edgings, with no black frontal band, and with a
restricted brownish instead of black collar. The black frontal band and
the black collar, characteristic of the nuptial plumage, are usually
acquired in March; the extent of the black collar increases with age
and the complete collar probably indicates an old bird.]
_Food._--Arthur H. Howell (1924) says: “The food of this plover, as
indicated by the contents of four stomachs secured in Alabama, consists
principally of marine worms, fly larvae, and beetles.” E. H. Forbush
(1925) lists the following: “Insects, crustaceans, mollusks, and other
small marine animals and their eggs.”
The feeding habits of the piping plover as it hunts for food along our
beaches are characteristic. In marked contrast to the nervous haste of
the sanderling and the rapid darting about with lightning-like thrusts
of the bill of the smallest sandpipers, the behavior of the plover
is leisurely, and as they pick up food from the sand the movements
of the head are deliberate. Three or four may sweep down the beach
together, close to the sand, but when they alight, after a moment of
stillness, they separate, each bird running a little way, isolating
itself from its companions (another point of difference from the
sanderling, etc., which in migration tend to keep close in a flock
while feeding). Generally they begin at once to hunt for food. They
run a short distance, then pause and stare at the sand with neck a
little outstretched, head tilted a bit to one side, perhaps looking for
a movement to show where food is, for often, leaning farther forward,
they pick something from the sand. As they run over the beach--a run
and a pause, another run and another scrutinizing pause, often changing
direction to catch up a bit of food--the birds suggest very strongly a
robin feeding on a lawn and the resemblance is strengthened when the
plover seizes a 3-inch-long worm and drags it from beneath the sand,
pulling slowly and carefully lest it break, and swallows it whole.
_Behavior._--Their actions while feeding are apparently identical with
those of the semipalmated plover, and the flight of the two birds is
similar if not exactly the same. Their flight is wilder than that of
the sanderling, for example, which drives steadily along; they twist
and turn more often and tilt from one side to the other, giving the
impression of extreme swiftness and agility.
Descriptions of the action of the sitting bird when disturbed differ
very little. The bird is invariably wary and steals off before the
intruder comes near, leaving him in doubt as to the existence of
a nest. After the eggs are hatched, however, their actions change
completely, and the parents display the utmost concern for the safety
of their young. In the following quotation from his notes, E. H.
Forbush describes graphically this behavior, and also shows that even
in the early days of the young bird’s life the parents do not feed
them. Mr. Forbush says:
A colony of piping plovers on the same beach had been much
reduced in numbers but the behavior of one pair showed
that they had young on the beach. We saw one plover and
then another fluttering along the ground like young or
crippled birds. Their actions might deceive a novice, but
by watching them with a glass, we soon saw that they were
adult birds. They threw themselves on the ground, breast
downward, and, drooping the flight feathers or primaries,
raised and agitated the shorter secondaries, until the
motion resembled the fluttering pinions of young or wounded
birds, meantime pushing themselves along over the sand
with their feet. As the wings were not spread, the long
primary quills were not noticeable, and so the imitation
of the struggles of a helpless bird was almost perfect.
Immediately we began a careful search for the nest, looking
in all the usual hiding places in or under the tufts of
beach grass, but no nest could we find. As the old birds
continued their plaintive cries and circled about, we
extended our search, expecting to find some half-grown
young flattened out somewhere on the beach. Finally, by
hunting over the sand we found on the open beach, a nest
exactly like that of the least tern. A few little pebbles
had been grouped in a slight hollow, and there, partly
beside and partly on the pebbles, lay three lovely little
downy chicks and one egg. We attempted to photograph the
parents, but they would not come to the young; and, as the
little ones had already begun to run, about, we sunk an old
barrel in the beach, and put them and the egg in it, that
we might know where to find them on the morrow.
The day was foggy and cold, and during the night a
thunderstorm drenched the earth; but the next morning the
egg had disappeared, and four lively youngsters were
running around in our barrel. They were now so active, that
if one were liberated it would be rather difficult to catch
it, while if hidden, it would be almost impossible to find
it.
We kept them there two days, until we made sure that the
parents never fed them. They brooded them quite constantly,
but brought no food whatever, and we made certain that the
young were able and willing to find their own food within
24 hours after they were out of the shell. It was seen that
unless they were liberated from the barrel they would soon
starve to death.
C. A. Bobbins (1919) in a study of a colony of piping plovers breeding
in Massachusetts lays stress on the communal feeling that he noted in
the birds. He says that the feeling--
manifests itself in a marked degree; as when, at a threat
of danger, more than two adults join in driving a single
brood up the beach and into the safety which the concealing
color of the dry sand furnishes.
It is shown again by the number of old birds that attempt
to distract attention from the same brood or even from a
detached individual by feigning; creeping off with wings
outstretched and fluttering, tail fanned and dragging or,
if the need requires more extreme measures, collapsing
utterly a short distance away as if completely exhausted.
_Voice._--The piping plover’s home is blue and gray and white; on one
side is the long line of the horizon over a large lake or the sea, on
the other the long line of the sand hills. It is a land the same the
world over, wherever the sea meets the white, shifting sand. The sea
slides back and forth over the hard smooth wet shining beach; above the
reach of the tide is the dry, pale gray, pebbly upper beach with here
and there a few strands of beach grass growing in it, and higher up are
the dunes which mark on the land side the boundary of the plover’s home.
Walk along the water’s edge and, although the sea may be pounding on
the shore and a northerly gale howling about our ears, we shall hear
the plover’s voice; a soft musical moan, we can not tell from where,
but clear and distinct above the sound of waves and wind. The note has
a ventriloquial quality and it is often our first intimation that a
piping plover is near, for the soft gray of the bird’s plumage matches
the sandy background, whereas the note is pervasive and attracts our
attention by its strangeness.
Aretas A. Saunders sends me the following summary of this plover’s
notes. He says:
The commonest call I have noted is the one rendered in the
books as _peep-lo_. It is lower pitched than most of the
shore-bird voices, a clear melodious whistle, and generally
rendered _peep peep peeplo_. The _peep_ is usually a
tone or a tone and a half higher pitched than the _lo_
and I have one record where it is three tones and a half
higher. I have one or two records where the second note
slurs upward, the effect like _peep-loay_ and suggesting
the _peeawee_ of the wood pewee. Another sort of note I
have several records of I do not find described in books.
This is a series of short sweet notes, more rapid than the
others, nine or ten notes in a series. They are either all
on the same pitch, or grading slightly downward in pitch
toward the end, and they are sometimes followed by the
peep-lo notes, at least in flight.
J. T. Nichols says in his notes:
When nesting the piping plover is rather noisy. The thought
of its plaintive, rather mellow whistled notes, _queep_,
_queep_, _queeplo_, etc., which perhaps have an analogy
with song, takes me back to the sand dunes of Cape Cod
standing in the dazzling sunshine, where I first became
familiar with this species a number of years ago. At other
times of year piping plover are rather silent. Their
whistled flight note _hee-hu_, with falling inflection at
the end, is not loud or striking, and suggests that of the
semipalmated plover, reversed.
Gayle Pickwell (1925) in a study of the breeding habits “on a strip of
sandy beach at Capital Lake near Lincoln” [Nebraska] says:
The most interesting thing about the piping plovers was
their activities when one was near the nest. As an observer
approached the nest he would be met by one of the plovers
dropping down out of nowhere, uttering its sharp _kee-wee,
kee-wee_ and striving its utmost to lead one away. It would
then run briskly across the sand and disappear suddenly
from sight when it stopped to crouch down and utter its
long-drawn _whooaah, whooaah_.
The variety of their cries and calls was amazing.
At almost any period, while we were in the neighborhood,
one of the birds could be observed flying here and there
with slow, wide wing beats, uttering a rapid _kuk, kuk,
kuk, kuk_. It would shortly alight and wind it up with a
long-drawn, weird _whooaah, whooaah_ that seemed to come
from nowhere in particular. The distress cries while one
was near the nest were confined chiefly to a sharp _kee-ah,
kee-ah_. The reason for their name of “piping” became very
apparent at such times.
The _kuk_ mentioned by Mr. Pickwell is seemingly analogous to a
common note which the semipalmated plovers use as they carry on their
harmless running flights along the beach--a sort of rattling cackle of
short notes somewhat suggesting the call of the red crossbill. These
utterances are evidently expressions of a heightening in the emotional
state of these closely related plovers.
John A. Farley (1919) describes a mating song accompanying courting
activities. He says:
I noticed a group of three, two of which chased each
other around just like two robins fighting over a female.
Some flew around rather low over the beach (some of them
rather close to me), in apparent sexual excitement, and
uttered notes while on the wing. These were different from
the usual mellow, rather low notes which the birds were
uttering more or less all the time while on the sand. Their
notes on the wing were higher in tone and rather long drawn
out, and mixed in with them were some little chuckles. The
whole might be described as some sort of a mating song.
_Field marks._--J. T. Nichols says in substance in his notes that the
bird--
may be recognized by its exceedingly pale colors which
nearly match the dry sand of the beach above high-water
mark. The white in the wing shows so little contrast to
the general tone of the plumage that, although in flight
a pattern on the wing is visible, it Is very faintly
indicated. A flying sanderling sometimes appears to be
about the same color, but has bolder wing pattern than the
plover.
The bobbing motion characteristic of several of the plovers is a
common habit of the piping plover. This is a single hitching motion by
which the body is tilted up and down on the legs as a fulcrum. It is
apparently identical with the bob of the semipalmated plover and is
made frequently as the birds stand about on the beach.
_Enemies._--The piping plover is shielded from its enemies by
remarkable protective coloration which renders the bird nearly
invisible as it stands motionless on the gray sand, especially when
among scattered stones. The eggs, the young, and the adult bird are
alike protected, so now that man is no longer its deadly enemy there is
little to check the species from repopulating its breeding haunts in
its former numbers.
E. Beaupre speaks in his notes of a local condition in eastern Ontario.
He says: “Owing to the destructive work of crows [in eating the
plover’s eggs] some are obliged to lay a second clutch, and this no
doubt accounts for some of the nests containing fresh eggs in June.”
_Fall._--The piping plover moves southward soon after its nesting
activities are over, following the habit of its relatives, the
Limicolae which breed during the short summer about the Arctic Circle.
Early departure from its nesting ground is not imperative in the case
of this southerly breeding bird, but the habit is undoubtedly of long
standing and dates back to the time when the species bred close to the
edge of the glacial ice field and summer passed quickly.
_Winter._--W. E. D. Scott (1892), speaking of the bird in Jamaica
on its winter quarters, says: “In October, 1887, piping plover were
abundant among the lagoons and mangrove swamps at the Palisades;
they moved about in large flocks which, when once alighted on the
shell-bestrewn beaches, it was impossible to detect.”
We leave the little plover covered by the helmet of invisibility.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--Eastern North America and the West Indies.
_Breeding range._--The breeding range of the piping plover extends
north to Saskatchewan (Big Stick Lake and Quill Lake); Manitoba (Birch
Island in Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipeg); Michigan (Big Beaver Island
and Charity Island); Ontario (Toronto and Brighton); Quebec (probably
Natashquan); and probably Newfoundland (Stephenville Crossing, St.
George Bay). East to probably Newfoundland (Stephenville); the Magdalen
Islands; Prince Edward Island (North River); Nova Scotia (Sable
Island and Yarmouth); Massachusetts (Ipswich, Monomoy Island, and
Marthas Vineyard); New York (Gardiners Island and Shelter Island); New
Jersey (Barnegat Inlet, Beach Haven, Sea Isle City, and probably Cape
May); Maryland (probably Ocean City); Virginia (Chincoteague Island,
Cobb Island, and Cape Charles); and North Carolina (Pea Island and
Beaufort). South to North Carolina (Beaufort); northern Pennsylvania
(Erie); northern Ohio (Painesville, Cleveland, Oberlin, and Sandusky);
northern Indiana (Millers); northern Illinois (Waukegan); southern
Wisconsin (Milwaukee and Lake Koshkonong); and Nebraska (Lincoln,
Dannebrog, and Doss). West to Nebraska (Goss); South Dakota (Miner
County); North Dakota (Stump Lake, Minnewauken, and Kenmare); and
southern Saskatchewan (Big Stick Lake).
There are many gaps in the range above outlined and the species also
has been extirpated from parts of its breeding grounds.
_Winter range._--Almost entirely the South Atlantic and Gulf coasts of
the United States. North to southern Texas (Padre Island, Aransas River
and High Island); Louisiana (Vermilion Bay); Alabama (Petit Bois Island
and Dauphin Island); and Georgia (Savannah). East to Georgia (Savannah
and Darien); eastern Florida (Amelia Island, Mayport, St. Augustine,
Sebastian, and Miami); probably the Bahama Islands (Eleuthera and Great
Inagua); and probably rarely Porto Rico. South to probably rarely Port
Rico; Cuba (Matanzas and Habana); southern and western Florida (Cape
Sable, Key West, Sanibel Island, Fort Myers; mouth of the Withlacoochee
River, and probably Pensacola); and southern Texas (Padre Island). West
to southern Texas (Padre Island). The species has been detected in
winter occasionally in Bermuda.
_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival are: South Carolina,
Frogmore, March 20; North Carolina, Pea Island, April 7; District of
Columbia, Washington, March 25; Pennsylvania, Erie, April 16; New York,
Shinnecock, March 24, Montauk Point, April 1, and Gardiners Island,
April 7; Rhode Island, Newport, March 24; Massachusetts, Marthas
Vineyard, March 18, Dennis, March 24, and Nantucket, March 26; Nova
Scotia, April 24; Illinois, Colona, April 9, and De Kalb, April 18;
Indiana, Waterloo, April 14, and Frankfort, April 15; Ohio, Lakeside,
April 7, and Oberlin, April 15; Michigan, Port Sanilac, April 15,
Ottawa Beach, April 23, and Detroit, April 26; Ontario, Point Pelee,
April 10, Listowel, May 1, and Toronto, May 8; Iowa, German Center,
April 10; Wisconsin, Whitewater, April 29, and Elkhorn, May 13;
Minnesota, Waseca, May 11, and Heron Lake, May 11; Kansas, Lawrence,
April 27, McPherson, May 3, and Topeka, May 7; Nebraska, Lincoln,
April 26, Gibbon, May 4, Nebraska City, May 8, and Doss, May 11; South
Dakota, Sioux Falls, May 5, and Vermilion, May 8; North Dakota,
Harrisburg, May 23, and St. Thomas, May 29; Manitoba, Shoal Lake, May
15, and Killarney, May 25; and Saskatchewan, Indian Head, May 14,
Qu’Appelle, May 23, and Lake Johnston, May 23.
Late dates of spring departure are: Florida, Amelia Island, April 20,
Daytona Beach, May 1, and Peninsula Point, May 11; and South Carolina,
Sullivans Island, May 11, and Mount Pleasant, May 18.
_Fall migration._--Early dates of arrival in the fall are: Texas,
Rockport, August 12, and St. Joseph Island, August 14; Mississippi,
Bay St. Louis, August 29; South Carolina, Mount Pleasant, August 2;
Florida, New Smyrna, July 15, Fernandina, August 3, and Daytona, August
10; and Alabama, Dauphin Island, August 16.
Late dates of fall departure are: Manitoba, Shoal Lake, September 7;
South Dakota, Forestburg, September 24; Nebraska, Bellwood, September
19, and Doss, September 24; Iowa, Grinnell, October 28; Ontario,
Point Pelee, September 22; Michigan, Newbury, September 18; Ohio,
Cleveland, September 24, Painesville, September 26, and Port Clinton,
September 28; Indiana, La Fayette, September 18; Prince Edward Island,
North River, October 20; Nova Scotia, Pictou, October 8; Vermont,
Bennington, October 2; Massachusetts, Lynn, October 3, Dennis, October
12, and Boston, October 26; Rhode Island, Block Island, October 24;
New York, Fair Haven Light, September 28, and Long Beach, November 7
(exceptionally late date); New Jersey, Cape May, September 13; and
Pennsylvania, Erie, September 26.
_Casual records._--The piping plover has been detected outside of its
regular range on very few occasions. A specimen in the British Museum
from the Lake of the Woods, Ontario, may indicate breeding in that
locality. One was obtained at Cheyenne, Wyo., on May 30, 1892.
_Egg dates._--Quebec and New Brunswick: 55 records, June 1 to 29; 28
records, June 5 to 18. New England to New Jersey: 48 records, May 22 to
June 29; 24 records, May 28 to June 23. Dakotas: 13 records, May 26 to
July 1; 7 records, May 28 to June 6.
CHARADRIUS NIVOSUS NIVOSUS (Cassin)
SNOWY PLOVER
HABITS
The charming little snowy plover of the Pacific coast is the
counterpart of our familiar piping plover, found in similar haunts,
perhaps even tamer and more confiding, but not equal to our eastern
bird in melody of voice. It is a child of the sand, with which its
colors blend so well that when crouched in some hollow or against some
bleached piece of driftwood or half buried clam shell it seems to be
just one more of the numerous, inconspicuous objects which one passes
unnoticed on the beach. Its favorite haunts are the broad expanses of
flat, dry sand above the ordinary wash of the tides on ocean beaches.
Such places are usually strewn more or less thickly with shells,
pebbles, and various bits of débris, among which the little plover,
or its eggs and young, are surprisingly inconspicuous. Here it was
born and has always lived; here it woos its mate and rears its little
family; and hence it seldom strays except to feed along the water’s
edge on the ocean beach or on the bare flats along some near-by tidal
creek. There are, however, a few places in the interior where the snowy
plover has been found along the shores of salt or alkaline lakes. But
it is mainly a bird of the ocean beaches.
_Spring._--The snowy plover wanders north in the spring as far as the
coast of Washington. D. E. Brown tells me that he saw it in Grays
Harbor County from April 7 to 13, 1918, and from May 14 to 16, 1914, in
Pacific County. But apparently no one has ever found it breeding there,
although several good observers have looked for it.
_Nesting._--The nesting grounds of the snowy plover have been briefly
described above, but a better description is contained in the following
quotation from W. Lee Chambers (1904):
The nesting ground is a white sandy cape or narrow strip
of land between Ballona Swamp and the ocean about 2 miles
long and 200 yards wide. This place during the fall high
tides is completely flooded and deposits of small rocks
and broken shells are left there. Among these the plovers
place their nests. On approaching it one may be attracted
by noticing the little fellows running about on the sand in
front of him or occasionally flying in low, wide circles
uttering a pleading whistle so characteristic of this
species. This whistle I have learned is a danger signal
that I am near their nests, and on looking over the ground
carefully I may be able to notice fine bird tracks in the
white sand or in the patches of white sand between the
shells and rocks.
In going over the ground carefully where the tracks are
the thickest a nest will generally be found. Sometimes the
birds will build among the small rocks, where the tracks
can not be seen, and here the eggs are safe, as their
coloration protects them, for they look exactly like small
rocks. The nests are, as a rule, found by a mark of some
kind, a bone of some animal, a small dead weed, or a bit
of driftwood, and are slight depressions in the sand. Some
are completely lined with broken shells or fish bones with
the eggs pointed toward the center, very close together and
about half buried in the nest lining. A pair of birds will
build several nests during the season and use only one, for
I have found nests all fixed up and completely surrounded
with tracks. This I noticed especially in 1901, for I found
about three times as many unused nests as used ones. During
this season I visited Ballona about three times a week and
gave the birds careful study.
While J. Eugene Law was helping me to get acquainted with the birds of
southern California, we spent a delightful day, May 29, 1914, among
these birds with Mr. Chambers at Del Rey, Los Angeles County. This was
once a typical nesting place of this species, a broad stretch of sand
flats above an ocean beach, backed by sand dunes and bordered on the
inner side by a sluggish stream meandering through a marsh and some
brackish lagoons. But civilization was encroaching on the plover’s
paradise, for several cottages had been built on the beach and it was
much frequented. Some four pairs of snowy plover still clung to their
ancestral home; we found three nests with three eggs each and one empty
nest, in open spaces among the houses. The nests were mostly on little
mounds of sand and scattered pebbles or among low sand dunes covered
with low weeds and vines. They were deep hollows in the sand, profusely
lined with finely broken white and pink shells, among scattered small
stones, bits of wood, or other rubbish. Amid such surroundings the eggs
were not easily detected; but we could usually locate the nests by the
multitude of little footprints in the sand converging toward the nest.
All but one of the birds were shy and sneaked off the nests before we
drew near. They watched us from a distance, running about very swiftly,
whistling their soft, plaintive notes of protest. One bird was very
tame; I gradually walked up very close to her and finally photographed
her within 3 or 4 feet. This gentle and confiding little bird, after
running about with drooping wings and spread tail, came slowly up to
the nest and settled down on the eggs right in front of me, spreading
out her plumage to cover her treasures. As a reward for her bravery we
did not disturb her further.
Grinnell, Bryant, and Storer (1918) write that:
In the vicinity of the salt works near Alvarado, on the
Alameda County shore of San Francisco Bay, L. R. Reynolds
found that a great many pairs had in the summer of
1914 selected nesting sites on the dike separating the
salt ponds. The workmen, in traversing the dikes with
wheelbarrows, reported having broken many eggs.
_Eggs._--The snowy plover ordinarily lays three eggs, but often only
two. Mr. Chambers (1904) says that out of 44 sets which he collected 11
were of two eggs and 33 were of three. The two egg sets were complete,
as he left them long enough to make sure. The eggs were laid about
three days apart. The extended nesting season, April to July, would
seem to indicate that two broods are raised, but I believe that this
has not been positively proven. The eggs are short, ovate in shape,
and without gloss. They are colored to match the sand--“olive buff” to
“pale olive buff,” or “cartridge buff.” They are more or less evenly
but not thickly covered with small spots, dots, or little scrawls of
black and a few small inconspicuous spots of “pallid mouse gray.” The
measurements of 51 eggs average 30.4 by 22.3 millimeters; the eggs
showing the four extremes measure =32.5= by 23.5, 30 by =24=, and =28=
by =20.5= millimeters.
_Young._--Apparently both sexes share the duties of incubation and care
of the young, at which they prove devoted parents. When the young are
approached the parents use all the artifices known to similar species
to distract the attention of the intruder, fluttering along as if both
wings and legs were helpless, or grovelling in the sand as if wounded.
Such tactics often succeed in fooling a dog and enticing him far enough
away but to human beings they are only an incentive to look carefully
for the tiny balls of down that, obedient to their parents’ note of
warning, are crouched immovable and well-nigh invisible in some little
hollow in the sand or under or against some object on the beach. And
there the little one remains “frozen” until touched or until sure that
he is observed; when, presto, off he goes, running at a marvelous pace
on his strong little legs. We watch him for some time as he scampers
away for a long distance until suddenly he vanishes; then, unless we
have marked him down exactly and kept our eyes on the spot, we had
better give up hope of finding him again.
_Plumages._--The downy young snowy plover is quite unlike the young
piping plover. The entire upper parts are pale buff, “cream buff” to
“cartridge buff,” mixed with grayish white. The crown, back, rump,
wings, and thighs are distinctly and quite evenly spotted with black.
The under parts are pure white.
In the juvenal plumage the crown, mantle, rump, cheeks, and a space
in front of the wing are “drab,” or “light drab,” with a pinkish buff
tinge on the tips of the feathers; the forehead and all under parts are
white. The first winter plumage is similar, without the buffy edgings.
Adults have a complete postnuptial molt in late summer and fall, and a
partial prenuptial molt in early spring. Males in nuptial plumage have
the crown and nape “pinkish buff,” and a broad band above the forehead,
an auricular patch and a patch in front of the wing abruptly clear
black. In females the crown is pale drab, like the back, and the dark
markings are more restricted and more brownish. In winter the sexes are
alike, similar to the spring female, but the dark markings are even
duller, about the same tone as the back.
_Food._--Snowy plover feed mainly on the sandy beaches, foraging on the
wet sand and at the surf line, where they are expert at dodging the
incoming waves and very lively, running up and down the beach as the
waves advance or recede. Here they often forage in compact bunches,
picking up small crustaceans, marine worms, or other minute marine
organisms. Inland they feed along the muddy or alkaline shores of ponds
or lakes, on various insects, such as beetles or flies. Dr. A. K.
Fisher (1893) says:
This handsome little plover was observed by the writer
on the shores of Owens Lake, near Keeler, May 30 to
June 4, where it was common in small flocks of 5 or 10
on the alkaline flats which border the lake. Like most
other birds in the vicinity, it fed extensively, if not
exclusively, on a species of small fly (_Ephydra hians_
Say), which was found in immense masses near the edge of
the lake. Many of these swarms of flies were four or five
layers deep and covered an area of 15 or 20 square feet.
Some idea can be formed of the inexhaustible supply of food
which this insect furnishes for birds when it is known
that colonies of equal size occurred at close intervals in
suitable localities all around the lake, which has a shore
line of between 40 and 50 miles.
_Behavior._--Grinnell, Bryant, and Storer (1918) write:
When searching for food they move about a great deal,
with a distinct trot, and on occasion have been seen to
hop along on one leg as Torrey has observed sanderlings
to do at Santa Barbara. Their movements are rapid and
their strides exceedingly long. At Netarts Bay, Oreg.,
Jewett says that when running fast the strides of one of
these birds proved to measure 6 inches. One of the birds
will start, run 3 or 4 feet, and stop suddenly, the whole
performance occupying but a second or two. There is an
abrupt upward tilt of the body at intervals, and with the
return movement the quavering note is often uttered. In
flight the birds may travel in open formation, or closely
massed, and the flight may be either direct, or in zigzag
course as with the small sandpipers. Both in flight, and on
the ground, their chunky appearance helps to distinguish
them from the small sandpipers. They are quite tame and
will usually permit a close approach, preferring apparently
to trot along in front of the observer, or off to one side,
rather than to take wing.
Florence Merriam Bailey (1916) observes:
Besides the large waders, the godwits, willets, and surf
birds, there were flocks of little sanderlings and snowy
plover, looking like small chickens on the beach among the
bigger birds. The snowy plover, plump, squat little fellows
with head markings that suggest wide foreheads and backs
that match the sand on which they love to sun themselves,
when feeding on the beach would hurry back ahead of the
foam, their short legs making them more in danger of
getting wet than the long-legged godwits. When resting,
the plump little sandy-backed fellows kept by themselves.
Sometimes as I walked along above the line of the tide,
bits of sand would take legs ahead of me, the brown forms
that squatted in my path having been entirely overlooked.
When I saw them before they got up, and stopped to talk to
them, the confiding little fellows flatteringly sat still
or went on fixing their feathers, looking very comfortable
in the warm sand. To me they seemed the most winning and
attractive of all the lovely little sandpipers. When they
were surprised and ran from me they did it in a comical
crouching way as if knowing their backs were sand color and
trying to hide their black legs and plump white bodies.
Their habit of bobbing the head is doubtless useful at
times, but the motion often catches the eye when without it
they would not be separated from the sand.
_Voice._--Grinnell, Bryant, and Storer (1918) say: “Snowy plover are
exceptionally quiet birds; but at times a low, guttural, trilling note,
_cr-r-r-r_ or _pe-e-e-et_, may be given, and when the vicinity of the
nest is invaded the birds give utterance to relatively loud cries.”
_Field marks._--They also give the best recognition marks, as follows:
The snowy plover is readily distinguished from most other
shore birds occurring in California by its very small size
(total length, 6–7 inches). It is but slightly larger than
our smallest shore bird, the least sandpiper. The chunky
appearance, short, thick bill (which is shorter than the
head), white collar around hind neck, uniform pale drab
upper surface, pure white under surface, and conspicuous
dark-brown or black patches at the sides of the breast
are all useful as aids to recognition. From the killdeer,
and the semipalmated and Wilson plovers, the snowy is
distinguished by its lack of complete black or dark-brown
breast band and by its smaller size, and from the least
and western sandpipers, and from the sanderling, by its
white collar around hind neck and by the dark patches at
the sides of its chest; and, in spring, from the last three
named birds by the absence of mixed coloration on its upper
surface.
_Winter._--The snowy plover is a permanent resident throughout the
southern part of its range, though perhaps the same individuals may
not be present all the year round. It winters as far north as San
Francisco, but more abundantly from Santa Barbara southward, where its
numbers are increased in winter by migrants from farther north and
where flocks of 50 or more are often seen.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--The United States (principally the western part), the West
Indies, and Central and South America.
_Breeding range._--The snowy plover breeds north probably to Washington
(Willapa Harbor); Utah (Bear River and Farmington); southern Kansas
(Comanche County); Oklahoma (Cimarron River); Mississippi (Horn
Island); Florida (Pensacola, and Santa Rosa Island); and Cuba (rarely
Guantanamo). East to Cuba (rarely Guantanamo). South to Cuba (rarely
Guantanamo); southern Texas (Refugio County, probably San Patricio
County, and Corpus Christi); probably New Mexico (Carlsbad); and
Lower California (La Paz). West to Lower California (La Paz, probably
Santa Rosalia Bay, and probably San Quentin Bay); California (San
Diego, probably San Nicholas Island, probably San Miguel Island,
Santa Barbara, Morro, Monterey, Santa Cruz, Pescadero, San Francisco,
and Eureka); probably Oregon (Netarts Bay); and probably Washington
(Willapa Harbor).
_Winter range._--The winter range extends north to California (Santa
Cruz Islands); Texas (Brownsville, Corpus Christi, and Aransas Bay);
probably coastal regions of Louisiana; Florida (Pensacola, Santa
Rosa Island, Cedar Keys, Clearwater, and Fort Myers); Bahama Islands
(Riley); probably Cuba (Gundlach); probably Yucatan; and Chile
(Calbuco). South to Chile (Calbuco). West to Chile (Calbuco, and
probably Valparaiso); Peru (Chorillos, and the valley of the Tambo);
probably Guatemala (Chiapam); Lower California (La Paz, Magdalena
Islands, and San Cristobal Bay); and California (San Diego, Santa Cruz
Island, Santa Barbara, and Monterey Bay). They also were noted at
Westport, Wash., on December 19, 1927 (letter, J. H. Bowles), and so
may winter rarely in that region.
_Spring migration._--But little information is available concerning
the migration of the snowy plover. Early dates of spring arrival are:
Kansas, McPherson, April 14, and Douglas County, April 22; Utah, Salt
Lake County, May 3; Oregon, Corvallis, March 24, and Malheur Lake,
April 20; and Washington, Grays Harbor, April 7.
_Fall migration._--The few available late dates of fall departure are:
Washington, Point Chehalis, November 18; and northern California, San
Francisco, November 1, and Alameda, December 3.
_Casual records._--The snowy plover has been detected outside of its
normal range on a few occasions. Among these are: Brazil (Specimen in
United States National Museum); southern Chile (Coquimbo, Straits of
Magellan in June [Sharpe]); Ontario, Toronto, one specimen in May,
1880, and another on July 6, 1897 (Fleming); Nebraska, two specimens
at Lincoln, May 17, 1903 (Swenk); Wyoming, one taken near Cheyenne
(Knight); while a specimen from Kodiak Island, Alaska, reported by
Schalow (1891) as _Charadrius alexandrinus_, may be this species.
_Egg dates._--California: 155 records, April 2 to July 28; 78 records,
May 5 to June 14. Utah: 5 records, April 30 to June 15.
[AUTHOR’S NOTE.--The above distribution includes both North American
races. Probably the birds found breeding east of the Rocky Mountains
and wintering on eastern coasts will prove to be referable to
_tenuirostris_, but there are not enough specimens available from these
localities to outline definitely the ranges of the two races.]
CHARADRIUS NIVOSUS TENUIROSTRIS (Lawrence)
CUBAN SNOWY PLOVER
HABITS
The snowy plover which breeds on the Gulf coasts of Texas, Louisiana,
and Florida, as well as in Cuba, the Bahamas, and a few places in the
interior has been separated from the Pacific coast form under the above
name. The difference between the two forms is not easily recognized,
but the eastern bird is said to be much paler and may average a trifle
smaller. The habits of the two seem to be similar. N. S. Goss (1891)
found this bird breeding on the salt plains along the Cimarron River,
Indian Territory, in 1886. Herbert W. Brandt sent me some notes on a
nest found by him in Nueces County, Tex. Francis M. Weston writes to me
that it is common and breeds near Pensacola, Fla. He says of its notes:
When on the ground the Cuban snowy plover gives a
low-pitched, musical whistle, roughly indicated by the
words _pe-wee-ah_ or _o-wee-ah_, the accent being on the
second syllable with the first and third almost inaudible
at a distance of 30 feet. The flight note is a purring
whistle, suggestive of the rolling note of the Carolina
wren but pitched lower and not as strident.
It was apparently common during the winter in Pinellas County, Fla.,
frequenting the sandy islands and ocean beaches in the vicinity of
Tampa Bay; but we found it difficult to separate it, in immature
and winter plumages, from young piping plover, unless we were near
enough to recognize its slender bill; the difference in size was not
noticeable except by direct comparison. I can find nothing in its
nesting habits or in its behavior in which it differs from the Pacific
snowy plover. I have not seen its eggs, but presume that they are like
those of the western form.
CHARADRIUS MONGOLUS MONGOLUS Pallas
MONGOLIAN PLOVER
HABITS
According to the Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain:
This species is now known to be divided into two fairly
distinguishable subspecies, the typical race breeding in
Mongolia, Kamchatka, and Eastern Siberia as well as on the
Commander Islands, and wintering from the Philippines,
Celebes, etc., to New Guinea and Australia. It is this
form which has occurred in Alaska. _Charadrius mongolus
atrifrons_ Wagler, the western race, breeds from the
Kirghis Steppes in South Russia to the Himalayas and Tibet,
wintering in East Africa, Madagascar, the Seychelles,
India, Malacca, and the Great Sunda Isles.
Like several other Asiatic species, it occasionally wanders across
Bering Strait into extreme northwestern Alaska. Joseph Dixon (1918)
throws considerable doubt over the time-honored record of specimens
supposed to have been taken by Captain Moore of the plover on the
Choris Peninsula in the summer of 1849; his reasoning, which seems to
be sound, suggests that these specimens were probably taken on the
Siberian side. However, Alfred M. Bailey (1926) collected a male of
this species at Cape Prince of Wales on June 11, 1922, of which he says:
The tundra was still snow covered, only a small, sandy
strip being bare along Lopp Lagoon, and there I found
this little wanderer from the Siberian shore in company
with yellow wagtails. A south wind had been blowing for a
few days previous, which changed to the north the evening
before. On these changes of winds I observed that Old World
birds were likely to drift across the channel.
Harry S. Swarth has very kindly given me, in advance of publication
by the California Academy of Sciences, the latest records of the
occurrence of this species in Alaska. While collecting for the academy
on Nunivak Island, C. G. Harrold took two specimens, a female on
August 14 and a male on September 1, 1927. Two others were seen on
August 14, one on September 11, and one on September 13. It looks as if
this might be more than a casual straggler in Alaska.
Dr. Leonhard Stejneger (1885) writes:
The Mongolian plover is a very common resident on the
Commander Islands; in fact, one of the most characteristic
birds of their fauna. It is one of the brightest and
handsomest shore birds, and is always gladly welcomed
when making its appearance during the first half of May.
I used then to watch with delight these elegant runners,
wondering at the almost incredible rapidity with which they
move their legs when chasing each other over the pebbly
beach, or trying to escape the approaching hunter. Very
soon, however, the pairs retire to the place chosen for the
summer home, and, as soon as the eggs are laid, the birds
become more shy and do not expose themselves as much as
they did before.
_Nesting._--There are three sets of eggs in the United States National
Museum taken by Doctor Stejneger in the Commander Islands “during the
first days of June.” He says that the birds “do not fly directly from
the nest but run away a distance from it before taking wing,” which
makes it difficult to find the nests. A nest he describes--
Was found on the islet Toporkof, on the 4th of June,
1883, and contained three eggs. They were lying, with
their pointed ends inwards and downwards, in a slight
hollow in the ground between the stems of four _Angelica
archangelica_. Dry particles of the leaves and stems of
this plant, and numerous seeds of the same, formed the
nest, being evidently brought together by the bird itself.
The situation of the nest was about 40 feet from the line
of high water and about 14 feet above the level of the sea.
Mr. Jourdain contributes the following:
Interesting confirmation of Doctor Stejneger’s observations
on the breeding habits and eggs of this species have been
furnished by the recent discovery of the breeding haunts
of the western race by Messrs. H. Whistler (1925) and B.
B. Osmaston (1927) at high altitudes in the Himalayan
range. Mr. Whistler found at least five pairs breeding
on the stony wastes near the Chandra Lake in Lahul, at
14,000 feet on July 10 to 11. Two clutches, each of three
well-incubated eggs and one brood of three downy young
were taken. Other pairs were subsequently found breeding
in Spiti (13,500 ft.) and on the northern slopes of the
Bara Lacha range. Mr. B. B. Osmaston found this species not
uncommon in South and East Ladakh in summer, between 13,000
and 15,500 feet. It was located as breeding in Rukshu near
the Tsokar and Tso Morari Lakes at about 15,000 feet and
between the Indus and Shushal at 14,000 to 14,500 feet, by
the Pangong Lake at 14,000 and in the upper Surun Valley at
13,000 feet.
In every case three eggs or young were found and the nest was a slight
depression in the sand, among shingle (Osmaston, 1927), or in hollows
among the trailing stems of a small creeping ground plant with a
woodlike stem, sparingly lined with broken chips and fragments of the
plant stems (Whistler 1925).
_Eggs._--The nine eggs collected by Doctor Stejneger vary in shape from
ovate to ovate pyriform and they show no gloss. The ground colors vary
from “cinnamon buff” to “deep olive buff.” They are quite evenly, but
not heavily, marked with small spots of very dark browns, “warm sepia”
to “bone brown,” or brownish black. There is a set of three eggs,
which seems to be the usual number, in the collection of Col. John E.
Thayer, taken at Omsk, Siberia, on June 9, 1893. These are subpyriform
in shape, without gloss. The ground colors vary from “deep olive buff”
to “pale olive buff.” One egg is uniformly covered with fine pen-like
scrawls of “sepia” and “pale violet gray.” The others are marked,
chiefly in a ring near the large end, with similar scrawls and with
irregular spots of brownish black or black. The measurements of 15 eggs
average 35.2 by 26.2 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes
measure =37.5= by 27, 32 by =28.8= and =30.5= by =23.2= millimeters.
Mr. Jourdain says in his notes:
The 12 eggs taken by Osmaston (1927) averaged 36.7 by 26.3,
while the 6 obtained by Whistler (1925) averaged 38.4 by
26.5 millimeters, thus agreeing well on the whole with
those of the eastern race, but are as a rule rather larger.
The coloration is also similar, speckled with dark brown
spots on a ground of creamy stone.
The parent bird slips off the nest very quietly and returns
very cautiously by short runs. It is naturally very
difficult to follow in the great waste of sand and shingle.
When disturbed on the breeding ground the old birds behave
much as other sand plovers, flying round uneasily in
circles and running about swiftly, but were less noisy than
common or lesser ringed plovers.
_Young._--Doctor Stejneger (1885) says that the young ones are found--
about the middle of July. About this time the families
retire from the beach and are now met with in the interior,
where they ascend the mountains in search of tender
insects. I frequently met them at an altitude of 1,000 feet
or more above sea level. About the middle of September the
families return to the lowlands and to the beach, soon
afterwards leaving the islands.
While at Glinka, on Copper Island, in July, 1883, a
young bird of this species, not yet fully feathered, was
brought to me alive. Allowed to run free on the floor it
immediately commenced a very animated pursuit of the rather
numerous flies, which were caught with remarkable precision
and rapidity and devoured with an unsatiable appetite. The
little fellow did not pay any attention to the presence of
several persons in the small room, but when the dog rose
from his nap in the corner, the swift-footed fly killer
suddenly dropped flat on the floor, with withdrawn neck,
making himself as small and flat as possible, and remained
thus perfectly immovable until the dog turned his head the
other way, then he ran off to the darkest corner of the
room, where he remained until the former laid down in his
old place. Then he started the fly hunting again; the dog
rose once more, and the same performance was repeated.
Within half an hour, however, he had learned that the dog
did not take any notice of him whatever, and consequently
he afterwards paid as little attention to the dog as to man.
_Plumages._--The young bird referred to above was about half grown and
largely feathered when it died, but the specimen shows a little of the
natal down, mainly on the head, which is largely downy. The forehead
is buffy white, the crown mostly dark “bister,” and the sides of the
head are mottled with buffy and “bister”; the throat is pale buff. The
remiges are half grown and the new feathers of the mantle are “sepia,”
with “cinnamon-buff” tips; the feathers of the breast are “cinnamon
buff” or “pinkish buff” and those of the belly are white.
Evidently the juvenal plumage soon fades, for a specimen taken on
September 22, in full juvenal plumage, is much paler. The entire upper
parts are “hair brown” or “drab,” with narrow, pale, buffy edgings; the
forehead and under parts are white, but the breast is suffused with
“pinkish buff” and invaded on the sides with the “drab” of the upper
parts.
There is not sufficient material to show the molts and plumages
satisfactorily. Adults have a complete molt in August and September, at
which the cinnamon of the chest, neck, and head entirely disappears.
_Voice._--Doctor Stejneger (1885) says that “the call note is a clear,
penetrating _drrrriit_.” Mr. Jourdain adds: “The call note is described
by Whistler as a soft _twip_, and the alarm note as a sort of chatter
of two syllables _corr up_, not unlike the note of a frog and compared
by Osmaston to that of a nightjar. It is uttered usually on the wing
and also occasionally on the ground.”
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--Eastern Asia and Oceanica; accidental in Alaska.
_Breeding range._--This race of the Mongolian plover breeds chiefly in
northeastern Siberia (Cape Serdze, Bering Island, Kamchatka, and the
Commander Islands); probably also in Dauria and Mongolia.
_Winter range._--The winter range includes the Philippine Islands, the
Moluccas, New Guinea, and northern Australia.
_Migration._--The species has been noted to arrive in spring at
Yokohama, Japan, on April 28, and at Bering Island, on May 11. A late
fall date on Bering Island is September 22.
_Casual records._--On June 11, 1925, an adult male was collected at
Cape Prince of Wales (Bailey). Two specimens were taken by C. G.
Harrold on Nunivak Island, Alaska, in 1927, one on August 14, and one
on September 1; others were seen on August 14 and September 11 and 13.
These are the only North American records.
_Egg dates._--Bering Island, June 4. Siberia, June 9.
PAGOLLA WILSONIA WILSONIA (Ord.)
WILSON PLOVER
HABITS
All along the Atlantic coast from New Jersey to Florida is a broken
chain of sea-girt islands, with broad or steep, sandy or shelly beaches
on the ocean side, backed in many places by shifting sand dunes and
bordered on the inner or bay side by wide marshes of waving grass or
extensive flats exposed at low tide. Here, on the broader, more open
sand flats, among a scattered array of shells, pebbles, and other
débris cast up by the sea, or in the flat hollows among the sand
dunes, this little sand plover makes its home, within sound of the
pounding surf and fanned by the ocean breezes that carve the dunes
into fantastic shapes. Here, if we love to wander in these seaside
solitudes, we may see this gentle bird running along the beach ahead
of us, his feet twinkling so fast that we can hardly see them; he is
unafraid, as he stops and turns to watch us; the black bands on his
head and breast help to obliterate his form and he might be mistaken
for an old seashell or bit of driftwood; but, as we draw near, he turns
and runs on ahead of us, leading us thus on and on up the beach. There
is an air of gentleness in his manner and an air of wildness in his
note as he flies away.
_Spring._--As the northern limit of the winter range extends well up
to central Florida, the Wilson plover has not far to migrate. It is an
early migrant. We saw it in Pinellas County, Fla., as early as February
7, where a few were present all winter. C. J. Pennock’s notes record
it at Charlotte Harbor on February 21 and 24, on two successive years.
Arthur T. Wayne (1910) says that it arrives in South Carolina late in
March; his earliest date is March 26.
_Courtship._--During the month of March, when this species became
common in the vicinity of Tampa Bay, Fla., I had some opportunities
to watch its simple courtship display. A male shot on March 14 had
sexual organs developed nearly to full breeding size and many of the
birds were in pairs. In making the display the male runs around the
female in a crouching, hunchbacked attitude, with the head lowered, the
tail depressed and spread, and the wings drooping. The female seems
indifferent at first, but finally she accepts the caresses of the male.
They seem to be preoccupied in their love affairs and allow a close
approach.
_Nesting._--On the sandy reefs and broad ocean beaches of the outer
islands about Bulls Bay, S. C., we found several nests of Wilson plover
on May 22 and 23, 1915. The nests were on the higher portions of
the beaches where the dry, sandy plains were sprinkled with bits of
broken shells, small stones, and pieces of driftwood or other rubbish
and where a few scattered weeds and grasses were the only signs of
vegetation. The nests were usually placed near some such object, or
partially sheltered by a few blades of grass, but some were out on the
open sand or in the flat sandy hollows between the dunes; they were
always beyond the reach of ordinary tides. Oyster-catchers and least
terns were nesting in the same localities and not far away willets were
nesting in the grassy places.
Among the Florida Keys, on May 8, 1903, we found a small colony nesting
on Lake Key; there were beaches of finely broken shells surrounding a
small shallow pond, more or less overgrown with small, scattered red
mangroves. A colony of least terns were nesting here and a few pairs of
black-necked stilts. Four nests of the plover were found, one out on
the open beach among the terns’ nests and the others under the shelter
of little mangrove seedlings. These and all the other nests of Wilson
plover that I have found were mere hollows in the sand with no apparent
attempt at lining, but others have occasionally found them evidently
lined with bits of broken shell. Henry Thurston (1913) found a nest
“snuggled closely to the stump” of a “ripped up” palmetto; the eggs
were “resting in a small hole that had been scooped out in the sand
and adorned with a few twigs.” He left this nest and returned later
in an attempt to see the female leave the nest. As, he “got within a
few yards the male, unobserved before as he was facing him and was
therefore practically invisible, piped several notes. Swiftly and
mouse-like the female glided from her treasures, crouching low beside
the stump and did not stand erect until she reached the water’s edge.”
The Wilson plover might almost be said to nest in colonies, although
the nests are usually not close together; N. B. Moore says in his notes
that they are never nearer than 20 yards apart. Oscar E. Baynard (1914)
found a colony of at least 50 pairs nesting on a bank of white sand,
probably half a mile long and barely a foot above high-water line. He
relates an interesting experience in changing eggs from one nest to
another. One of a set of three heavily incubated eggs that he had taken
hatched out in his possession; as he could not find the nest from which
they came, he hunted up another nest which contained fresh eggs; and
following is his account of what happened:
I took these eggs and placed the young bird and my two eggs
in their place, and then moved off and sat down to watch
developments. In a few minutes the mother bird ran up to
the nest, looked hard at the young bird, which had run off
about 2 feet from the eggs, circled the nest several times,
and then squatted down on the two eggs and began calling
softly to the young bird. In a few minutes he crept up to
the old bird. She looked him over for fully two minutes,
then decided to adopt him, raked him under her out of the
sun, and settled down as contentedly as if the family were
really her own. Two days later I ran the boat close to the
beach opposite this nest. The old bird ran off, and up
jumped three young and took off up the beach after her.
Donald J. Nicholson tells me that he once found a nest “about
three-quarters of the way up the side of a sand dune under the shelter
of a small bunch of grass.” He has also found this plover breeding on
Merritts Island, Fla., “on the exposed sandy patches along the Indian
River and around the water holes throughout the island”; here some
of the nests were sheltered among open growths of pickerel weed or
_Salicornia_.
Dr. Frank M. Chapman (1891) found this bird breeding commonly near
Corpus Christi, Tex., and says: “A nest found April 25 was placed in
some short grass about 50 feet from the water. It was composed of a few
straws placed at the bottom of a slight depression in the sand, and
contained three fresh eggs.”
_Eggs._--The Wilson plover ordinarily lays three eggs, often only two,
and very rarely four; I have a set of four eggs in my collection, taken
by Dr. Eugene E. Murphey on the coast of South Carolina. N. B. Moore
says in his notes that a day often intervened between the laying of
eggs, once an interval of two days occurred and in one nest the third
egg was laid on the ninth day after the first. The eggs are ovate to
short ovate in shape and they have no gloss. The ground colors vary
from “cream buff” to “cartridge buff.” They are usually thickly and
quite evenly covered with small spots, small irregular blotches and
scrawls of black, with a few similar, underlying markings of pale
shades of “Quaker drab.” The measurements of 66 eggs average 35.7 by
26.2 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure =38.5= by
26, 37 by =27=, =31.5= by 26, and 34 by =25= millimeters.
_Young._--N. B. Moore observed that the period of incubation is 24 or
25 days. I have no data showing that the male shares in the duty of
incubation, but he certainly shows considerable interest in the care
of the young. The young are able to leave the nesting hollow soon
after they are hatched and they are strong and swift runners, as well
as adept in the art of hiding. The female is a past master in the art
of decoying an intruder away from her young. Mr. Thurston (1913) has
described this strategy very well, as follows:
As I approached this strip, seemingly from nowhere there
appeared a female plover, calling plaintively. Now I knew
that the season of nesting had begun. She was soon joined
by a male and another female that chorused with her their
wishes for my departure. How she coaxed me to follow her!
This I did for a time, trailing behind as she struggled
along on one leg, the other crumpled under her. Tediously
she kept ahead, calling--sobbing, I should have said--one
of the most pathetic yet beautiful notes I have heard.
Surely if ever there was a picture of parental distress
it was she. Finally, as though exhausted, she sank to the
sand and lay on her side gasping. The other two flew back
and forth overhead, whistling plaintively, but she heeded
them not, nor my approach, and lay there panting. I was
sure now that she was tired by her exertion and hurried to
catch her, only to learn that she was “playing possum.”
She allowed me to almost touch her, and fluttered off
again. Evidently she was not satisfied that her nest was
safe and she tried new tactics this time. With seemingly
broken wings that trailed as though helpless at her sides,
she started down the beach and once more I followed after,
but this time increased my speed. As I had about caught up
with her she gave a joyous whistle, sprang into the air,
and those wounded wings carried her like a bullet around a
point of wooded land and out of sight. She had accomplished
her purpose, as I had hopelessly lost the place from which
she started. Search as I might, and did, I could not find
it.
_Plumages._--The upper parts of the downy young Wilson plover are of
about the same color pattern as the egg to make it equally invisible on
the sand. The crown, back, rump, wings, and thighs are “cream buff,”
mottled with black; the forehead, sides of the head, and under parts
are white; there is a broad white collar around the neck, and the outer
joint of the wing is white.
The juvenal plumage, in what specimens I have seen, July 20 to 27, is
much like that of the adult female in winter, but the colors are duller
and the breast band is incomplete or only suggested. Perhaps earlier in
the season these birds might have shown buffy edgings which had since
worn away. Probably a postjuvenal molt takes place, but I have not been
able to trace it. In the first winter plumage the sexes are alike; but
at the first prenuptial molt, in February and March, the male assumes,
partially at least, the black markings on the head and breast. At the
next complete molt, the first postnuptial, the adult winter plumage is
acquired.
Adults have an incomplete prenuptial molt, from January to March,
involving the body plumage, and a complete postnuptial molt, from July
to October. The sexes are quite unlike in nuptial plumage, the black
markings on the head and breast of the male being replaced by “wood
brown” in the female. In winter they are much alike, but I believe that
in fully adult males there is always more or less black in the breast
band.
_Food._--Audubon (1840) says of these birds:
They feed fully as much by night as by day, and the large
eyes of this, as of other species of the genus, seem to
fit them for nocturnal searchings. Their food consists
principally of small marine insects, minute shellfish, and
sand worms, with which they mix particles of sand.
The stomachs of five birds taken on the coast of Alabama by Arthur H.
Howell (1924) contained “crabs and shrimps, with a few mollusks and
flies.” One taken in Porto Rico by Stuart T. Danforth (1926) contained
Dytiscid larvae and adults.
_Behavior._--Audubon (1840) describes the behavior of this plover very
well, as follows:
The flight of this species, is rapid, elegant, and
protracted. While traveling from one sand beach or island
to another, they fly low over the land or water, emitting
a fine, clear, soft note. Now and then, when after the
breeding season they form into flocks of 20 or 30, they
perform various evolutions in the air, cutting backward
and forward, as if inspecting the spot on which they wish
to alight, and then suddenly descend, sometimes on the
sea beach and sometimes on the more elevated sands at a
little distance from it. They do not run so nimbly as the
piping plovers nor are they nearly so shy. I have in fact
frequently walked up so as to be within 10 yards or so of
them. They seldom mix with other species, and they show a
decided preference to solitary uninhabited spots.
_Voice._--My field notes, written over 20 years ago, refer to Wilson
plover flying about their breeding grounds, whistling their musical
call notes, somewhat suggestive of the notes of the piping plover, but
not so loud nor so rich in tone. Francis M. Weston writes to me that
“the note of anxiety, when on the ground, is a sharp _wheet_, beween a
chirp and a whistle. On the wing, it gives a low _tut-tut_, somewhat
like the alarm note of the wood thrush, but pitched lower and never of
more than two syllables.” C. J. Pennock says, in his notes, that when
they have eggs or young “they fly about close overhead, or run along
the sand, calling _queet, queet, quit it, quit it_, in a high-pitched
tone, frequently three or four birds joining in the vocal protest.”
John T. Nichols says in his notes: “The commonest note of this species
on the ground and on the wing is a ternlike _quip_, sometimes double
_qui-pip_. Less frequently, on the ground, it has a surprisingly human
whistled _whip_.”
_Field marks._--The best field character of the Wilson plover is the
long, heavy, wholly black bill, which is very conspicuous in all
plumages; it is relatively larger and more prominent than that of
the black-bellied plover. The Wilson is decidedly larger than the
semipalmated or the piping plover; it is slightly lighter in color than
the former and much darker than the latter. I have noticed that in
flight it appears quite dark colored above, with no conspicuous white
except in the lateral tail feathers.
_Winter._--We recorded this species as a winter resident on the
west coast of Florida as far north as Tampa Bay, but it was rare in
midwinter and did not become common until March. It frequented the sand
bars and sandy islands on the Gulf shore, together with other small
plovers and sandpipers. It was much tamer than any of the other shore
birds and less active; it was the only one of the whole tribe that
could be openly approached on the unprotected beaches. It was usually
seen singly, apart from the others, and never in flocks.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--Southern United States, the West Indies, Central and South
America.
_Breeding range._--The Wilson plover breeds north to probably Lower
California (La Paz); Texas (Brownsville, Corpus Christi, probably
Rockport, probably Matagorda Island, Houston, and Galveston);
Louisiana (probably Cameron Parish and the Breton Island Reservation);
Mississippi (Dog Key); probably Alabama (Bayou Labatre and Dauphin
Island); western Florida (Milton and probably James Island); and
formerly New Jersey (Beach Haven). East to formerly New Jersey (Beach
Haven, probably Great Egg Harbor, and Cape May); Virginia (Cobb Island
and Cape Charles); North Carolina (Pea Island, Beaufort, and Cape
Fear); South Carolina (Bulls Bay, Sullivan Island, and Frogmore);
Georgia (Tybee Island, Ossabaw Island, and Blackbeard Island); the east
coast of Florida (Fernandina, Amelia Island, Matanzas Inlet, Mosquito
Inlet, and Coronado Beach); the Bahama Islands (New Providence, Rum
Cay, and Inagua Island); and probably Porto Rico. South to probably
Porto Rico; probably Jamaica (Great Salt Pond and Port Henderson);
probably Cuba (Trinidad); and British Honduras (Grassy Cay). West to
British Honduras (Grassy Cay); Gulf of California; and probably Lower
California (La Paz).
The status of the species in the southern part of its summer range
has not yet been definitely settled, and some alleged races have been
described, whose breeding ranges are undoubtedly included in the
summary given above.
_Winter range._--The species has been detected in winter north to Lower
California (San Jose Island); Sonora (Guaymas); Texas (probably rarely
Brownsville and Matagorda County); probably Louisiana (Vermilion Bay);
Mississippi (Hancock County); and Florida (mouth of the St. Johns
River). East to Florida (mouth of the St. Johns River, St. Augustine,
New Smyrna, and Key West); the Bahama Islands (Andros Islands and
Watling Island); probably Santo Domingo (Samana); probably Porto Rico
(Culebra Island and Vieques Island); the Lesser Antilles (Anegada);
French Guiana (Cayenne and Rio Oyapok); and Brazil (Cajetuba, Bahia,
and Camamu). South to Brazil (Camamu); and Peru (Tumbez). West to Peru
(Tumbez); Ecuador (Puna Island); Colombia (Cartagena and Sabanilla);
Honduras (Swan Islands); Guatemala (Chiapam); and Lower California (La
Paz and San Jose Island).
_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival are Georgia,
Cumberland, March 18, and Darien, March 19; South Carolina, Bulls
Point, March 10, Frogmore, March 20, and Mount Pleasant, March 26;
North Carolina, Fort Macon, April 15, and Pea and Bodie Islands, April
24; and Virginia, Toms Brook, April 8.
_Fall migration._--Almost nothing is known about the fall migration of
this plover but Wayne (1910) says that it remains on the beaches of
South Carolina “until September 22, or perhaps until October.”
_Casual records._--Wilson plovers have been noted or collected on
several occasions outside of their normal range. Most of these have
naturally been in New York and on the coast of New England. Among them
are: New York, three at Far Rockaway, May 17, 1879, one at Shinnecock
Bay, May 16, 1884, one at Good Ground, May 28, 1879, Orient, July
3, 1915, and Long Beach, July 1, 1872; Connecticut, taken once at
Stratford, and seen at Bridgeport on July 28, 1888; Massachusetts,
Gurnet Point, August 22, 1877, one at Ipswich, May 8, 1904, and about
25 reported as seen at Dennis, September 4, 1920; Nova Scotia, one at
Brier Island, April 28, 1880; and one from Halifax that is preserved in
the British Museum; and California, one taken at Pacific Beach, June
27, 1894, and another seen at Imperial Beach, May 11, 1918.
_Egg dates._--Virginia: 22 records, May 4 to June 20; 11 records, May
27 to June 6. South Carolina and Georgia: 50 records, April 14 to June
21; 25 records, May 17 to June 10. Florida: 26 records, April 2 to July
10; 13 records, May 12 to June 11. Texas: 11 records, April 7 to June
18; 6 records, April 20 to May 19.
PODASOCYS MONTANUS (J. K. Townsend)
MOUNTAIN PLOVER
HABITS
The above name is not especially appropriate for this species. The
name, Rocky Mountain plover, would have been better, for its breeding
range is mainly in the Rocky Mountain plateau. It frequents elevated
ground but it is not a bird of the mountains but of the dry plains.
Coues (1874) says:
While most other plovers haunt the vicinity of water,
to which some are almost confined, the present species
is not in the least degree of aquatic habits, but, on
the contrary, resorts to plains as dry and sterile as
any of our country--sometimes the grassy prairies, with
shore larks and titlarks, various ground sparrows, and
the burrowing owl; sometimes sandy deserts, where the
sage brush and the “chamizo,” the prickly pear and the
Spanish bayonet, grow in full luxuriance. It approaches
the Pacific, but will never be found on the beach itself,
with maritime birds, nor even on the adjoining mud-flats or
marshes, preferring the firm, grassy fields further back
from the water.
_Nesting._--W. C. Bradbury (1918) has given us a very good account of
the nesting habits of the mountain plover in Colorado. Of the nesting
site and nest he says:
The ground is an open, rolling prairie, above the line of
irrigation, and is devoted to cattle range. It is several
miles from natural surface water and streams, and is
covered with short-cropped buffalo or gramma grass, 2 or 3
inches high, with frequent bunches of dwarfed prickly pear,
and an occasional cluster of stunted shrub or weed, rarely
more than a foot in height. With the six sets secured, in
no instance had the parent bird taken advantage of the
slight protection offered from sight or the elements by the
nearby cactus, shrubs or uneven spots of ground. In each
case, she had avoided such shelter, locating in the open,
generally between the small grass hummocks and not on or
in them; there was no evidence of the parent birds having
given more thought to nest preparation or concealment, than
does any other plover. In two of the sets the eggs were
all individually embedded in the baked earth to a depth
of one-eighth to one-fourth of an inch, evidently having
settled when the surface of the ground was reduced to soft
mud by rain-water collecting in the slight depressions. As
the ground dried up the eggs were fixed in a perfect mould
or matrix, from which they could not roll. In fact they
could hardly be disturbed at all by the sitting birds. The
only nesting material was a small quantity of fine, dry
rootlets and “crowns” of gramma grass, the eggs in some
instances being slightly embedded in this lining. As it is
also present in all other depressions on the prairie it is
highly probable that here as elsewhere it was deposited
about the eggs by the wind and not through the agency of
the birds themselves. The protective coloration of the
nest and eggs, as well as of the rear view of the birds
themselves, even when in motion, is unsurpassed. In no
instance, except one hereinafter noted, was the bird seen
to leave the nest, nor was any nest found except in the
immediate vicinity of moving birds.
H. G. Hoskin (1893) writes:
The mountain plover builds its nest on open prairie.
The first egg is laid on bare ground, and as the set is
finished and incubation advances the bird gradually makes
a nest of dirt, pieces of hard grass, roots, etc. It takes
five or six days to complete set of three eggs. I have
never found more nor less than three eggs in a nest that I
thought complete. Old birds will fly off the nest while a
person on foot is 80 rods away, but will sit closely for
man on horseback or in a buggy.
William G. Smith (1888) found three nests while traveling by wagon
across the Laramie Plains in Wyoming. “They were all placed within 50
yards of the much-frequented roadway, and each time I saw the female
sitting on the eggs. The old birds are very white which contrasts with
the dark ground and causes them to be easily seen.” The art of feigning
lameness or injury, to entice the intruder away from eggs or young,
seems to be very highly developed in this species. Mr. Smith speaks of
one that seemed to be in a fit, as it lay on its side, within 6 feet
of him, “apparently in strong convulsions.” Mr. Bradbury (1918) tells
of one that, “spreading her wings horizontally to their extreme width
while standing, then falling flat with her neck and wings extended
their full length on the ground, at times with beak open, she retreated
as he approached, or followed closely as he returned toward the nest.”
_Eggs._--The mountain plover lays almost invariably three eggs,
occasionally only two, and four eggs have been recorded. They are ovate
to short ovate in shape, with no gloss. The prevailing ground colors
are “deep olive buff” or “dark olive buff”; some few are “chamois” and
one pink set has a “light pinkish cinnamon” ground color. They are
irregularly marked, but chiefly near the larger end, with small spots
and scrawls of black, which sometimes form a ring near the larger end.
The measurments of 58 eggs average 37.3 by 28.3 millimeters; the eggs
showing the four extremes measure =40= by 28.5, 37.5 by =29.2=, =34.3=
by 28.4, and 38.5 by =27= millimeters.
_Young._--Apparently both sexes incubate; an incubating male has been
taken. William G. Smith says in his notes:
The young are very nimble when only a few days old, and
it is quite a task to catch them. They do not attempt to
hide. A peculiarity of these birds is, though three eggs
are generally laid, I never saw but two young with the old
birds. I lived on the prairies for six years, a mile from
any other habitation; I had every opportunity to observe
the traits of these birds. When they are well able to run
each of the old birds takes one to raise, and that method
seems the rule.
Edward R. Warren’s (1912) observations do not agree with the above, for
he has seen a parent with three young and has seen the young attempt to
hide; but he says “it was easily seen when once found, for its colors
did not blend particularly well with the ground it was on.”
_Plumages._--In the downy young mountain plover the upper parts
are “cream buff,” tinged with “chamois” on the crown, wings, and
rump, shading off to buffy white on the throat and under parts; the
crown, sides of the neck, occiput, back, wings, rump, and thighs are
conspicuously spotted with black; the forehead is unmarked. Young
birds, about half grown, show the juvenal plumage coming in on the
back, scapulars, crown, and sides of the breast, with the wing quills
bursting their sheaths.
In full juvenal plumage, in September, the crown, back, scapulars, and
wing coverts are “buffy brown,” with “cinnamon-buff” edges, broadest
on the wing coverts; the sides of the head are “pinkish buff” and the
breast and flanks are suffused with the same color; the throat and
belly are white. This plumage seems to be worn without much change,
except by wear and fading, all through the first fall and winter. The
upper parts are still mainly “buffy brown,” but with only the faintest
trace of the edgings. The spring molt apparently does not involve
the wing coverts and very few scapulars, so that young birds can be
recognized by these retained feathers.
Adults have a partial prenuptial molt in March and April, involving
the body plumage but not the wings and tail and not all the scapulars
and wing coverts. The black markings on the head are acquired and the
new feathers of the mantle are broadly tipped with “pinkish buff.”
The complete postnuptial molt is accomplished in July and August. The
winter plumage is similar to the nuptial, except that the black loral
patch is lacking and the black crown patch is replaced by dull brown.
_Food._--Feeding on the dry upland plains and prairies, the mountain
plover’s food consists almost wholly, if not entirely, of insects.
Grasshoppers seem to be its principal food, but many crickets, beetles,
and flies are eaten. It seems to be a wholly beneficial species.
Grinnell, Bryant, and Storer (1918) quote Belding as saying “that he
often found this plover in recently sown grain fields, but was never
able to discover a single kernel of wheat in the stomachs of those he
shot.”
_Behavior._--Coues (1874) writes:
They were not difficult of approach, and I had no
difficulty in securing as many as I desired. On being
disturbed by too near approach, they lower the head, run
rapidly a few steps in a light, easy way, and then stop
abruptly, drawing themselves up to their full height and
looking around with timid yet unsuspicious glances. When
forced to fly by persistent annoyance, they rise rapidly
with quick wing beats and then proceed with alternate
sailing and flapping, during the former action holding the
wings decurved. They generally fly low over the ground and
soon realight, taking a few mincing steps as they touch the
ground; they then either squat low, in hopes of hiding, or
stand on tip-toe, as it were, for a better view of what
alarmed them.
Grinnell, Bryant, and Storer (1918) say:
This plover is a flocking species found in bands of
from fifteen to several hundred individuals. Often upon
alighting after they have been in flight, the birds will
immediately run to some distance, so that it is not always
possible to follow them up easily as with other shore
birds. The flocks fly low over the ground and are difficult
to see, except when they wheel. As they do this the under
surfaces of their wings show momentarily as silvery white
flashes.
Aiken and Warren (1914) say:
The mountain plover differs greatly in habits and
characteristics from its near relative the killdeer. It
shows no preference for wet ground but on the contrary
frequents mesas or high rolling prairie land, often remote
from water. Their manner is quiet; they have no wailing
cry; they run rapidly a short distance and stand silent and
motionless with the head sunk low on the shoulders. Their
unspotted plumage blends with the color of the dry grass
and parched ground and makes them difficult to discover.
But in August, when the young birds shift for themselves,
they gather in flocks and repair to the vicinity of water
holes and flooded fields.
William G. Smith says in his notes:
We have often foretold a hailstorm, which are very
prevalent here in summer, by these birds coming near the
house for protection; at these times they seem bewildered,
and nothing will drive them away.
_Voice._--Coues (1874) says on this subject:
Their notes are rather peculiar, as compared with those
of our other plovers, and vary a good deal, according to
circumstances. When the birds are feeding at their leisure,
and in no way apprehensive of danger, they utter a low and
rather pleasing whistle, though in a somewhat drawling or
rather lisping tone; but the note changes to a louder and
higher one, sometimes sounding harshly.
_Field marks._--The mountain plover may be recognized as a medium sized
plover, dressed in plain colors. In the spring the black markings on
the head are visible at short range, but otherwise it is dull, sandy
brown above and white below, without the conspicuous markings of the
killdeer. In flight its axillars and the under sides of its wings are
conspicuously white.
_Game._--This species once figured as a game bird and many were shot
and sold as game in the California markets. It was a fair-sized bird of
some food value, but it was not so highly prized, as a table bird, when
compared with some others. John G. Tyler (1916) writes:
Had not the Federal law intervened these birds would soon
have disappeared forever, as their habits made them a very
easy victim for hunters. The birds feed in loose scattered
flocks, ranging over much ground, but when sufficiently
disturbed all the members of a company take wing and form
into a dense flock which, after beating rapidly back and
forth for a few moments, usually settles again within a
few yards of the intruder, a full hundred birds often
occupying a space no larger than 20 feet in diameter. As
they alight each bird flattens itself upon the ground where
its protective coloration renders it all but invisible save
for the winking of its very large eyes.
As one old resident stated, a favorite method of hunting
was to drive with a horse and buggy among the scattered
birds and cause them to take wing, whereupon the horse was
brought to a standstill until the birds had again settled
on the ground, and in nearly every case this was within
easy gun range. The hunter immediately “ground sluiced”
them with one barrel just as they “squatted” and fired
again as the survivors took wing. My informant stated that
he once killed 65 birds with two shots, and this method
very rarely netted less than 30. I was informed that this
plover was rated as the best table bird in this part of the
State and that parties sometimes came from points as far
away as San Francisco to hunt them. Verily, as my friend
remarked, “they don’t seem to be as plentiful as they were
25 years ago.”
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--Western United States and Mexico; accidental in Florida and
Massachusetts.
_Breeding range._--The mountain plover breeds north to Montana (Great
Falls, Fort Benton, Big Sandy, and the mouth of Milk River); and North
Dakota (Stump Lake). East to North Dakota (Stump Lake and probably
Hankison); western South Dakota (Edgemont); Nebraska (probably
Harrison, probably Marsland, North Platte, and Kearney); Kansas (Colby,
Oakley, probably Hays, Garden City, and probably Fort Dodge); and
Oklahoma (probably Camp Supply and Fort Cobb). South to Oklahoma (Fort
Cobb); Texas (Washburn, Hereford, and probably Fort Davis); New Mexico
(Otero County and Socorro County); and probably Arizona (Fort Whipple).
West to probably Arizona (Fort Whipple); Colorado (probably Del Norte,
Denver, Barr, and Loveland); Wyoming (Cheyenne, Laramie, probably Fort
Bridger, and probably Dubois); Idaho (Pahsimeroi Valley); and Montana
(Three Forks and Great Falls).
_Winter range._--The mountain plover has the curious habit of occupying
a winter range that is farther west than its summer home. North to
California (probably rarely Marysville); Arizona (Santa Rosa, Buenos
Ayres, and Allaires Ranch); and Texas (San Antonio). East to Texas
(San Antonio, Eagle Pass, Aransas River, and Brownsville); Tamaulipas
(Matamoros); and Zacatecas (Zacatecas). South to Zacatecas (Zacatecas);
and Lower California (La Paz). West to Lower California (La Paz);
Sonora (Santa Rosa and Hermosillo); and California (San Diego, Santa
Ana, Los Angeles, Fort Tejon, Alila, Paicines, probably Stockton, and
probably rarely Marysville).
_Spring migration._--Sufficient data are not available to clearly
define the migratory flights of the mountain plover but among early
dates of spring arrival are: Oklahoma, Norman, March 15; Colorado,
Loveland, March 18, Burlington, March 22, Barr, March 23, Springfield,
March 29, Denver, April 6, and Colorado Springs, April 19; Wyoming,
Cheyenne, April 5, Big Piney, April 12, and Fort Sanders, April 21;
South Dakota, Huron, April 16; and Montana, Big Sandy, May 4, and Fort
Custer, May 12.
A late date of spring departure from California is Santa Ysabel, April
3.
_Fall migration._--Early dates of fall arrival in California are:
Firebaugh, September 11, and Montebello, September 15.
Late dates of fall departure are Montana, Sun River, September 4, Camp
Thorne, on the Yellowstone, September 13, and Big Sandy, September
18; South Dakota, Forestburg, September 20; Nebraska, Monroe Canyon,
September 27; Wyoming, Efell, September 4, and Sweetwater, September
13; Colorado, Barr, October 12, and Beloit, October 15; and New Mexico,
Santa Rosa, September 27, and Stinking Spring Lake, October 1.
_Casual records._--The mountain plover has been detected outside of its
normal range on but few occasions, three of which, curiously enough,
were in Florida. A flock of six was noted on December 1, 1870, at Key
West, and one specimen obtained (Maynard); R. W. Williams records
several at St. James Island between July 20 and August 1, 1901; and
on December 17, 1927, R. J. Longstreet secured a specimen at Daytona
Beach. The only other record is one for Massachusetts, an immature
male, taken at North Beach, near Chatham, on October 28, 1916, and
preserved in the collections of the Boston Society of Natural History
(Brooks).
The species is unknown from Canada. During the international boundary
survey, Doctor Coues found mountain plover on Frenchman Creek and
obtained a specimen that is now in the British Museum. This is reported
as being labeled “forty-ninth parallel,” but the point of collection
was probably well within the present State of Montana.
_Egg dates._--Colorado and Kansas: 74 records, April 30 to June 16; 37
records, May 14 to 26. Montana and Wyoming: 4 records, May 22 to July 9.
Family APHRIZIDAE. Surf birds and Turnstones
APHRIZA VIRGATA (Gmelin)
SURF BIRD
HABITS
From its summer home in the mountains of central Alaska the surf bird
migrates down the Pacific coasts of North and South America as far as
the Straits of Magellan. Twice each year some individuals make this
long journey, while others are scattered along the coasts from southern
Alaska southward. Consequently it may be found, chiefly on migrations
but occasionally at other seasons, by those who seek it on the outlying
rocky ledges, reefs, and promontories all along the Pacific coast. As
its name implies, it is a bird of the surf line, associated in its
rocky habitat with turnstones and wandering tattlers, unmindful of the
flying spray. It well deserves its generic name, which is taken from
two Greek words, _aphros_, meaning sea foam, and _zao_, I live.
_Spring._--The spring migration is directly north along the coasts of
both continents. It is difficult to trace the dates, as the winter
range is so extensive. The latest recorded date for the Straits of
Magellan is March 3; and the earliest date of arrival at the Kobuk
River, Alaska, is May 29. The main flight along the California coast
seems to come in March. Dr. Joseph Grinnell (1909) reports a flight
at Admiralty Island, Alaska, on May 12, “a flock estimated to contain
300 waders, fully two-thirds of which were of this species.” Harry S.
Swarth (1911) says that, at Kuiu Island, Alaska, between April 25 and
May 6, “it was abundant and in large flocks, feeding in company with
the numerous other waders frequenting the mud flats.” H. B. Conover saw
it only once at Hooper Bay, Alaska, on May 18.
_Nesting._--The breeding grounds and the nesting habits of the surf
bird long remained unknown. The birds vanished from the coast of Alaska
about the first of June and were not seen again for six weeks or more,
when they appeared again with their young. Rumors suggested that they
bred in the mountains in the interior. O. J. Murie (1924) gave us the
first definite information, when he discovered the breeding ground
of the species in the Mount McKinley Park region of central Alaska.
On July 13, 1921, he was descending a slope above timber line, “when
two surf birds were flushed and circled about making an outcry.” He
was “presently rewarded by seeing a downy young one striding away
bravely over the rough ground.” The young bird was secured and one of
the parents, which proved to be the male, thus establishing the first
breeding record for the species.
Five years later Joseph Dixon (1927) spent considerable time in this
same region and succeeded in finding, on May 28, 1926, the first
nest of the surf bird. He took some excellent photographs and made a
thorough study of the bird and its habits, thus completing the picture
very satisfactorily. I shall quote freely from his excellent published
account of it. Regarding the nesting site and the nest he writes:
One of the most striking things about the surf bird is
the remarkable difference between its winter and summer
habitat. Near the end of their northward migration in the
spring these birds abandon the seacoast and take up their
summer residence far in the interior, from 300 to 500 miles
from salt water. This involves a great altitudinal shift.
Instead of living at sea level as they do at other seasons,
during nesting time they are to be found on barren,
rocky mountains high up above timber line. During the
entire summer we never found these birds below 4,000 feet
elevation.
The rocky character of the surf birds’ surroundings appears
to remain fairly constant throughout the year. In summer
the birds are to be found most frequently near the summits
of the rock slides where the broken rocks are much the
same as the rugged reefs they inhabit during the winter.
We found in the Mount McKinley district that the summer
range of the surf bird was almost identical with that of
the mountain sheep and that it was useless to look for surf
birds outside of “sheep” country.
When standing on a barren wind-swept ridge late in the
afternoon of May 28, searching a nearby hillside with
binoculars, Mr. Wright’s attention was attracted to a
grayish bird that was sneaking hurriedly along over the
rocky ground. As he watched, the bird apparently faded
out of sight some 600 feet away. Marking the point of
disappearance he hurried over to the spot where the bird
was last seen and, falling to find the bird, began to think
he was mistaken. But, upon his taking one more step, the
bird flew up suddenly right into his face, startling him
mightily. As the bird flew away, the large white rump
patch, together with a white patch on either wing, brought
realization that this was the long-sought-for surf bird. A
hasty glance at his feet revealed the nest and contents of
four eggs. Another step forward and he would have placed
his foot directly in the nest! To George M. Wright belongs
the honor of being the first white man, of which we have
any record, to lay eyes on the nest and eggs of this rare
bird.
The surf bird’s nest was located 1,000 feet above timber
line on a rocky ridge that faced southwest and lay fair to
the sun and hence was relatively free from snow. The nest
site was on dry rocky ground and not on the wet tundra
which was plentiful nearby. The rocky ground about the nest
was clothed with a thin carpet of alpine-arctic vegetation,
the tallest of which were a few creeping arctic willows
less than 2 inches high. The most conspicuous plant about
the nest was the white-flowered _Dryas integrifolia_. The
nest was entirely out in the open with no bushes that
afford the least concealment. In fact it was almost “out
in the street,” since the eggs were within a foot of a
frequently traveled trail of the white Alaska mountain
sheep (_Ovis dalli_). There was no fabricated nest such
as the wandering tattler makes. Instead, the eggs were
deposited in a natural erosional depression, the sides
of which had been lined with a few bits of dried-up
grayish-green lichens and caribou moss. The bottom of the
nest was composed of the dead emarginate leaves of _Dryas
integrifolia_, which only partially covered the crumbling
serpentine outcrop that formed the backbone of the ridge.
The nest, which was barely large enough to hold the four
eggs, which were placed as close together as possible, with
little ends down, measured 4 inches in diameter and an inch
and a half in depth. The eggs in the nest blended so well
with the reddish brown moss of the tundra that it became
difficult to make them out at a distance of more than 8 or
10 feet.
The nest was found at nearly 9 o’clock in the evening. They built a
crude shelter of rocks near it and kept a careful watch over it all
that night and half of the next day. During this time Mr. Dixon (1927)
made these observations:
When it began to rain the surf bird merely fluffed up and
then spread out the feathers on his back so as completely
to cover the nest. This proved an effective method,
because the melting snow and the rain ran readily off the
surf-bird’s back and was absorbed by the moss outside the
nest. We were not so well protected and were soon shivering
and wet to the skin.
At 4 o’clock a female mountain sheep appeared, silently,
like a ghost, out of the mist that came drifting over the
mountain peaks in great white swirls. She did not see us
at first, but when she was within 6 feet of and headed
directly toward the surf-bird’s nest she became suddenly
aware of our presence and took a step or two forward.
When the ewe was about to step on the nest the surf bird
suddenly “exploded” right in the astonished animal’s face.
This unexpected movement and the sudden noise and flash
of white of the bird’s spread wings and tail caused the
mountain sheep to jump back quickly; then she whirled
around and bounded off back up the trail. This sudden
movement of the surf bird at the critical moment doubtless
serves to prevent sheep and caribou from trampling upon its
nest and eggs. We found through repeated experiments that
this was the bird’s regular reaction. When we approached,
whether fast or slow, the bird would stay on the nest until
the last minute, and then, instead of sneaking off low to
the ground like most birds do, would fly directly up into
our faces. Even after we knew that the bird would do this
the psychological result on our part was the same. A person
would involuntarily recoil when the bird “exploded” like a
firecracker right in his face.
When first frightened off the nest by Mr. Wright the
previous afternoon the bird, which we later thought might
have been the female, after “exploding,” ran away with
wings half spread and the tail spread out fanlike and
dragging on the ground. This displayed conspicuously the
white rump patch. Now and then this bird would nestle down
as though covering a nest. When about 100 yards distant
from the nest the bird began to wander about, pretending
to feed. It exhibited no concern whatever when Mr. Wright
returned to the nest and examined the eggs. It made no
attempt to return to the nest even after the observer
had retired to a distance and waited for a period of 10
minutes, during which interval rain began to fall.
In marked contrast with this rather indifferent attitude,
the bird which was watched on the nest for 16 hours,
behaved in an entirely different manner. This second bird,
when forced off the nest, would fly directly up into the
intruder’s face, and then run off to one side, a distance
of 8 or 10 feet, where it would perch on a rock, fluff out
its feathers like a “sitting” hen and utter a low plaintive
call, _tee-tee-teet!_ The call would often be repeated
two or three times after a slight pause of half a minute
between calls. When we started after this bird it would
lead us adroitly away from the nest; but if we stood still
it would soon hustle directly back, even when we were
standing only 10 feet distant. In going on to the nest the
bird was very careful not to step directly upon the eggs.
It would trot up to within a foot or so of the eggs and
then sneak cautiously down to the edge of the nest. Here it
would stop, inspect the eggs, and reach out with its bill
and turn the eggs about, keeping them little ends down.
Following this inspection the bird fluffed out the feathers
on its breast and sitting down gently on the edge of the
nest, slid its body forward with great care, until the eggs
were completely covered.
_Eggs._--I have not yet seen these eggs, so I will quote Mr. Dixon’s
(1927) excellent description of them:
The eggs of the surf bird are not easily confused with the
eggs of any other North American sandpiper or plover. In
shape they are pyriform but, though similar in form to eggs
of other birds of the order Limicolae, in color they appear
more like eggs of the falcons, particularly certain eggs of
the sparrow hawk and prairie falcon.
In the type set, which is now safely housed in the
well-known Thayer collection, there is considerable
variation both in the ground color and in the markings of
the eggs. Three eggs of this set have an intensely buffy
ground color, while the fourth egg is of the same color
but decidedly lighter. The markings on the three eggs are
bold, varying in color from fawn to bay. The markings
on the fourth egg are small and evenly distributed. The
four eggs may be described as follows: The first egg has
a light ground color which equals tilleul-buff. In this
egg the marking consists of fine splashes, one-half to
two millimeters in length. There is but slight tendency
for the markings to form a wreath on the larger end. A
few small dark brown spots on its larger end identifies
this egg, which resembles slightly certain eggs of the
yellow-billed magpie. In egg number two the ground color
is rich tilleul-buff, while the markings consist of bold
bay-colored spots and splashes from one-half to three
millimeters in length. These spots are concentrated about
the larger end of the egg, where in places they are so
dense as completely to obscure the ground color. A few
deep-seated lavender under-shell markings are apparent
on this egg. Egg number three is similar both in ground
color and in markings to egg number two, except in egg
number three the heavy bay markings form a decided wreath
21 millimeters in diameter about its larger end. Egg
number four has the richest ground color of all, while its
markings are fawn, but the markings are not so sharply
defined as in the other eggs.
The four eggs measure =43.7= by 30.5, 41.5 by =31.5=, 43.3 by 31.2, and
=42.4= by =31=, and they average 42.7 by 31 millimeters.
_Young._--Mr. Dixon (1927) demonstrated most conclusively that the male
does most, if not all, of the incubating. The bird that they had under
observation for 16 hours and the only one seen near the nest proved
to be the male. All of the five males collected had bare incubation
patches, while none of the females had these. Mr. Murie (1924) found
both parents attending the young bird which he captured; and the one
shot, probably the more solicitous one, was the male. Evidence is
accumulating all the time to show that with more shore birds than we
realize, perhaps with all, the males perform the greater part of the
domestic duties.
_Plumages._--The young bird taken by Mr. Murie is still in the downy
stage. The upper parts are variegated and mottled with “cinnamon buff,”
brownish black, “sepia,” and buffy white; the forehead and sides of
the head are buffy white, boldly spotted and striped with black; the
crown is mainly spotted with black; the buffy tints are mainly on the
upper back, wings, thighs, and rump; the under parts are grayish white,
whitest on the chin and belly.
When the young birds come down to the coast of Alaska, in August,
they are in full juvenal plumage. In this the crown is streaked with
“fuscous” and brownish black, the feathers having white edgings; the
chin and throat are white, with shaft streaks of “hair brown”; there
is a broad band of “hair brown” across the breast, with white edgings,
running into spots below, which are lacking on the white belly; the
mantle is “hair brown,” with very narrow whitish edgings, giving a
scaled appearance; the scapulars also have a subterminal “fuscous” bar;
the lesser and median wing coverts are broadly or conspicuously edged
with grayish white.
A partial postjuvenal molt in the early fall produces a first winter
plumage which is like the adult winter, except that there are fewer and
smaller spots on the under parts; and the juvenal wing coverts and some
scapulars are retained.
Two specimens, collected in Peru on June 30, illustrate the first
nuptial plumage. These are doubtless birds which do not migrate north
to breed during their first year. Apparently a nearly complete molt
has taken place, as the wings and tail appear fresh, but some of the
old scapulars and wing coverts are retained. The adult nuptial plumage
is suggested, but all traces of cinnamon are lacking; the feathers of
the mantle are “fuscous” or “hair brown,” broadly edged with grayish
white and subterminally bordered with brownish black; the crown is
grayish white, streaked with dusky; the scapulars are “fuscous” to
brownish black, broadly tipped, notched, or spotted with pale grayish;
the breast and flanks are less heavily marked than in the adult. I have
not seen this plumage described elsewhere. At the next molt the adult
winter plumage is assumed.
Adults have a complete postnuptial molt in August; I have seen one
with primaries and secondaries molting as early as August 27. In
adult winter plumage the upper parts are uniform “fuscous,” with only
slightly lighter (“hair brown”) edgings; the chin and throat are white,
spotted with “hair brown”; there is a broad band of “hair brown” across
the chest and below it the under parts are marked on the breast and
flanks with hastate spots of “fuscous.”
A partial prenuptial molt of the body plumage takes place in April and
May, but some of the old winter feathers are generally retained. In
full nuptial plumage the head and neck are grayish white, everywhere
boldly streaked, or spotted, with black and slightly suffused on the
crown with “pinkish cinnamon”; the feathers of the back are centrally
black, broadly edged with white and tinged with “pinkish cinnamon”; but
the most striking features of this plumage are the scapulars, boldly
patterned with “pinkish cinnamon” and black, with narrow whitish tips;
the white under parts are boldly marked, especially on the breast and
flanks, with hastate, subcordate, or crescentic spots of brownish
black. The cinnamon colors fade during the breeding season to pale buff
and eventually to white in July birds.
_Food._--On its breeding grounds in summer the surf bird feeds almost
entirely on insects, mainly flies and beetles. The analysis of the
stomach contents of eight birds, taken in Alaska and examined by the
Biological Survey, shows the following proportions: Diptera, 55.2 per
cent; Coleoptera, 36 per cent; Lepidoptera, 3.8 per cent; Hymenoptera,
3.3 per cent; Phalangidea, 1 per cent; snails, 5 per cent; and seeds, 2
per cent. Mr. Dixon (1927) says of its feeding habits:
Three days later seven surf birds were found feeding in
company at midday near this same spot. This time they were
foraging near the top of a very steep talus slope that lay
fair to the sun. Only a few scant flowers grew amid the
rocks, but insects were numerous and active. One surf bird
which, when later collected, proved to be a male stood
guard while the others fed. The slightest movement on my
part was sufficient to cause a warning note to be given
by this sentinel. When feeding, these birds ran hurriedly
over the rocks, traveling as fast or faster than a man
could walk. When an insect was sighted the pursuing surf
bird would stretch out its neck as far and as straight as
possible. Then moving stealthily forward the bird would
make a final thrust and secure the insect in its bill, much
in the same manner that a turkey stalks a grasshopper.
At other seasons the surf bird feeds along the water line on ocean
beaches, preferring the rocky or stony shores, or reefs exposed at
low tide; here it extracts the soft parts of barnacles, mussels, or
other crustaceans and small mollusks, or picks up other minute forms
of marine life. It also feeds to some extent at the surf line on
sandy beaches or on mud flats, where it picks up similar food from
the surface without probing for it. At such times the birds are quite
pugnacious unless sufficiently scattered.
_Behavior._--Mr. Dixon (1927) writes:
On June 18 three surf birds were seen close under the
summit of a mountain. Here they occasionally ran about
and picked up insects, but more often they stood still on
exposed rocks and preened their feathers. One of these
three birds frequently raised both wings willet fashion
over its back until they almost met. These individuals
were exceedingly shy and would not allow the naturalist to
approach closer than 100 yards. We found that this timidity
was customary during the nesting season, when the birds
were encountered away from the immediate vicinity of the
nest.
At 8 o’clock on the evening of June 24 I climbed to the
crest of a sharp ridge of one of the lower spurs of the
main Alaskan Range. As I reached the highest peak four
surf birds flew in from a distance. As they circled about
the peak they called, _tee, tee teet_ loudly. Their flight
was swift and plover-like. As they turned the white basal
portions of their tails together with the white bars of
their wings formed four white V’s which stood out vividly
in the strong glow of the evening sun. They circled the
peak several times, calling loudly and evidently seeking
for others of their kind. Soon there was an answering call
from the ground and the four birds settled down on a rocky
spur where three other surf birds were already feeding.
When I crawled up to within 50 yards of them all seven
birds ceased feeding and began to call loudly. After a
period of several minutes they began to feed again, one
remaining on guard while the others ran hither and thither
chasing insects over the rocks and tundra.
Florence M. Bailey (1916) says of the behavior of surf birds on the
California coast:
At high tide one day two of the surf birds were standing
on the sand ridge just above the water resting from their
labors, one with its back to the incoming waves staring
ahead of it as if lost in reverie. On the beach one of the
silent, solitary _Aphrizas_ would often stand facing me, as
if studying me intently, when, though I could not read its
innermost thoughts, I had a good chance to note its light
forehead and eye line, its white underparts, and streaked
chest. Two of the droll birds were found one day engaged
in an amusing performance that suggested the sparring of
boys. One turned sideways to the other as if on guard, then
dropped the wing on that side and spread its tail till the
white rump showed. The other in turn spread its tail and
they hopped over each other, doing this a number of times.
They would also dip their bills menacingly, and one of them
sat down several times as part of the play. As they flew
off they gave their wild _key-wé-ah_.
When wanting to move down the beach one often flew close
along under the green wall of the combing surf. When it
alit its wings would be held out for an instant showing
the clear white line down their length and the broad
white base of the tail with the dusky tip. When on shore
they stood around so much with their preoccupied dreamy
gaze that, when one took wing and flew with swift strong
wing strokes out across the surf and over the ocean, a
disappearing white spot, you stood bewildered. Your idle
dreamer was a child of the sea! Perhaps when it stood on
the sandy beach with preoccupied gaze it was dreaming of
its rocky surf-dashed home to the north, or of its rocky
surf-dashed winter home to the south. How well its wild,
keen, plaintive _key-ah-wee_ tells the story!
_Field marks._--While standing on rocks, at a distance or when the
light is poor, surf birds might be mistaken for black turnstones, but
they are somewhat larger. They are more stockily built and generally
darker colored than other shore birds. But in flight they may be easily
recognized by the broad white band in the wing, and by the white upper
tail coverts and basal half of the tail; they lack the broad white
patch in the center of the back and white stripes, which distinguish
the turnstones.
_Fall._--The birds apparently leave their breeding grounds in July and
move down to the coast of Alaska; some reach Oregon before the end
of July and California early in August. Apparently the adults come
first. Young birds have been taken on the coast of southern Alaska as
early as August 27 and have been noted at St. Michael up to the last
of September. During the fall they move gradually down the coast,
lingering for the winter at favorable places.
_Winter._--The surf bird winters in small numbers, occasionally if not
regularly, as far north as Wrangell, Alaska. Carl Lien has sent me the
following notes from the coast of Washington:
Destruction Island lies 50 miles south of Cape Flattery
and 3 out from the mainland. It is 35 acres in extent
and surrounded by extensive reefs which are uncovered at
low tide. There are numerous rocky ridges that are well
above the water at high tide, these ridges forming little
protected bays and harbors.
I first went to this island in December, 1910. On nice days
when the sea was smooth it was my custom to row around the
reefs observing the birds. I found the surf birds generally
in company with Aleutian sandpipers and black turnstones.
There would be a half dozen on this reef and similar
bunches on neighboring reefs. Their actions were very
lively, now running to a higher point on the rock as the
wash from the swell came rushing up, now running down again
as the water receded, feeding busily. The only thing I ever
found in their stomachs was small mussels about an eighth
of an inch long, occasionally up to a quarter of an inch.
The following autumn they returned though I did not note
the date. I saw them from time to time during the winter
in the winters of 1912–13, 1913–14, 1914–15, 1915–16,
1916–17. They would arrive the last week in October or the
first week in November. The flock on its first arrival
would number about 200 birds. They would begin to leave
the island the 1st of April and by the 1st of May there
would be none left. They did not visit the high parts of
the island but confined themselves to the reefs and gravel
bars. They were very wary and hard to approach on foot
though they would sometimes allow a boat to come within 10
yards.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--Western North and South America.
_Breeding range._--The breeding range of the surf bird is evidently
in the higher mountains of the interior of Alaska. The nest and eggs
have been found on one occasion only, in the Mount McKinley district
(Dixon, 1927), but Murie (1924) found young, apparently about a week
old, at the headwaters of Forty-mile River. There also seems a strong
probability that the species breeds in the Selawik Range on the south
side of the Kowak Valley (Grinnell, 1900), and in the region around the
head of the Savage River in the Alaska Range (Murie, 1924).
Sharing a trait with other shore birds, some nonbreeders frequently
remain through the summer at points far south of the breeding
grounds. During this period they have been noted in California (Santa
Barbara and the Farallone Islands); Oregon (Newport); and Washington
(Destruction Island and Camp Mora, Clallam County).
_Winter range._--In winter the surf bird is found on the Pacific coast
both of North and South America. It has been detected south to the
Straits of Magellan (Van Island in Trinity Channel), and at other
points on the coast of Chile (Valdivia, Paposo, and Atacama); and Peru
(Pisco Bay). At this season in North America it has been collected
or observed in California (Monterey and probably San Francisco Bay
region); Oregon (Cape Meares, Cannon Beach, and the entrance to Yaquina
Bay); Washington (Jefferson County and Destruction Island); and Alaska
(Wrangel and Craig). These latter records would appear to indicate that
some individuals are only partially migratory.
_Migration._--Because of the extensive areas that may be occupied by
the species, particularly in winter, and in view of the scarcity of
existing data, it is difficult to present an adequate picture of its
migrations. The following dates may, however, throw some light on its
movements.
_Spring migration._--Early dates of arrival are Lower California, San
Geronimo Island, March 15; California, San Diego, March 19; Oregon,
Newport, March 21; Washington, Puget Sound, March 8; and Alaska,
Admiralty Island, April 17, Forrester Island, April 20, Kuiu Island,
April 25, Craig, May 9, and Kobuk River, May 29.
Late dates of spring departure are Chile, Van Island, March 3; Lower
California, San Geronimo Island, April 13, Turtle Bay, April 14,
and Abreojos Point, April 19; California, Los Angeles, May 1, Santa
Barbara, May 4, Point Pinos, May 10, and San Nicolas Island, May 15;
Oregon, Newport, May 3; and Washington, Jefferson County, April 28.
_Fall migration._--Early dates of fall arrival are: Alaskan coast,
Sitka, July 21, and Nushagak, August 9; British Columbia, Porcher
Island, July 12, and Queen Charlotte Islands, August 2; Oregon,
Newport, July 24; and California, Monterey Bay, August 3, and Point
Pinos, August 5.
Late dates of fall departure are: Alaska, Craig, September 4, Sitka,
September 5, and Nome, September 9; British Columbia, Comox, September
2; Oregon, Netarts Bay, November 19; and California, Berkeley, October
24.
_Egg dates._--Alaska: One record, May 28, 1926.
ARENARIA INTERPRES (Linnaeus)
TURNSTONE
HABITS
The above species is cosmopolitan; it has a circumpolar breeding range,
and its migrations extend over nearly all of the Northern Hemisphere
and a large part of the Southern. It has been split into two, or
possibly three, geographical races. In the author’s opinion only two
races should be recognized; the Palaearctic form, _interpres_, averages
slightly larger, and is decidedly darker, the black predominating over
the rufous on the upper parts; the Nearctic form, _morinella_, averages
slightly smaller, is decidedly lighter, the rufous predominating on
the upper parts; these two races are well marked and are generally
recognized. The Pacific race has been described under the name
_oahuensis_, from specimens taken on Oahu Island in the Hawaiian group.
It is supposed to breed in Alaska and spend the winter in the Hawaiian
and other Pacific islands. It seems to be strictly intermediate, both
in size and color, between _interpres_ and _morinella_. Some of the
best authorities have not recognized it in nomenclature, which seems to
be a wise course. For the purpose of this life history the species as a
whole will be considered.
_Spring._--The northward migration of the ruddy turnstone through the
United States is accomplished mainly during May, but many linger along
through the first week in June. I have seen turnstones in Louisiana
as late as June 17 and 23, but some that I shot were immature birds,
apparently 1 year old, which probably would not breed that season.
Arthur T. Wayne (1910) has seen high plumaged birds in South Carolina
on June 11 and 12, which were doubtless late migrants; but he says that
birds in immature or winter plumage are seen in June more frequently
than adults. These latter illustrate the well-established fact that
many shore birds do not attain their full plumage and do not breed
during their first year, but remain within their winter ranges or far
south of their breeding ranges all summer.
Many observers have stated that turnstones do not migrate in large
flocks in the spring, but I have seen some very large flocks on Cape
Cod containing several hundred. On the coast of New Jersey during
the latter part of May, 1927, we saw a wonderful flight of this and
other shore birds; on the 20th we counted 3,600 turnstones, on the
26th 4,500, on the 27th 5,000, and on the 28th 7,000; many of these
were in immense flocks of this species only, but more often they were
associated in large flocks with black-bellied plovers; one enormous
flock of the two species was estimated to contain 3,500 birds.
The main migration route is along the sea coast. Migrants have been
known to reach Massachusetts as early as May 1, and my latest date
is June 5; but the main flight comes during the latter half of May.
Dr. W. Elmer Ekblaw tells me that it reaches its breeding grounds in
northwestern Greenland during the first week in June.
There is a regular migration northward through the interior, but
in much smaller numbers. Pierce Brodkorb and Frank Grasett give
me dates for northeastern Illinois from April 30 to June 18. We
collected specimens in Nelson County, N. Dak., on June 5, and at
Lake Winnipegosis, Manitoba, on June 1 and 2; but we did not record
the species at all during the two seasons spent in southwestern
Saskatchewan. Prof. William Rowan tells me that it is rare in his
section of Alberta. The route is evidently northward from Manitoba
through the Athabaska-Mackenzie region. Samuel F. Rathbun has sent me
the following notes on the former abundance of turnstones in Manitoba:
In that Province we spent the greater part of the spring
and summer of 1889, and on one occasion went to Lake
Manitoba driving as directly as possible across what was
then an unsettled country. We clambered up one of the dunes
and looked over its top, and right in front of us and up
and down the beach almost as far as could be seen, were
countless numbers of shore birds. On the sands nearly all
of these were in constant motion, while over the surface of
the lake flocks were flying to and fro. By far the greater
number of the birds were turnstones and the flocks of these
were always very large. I hesitate to give my estimate
of the number seen, but I made many counts and forming a
rough guess from these judged at the time that there must
have been somewhere near eight or ten thousand of the
turnstones. And I have always believed this estimate to be
somewhere near correct. This was on the 30th of May and it
may have been that we were fortunate to have happened to
witness the height of the movement of these birds.
The ruddy turnstone is a rather uncommon migrant on the Pacific coast
in April and May. Mr. Rathbun says in his notes that it--
appears to be a regular spring migrant along the ocean
coast of Washington, first being seen in early May. The
earlier birds seem to arrive in small numbers, to be
followed by flocks of fair size, but at no time are the
turnstones as common as are most of the other species of
shore birds that migrate along the coast.
From its winter home in Australia the turnstone makes an early start
for its long flight over the ocean; W. B. Alexander tells me that his
latest record is of a pair seen April 25, 1914, on the estuary of the
Lost River on the south coast of western Australia. The Pacific form
of the turnstone has been named _oahuensis_ from a specimen taken on
the island where Honolulu is situated. The birds leave the Hawaiian
Islands in May and probably make a 2,000-mile flight over the Pacific
Ocean to the Commander and Aleutian Islands. Dr. Leonhard Stejneger
(1885) says that they make their appearance in the Commanders “early in
May (in 1883 the first ones were observed on the 7th), and the beach,
especially on the north shore of Bering Island, fairly swarms with
them. In June they disappear, and only a few remain during the summer.”
In his notes from Hooper Bay, Alaska, H. B. Conover says: “On May 15
Du Fresne shot the first bird of this species. He had found it sitting
humped up on a log showing through the snow. The next day a pair was
seen, and after that date they were noticed constantly. On May 28 the
migration still must have been going on, as a flock of about 20 was
seen mixed with 6 golden plover.”
_Courtship._--Doctor Ekblaw has sent me the following notes:
The ruddy turnstone is almost if not quite as common as
the ringed plover along the beaches and about the gravelly
moraines and terraces of northwest Greenland. It comes to
the land the first week in June, frequenting the drifts of
kelp along the shore when the ice foot has melted away.
There they probe about the shells and seaweed, turning the
long drifts over to a depth of 3 inches. Where they have
worked, the shore looks as if a drove of tiny pigs had
rooted about.
They begin mating as soon as they arrive, and many a
bitter struggle and amorous courtship takes place among
these birds during the first two weeks of June. The males
outnumber the females, so the rivalry is keen. As the
lowering sun of the day sinks nearest the midnight horizon
the wooing antics are at the height. Frequently two males
pursue the same female, seeking to win her favor, the while
they are combating one another for the advantage. In giddy,
reckless flight they sweep back and forth along the shore,
rarely rising more than 3 feet above the beach, usually but
a foot. When alighted the pursuit is just as eager, the
female racing about to escape the insistent attentions of
the males, the males eagerly pursuing her and struggling
between themselves for supremacy. The more pugnacious
usually wins out, though the other never gives up hope.
The Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain contributes the following notes on the
subject:
A study of the published records of the breeding habits of
the turnstone discloses the fact that practically nothing
has ever been written on the courtship and song of this
species. The only apparent exception is a passage by A.
Trevor-Battye (1895), who says: “This lovely bird has a
far more elaborate song than that of any wader I know. You
really may call it a song. I put it down at the time as
_chewah, chewah, chewecki, ki-ki-ki kee kee_, and he sings
it _con amore_ from any little mound.” My first experience
with the turnstone dates back to 1921, when with Mr. A.
H. Paget Wilkes we found the nests of some 19 pairs in
Spitsbergen. It was then late in the breeding season; every
pair had incubated eggs or young, but directly one arrived
within range of a breeding pair the cock would fly out to
meet us and greet us with his little challenge song. As a
rule attempts to describe the notes of birds by means of
letters are chiefly remarkable for their discrepancies,
but if Mr. Paget Wilkes’s version of the “attack note” is
compared with that of Mr. Trevor-Battye, the resemblance is
striking, _tche-wick ... tsche-wick, tche-wi-i-i-i-i-i-ck_.
Obviously the two “songs” are the same, yet we heard this
challenge daily from birds far advanced in incubation
and even with newly hatched young. It continued as long
as we remained in the neighborhood of the nest, and was
sometimes repeated in a weaker form by the female. When
the young were being brooded by the male and the female
was on guard this challenge note was uttered by her.
There is, of course, a strong element of challenge in all
bird song, and the turnstone is a born fighter. No foe is
too formidable to be attacked and driven off. It is most
amusing to see a male chasing a bird ten times as big as
himself and returning complacently to his sentry duty until
the approach of another probable enemy brings him again to
the attack.
There is little doubt that all the “singing” males met with
by Trevor-Battye were really breeding birds defending the
territories and, as they fondly imagined, driving him away.
Of course the cheery little _chirrup_ of the turnstone has
no claim to musical excellence in spite of Trevor-Battye’s
exaggerated praise; no one could possibly compare it to
the sweet wild notes of the curlew or even the flutelike
notes of the purple sandpiper. Apparently in this species
the fighting instinct has replaced the tendency to display
on the wing before the female; and while many other waders
utter musical notes during the love flight the turnstone
reserves his for the attack.
_Nesting._--Comparatively few nests of the ruddy turnstone have
ever been found, as the bird nests in the far north, where few
ornithologists have been. A set of three eggs in my collection, taken
by Capt. Joseph Bernard on Taylor Island, Victoria Land, on August
1, 1917, possibly a second laying, was in a hollow on the tundra.
MacFarlane found only two sets on the lower Anderson River, which were
precisely similar to those of the other waders, consisting of a few
withered leaves placed in a depression in the ground, each containing
four eggs. Eggs collected by Rev. A. R. Hoare at Point Hope, Alaska,
were laid “in depressions on mossy ridges of the tundra.” Herbert W.
Brandt has sent me the following notes on the nesting habits of these
birds in Alaska:
At Hooper Bay the ruddy turnstone like the indigenous
plovers is an open-nesting bird and it depends for
concealment of its eggs upon the similarity of the shell
coloration to its surroundings. Near a limpid pool in
the low-rolling dunes the bird makes a shallow, circular
depression in the brownish green, velvetlike moss and this
it lines, haphazardly, with a few moss stems and often with
small crisp leaves of low-creeping woody plants. The range
of measurements of five nests is: Inside diameter, 3¾ to 4½
inches; inside depth, 1 to 1½ inches; and depth over all is
1 to 1¾ inches. The pied parents follow the habits of the
open-nesting birds, for they are wild and unapproachable
while breeding; so that in spite of its exposed location
the nest is anything but easy to find. Incubation patches
were present on both sexes and they did not employ, to
lure the intruder from the nesting area, the usual wounded
tactics of the other shore birds.
In the Eastern Hemisphere numerous nests have been found and
considerable has been published on the subject. Henry J. Pearson
(1904), during his three summers in Russian Lapland, found several
nests of the turnstone. On June 13, 1899, on Little Heno Island, he
found a nest with four fresh eggs on a low sand spit. “The nest was
placed in a patch of dwarf sallow, 10 inches high, and near the edge of
a bank, the slight depression being lined with a few dry grasses and
dead leaves.” Another nest was found on June 27 on Great Heno. After
watching the bird in vain for a long time on “a bare stretch of peat,
with scarcely a scrap of vegetation and full of puffin holes,” they
returned the next day and flushed the turnstone out of a puffin hole;
“and there was a nest 18 inches from the mouth, containing three eggs
more than half incubated; a few dead sorrel stalks had been taken in to
form the nest.” On June 19, 1901, on Medveji Island, a nest was found
“placed under a large overhanging shelf of peat, in such a position
that the bird could slip on and off in two different directions
according to that from which danger was threatened. The young were
formed in the four incubated eggs.” He refers to two other nests found
on a sand spit, which were “on the open ground with no protection
beyond a few blades of grass.”
W. C. Hewitson (1856) found a nest on the coast of Norway on “a flat
rock, bare except where here and there grew tufts of grass, or stunted
juniper clinging to its surface”; the nest “was placed against a ledge
of the rock, and consisted of nothing more than the drooping leaves of
the juniper bush, under a creeping branch of which the eggs, four in
number, were snugly concealed.”
A number of nests of the turnstone were found by the Oxford expedition
to Spitsbergen, about which A. H. Paget-Wilkes (1922) has given us
considerable information. He says that “in spite of the presence of
large and small boulders and stones the turnstone in Spitsbergen does
not lay its eggs under the shelter of this somewhat scanty cover or
in the small holes or pockets in the soil, but chooses perfectly
open and bare, wind-swept places for its breeding sites.” Some seven
nests were found on islands and one of these is described as “a very
flat depression among small stones on a small ridge of dry, red mud.”
Other nests were scattered along the shore at intervals of about
three-quarters of a mile; but in one place five or six pairs were
nesting within a radius of half a mile. One nest was on a little island
of hard mud, only three yards by two yards in a stream. The turnstones
are very active and aggressive in defending their nests against
the jaegers; these marauders are persistently harried, desperately
attacked, and finally driven away.
Ralph Chislett (1925) gives an interesting account of finding the
turnstone breeding on a Baltic isle, where the nests were hidden among
the dense herbage. He says:
Against the sky, not more than 30 yards away, appearing
over the top of a rise in the ground, as seen from the
hiding tent, was a group of chervil flower heads. One of
the turnstones, on taking wing, flew directly to these
flower heads and appeared to settle in the midst of them.
After giving the bird time to get settled on the eggs (I
hoped) I crawled out of the tent, and keeping low was
within 6 yards of the chervil clump when the turnstone took
wing from a point 2 yards on the other side, repeating its
cry much more meaningly than hitherto. I had been prepared
to find the nest under shelter of some sort, but had not
expected the eggs to be so completely hidden from view as
proved to be the case here. The nest lay on the seaward
side of the clump. To obtain a view for the camera, a tall
chervil stalk, some leaves, and grasses had to be removed.
The definite scrape was lined with bits of seaweed and dry
grass stems to a depth of more than 1 inch.
_Eggs._--Mr. Brandt has sent me the following good description of the
turnstone’s eggs collected by his party in Alaska:
The ruddy turnstone lays four eggs and these may justly
claim rank as some of the handsomest of all the delightful
Hooper Bay limicoline series. They are subpyriform to
ovate in shape and lie points together in the shallow
nest. The shell is glossy and smooth and is quite strong.
The markings seldom cover more than half the area of the
eggs and in consequence the ground color is prominent. The
latter is quite variable, ranging from “yellowish glaucous”
to “olive buff” and even “deep olive buff.” The surface
markings are usually bold and are most heavily concentrated
on the larger end, but one striking type is known for its
beautiful marbled effect as the spots which are large and
clouded softly fade into the glossy ground color. These
spots are irregular in outline and are often slightly
elongate, twisting into a pronounced clockwise spiral. The
usual color of the primary spots is “warm sepia,” but in
the greenish setting they are “olive brown” while in the
marbled type “citrine drab” is the prevailing shade. When
the underlying markings are given prominence their soft
tones add to the beauty of the eggs. The colors of these
partially hidden ornaments range from “pale mouse gray” to
“mouse gray.” The additional markings of brownish black
to black are sparsely scattered over the larger part of
the egg usually in the form of small spots or pen-like
scratches. The vitality of the shore birds is attested by
the fact that four turnstone’s eggs laid in four days weigh
2½ ounces, while the parent bird herself weighs but 3½
ounces.
Most of the turnstone’s eggs that I have seen are easily recognizable,
though the distinctive features are more easily seen than described.
The markings are usually quite evenly distributed and the egg well
covered with them. The 12 eggs so well illustrated on Frank Poynting’s
(1895) beautiful plate, all taken from European eggs, show some
variations not mentioned by Mr. Brandt. The buffy ground colors range
from “dark olive buff” to “olive buff”; and greenish ones from “water
green” to “yellowish glaucous.” One plain-looking egg is “dark olive
buff” with faint markings of a slightly darker shade. Another is
“water green” with numerous, small, almost black spots, and underlying
small spots of “light mouse gray.” The measurements of 100 European
eggs furnished by the Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain, average 40.5 by 29.2
millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure =44.5= by 30.4,
43.2 by =31.3=, =36= by 28.2 and 40.5 by =26= millimeters. Mr. Brandt’s
44 eggs, from Alaska, average slightly smaller, 39 by 28 millimeters;
the extremes of his and all other American and Greenland eggs that I
have measurements of fall within the limits given above for European
eggs. Egg measurements would seem to indicate that Alaska birds should
be referred to _morinella_, the smaller race.
_Young._--The period of incubation does not seem to be known, but it is
a well-established fact that both sexes share in this duty, as well as
in the care of the young. Mr. Paget-Wilkes (1922) says:
Both sexes incubate, but when the eggs are fresh or partly
incubated the hen seems to brood and the cock stands on
guard. When the eggs were within a day or two of hatching
or were just chipping we invariably found the cock
incubating, and when the young were out we always found the
cock looking after the family and the hen, with her duller
plumage and weaker notes, on guard. These characteristics
observed in the cases of 19 pairs should form a useful
basis for further research.
On flushing the cock bird from four young in down on the
Mouettes Islands I was shown an example of his tenacity and
intelligence. I had taken the young birds away in my pocket
and had run back to the boat across a neck of land some
300 yards broad. The cock chased me a little way and then
disappeared. On reaching the sea, however, on the other
side of the small peninsula, I immediately saw the cock fly
around the point and make straight for me, and he stood and
chattered at me until we rowed away in the boat. The hen
put in no appearance at all.
Again, on one of the islands we watched a pair whose
behavior puzzled us, but soon discovered that there were
four young birds being looked after by the cock. The moment
he was flushed the young birds scattered in all directions,
and on our lying down again came back under the fatherly
wing. Before I discovered that the cock incubated in the
last stages I patiently watched a hen running about quite
unconcernedly for almost an hour, and then suddenly jumped
to the conclusion that the cock was sitting. When I got up
the hen gave the alarm note and I flushed the cock from
four chipping eggs.
A. L. V. Manniche (1910) writes:
The parents are very watchful against danger in the
breeding time and when the young ones are small. One of
them will keep a lookout from the summit of a large stone
or a rock while the other is brooding or guiding the young
ones. The bird on guard will discover an approaching enemy
at an incredibly long distance and rush toward him uttering
furious cries. Especially the skua (_Lestris longicauda_)
is a detested enemy of the turnstone. Every day I could
observe the hunting skuas pursued by turnstones. When one
pursuer returned to its district another would appear and
thus every skua was almost always accompanied by at least
one turnstone. Also toward the polar fox the turnstones
would betray great fear, and they would often join from
afar and swoop down on the hated enemy, uttering their
sharpest and most violent cries.
Toward the end of July the young ones were able to fly but
were, however, generally accompanied by the old female. The
young ones would often resort to the upper part of rather
high rocks while the old female incessantly crying and
anxiously flapping tried to divert my attention from them.
When the old female had left her offspring and the country,
these would immediately take to the coast and the mouths of
rivers like other young waders.
_Plumages._--The young turnstone in natal down is not brilliantly, yet
distinctively, colored. The upper parts, including the sides of the
head and neck, wings and thighs, vary from “cream buff” or “chamois” on
the crown and wings to “olive buff” on the neck and flanks. The crown,
back, wings, rump, and thighs are heavily spotted or broadly striped
with black; the center of the crown is largely black and so are the
lores; a broad space above the eyes and the forehead are “cream buff,”
with a black streak in the middle of the latter. There is some whitish
in the center of the back and the entire under parts are pure white.
In full juvenal plumage, Alaska birds in July, the crown and mantle
are dark sepia or blackish brown, the feathers of the crown edged
with sandy brown, those of the back broadly edged with “pinkish buff”
or “cream buff” and the wing coverts still more broadly edged with
“cinnamon buff”; the tertials are edged with “cinnamon”; the feathers
of the rump, the tail coverts, and the tail are tipped with a buffy
wash; the under parts are similar in pattern to those of the adult, but
the black patches are browner and often show buffy tips. The sexes are
practically alike in juvenal and winter plumages.
The first winter plumage is acquired by a partial body molt between
August and November; it can be distinguished from the adult winter
plumage by the presence of some retained tertials, scapulars, and
wing coverts; also it is not so uniformly dark as the adult, is more
streaked with buffy and whitish edgings on the head, neck, and back,
and it has less black in the gorget. The two races are distinguishable
in this plumage, _interpres_ being darker.
The first prenuptial molt begins in January; it is similar to that of
the adult but is much less complete. I have seen a young bird in full
wing molt in January and think that young birds renew their flight
feathers before the first spring. The first nuptial plumage is, I
believe, a nonbreeding plumage, as it is worn by birds which spend
the summer far south of the breeding range. I have seen birds in this
plumage, collected in Florida and Louisiana, in every month from April
to August. This plumage resembles the adult nuptial, but the head is
more streaked with dusky or black; and in the mantle, scapulars and
wing coverts there is a mixture of new rufous feathers and both old
and new blackish brown feathers. The sexes are recognizable in this
plumage, the males being much brighter. A complete molt in August
produces the adult winter plumage.
Adults have a complete postnuptial molt, from July to October, but
mainly in August, when the wings are molted. They have a partial
prenuptial molt from February to June, mainly in March and April,
involving the body plumage, but not all the scapulars or wing coverts.
_Food._--The turnstone is mainly a maritime species and its favorite
feeding grounds are the stony and sandy beaches along the seashore and
the rocky promontories and islets on the coasts. But on its inland
migrations it finds its food on the shores and beaches of the larger
lakes and rivers. The turnstone derives its name from its well-known
and conspicuous habit of turning over, with its short, stout bill and
sturdy muscles, stones, shells, clods of earth, seaweed, and other
objects in search for the dainty morsels of animal food that it finds
beneath them. If the object is not too large the bird stoops down and
overturns it with a quick jerk of the head and neck; but against a
larger obstacle it places its breast and pushes with all its strength;
it is surprising to see how large a stone or clod it can move. It also
has a peculiar habit of rooting like a pig in piles of seaweed or in
the open sand. Windrows of seaweed and other rubbish are generally full
of sand fleas and various worms and insects and their larvae, where
the turnstones and other waders find an abundant feast. Frank T. Noble
(1904) has described this very well, as follows:
He would select a likely spot on the loosely packed moss
and go at his work with a vim and rapidity entirely
different from the other species. Underneath the bits of
weed, moss, and fragments of shell his sharp upturned bill
would swiftly go and a perfect shower of these would soon
be falling in front and beside him. Finding a morsel to his
taste he would devour it in much less time than it takes to
relate it, and the rooting and tossing of the bits into the
air would continue. At times quite sizeable fragments of
shell and pieces of moss more than an inch in length would
be thrown fully 7 or 8 inches above the bird’s head, and
this he would keep up, with scarcely an instant’s pause,
for a quarter of an hour and until he had excavated a pit
large enough to almost conceal his plump, mottled body.
Occasionally he would turn about in his tracks, but as a
rule he worked in one direction.
I have seen a similar method employed on a sand flat laid bare at
low tide, where four or five turnstones were feeding, accompanied by
sanderlings and peeps. The turnstones were digging holes in the wet
sand, throwing out the sand for a distance of several inches, until
the holes were big enough to admit the whole of a man’s fist and deep
enough to conceal the bird’s head and neck. Meantime the sanderlings
were standing close by and picking up some small objects thrown
out, until driven away by savage attacks of the turnstone. On close
examination I found a number of small, black snails and other minute
mollusks in the sand thrown out. The stomach of one shot contained only
the minute mollusks and some coarse sand.
Doctor Stejneger (1885) found turnstones feeding in large numbers on
the killing grounds in the Commander Islands, “where thousands of
putrified carcasses of the slain fur seals swarm with myriads of the
white larvae of the flesh fly,” on which they grow very fat. Francis H.
Allen tells me he has seen them feeding on rocks which are bare only at
low tide and covered with barnacles. One that he watched--
sometimes simply picked its food up from among the
barnacles and rockweed, and sometimes it hammered away in
one spot like a woodpecker before getting its morsel. The
object hammered was evidently fixed. After the bird had
flown, I visited the spot and found many empty barnacle
shells--empty of barnacles, that is--some entirely empty
and others containing small snail-like mollusks with
dark-colored shells.
On the coast of South Carolina I have seen turnstones feeding on the
beds of coon oysters and have watched them busily engaged in chasing
the small fiddler crabs on the muddy banks of tidal creeks and on the
mud lumps; they had to run very fast to catch the spry little animals
and probably had to pick out the smallest ones. Mr. Wayne (1910) says:
“On Capers Island it frequents live oak trees which are covered with
small mussels, upon which it eagerly feeds. If some of the mussels
happen to be on an inclined limb the birds walk, instead of flying, to
reach them. I have seen as many as four of these, one behind the other,
on a small limb out in the surf.”
Mr. Manniche (1910) says that just after their arrival in Greenland
the turnstones feed mainly on vegetable food; the stomach of a bird
taken on May 22 contained only remains of plants. Dr. Paul Bartsch
(1922), referring to his visit to Midway Island, writes: “It was a
decided surprise to us to find waders in bushes feeding upon berries,
and yet this was the case here. Again and again we flushed bunches of
turnstones from the dense _Scaevola_ thickets and watched them circle
about for some time, only to realight in the tops of another clump
of bushes. Specimens shot on Sand Island were filled with _Scaevola_
berries.”
C. J. Maynard (1896) says that they sometimes resort to marshes and
feed on grasshoppers. Their main food supply evidently consists of
small crustaceans, small mollusks, insects, and their larvae, all
of which they consume in large quantities and in great variety. In
Massachusetts it is sometimes called the “horse-foot snipe,” because of
its fondness for the eggs of the horse-foot crab. John T. Nichols tells
me that it scratches up the eggs by “jumping in the air and striking
with both its feet at once into the sand, thus making a hole about 3
inches deep and 1½ inches across.”
Dr. Alexander Wetmore contributes the following interesting notes:
The greatest surprise came when on Laysan Island it was
found that these and other shore birds were persistent
enemies of the sooty and gray-backed terns, as they
destroyed the eggs of the terns at every opportunity. For
the first few days when turnstones were seen greedily
eating terns’ eggs I supposed that they were merely
finishing eggs that had been opened by other birds, but
on further observation found that these shore birds were
bold marauders that drove their bills into the eggs of
terns at every opportunity and were only prevented from
attacking the nests of boobies and man-o-war birds by the
fact that the shell of the egg in these species was so
hard that they could not break it. As we moved through the
great colonies of sooty terns the birds near at hand rose
before us from their eggs, often communicating the alarm
to neighbors so that at times clouds of birds arose to
fill the air. At our heels, 15 or 20 feet behind us, came
little groups of turnstones well aware that this uproar
among the sharp-beaked terns meant unprotected nests, where
they could attack the eggs with impunity. The turnstones
ran quickly about driving their bills into the eggs without
the slightest hesitation, breaking open the side widely and
feeding eagerly on the contents, sometimes two or three
gathering for an instant to demolish one egg and then
with this one half consumed running on to attack another.
The havoc wrought among the terns was so great that we
forbade the sailors from approaching the colonies, and
made it a rule among the naturalists to keep away except
when necessity for some observation made it imperative to
disturb the birds.
The densely packed colonies of aggressive sooty terns were
open to attack mainly along the borders except when the
birds were disturbed, but the little scattered groups of
gray-backed terns (_Sterna lunata_) on the open beaches
were entirely at the mercy of the turnstones, so that
it seemed that the gentle terns could not hope for a
successful nesting until the close of May carried the horde
of their marauding persecutors away to northern homes.
So bold were the shore birds that on one occasion I saw
two actually push aside the feathers on the sides of the
incubating tern, drag her egg from beneath her breast, and
proceed to open and devour it within 6 inches of the nest.
The tern remained in incubating pose, plainly troubled by
such unexpected boldness but seemingly not comprehending
its portent, nodding her head with that of her mate
standing beside her, and finally reaching out to draw the
half-empty shell of her treasure again beneath her, while
the robbers, temporarily satisfied, pattered away in search
of other prey. On several occasions when, in walking along
the beaches above high-tide mark I flushed gray-backed
terns from their nests, I saw that they carried with
them as they flew away shells of broken eggs, which not
understanding that they had been destroyed they had covered
while the hardening albumen flowing over the outside of the
shell had glued the whole to their feathers.
The Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain contributes the following notes on the food
of this species:
As it is almost invariably found near the coast the food
is chiefly marine in character: Mollusca, chiefly small
univalves such as _Litorina_ (L. Florence records 134
opercula of small molluscks); small Crustacea, especially
Gammaridae; A. H. Clark records fry of a small fish
(_Sicydium plumieri_) up to 1½ inches in length; insects,
including Coleoptera, Diptera (_Tipulidae_ and larvae of
_Chironomidae_), Lepidoptera (_Argynnis charidea_ and
_Dasychira groenlandica_) recorded by H. C. Hart and
_Hymenoptera_. Also Arachnida and Acaridea (Feilden). Also
some vegetable matter (seeds of _Draba alpina_, pieces of
seaweed, etc.).
_Behavior._--When migrating turnstones fly in large flocks by
themselves or with black-bellied plovers, often in immense flocks;
at such times they usually fly high. But, while sojourning on the
way, they are usually in small numbers and very often seen singly.
One or two birds are often associated with mixed flocks or scattered
gatherings of semipalmated plover, sanderlings, or other small waders.
Their flight is strong, swift, and steady, usually direct, but
sometimes in a semicircle, out from the shore and back again; when
not traveling they generally fly low. There is something peculiar
about their flight which can be recognized at a long distance, but I
can not describe it satisfactorily. They are essentially shore birds,
frequenting the stony, rocky, or sandy beaches of the seashore or
the larger lakes. They are not particularly shy, and sometimes very
tame. When they first alight they stand and survey the landscape
until sure that they are safe. They then mingle freely with the other
small waders, feeding unconcernedly, and treating their companions
with indifference until one comes too near. Then the turnstone shows
its jealous and pugnacious disposition; it will allow no competition,
in the spot where it is feeding, from another bird, even of its own
species, but with lowered head, drooping wings, and hunched up back
it rushes at the intruder in a threatening attitude and perhaps gives
him a few jabs with its sharp bill. Many a miniature cockfight or sham
battle is enacted and the turnstone is generally the aggressor, though
once I saw a sanderling drive away a turnstone. It appears like a big
bully that is attracted to the feast that others have found and then is
unwilling to share it with them.
Turnstones can swim well and probably alight on the water to rest while
making long flights over the ocean. Dr. Donald B. MacMillan (1918) saw
“a large flock alight upon the water in Kennedy Channel.” They love
to bathe in shallow water, squatting down and fluttering their wings,
sometimes partly rolling over; then they spend much time preening and
dressing their pretty plumage. N. B. Moore says in his notes that “this
species alights on the dead branches of mangroves, stumps, and stakes
that stand in the water near the shore from 2 to 6 feet above it and
sits in the manner of a Carolina dove.”
_Voice._--John T. Nichols has contributed the following on the ordinary
notes of the turnstone:
The common flight note of this species is an unloud
polysyllabic one, something like a cackle, which does not
carry far. It is usually given by birds that are leaving
the vicinity, but not so frequently heard at other times
as are the flight notes of various species. This note
is sometimes three syllabled, _ketakek_, or may be of a
single syllable, _kek_, on taking wing. A much rarer, loud,
plover-like _kik-kyu_ has been heard from a turnstone when
coming to decoys or flying along the edge of favorable
marshes. The cackle of the turnstone is almost impossible
to imitate, but they will decoy readily to a whistled
imitation of the cry of their associate the black-bellied
plover.
The song of the turnstone as heard on its breeding grounds few have
been privileged to hear. Mr. Brandt calls it “a loud but not unpleasant
note, rapidly repeated--_kye-ute-cat-tat-tah_.” Mr. Jourdain has
given us, under courtship, his impressions of it and those of Messrs.
Trevor-Battye and Paget-Wilkes.
_Field marks._--The turnstone is a conspicuous and well-marked
bird, not likely to be mistaken for anything else. It is a stout,
short-legged bird with a short neck and a short, straight bill. In its
brilliant spring plumage the white head, black throat, red legs, and
rufous back are unique field marks. But the best field marks, most
conspicuous in the nuptial plumage, but present in all plumages, are
the five white stripes on the upper surface, which show very plainly
as the bird flies away; these are a broad central stripe on the back,
separated by a black patch on the rump from the white area in the tail,
a narrow stripe on the outer edge of the scapulars and a band across
the wing on the secondaries and primaries. Unfortunately for observers
on the Pacific coast, the black turnstone has somewhat similar white
stripes, but the pattern is a little different.
_Fall._--Adult turnstones begin to leave their summer homes in
Greenland about the middle of July, with the knots and sanderlings,
and before the end of August the last of the young birds have left.
Lucien M. Turner obtained an adult from Davis Inlet on July 25; but
the species apparently avoids Ungava, for the only bird he saw there
was a young male taken on August 20. Probably the birds which breed
in western Greenland migrate coastwise along the Labrador coast and
Nova Scotia to New England. We saw the first turnstones at Cape Sable,
Nova Scotia, on July 30 and 31; but my earliest record for adults
in Massachusetts is on August 1; adults are common here all through
August; the young birds come along late in August, and I have seen them
here as late as October 12.
There is a heavy migration down the west coast of Hudson Bay. Edward A.
Preble (1902) saw the first turnstones at Fort Churchill on July 30;
and on August 10 to 13 he “observed many small flocks about 25 miles
south of Cape Eskimo”; August 21 to 26 he saw “many flocks daily.” From
the Hudson Bay region the main flight seems to be southeastward through
the Great Lakes region to the Atlantic coast. It seems to be very rare
in the fall west of eastern Manitoba and Ohio; and it extends as far
east as the Bermudas and the West Indies.
Some of the birds which breed in Alaska migrate down the Pacific
coasts of North and South America at about the same dates as the
Atlantic coast birds; but large numbers pass down the Asiatic coast,
through Japan and China, to islands in the Southern Hemisphere. Doctor
Stejneger (1885) says that in the Commander Islands during the latter
part of July large flocks return from the north.
From this time until late autumn enormous masses of
them may be seen on the killing grounds, near the seal
rookeries, where thousands of putrified carcasses of the
slain fur seals swarm with myriads of the white larvae of
the flesh fly, upon which the pretty turnstones feed and
grow exceedingly fat. At sunset they retire to the beach,
where they pass the night, not, however, without having
performed a soldierlike drill by flying up and down the
endless tundra, now in full body, now again in detached
divisions, and with admirable precision turning and
maneuvering as if obeying the command of a leading officer.
As to the migration on the Pribilof Islands, William Palmer (1899)
writes:
On July 12, 1890, I saw probably the first bird that landed
on St. Paul during the fall migration. From that date they
daily increased rapidly until by the end of July they
swarmed everywhere. They reach the island by way of the
northeastern shore and in straggling flocks or singly fly
southward through the island during the day, banking up in
large numbers when the village killing ground is reached.
They spread out on the slopes, resting on the rocks and
little hillocks during the day. They soon find the feast
awaiting them on the killing ground, and the marks of their
work around nearly every seal carcass is soon noticeable.
As the water disappears by soakage and evaporation in the
village pond they turn up the black sand in thousands of
little hillocks, each with a narrow depression made by
their bill beside it. At low tide the lagoon beaches are
a favorite resting and feeding place. By the end of July
many become so fat that they are run down and captured by
the young Aleuts. Their departure from St. Paul is quite a
feature of the avifaunan exhibition. About 6 in the evening
a small flock of perhaps 40 birds will rise into the air
from about the village pond and uttering loud, shrill cries
will fly up to near the head of the lagoon. Here making a
wide sweep they return, gathering fresh recruits on their
way, until the vicinity of the pond is again reached.
Sweeping around in a constantly ascending course they
return up the lagoon, and turning once more, screaming as
they go, and adding to their numbers, they make a straight
course high over the village hill and on out to sea over
the reef point. This invariably took place every evening
during the latter part of my stay on the island. It was
always the rule that a dense fog bank hung all around
the island at that time, so that even the reef point was
not visible, but the birds went into the fog without the
slightest hesitation. They left their landmarks behind.
Several flocks averaging about a hundred birds left nearly
every evening from the end of July until I left on August
10. The first arrivals on the island were always adults;
the young were not noted for at least 10 days. According
to Elliott they all leave the islands after the 10th of
September.
Many of these birds must make the 2,000-mile flight over the ocean from
the Commander or Aleutian Islands to the Hawaiian Islands. They have
repeatedly been seen in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, hundreds of
miles from land. This does not seem so remarkable, now that we know
that they can alight and rest on the water and rise from it easily.
They must go a long time without food or find a very scanty supply of
it, as it must take 40 or 50 hours to make the trip. But Dr. Henry W.
Henshaw (1902) says that some of the first arrivals on these islands,
which he shot about the middle of August, “were all of them plump and
in fine order for the table.”
_Game._--The turnstone has never attained great importance as a game
bird, though it was formerly counted in the list of “big birds” in the
gunner’s bag. It was plump and generally fat, so that it made a good
table bird. It has a variety of local names, such as chicken plover,
calico bird, brant bird, etc. It decoys well to almost any decoys and,
although its own note is difficult to imitate, it will respond readily
to the call of its favorite companion, the black-bellied plover.
_Winter._--The ruddy turnstone spends the winter on the coasts of
the southern States and on both coasts of South America, from South
Carolina to Brazil and from southern California to Chile. The larger,
Old World form, _interpres_, apparently does not winter anywhere in
the Western Hemisphere, but occupies the coasts of southern Europe and
Asia, much of Africa, some of the oceanic islands, and Australia. If we
are to recognize the Pacific form, _oahuensis_, there is yet much to
be learned about the limits of its winter and summer ranges and where
it intergrades with _interpres_. The island of Oahu in the Hawaiian
Islands is the type locality of _oahuensis_; and it probably has a wide
range among Pacific islands.
Dr. Alexander Wetmore says in his notes:
In the remote islands of the Hawaiian bird reservation the
turnstone is common during the period of northern winter,
and a few sterile or injured individuals may remain through
the summer. Though common along the sandy beaches and the
shores of lagoons, as is usual, at times they exhibited
curious habits, as on Ocean Island they ran back from
the open shore beneath the thickets of beach magnolia
(_Scaevola_), penetrating the entire island in cover as
dense as that ordinarily chosen by woodcock. It was always
a surprise when one, attracted by some sound, flew up from
under the bushes and perched on a dead branch to look at
me. On Midway turnstones ran about on the lawns at the
cable station like robins, with so domestic and contented
an air that it was at times difficult to recall that they
were here merely as transients, and that soon they would be
nesting in arctic tundras.
Charles Barrett writes to me from Australia, as follows:
One of our most interesting summer visitors, the turnstone
frequents open beaches on the mainland generally in small
flocks, and also favors reefs and coral strands among the
tropical and subtropical islands. When camped, with other
members of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union, on
Masthead Island, Capricorn Group, Queensland, in October,
1910, I observed many turnstones on the white coral-sand
beach. Apparently, with waders of other species, they had
recently arrived, after the long flight from their breeding
grounds. They were active enough, but in poor condition.
During migration, they can have little chance to obtain
food, and the strain of flying thousands of miles affects
even the healthiest birds. But they obtain abundance of
food in their Austral haunts, and soon become plump again.
Many localities in Australia are admirably suited to the
turnstone’s needs, and it is not a rare bird with us,
indeed, on islands of the Great Barrier Reef, northeastern
Queensland, it may be termed a common species.
W. B. Alexander tells me that the turnstone is “a fairly common visitor
to Australian coasts. My earliest record is of a pair seen on the beach
at Oyster Cay, Great Barrier Reef, North Queensland, on August 27,
1925, and my latest record a pair on the estuary of the Lost River on
the south coast of Western Australia on April 25, 1914.”
DISTRIBUTION
ARENARIA INTERPRES INTERPRES
_Range._--Mainly in the Eastern Hemisphere.
_Breeding range._--The turnstone breeds on the Arctic coasts of both
hemispheres, but its exact status in North America is still somewhat
indefinite. The known breeding range extends from probably Greenland
(Disco Bay, Tuctoo Valley, and Bowdoin Bay); east to Iceland; Norway
(Smolen Islands); Sweden; Lapland; Finland; Nova Zembla; Siberia
(Balagansk, and Plover Bay); Kamchatka; probably the Commander Islands;
and Alaska (St. Lawrence Island, St. Michaels, Takshagemut, Port
Clarence, probably Cape Lowenstern and Point Barrow).
_Winter range._--In winter the turnstone is found on the coasts of
Europe and Asia north to the British Isles; Japan and Hawaii. They
range south at this season to South Africa (Cape of Good Hope);
Madagascar; the Mascarene Islands; Australia; New Zealand; and Chile.
_Migration._--In North America, early dates of spring arrival are:
Alaska, St. Michael, May 15; and Greenland, north of latitude 81° 30´,
May 27. Late dates of fall departure are Greenland, north of latitude
81° 31´, September 11; and Alaska, Nushagak, September 21.
_Casual record._--The turnstone can be considered only as a casual or
accidental visitant anywhere in North America south of the breeding
grounds. A specimen taken at Pacific Beach, California, September 8,
1904, was identified as the European race, but the record also has been
questioned (Grinnell). Four specimens taken on San Geronimo Island,
Lower California, March 15, 1897, were considered by Oberholser as
typical of the European or Asiatic race. One was obtained at Monomoy
Island, Massachusetts on September 8, 1892 (Bishop); and Wayne took a
specimen on Dewees Island, South Carolina, May 30, 1918.
[AUTHOR’S NOTE.--For the author’s views on the distribution of the
two forms of the turnstone, see his note on the distribution of
_morinella_. There is much individual variation in color, with a
decided sexual difference in size, which opens the question of wrongly
sexed specimens. The individual variation in size is still greater,
so much so that both extremes of both forms are very close together.
A large, dark female of _morinella_, wrongly sexed, might easily be
recorded as _interpres_. These facts cast some doubt on North American
records of _interpres_.]
_Egg dates._--Norway and Sweden: 16 records, June 1 to 30; 8 records,
June 7 to 13. Lapland and Finland: 14 records, May 23 to July 8; 7
records, June 8 to 18.
ARENARIA INTERPRES MORINELLA
_Range._--North America; Central America; islands of the Caribbean Sea;
and South America.
_Breeding range._--Actual breeding records of the ruddy turnstone are
not numerous, so it is difficult to accurately define its breeding
range. From information available it appears that they breed east from
Alaska (Hooper Bay, Colville River Delta, Collinson Point, and probably
Demarcation Point); to Mackenzie (lower Anderson River, Liverpool Bay,
Franklin Bay, and probably Felix Harbor); Franklin (probably Melville
Island, Victoria Island, probably King Oscar Land); probably Ellesmere
and Grant Lands; and northwestern Greenland. Specimens have been
obtained in southern Mackenzie in June (Fort Resolution and Fort Rae),
but there is not yet any evidence of their breeding in that region.
Eggs also have been reported from “Hudson Bay” (Reinecke), but the
record is too indefinite to stand careful scrutiny.
Nonbreeding individuals have been detected in summer as far south as
Chile (Sclater); Peru (Callao); the Galapagos Islands (Baur and Adams);
Venezuela (Margarita and Aruba Islands); and the West Indies (Carriacou
and Jamaica). It also has been noted at this season on the Atlantic,
Pacific, and Gulf coasts of the United States, as Florida (Bradentown,
Passage Key, Fort De Soto, Key West, and Daytona Beach); South Carolina
(Frogmore, and Mount Pleasant); North Carolina (Beaufort); Virginia
(Hog Island, and Cape Charles); New York (Fair Haven Light, Long Beach,
and Gardiners Island); Massachusetts (Monomoy Island, and Cape Cod);
Louisiana (Chandeleur Islands, and Breton Islands); Texas (Fort Brown,
and Corpus Christi); and California (Santa Cruz).
_Winter range._--The winter range of _morinella_ can be defined but
little better as the records are frequently confused with _Arenaria i.
interpres_, to which some of the following may refer. Their range at
this season appears to extend north to California (rarely San Francisco
Bay); Texas (Fort Brown, Point Isabel, Refugio County, and the Sabine
River); probably Louisiana; probably North Carolina (Fort Macon); and
Bermuda (Ireland Island). East to Bermuda (Ireland Island); South
Carolina (Mount Pleasant, and Frogmore); Georgia (Savannah, Blackbeard
Island, and Darien); Florida (Fernandina, St. Augustine, Daytona Beach,
Mosquito Inlet, Cocoa, Fort Pierce, and Key West); the Bahama Islands
(New Providence, and Great Inagua); Haiti (Monte Cristi, and Samana);
Porto Rico (Mameyes, and Culebra Island); Lesser Antilles (Sombrero,
St. Bartholomew, Carriacou, and Tobago); British Guiana (probably Abary
River); French Guiana (probably Cayenne); and Brazil (Para, Cajetuba
Island, Fernando Noronha, and Abrolhos Island). South to Brazil
(Abrolhos Island); and Chile (Valdivia). West to Chile (Valdivia,
Talcahuano, Paposo, and Atacama); Peru (probably Chorillos); the
Galapagos Islands (Albemarle, Hood, Indefatigable and Bindloe Islands);
Honduras (Swan Island); Guatemala (Chiapam); Mexico (the Valley of
Mexico); Lower California (San Jose del Cabo, and Magdalena Bay); and
California (rarely San Francisco Bay). Occasionally also, wintering as
far north as Sanak, Alaska (Littlejohn).
_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival are: Virginia,
Accomac County, May 8, Chesapeake, May 10, and Locustville, May 11; New
Jersey, Ocean City, May 5, Cape May, May 6, and Long Beach, May 16; New
York, Fair Haven Light, May 10, Montauk Point, May 12, and Canandaigua,
May 14; Connecticut, New Haven, May 18, and Norwalk, May 19; Rhode
Island, Newport, May 13, and Sachuest Point, May 14; Massachusetts,
Nantucket, May 1, Woods Hole, May 5, and Monomoy Island, May 6; Maine,
South Harpswell, May 20, and Portland, May 22; Nova Scotia, Pictou, May
24; Franklin, Winter Island, June 10; Illinois, Northeastern, April
30, Englewood, May 22, Chicago, May 23, and Waukegan, May 24; Indiana,
Starke County, May 20, and Wolfe Lake, May 23; Ohio, Lakeside, May 11,
Oberlin, May 15, Huron, May 17, and Painesville, May 28; Michigan,
Detroit, May 13, Kalamazoo County, May 20, and Ann Arbor, May 25;
Ontario, Toronto, May 18, Kingston, May 20, Moose Factory, May 26, and
Mitchells Bay, May 31; Nebraska, Lincoln, May 18; Iowa, Burlington,
May 21; Minnesota, Lake Ann, May 20, Minneapolis, May 21, and Walker,
May 24; Wisconsin, Madison, May 22; South Dakota, Coteau des Prairies,
May 26, and Fort Sisseton, May 27; Manitoba, Shoal Lake, May 25;
Saskatchewan, Île à la Crosse, May 22, and Orestwynd, May 23; Alberta,
Tofield, May 15, and Fort Chipewyan, May 25; Mackenzie, Fort Simpson,
May 29; California, San Nicolas Island, April 7; Oregon, Mercer,
May 14; Washington, Puget Sound, May 6, Willapa Harbor, May 11, and
Shoalwater Bay, May 17; and Alaska, Unalaska, May 19, and Nulato, May
23.
Late dates of spring departures are: Peru, Mathews Island, April
24; Porto Rico, Culebrita Island, April 15; Bahama Islands, Andros,
April 26, and Green Cay, April 29; Florida, Punta Rassa, May 13, St.
Marks, May 22, and Daytona Beach, May 24; Georgia, Savannah, May 29;
South Carolina, Egg Bank, May 14, and Mount Pleasant, June 12; North
Carolina, Churchs Island, May 19, and Cape Hatteras, May 20; Virginia,
Wachapreague, May 24, Hog Island, May 19, and Smiths Island, May 31;
Pennsylvania, Warren, May 30, and Erie, June 2; New Jersey, Camden, May
21, and Cape May County, June 3; New York, Ithaca, June 13, Montauk
Point, June 9, and Orient, June 12; Connecticut, Fairfield, May 29,
Westport, May 30, and Norwalk, June 1; Massachusetts, Dennis, June
2, Marthas Vineyard, June 8, and Monomoy Island, June 8; Illinois,
Chicago, June 9, Northeastern, June 18; Indiana, Wolfe Lake, June 9;
Ohio, Huron, June 3, Oberlin, June 5, and Lakeside, June 5; Michigan,
Detroit, June 6, and Charity Island, June 15; Ontario, Toronto, June
17; North Dakota, Devils Lake, June 11; South Dakota, Vermilion,
May 30; Texas, Point Isabel, May 14; Minnesota, Cass Lake, May 30;
Wisconsin, De Pere, June 3; Manitoba, Dog Point, June 7, Lake Winnipeg,
June 10, and Shoal Lake, June 12; Saskatchewan, Indian Head, June 2,
and Churchill River, June 9; California, Santa Barbara, May 6, Farallon
Islands, May 7, and San Nicolas Island, May 11; Oregon, Mercer, May 14;
and Washington, Willapa Harbor, May 16.
_Fall migration._--Early dates of fall arrival are: Washington,
Destruction Island, July 17; California, Monterey Bay, July 18, and
Santa Barbara, July 26; Lower California, San Jose del Cabo, August
31; Oaxaca, San Mateo, August 9; Saskatchewan, Quill Lake, August 7,
Bigstick Lake, August 9, and Crane Lake, August 11; Manitoba, Fort
Churchill, July 30, Shoal Lake, August 7, and Oak Lake, August 8;
Texas, Rockport, August 12; Ontario, Toronto, July 30, and Point Pelee,
August 14; Michigan, Charity Island, August 6; Ohio, Pelee Island,
July 24, Huron, August 3, and Lakeside, August 8; Indiana, Millers,
August 8; Illinois, Chicago, July 20, and La Grange, August 13; Maine,
Portland, July 28; Massachusetts, Marthas Vineyard, July 24, Harvard,
July 26, and Monomoy Island, July 27; Rhode Island, Island of Rhode
Island, July 26, and Kingston, August 11; Connecticut, Meriden, August
8; New York, Montauk Point, July 18, Orient, July 28, and Shelter
Island, July 29; New Jersey, Cape May, July 16; Virginia, Cobb Island,
August 1, and Locustville, August 7; North Carolina, Pea Island, August
11; Bermuda, Coopers Island, July 27; South Carolina, Mount Pleasant,
July 15; Georgia, Savannah, August 18; Florida, Palma Sola, July 26,
St. Marks, July 30, Pensacola, August 1, and Daytona, August 10; Bahama
Islands, Mariguana, August 5; Jamaica, Spanishtown, August 13; Lesser
Antilles, Barbados, August 22, and St. Croix, September 8; Peru, Payta,
September 20; and Chile, Talcahuano, September 9.
Late dates of fall departure are: Alaska, St. Michael, September 8;
British Columbia, Graham Island, September 5; Washington, Simiahmoo,
October 3; California, Alameda, October 15; Manitoba, Oak Lake,
September 9; Wisconsin, Sheboygan, September 1; Ontario, Point Pelee,
September 15, and Toronto, September 16; Michigan, Bay City, September
4, and Detroit, September 5; Ohio, Huron, October 18, Lakeside,
October 21, and New Bremen, October 23; Illinois, Chicago, October 13;
Franklin, Harrowby Bay, August 30, Newfoundland, September 5; Nova
Scotia, La Have Ridges, September 27; New Brunswick, Grand Manan,
September 4, and Tabusintoc, October 23; Quebec, Green Island, October
26; Massachusetts, North Truro, October 9, Woods Hole, October 20, and
(exceptional) Dennis, November 3; Rhode Island, Point Judith, September
14, and Newport, October 8; New York, Canandaigua, September 16,
Brockport, October 6, and Orient, October 7.
_Casual records._--The ruddy turnstone is not now common anywhere in
the Mississippi Valley and has been recorded on but few occasions in
the lower part of this region and in the States west to the Rocky
Mountains. Among these last are, Arkansas, reported at Osceola by
Doctor Richardson (Howell); Missouri, St. Louis, September 7, 1897;
Kansas, Kansas River, August 16, 1898, and Greenwood County, October
1, 1911; Colorado, Denver, April 26, 1890, and May 18, 1900, and Barr,
September 9, 1907; and Wyoming, Yellowstone Park, August 30, 1922.
[AUTHOR’S NOTE.--The above is the generally accepted theory as to the
distribution of the two forms of the turnstone. The author has examined
a few specimens from Iceland and East Greenland and a large number from
Alaska and various islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Iceland birds
are nearer _interpres_; the East Greenland birds are less typical
of _interpres_, with a more decided tendency toward _morinella_; no
West Greenland birds have been examined and perhaps they might be
nearer _morinella_; Alaska and Hawaiian Island birds, as well as those
from Polynesia, are much nearer _morinella_. Apparently the range of
_morinella_ should be extended eastward to western Greenland, and
westward to Bering Strait and to the Pacific islands. Both color and
size have been taken into account in this study.]
_Egg dates._--Bering Sea coast of Alaska: 10 records, May 29 to June
27. Arctic coasts of Alaska and Canada: 19 records, June 19 to August
1; 10 records, June 28 to July 21.
ARENARIA MELANOCEPHALA (Vigors)
BLACK TURNSTONE
HABITS
The black turnstone replaces to a large extent on the Pacific coast our
well-known ruddy turnstone; both species are found there on migrations
and in winter, but the black is the commoner on that coast, to which
it is restricted. It is a characteristic bird of the barnacle-covered
reefs and rocky shores, being more often seen on the outlying islands
and ledges than on the mainland. There it lives at the water’s edge,
seeking its food within reach of the waves and often drenched with
ocean spray. As it stands motionless it is almost invisible in its coat
of dark brown and might easily be mistaken for a knob of rock or a
bunch of seaweed; but when startled into flight its conspicuous pattern
of black and white flashes out a distinctive mark of recognition.
_Spring._--The black turnstone starts on its northward migration from
the coast of California early in April. Much of the flight is over the
ocean, as the following observation by Austin H. Clark (1910) shows:
On the first day out of San Francisco, May 4, we saw
several small flocks of these birds on their way north;
each succeeding day they became more abundant until on the
afternoon of May 8 we saw them by thousands, in flocks of
from 10 or 20 to several hundred. At one time, about 2
o’clock in the afternoon, the whole sea appeared dotted
with white, so abundant were they. All the birds noticed
were headed up the coast, going the same direction as we.
In the mornings these birds were comparatively rare; they
began to appear about 11 o’clock, and increased in numbers
until about 2, when they were very abundant; shortly after
3 there was a falling off until by half past 4 few, if any,
were to be seen. This was true every day we were at sea on
the voyage from San Francisco to Puget Sound. Whether they
spent the night and early morning on the neighboring shores
or resting on the water I am unable to say; but all we saw
were on the wing; possibly there were other shore birds in
these multitudes, but all which came near the ship were of
this species.
Lucien M. Turner (1886) says that this is one of the earliest arrivals
at St. Michael. His earliest date is May 13. “It arrives with the
earlier geese, and for the first few weeks frequents the edges of the
low ponds, which are the first to be freed from the ice in spring.
After the sea ice has left the shores it repairs to the rocky beach
and seeks its food among the stones and seaweeds.” H. B. Conover says,
in his notes from Hooper Bay: “The first of these birds were noted on
May 16, when two were taken as they flew by a small snow-water pond
on the tundra. Two days later this species was very common. Next to
the western sandpiper it was probably the commonest, as well as the
noisiest, wader nesting on the tundra.”
_Courtship._--Herbert W. Brandt, who has studied this species on its
breeding grounds at Hooper Bay, Alaska, says in his notes:
The black turnstones, like many of the other shore birds
during the mating season, spend considerable time chasing
each other about. The female seems to say to the male,
“catch me if you can,” and then dashes off with such speed
that the pursuer has difficulty in following her, and she
usually returns to the same spot from which her zigzag
flight began. Often the male will mount high into the air
alone, until completely out of sight, and then will produce
with his wing or tail feathers, which of the two I have
not been able to determine, the same strange _zum-zum-zum_
noise as made by the Wilson snipe. Before the nesting
season this feather music could be heard on the flats at
any time, and it deceived me at first, as I mistook it for
that of the snipe. Later, however, as soon as the nesting
duties began, it seemed to cease; and in this respect, the
black turnstone differs from the Wilson snipe, because the
feather music of the latter is continued throughout the
incubation period.
_Nesting._--The same observer describes the nesting habits as follows:
The fantastic shaped shore lines of the lowland brackish
ponds furnish ideal homesites for the vivacious black
turnstone as it usually chooses, upon which to nest, a
little projecting grass-covered point or islet. Quite near
the water’s edge the bird will hollow a depression in the
flattened dead grass and here, often upon the almost bare
mud with the eternal ice strata only a few inches beneath,
the hardy mother will successfully bring forth a brood.
Little effort is made to build a home and the only material
therein is the grass that previously grew on or about the
site and is flattened down into the basin of the nest. At
times there is almost no lining beneath the olive-hued eggs
and they are then so besmeared that they appear to have
been deliberately rolled in the mud. Occasionally, however,
the bird will nest some distance away from the water on a
dry site, but always the mode of construction is the same.
The range of measurements of 27 nests is: diameter of basin
3½ to 4½ inches and depth 1 to 2½ inches. The undecked
nests are easy to find if bordering the pools, provided
their general location is known, but the birds keep up such
a continual clamor that it is difficult to guess their
chosen area. In favored places they breed in such close
proximity to one another that they appear to colonize.
In no case like the other Charadriidae did I observe
these birds about the nest to feign lameness or distress.
Incubation spots were found on both of the parents.
_Eggs._--I can not do better than to quote Mr. Brandt’s description of
the eggs, as follows:
The eggs of the black turnstone, invariably four to the
nest, are subpyriform to ovate pyriform in shape, and
unlike the glossy egg of the ruddy turnstone, reflect but
little luster. Due to the flatness of the nest, the eggs,
while they usually rest points together, do not stand as
erect while being brooded as eggs of the sandpipers. The
texture of the surface is smooth and the eggs are not at
all fragile. The eggs of the present species are unique
among the eggs of the shore birds at Hooper Bay in that
the ground color, the surface markings and the underlying
spots are in the same category of colors which are the
olive hues, but each is a different shade. The olive of
the ground color is tinged with yellowish; the surface
markings are much darker, favoring the browns, while the
feeble underlying spots are of a shade between the two. In
consequence, the spots while fairly distinctive and seldom
confluent, are not prominent, the entire egg being of an
olive-like cast. The common type of ground color is “light
yellowish olive” to “yellowish olive,” but “buffy olive” is
not rare and some are even “Vetiver green.” The small end
is often several shades lighter than the rest of the egg,
but in a large series of specimens the ground color is very
similar. The surface markings are very constant in color,
ranging from “light yellowish olive” to “olive.” These
spots are angular and fantastical and often inclined to be
streaked or faintly smeared and are not at all bold. They
are numerous, often almost obliterating the ground color,
and are densest about the larger end. The underlying spots
are very shadowy and often almost invisible and are shades
of “olive gray.” On the large end of every egg there are
scattered additional markings of brownish black in the form
of small spots and pen-like streaks. In color and style
of markings the eggs of the black turnstone, when fresh,
resemble a common olive type of the American crow, but even
these greenish colors fade considerably in time.
The measurements of 130 eggs average 40.9 by 28.8 millimeters; the eggs
showing the four extremes measure =46= by 29.5, 41 by =30.5=, =38= by
28, and 40.7 by =27.8= millimeters.
_Young._--Mr. Conover says, in his notes, that “both male and female
take care of the young.” He obtained some data which seems to show that
the eggs hatch in from 21 to 22 days. A nest was found on May 31 with
four fresh eggs; in the evening of June 21 this nest contained three
young, already dry, and one pipped egg; the next morning the last egg
had hatched. Another nest was found on May 31 with three eggs; the next
day there were four eggs; at noon on June 22 the eggs had not hatched;
but at 4 p. m. the next day the nest was empty and the young had
disappeared from the vicinity.
Mr. Brandt says in his notes:
We enjoyed the pleasure of seeing the downy young for
the first time on June 21, and were greatly interested
in them, as they had not been described or figured. They
are born from the egg 21 days after incubation begins,
and the mottled chick, like other shore birds, leaves its
nest at once. The downy young have a remarkably protective
coloration, and, furthermore, are distinguishable from any
of their relatives.
Dr. E. W. Nelson (1887) says that--
when the young are able to take wing in July they leave the
flats, to a great extent, and frequent the seacoast, where
they keep in small straggling parties searching for food
along the tide line.
_Plumages._--I have never seen a young black turnstone in natal down,
but Mr. Conover describes it very well, as follows:
Above mottled black and “cream buff,” the black strongly
predominating. Line from base of bill extending over and to
the center of the eye “cream buff.” Distinct loral streak
of black from base of bill to eye. (Some specimens also
have below this loral stripe a black spot at base of lower
mandible). Lower breast, abdomen and a very small area on
chin clear white. Upper throat “cream buff.” Neck and upper
breast mixed black and “cream buff,” but without distinct
mottling. Bill dark horn, iris brown, legs and feet light
horn with fleshy tint. Compared with absolutely identified
newly hatched chicks of _A. i. morinella_, downy young of
this species have a much darker appearance. On the upper
parts the buffy colors are more in the form of specklings,
while in _morinella_ these colors are more blotch-like.
_Melanocephala_ also has a very distinct dark band across
the chest, while in the other species this band is very
faintly indicated.
In fresh juvenal plumage, in July, the head, neck, chest, back,
scapulars and wing coverts are dull, blackish brown, or “sepia,” with
an olive gloss; the feathers of the mantle are narrowly edged with
“pinkish buff”; the scapulars are more broadly edged with the same;
the median wing coverts are tipped and their white edges are tinged
with the same; and the tail feathers are tipped or tinged with the same
color. These buffy edgings have mostly worn away or faded out to dull
white before the birds migrate. Probably a partial postjuvenal molt
in the fall produces a first winter plumage, which is like the adult,
except that some of the juvenal wing coverts and a few scapulars are
retained. A first nuptial plumage appears in a young bird, collected on
March 17, which is beginning to acquire the white spots of the nuptial
plumage on the head and breast, but still has some old, worn, juvenal
scapulars and wing coverts. The young bird evidently acquires the adult
winter plumage at the first postnuptial molt the following summer.
Adults have a partial prenuptial molt of the body plumage in March and
April and a complete postnuptial molt in August and September. The
adult nuptial plumage is characterized by the white lores, the small
white spots on the forehead, and the larger white spots on the sides
of the head, neck and chest; otherwise it is like the winter plumage,
though the latter is somewhat lighter brown on the throat and chest.
_Food._--The food of the black turnstone has evidently not been
carefully analyzed, but it apparently consists of small marine animals
such as barnacles, slugs, small mollusks, and crustaceans, such as are
eaten by surf birds and other turnstones. Grinnell, Bryant, and Storer
(1918) mentioned one, taken in Alaska in May, that had been feeding on
heath berries. They quote Bradford Torrey (1913), as to the method of
feeding, as follows:
They were feeding in three ways. Sometimes they followed
the receding breaker, gleaning from the surface, as it
seemed, such edibles as it had washed in. Mostly, however,
they busied themselves upon the wet sand just above the
last reach of the falling tide.
Once they found a place where the shrimps or prawns were
evidently more plentiful than elsewhere, and it was amusing
to see how eagerly they worked, each determined to get its
full share of the plunder. Thrusting their short, stout
bills into the sand, they drew out their squirming prey,
dropped it on the sand, picked it up and shook it, and
dropped it again, till finally they had it in condition
for swallowing. These manoeuvers they repeated, all in
desperate competitive haste, till the beach within a
circle of a few feet in circumference was thickly dotted
with minute hillocks of sand, such as I should never have
attributed to the work of any bird, had it not been done
before my eyes. Then the supply seemed to be exhausted, and
they moved on in search of another bonanza.
At other times they resorted to patches of seaweed lying
here and there a little higher on the beach, turning
them bottom side up, or brushing them aside, to feast on
such small game as had taken shelter underneath. Their
action here was like that of a dog when he buries a bone
by pushing the earth over it with his nose. They lowered
their heads, and with more or less effort according to
circumstances accomplished their purpose. If the obstacle
proved too heavy to be moved in this manner, they drew
back a little and made a run at it as men do in using
a battering-ram. More than once I saw them gaining the
needed momentum by this means. They quarrelled now and then
over the business, and once two of them faced each other,
bill to bill, like gamecocks--a most unusual proceeding
among waders, firing off little fusilades of exclamations
meanwhile. The turnstones’ disagreements were of the
briefest, however, slight ebullitions of temper rather than
any actual belligerency.
_Behavior._--S. F. Rathbun has sent me the following notes on the
behavior of this species:
The tide was just turning from flood, the time being about
3 p. m. On the rocks of the jetty whose top at the edge of
the beach was just above the water’s surface and at times
submerged by incoming waves, was a small flock of black
turnstones numbering about 30. At first the birds would not
allow a close approach but as we slowly neared them would
take wing and, then coming together in close formation,
circle in unison, rising and falling, close to the water’s
surface to soon return and alight on the tops of the nearly
submerged rocks. It was a beautiful sight to see them in
flight as then the black and white of their plumage was
strongly in contrast. After a short time the birds allowed
a much closer approach for on one occasion we stood within
20 feet of the flock. As the tide receded much more of the
surface of the rocks became exposed, although at times
the waves dashed completely over them, and whenever this
occurred it forced the turnstones to take wing. Sometimes
one of the birds would be caught by an incoming wave and
would then emerge in flight from the water, scattering the
spray in all directions. But the rapid recession of the
tide soon gave plenty of ground to search for food and in
this all the birds became busily engaged. Some of the birds
while so doing would climb the very abrupt surface of the
rocks, clinging to the moss, which adhered, while examining
with their bills the crevices of the rocks and also the
moss for crustaceans and minute molluscs. At times one or
more would rest on the side of a rock in perfect repose and
evidence that a few were paired was seen by the fact that
two often persisted in remaining in company.
One thing proved somewhat amusing to us, that although
during the time the birds had been feeding they were
repeatedly drenched by spray from the waves striking the
rocks, when they finally ceased to feed a few at odd times
would drop into the shallow water at the base of the rocks
to bathe by dashing it over themselves, following which
they would dabble about.
Mr. Brandt says in his notes:
Among the shore birds breeding along the coast of Bering
Sea there is none more interesting and fascinating than
this black and white turnstone. When the mud about the
edges of the ponds and tidal sloughs begins to soften,
and the accumulated snow water starts to move, this bird
appears enlivening the bleak, cheerless marshes with its
loud-toned cries and butterfly-like appearance. In the
lowland area it is the commonest shore bird, and its
contrastive black and white figure is doubly conspicuous,
because it resents intrusion of its haunts and sallies
forth to meet the approaching stranger; whereas the rest
of the shore-bird tribe found there either skulk away
or exhibit indifference. As the Pacific godwit is the
self-appointed guardian of the upland tundra, so the black
turnstone patrols the lowlands, often to the dismay of the
hunter or the irritation of the ornithologist. In spite
of its chunky body and comparatively short wings, it is
gifted with elegance and swiftness of flight. It does
not, like the phalarope, afford an inviting target for
the young native hunters, because not only does it scold
on the wing, but it also moves so nervously while on the
ground that it is not quiet there even for a fraction of a
second. No doubt the hunting jaegers consider it the pest
of the flats, for while passing through its domain, these
freebooters are usually being annoyingly followed by one or
more of these fiery and courageous defenders.
Mr. Turner (1886) says that--
The sea-otter hunters, both native and white, detest this
bird, as it frequents the places most resorted to by marine
mammals and is certain to give alarm to the otter or seal
which the hunter is endeavoring to approach.
_Voice._--Doctor Nelson (1887) says: “It has a habit of circling around
the intruder, during the nesting season, with a fine, clear, peeping
cry like the syllables _weet, weet too-weet_, as it moves restlessly
about. When disturbed in the vicinity of its nest it also has a sharp
_peet, weet, weet_, very similar to the well known note of the spotted
sandpiper.” Mr. Turner (1886) says that when alarmed and “taking flight
they utter a rattling scream” which is quite startling.
_Field marks._--When standing the black turnstone may be recognized by
its uniformly dark head, neck, and chest, above a white belly; it lacks
the white throat of the turnstone, and its upper parts appear all dark.
But when flying it shows white patches quite similar to those of the
turnstone, a patch in the center of the back, the base of the tail, a
stripe in the scapulars and a broad band across the wings; there is
rather more white in the wing than in the turnstone and the black tips
extend along only the outer half of the wing; the surf bird has a much
narrower white stripe in the wing.
_Fall._--Doctor Nelson (1887) says, of the departure of these birds
from Alaska: “In autumn they move gradually to the southward, until by
the last of August they become rarer, and during the first half of
September all have gone with the exception of an occasional straggler
found along the seashore.” The migration extends down the coast as far
as Lower California.
_Winter._--Carl Lien regards them as common winter residents on
Destruction Island, off the coast of Washington. He says, in his notes
that they “begin to arrive about July 26 and leave in the spring the
first week in May. They confine themselves entirely to the reefs
and are very sociable, keeping up a continual chatter. The Aleutian
sandpiper and a surf bird or two will nearly always be found among
them. About 75 or 100 birds winter here.”
A. B. Howell (1917), referring to the islands off the coast of southern
California, says that “this is by far the most abundant shore bird on
the islands, much more so than on the mainland, occurring in flocks of
as many as 30 individuals, and frequenting the rockiest shores.”
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--Pacific coast of North America, casual in northeastern
Siberia.
_Breeding range._--So far as known, the black turnstone breeds only
on the Alaskan coast, the breeding range appearing to extend from
Chichagof Island on the south, north to probably Montague Island,
Ugashik, Nushagak, Hooper Bay, the Yukon Valley, St. Michael, Cape
Prince of Wales, and probably the Kobuk River.
At this season it also has been detected on Wrangel Island, and Herald
Island (Nelson) but is not known to breed, while nonbreeders have
been noted south on the coast at British Columbia, Skidegate; Oregon,
Yaquina Bay; California, Farallon Islands, Monterey Bay, Point Pinos,
and San Miguel Island; and Lower California, Los Coronados Islands.
_Winter range._--The winter range of the black turnstone extends north
nearly to the breeding grounds and but little south of the southern
limit of the nonbreeders. They have been noted in winter north rarely
to Alaska (Craig and Howkan). Also in southern British Columbia
(Victoria); Washington (Bellingham Bay, Smith Island, Dungeness, and
Clallam Bay); Oregon (Yaquina Bay and Netarts Bay); California (Eureka,
Tomales Bay, San Francisco, Monterey, San Miguel Island, Santa Cruz
Island, San Pedro Bay, Santa Catalina Island, San Clemente Island, and
San Diego County); and lower California (San Quintin Bay, probably San
Geronimo Island, Magdalena Bay, and Santa Margarita Island).
_Migration._--Because of the presence of individuals throughout the
year in practically the entire range of the species, migration data are
not significant.
The following dates of spring arrival are, however, available: Alaska,
Admiralty Island, April 17; Juneau, April 29; Forrester Island, May
6; Bethel, May 12; Craig, May 15; and Nulato, May 16. Dates of fall
departure from Alaska are Nushagak, September 22; Homer, September 26;
St. Lazaria Island, September 30; and Wrangel, November 4.
_Casual records._--On August 15, 1912, a flock of 20 was observed at
Chaun Bay, northeastern Siberia (Thayer and Bangs). A specimen in the
collection of the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences was presumed to
have been obtained in India, but the occurrence has been challenged
(Hartert) on the basis that proof is lacking that the specimen was
actually there collected. The record accordingly is eliminated for lack
of evidence.
_Egg dates._--Alaska: 96 records, May 28 to July 5; 48 records, May 31
to June 1.
Family HAEMATOPODIDAE Oyster catchers
HAEMATOPUS OSTRALEGUS Linnaeus
EUROPEAN OYSTER CATCHER
_Contributed by Francis Charles Robert Jourdain_
HABITS
This is another species whose claim to a place in the American list
rests on its occurrence in Greenland, but, rather curiously, all the
occurrences are recorded from the west coast and not from the east
side, as might have been expected. Herbert Winge, in 1898, was able
to record six specimens obtained at various localities between 1844
and 1898, as well as one reported in the autumn of 1893. As it is a
breeding species in Iceland, its occurrence in Greenland from time to
time may well be expected.
_Courtship._--As the oyster catcher is an extremely striking bird,
with its strongly contrasted plumage of black and white, red bill,
and flesh-colored feet, and is also by no means scarce and very
noisy, its breeding habits challenge attention, and a good deal has
been recorded on the subject by Edmund Selous, Seton Gordon, William
Farren, and others. It is on the whole a sociable species, and one
peculiar characteristic is that in the middle of the breeding season
it is not unusual to find three birds together, either resting or in
flight, without any open signs of hostility. According to Selous, these
associations are often composed of two males and one female, and as he
observed them together not only in the early part of the pairing time
but also late in the season, it would seem that, except perhaps just
in the height of sexual activity, the social instinct is predominant.
The following account is taken from William Farren’s (1910) description
of the “Piping parties”:
The piping of the males depends on the presence of the
female. Another male in the neighborhood hears the note,
becomes interested, pipes a little, and then flies direct
to where the performance is taking place. He places himself
by the side of the other male and the two pipe together to
the female. Generally unresponsive, the female may walk
away, when she is followed by the two males, who continue
their serenade. In one instance observed by Mr. Selous,
the female flew down to a lower shelf of rock and the two
males piped down to her from above; and when at last she
flew away they, with a few single querulous notes, assumed
their ordinary attitude and walked disconsolately about.
The flight of the female always ended the performance.
Mr. Selous (1901), in describing the piping serenade of the male,
states that when he begins he faces her, but “having once begun he
seems more enthralled by his own music than by her and will turn from
side to side or even right round and away from her, as though in the
rhythmical sway of his piping.” This remarkable song is audible a long
way off and is described well by Selous as “an earpiercing clamor.” He
writes it as “_kee kee kee kee kervee kervee kervee kervee kervee_”
becoming fainter in its later stages and ending in a long-drawn out
quavering trill. In some cases, according to Selous, the female also
pipes, and one pair, presumably already mated, will chase another
pair, all four piping together. He also instances a case in which an
unattached male approached close to where a hen was sitting; she left
the nest, and, joining her mate, the two advanced on the intruder,
piping a warning, and put him to flight.
Perhaps the fullest study of the subject is contained in a paper by J.
S. Huxley and F. A. Montague (1925). Here the piping is described thus:
Any number of birds, from one to seven or eight or possibly
more, may take part in it. Typically, what occurs is as
follows: One or more birds begin the loud characteristic
piping which typically again is given in a special
attitude, the head and bill directed straight downward,
the bill held open and very slightly vibrated, the neck
thrust forward so that the shoulders show up with rather
a horsey look. Sometimes, but not always, the whole body
is bobbed up and down at intervals in the way common to so
many wading birds, but not very markedly. Frequently, but
again not always, the performers trot rapidly round when
piping, very often close side by side and usually in a
serpentine course, with short quick steps. Sometimes one of
the performers will suddenly turn right round through 180°
in the middle of its performance; one I saw turn through
the complete 360° in two spasms.
Huxley and Montague have shown that this piping performance has not
only a sexual significance, but that it also plays a number of other
rôles in the bird’s life, as, for instance, in unilateral courtship,
mutual courtship, aggression, sexual jealousy, territorial jealousy,
and probably social excitement--that is, under all forms of strong
emotion except fear. Details are given of observed piping by large
parties, two pairs, threes (the commonest form), “twos” and “ones.”
Another courtship activity recorded in the same paper is the
slow-butterflylike flight with the wing beats at about half the
ordinary pace carried out by a solitary bird. Coition is apparently
preceded by no preliminary ceremony whatever, the initiative coming
from the male, the female standing quite still and giving no visible
indication of readiness to pair. For a fuller discussion on the origin
and meaning of the piping ceremony the reader is referred to the paper
by Huxley and Montague (1925).
_Nesting._--There is considerable variation in the nesting sites of
this species. Among sand dunes it is often to be met with on the summit
of a dune, a mere hollow in the sand. On shingle banks it may be among
pebbles, sometimes lined with small white stones or shells, obviously
brought by the bird. Other nests are placed in natural recesses of
rock, on grass land, when at times quite a good-sized nest is built of
any wrack or rubbish available. While in many cases the nest is placed
close to the shore it is frequently found in Scotland by the sides of
the rivers far inland, and on the continent, in level grassy meadows
in the reclaimed marshes of Holland. Exceptionally nests have been
recorded from a larch wood on an island, among bracken, etc.
_Eggs._--The normal number of eggs is three, but two are also commonly
found, and in some districts sets of four are not at all uncommon.
Exceptionally five and six eggs have been found together. As is
usually the case where three eggs are normal, they are oval rather
than pyriform in shape and in color are yellowish stone or ochreous,
boldly marked with spots, streaks, and scrawls of blackish brown and
some ashy shell marks. There are also variations with warm rufous
tinge in the ground color, or very rarely with a pale bluish ground or
even pure white. Some sets are boldly blotched with sepia black. The
measurements of 100 British eggs, made by the writer, average 57 by
40.07 millimeters; the eggs showing the for extremes measure =70.1= by
37.4, 62.1 by =48.9=, =51.6= by 40.4, and 62.6 by =35= millimeters.
_Young._--Incubation is carried on by both sexes, but probably the
female takes the greater share, and she has been observed to sit for
three or four hours without changing. The period is estimated at 21
days (Paynter), 23 to 24 days from finding full set (W. Evans), and 24
days (Faber). Probably the latter estimates are more correct. The young
when hatched remain a day or two in the nest and are attended by their
parents for at least five weeks after hatching, according to J. M.
Dewar (1908). R. H. Brown, however, estimates it as about 29 days.
_Plumages._--The plumages and molts are fully described in A Practical
Handbook of British Birds edited by H. F. Witherby (1920).
_Food._--Chiefly marine mollusca; univalves, such as limpets
(_Patella_), small whelks (_Buccinium_) and periwinkles (_Litorina_)
and bivalves, including mussels (_Mytilus edulis_), cockles
(_Cardium_), etc. Also annelida, earthworms, and sandworms; crustacea
(shrimp, etc.), and insects, including Coleoptera, Diptera and their
larvae (especially Tipulidae), Lepidoptera (larvae and pupae of
Noctuidae); occasionally Holothurians and some vegetable matter (grass
seeds, grains, etc.).
_Behavior._--The feeding habits of the oyster catcher have been
exhaustively studied by J. M. Dewar, who has given the results of
his investigations in a paper in the Zoologist for 1908. Careful
examination of the shells of mussels showed that about 78 per cent were
opened by means of a stab from the bill through the dorsal border. As
in their normal position this is the exposed portion this is perhaps
natural, but only those which have the valves slightly opened are
vulnerable and the weakest point in the shell is on the ventral border,
which is rarely exposed. The best feeding time is when the scalps are
first exposed by the ebb, before the mussels have closed their shells
and again when the tide is rising and the shells are just beginning to
open again. When the tide is up the birds rest in long lines, head to
wind. The flight of the oyster catcher is peculiar and characteristic,
the wings being rapidly moved within a very short arc, so that they
seem to be vibrated at the tips.
_Enemies._--The oyster catcher has few natural enemies, though no doubt
occasionally a nest is destroyed by Corvidae (hooded crows and carrion
crows or rooks).
_Fall._--The Misses Rintoul and Baxter have observed a tendency to the
renewal of spring display during the autumn months. The Shetland birds
move southward in September and do not return until March.
_Winter._--During the winter months the oyster catcher is generally to
be met with in flocks, easily recognized by their striking coloration
and characteristic notes. The wild ringing sound of their calls, a
clear _kle-eep_, coming from hundreds of throats at once, is, as T. A.
Coward remarks, as delightful as it is harmonious.
DISTRIBUTION
_Breeding range._--Iceland, the Faroes, the British Isles, and the
coasts of northern Europe from northwest Spain and Brittany to the
Baltic, and along the Scandinavian coast to Archangel, probably also
in the Black and Caspian Seas, south to Macedonia and Asia Minor.
Replaced by allied forms in Asia and Japan.
_Winter range._--Some winter in Iceland, many in the British Isles, but
the main winter quarters lie in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the
Persian Gulf, the African coast south to Mozambique, and India.
_Spring migration._--At the Straits of Gibraltar the passage northward
takes place in April and May, according to Farrer, and in Malta in
April, but in the eastern Mediterranean it is apparently rather
earlier, for in Greece one has been noted at the end of March, and
Lindermeyer gives mid-April as the main passage date. At Corfu it has
been seen on March 20. Danish birds arrive on their breeding grounds
late in March or early in April, and in southern Sweden in March while
in Finland not till late April.
_Fall migration._--Gaetke noted many young birds on Heligoland in
August and migrants have been recorded for Greece in mid-August. The
autumn movement is more prolonged than the spring passage, owing to the
presence of young as well as adults, so that at Malta birds have been
recorded from August to November. The main passage at Tangier takes
place in October.
_Casual records._--Winge’s Greenland records include two dated
April 19, 1885, near Nanortalik, and one on June 16, 1888, north of
Jakobshavn. It has also been noted on Jan Mayen (A. G. Nathorst and
L. C. Masters); once north of Bear Island, July 28, 1910; and once in
Spitsbergen, July, 1906 (Mathey-Dupraz).
_Egg dates._--From the British Islands, April 26 to June 26 (25 dates),
May 2 to 29 (14 dates), June 4 to 26 (10 dates); Holland, May 11 to 25
(25 dates); Norway, June 10 to 27 (8 dates); Faroes, May 15 to 22 (3
dates).
HAEMATOPUS PALLIATUS PALLIATUS Temminck
AMERICAN OYSTER CATCHER
HABITS
The usual impression that one gets of this large and showy wader is a
fleeting glimpse of a big, black and white bird disappearing in the
distance over the hot, shimmering sands of our southern beaches. It is
one of the shyest and wildest of our shore birds, ever on the alert
to escape from danger; I have never shot one and seldom have had half
a chance to do so. Even during the breeding season when its anxiety
for its eggs or young prompts it to be less wary, it flies around the
intruder in wide circles, well beyond gun range, yelling its loud notes
of protest. It was evidently about as shy even in the days of Audubon
and Wilson, for both mentioned its wariness. It was much commoner in
those days, of course, and enjoyed a much wider distribution. Audubon
(1840) records it at Portland, Me., and as breeding on the south coast
of the Labrador Peninsula; it seems as if he must be mistaken about the
latter locality, although it is interesting to note that the European
oyster catcher breeds as far north as Russian Lapland.
The oyster catcher prefers the same broad, sandy beaches as the Wilson
plover and the least tern select for their breeding grounds; and at
other seasons it frequents similar resorts with all the little sand
plovers and beach birds. The small plovers are protectively colored,
but the oyster catcher is not only big, but is most conspicuously
colored. Perhaps it needs no protection against the ordinary foes of
the little fellows; and evidently its wits are sufficient protection
against larger enemies. But in spite of the fact that it is well able
to take care of itself, its range has been greatly restricted and its
numbers very much reduced during the past 50 years. It formerly bred
abundantly on Cobb Island, Virginia, but when we were there in 1907 we
saw very few and found no nests or young.
H. H. Bailey (1913) says:
This large, showy bird fell an easy mark to the spring
gunners, breeding as it did during the height of the spring
migration of “beach birds,” from May 10 to 25. Nesting
among the sand dunes or flat beaches back from the ocean,
over which the spring gunners tramped daily, these birds
were right in the line of travel, so to speak, and were
either killed or their nests broken up.
Recent records from South Carolina, where we found it common in 1915,
seem to indicate that it is becoming rarer even there. And during the
whole winter of 1924 and 1925, spent on the west coast of Florida, I
saw only one.
_Nesting._--While visiting Arthur T. Wayne on the coast of South
Carolina, we found three nests of three eggs each of the oyster catcher
on May 22 and 23, 1915. The first two nests were on the broad, sandy
beaches of Bull’s Island among numerous scattered bits of shells and
pebbles. The other was on Vessel Reef in Bull’s Bay, a low, flat,
sand reef, with small areas of marsh grass in which willets were
nesting. The oyster catchers’ nests were all on the higher parts of
the dry, flat, sand beaches, well above high-water mark; they were
mere hollows in the sand, entirely without lining, on little mounds of
sand or elevations, where the birds could have a good outlook; usually
a regular pathway of footprints in the sand led up to the nest. The
birds were never seen on or near the nests, but were flying about in
the distance making a great outcry. The nests were easily found by
following the tracks and looking for the little elevations. Several
pairs of Wilson plover were nesting near them.
W. J. Erichsen (1921) “found a single egg deposited in a depression
on top of a wall of oyster shells on Raccoon Key,” but an unusually
high tide washed the egg away. He also found a set of three eggs “in
a slight depression on top of a bank of oyster shells which had been
thrown up by the surf”; and he says that “where nesting sites of this
character can be found, this species always selects them.”
Oyster catchers’ nests are usually not near together, but M. H.
Burroughs has sent me some notes on some nests he found in Glynn
County, Ga., that are an exception to the rule. A set of four eggs, two
fresh and two partially incubated, was “on a slight mound, the nest
having a few broken bits of shells in it and nearly entirely surrounded
with a rim of broken bits of shells, evidently raked up by the birds.”
Six feet away, under a log “which had both ends resting on mounds of
sand,” was a set of two. There were two other nests, each about 150
feet away in different directions.
George B. Sennett (1879) found a nest on Padre Island, Tex., which was
quite different; he describes it as follows:
The nest was situated on dry mud a rod or so from the
water, and was simply a slight depression, of the size of
a small tea plate, lined with shells and pieces of shells;
none of them were larger than an inch in diameter, and
most much smaller. They were chiefly small oyster shells,
and were placed more on the sides than at the bottom of
the nest. No particle of grass or anything else but shells
composed the nest. What was strange to me was that on the
island where I found it not a shell or piece of one could
be seen, and these must have been brought by the bird
itself from the adjacent shell islands or oyster beds. This
was the only nest found on the island.
Walter J. Hoxie (1887) claims to have seen an oyster catcher remove the
eggs from a nest he was watching. Both birds were standing near the
nest, when “one flew off to a distance of about 100 yards.” He then
observed:
After looking carefully about for a few minutes, he gave a
call, and his mate rose from her nest and joined him. They
seemed to be making a lot of fuss out there, kicking up
the sand, squatting down, and cackling like mad. In a few
minutes, though, they seemed to get over this excitement
and one bird came flying back and settled on the eggs. Now
she began to act strangely, wiggling round and squatting
down again, and I began to think she was going to lay
another egg, when off she went and joined her mate who
welcomed her coming with the most extravagant cries and
gestures. But she sat down quite still and demure. I was
about to rise and look for my third egg when I saw her
coming back. Again she went through the same operation and
her second welcome was, if possible, more exuberant than
the first. Then all was quiet; one bird sat on the sand
and the other stood silently by her, and though I waited
some time longer they showed no sign of returning again to
their eggs, and I could only conclude that they had seen me
watching them and would not come back until I went away.
So I arose from my uncomfortable position and went to pick
up the eggs, when to my surprise the little hollow in the
sand was empty. While I was watching the curious antics of
the female she had lifted the eggs between her legs and
carried them off. So without giving time for her to repeat
the offense I hurried to her new quarters and secured them
successfully.
_Eggs._--The oyster catcher lays two or three eggs, more often the
latter I believe, and very rarely four. They are ovate to elongate
ovate in shape and have only a very slight gloss. The ground color is
usually “cartridge buff,” sometimes it is “pale olive buff” and rarely
“deep olive buff” or dull “chamois.” They are irregularly and rather
sparingly marked with spots and small blotches, occasionally a few
scrawls of black, brownish black, or very dark browns, “mummy brown”
or “bister,” and underlying spots in various shades of “Quaker drab”
or “mouse gray.” The measurements of 56 eggs average 55.7 by 38.7
millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure =62= by 38.9,
57.2 by =42.2=, =51.8= by 39.9, and 52 by =33.5= millimeters.
_Young._--The period of incubation for the European species is from
21 to 24 days, and both sexes share in this duty, though it is mostly
performed by the female. We have no data on this subject for the
American species, but probably it is not much different. When the
temperature is just right the eggs may be left exposed to the sun, but
at night or when it is too hot or too cold they are covered by the
incubating bird, whose judgment is reliable in such matters.
The young are able to run soon after they are hatched, and when they
become strong on their legs they can run so fast that it is very
difficult to catch them. At a note of warning from their watchful
parents, they squat in the sand, or against some convenient object, and
remain perfectly still, their protective coloring making them almost
invisible. Both parents show their anxiety by flying around, usually at
a safe distance, and yelling their loud notes of protest. Herbert K.
Job (1905) once hunted thoroughly over a barren strip of sand, where he
knew there was a young oyster catcher, without success; he was about to
give it up and go away, when he saw a little wisp of driftweed at the
water’s edge on a strip of bare wet sand; and beside it the young bird
was lying, flat on the sand and absolutely motionless. It did not move
while he was photographing it, but as soon as it was touched off it ran
as fast as it could go.
_Plumages._--In the downy young oyster catcher the upper parts are
grizzled with pale buff and dusky; the down is dusky basally and
heavily tipped with “pinkish buff”; the crown is mostly pale buff
and the hind neck and throat are mostly dusky; the back appears more
mottled and has two quite distinct, broad stripes of brownish black;
there is sometimes a similar broad stripe on the nape; a narrow black
line runs from the bill, through the eye and to the nape; a broad
black band extends from behind the wing to the tail; below this and
the dusky throat the under parts are white. When very young, the bill
is decidedly hooked at the extreme tips of both mandibles. In a young
bird, about one-quarter grown, the primaries are bursting their sheaths
and the white greater coverts are growing; the juvenal plumage is
appearing on the back, scapulars and lesser wing coverts; these new
feathers are “sepia,” broadly tipped with “cinnamon”; the crown is
“bister,” faintly tipped with “cinnamon”; the white plumage is coming
in on the breast.
In full juvenal plumage, when the young bird is nearly fully grown,
these colors are somewhat paler; the feathers of the back, scapulars
and wing coverts are “Saccardo’s umber,” tipped with “clay color” or
“cinnamon-buff”; the crown, sides of the head, and upper chest are dark
“bister,” tipped with “cinnamon-buff”; the chin and throat are mottled
with sepia and buffy; the upper tail coverts are white, tipped with
buffy; the tail is dark “bister,” tipped with “cinnamon-buff”; and the
under parts are white. By the end of July the buffy tips on the mantle
have nearly disappeared by wear. Early in September the post-juvenal
molt begins; this involves the body plumage, but not all the scapulars
and wing coverts and not the tail.
The first winter plumage is like the adult, the head and neck being
“fuscous” or “Chaetura black” and the mantle “deep mouse gray.” Young
birds can be distinguished by a somewhat slenderer bill and by the
retained and worn juvenal wing coverts, scapulars, and tail feathers.
At the first prenuptial molt they become fully adult.
Adults have a partial prenuptial molt in late winter and early spring,
involving the body plumage and most of the scapulars and wing coverts,
and a complete postnuptial molt in late summer and fall.
_Food._--Audubon (1840) says of the feeding habits of the oyster
catcher:
I have seen it probe the sand, to the full length of its
bill, knock off limpets from the rocks on the coast of
Labrador, using its weapon sideways and insinuating it
between the rock and the shell like a chisel, seize the
bodies of gaping oysters on what are called in the Southern
States and the Floridas “raccoon oyster beds,” and at
other times take up a “razor handle” or solen, and lash
it against the sands until the shell was broken and the
contents swallowed. Now and then they seem to suck the sea
urchins, driving in the mouth, and introducing their bill
by the aperture, without breaking the shell; again they are
seen wading up to their bodies from one place to another,
seizing on shrimps and other crustacea, and even swimming
for a few yards, should this be necessary to enable them
to remove from one bank to another without flying. Small
crabs, fiddlers, and sea worms are also caught by it, the
shells of which, in a broken state, I have found in its
gizzard in greater or less quantity. Frequently, while on
wet sea beaches, it pats the sand to force out the insects;
and in one instance I saw an individual run from the water
to the dry sand with a small flounder in its bill, which it
afterwards devoured.
Wilson (1832) says that they probe in the sand “with their long,
wedgelike bills in search of small shellfish. This appears evident on
examining the hard sands where they usually resort, which are found
thickly perforated with oblong holes, 2 to 3 inches in depth.” He
seemed to doubt the reports of their eating oysters, but C. J. Maynard
(1896) writes:
When the outgoing tide left the tops of the oyster bars
exposed, they would come flying silently in, at first
singly, then in pairs, while groups of a few would follow,
until, at last, they would come in flocks of a dozen or
more. They would alight among the oysters and when the
bivalves gaped open, as is their habit when the water first
leaves them, the birds would thrust in the point of their
hard, flat bills, divide the ligament with which the shells
are fastened together, then, having the helpless inhabitant
at their mercy, would at once devour it. They were not
long in making a meal, for specimens which I shot after
they had been feeding a short time were so crammed that by
simply holding a bird by the legs and shaking it gently the
oysters would fall from its mouth.
_Behavior._--Oyster catchers are strong, swift fliers and at times
are graceful and elegant in their movements. They are striking birds
in flight, displaying to good advantage their conspicuous patterns of
black and white and their bright red bills. Their movements on the
ground are equally graceful as they walk sedately along the beach or
wade out into the water until the waves lap their breasts. They can
swim perfectly well and can even dive readily if necessary. Audubon
(1840) describes their flight evolutions as follows:
Now wheeling with wonderful impetuosity they pass within a
hundred yards of you, and suddenly checking their flight
return, not low over the water as before, but high in the
air. Again, they form their ranks in a broad front, and,
again, as if suddenly alarmed by the report of a distant
gun, they close pell-mell, and dip towards the sands or the
waters. Shoot one at such a moment and you may expect to
kill another; but as this is done, the wary birds, as if
suddenly become aware of your intentions, form themselves
into a straggling line, and before a minute has elapsed,
far beyond reach, and fading on the view, are the remaining
oyster catchers.
_Voice._--The loud, striking notes of protest, heard as the oyster
catcher flies around the intruder on its breeding grounds, are quite
unlike any other bird notes; they sound like _wheep, wheep, wheeop_,
and are both vehement and penetrating. John T. Nichols says in his
notes: “The oyster catcher has a creeking note, _crik, crik, crik_,
etc., used when the bird takes wing. A more striking cry, _cle-ar_,
suggests the flight calls of the willet and the black-bellied plover.”
_Field marks._--A large wader, with black head and dark upper parts,
with a big white patch in its long, pointed, black wings and with white
under parts, can be nothing but an oyster catcher. No other bird of
strong, steady flight can be mistaken for it. One is seldom near enough
to recognize its long, red bill.
_Winter._--The oyster catcher is resident throughout most of its range,
but it retires in winter from the northern portion of its breeding
range. Arthur T. Wayne (1910) says:
In the winter the oyster catcher is very gregarious and
it is not unusual to see flocks containing from 20 to 75
individuals. The majority of these birds are undoubtedly
migrants from points to the northward of South Carolina
and not the resident breeding birds, which apparently
go together in pairs or small flocks of from 4 to 6
individuals.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, Central
and South America. The American oyster catcher has been subdivided
into several races the exact range of which it is not now possible
to define. This should be borne in mind in considering the following
outline, which undoubtedly includes the ranges of _H. p. durnfordi_,
_H. p. prattii_, and _H. p. pitanay_ (Murphy). Generally speaking,
_prattii_ is assumed to be confined to the Bahama Islands, _durnfordi_
the South Atlantic coast of South America, and _pitanay_ the Pacific
coast of South America.
The species is not migratory in a strict sense, although the examples
breeding at the north and south extremes of the range probably retire
short distances toward the Equator when forced to do so by climatic
conditions.
The range may be outlined as follows: North to Texas (Brownsville,
Padre Island, Corpus Christi, and Galveston); Louisiana (Isla a Pitre);
probably rarely Alabama (Petit Bois Island); and formerly southern New
Jersey (Great Egg Harbor). East to formerly southern New Jersey (Great
Egg Harbor, and probably Seven-mile Beach); probably rarely Maryland
(Ocean City); Virginia (Hog Island, Cobb Island, and Smiths Island);
North Carolina (Cape Hatteras, Ocracoke Inlet, and mouth of Cape Fear
River); South Carolina (Waverly Mills, Raccoon Key, Bulls Bay, Sullivan
Island, and Frogmore); Georgia (Savannah, St. Simon Island, and
Cumberland); Florida (St. Johns River, Charlotte Harbor, and probably
Cape Sable); the Bahama Islands (Abaco, Andros, Long, Mariguana, and
Inagua Islands); probably Porto Rico (Desecheo Island); Venezuela
(Aruba, Curaçao, and Cumana); Brazil (Santa Catherina, Cajetuba,
Rio de Janeiro, Sapetiba Bay, and Iguape); Uruguay (La Paloma and
Montevideo); and Argentina (Lavalle, Cape San Antonio, Mar Chiquita,
and mouth of Chubut River). South to Argentina (mouth of Chubut River)
and Chile (Ancud). West to Chile (Ancud, Algarrobo, Santiago, Chanaral,
and Atacama); Peru (San Nicolas Bay, Independencia Bay, Pisco Bay,
Chilca, and San Lorenzo); Ecuador (Gulf of Guayaquil and Santa Elena);
Panama (Pearl Island); Yucatan (Cozumel Island and Merida); and Texas
(Brownsville).
_Casual records._--The American oyster-catcher has on a few occasions
been directed north of its normal range. Among these occurrences are:
New York, a specimen in New York Harbor, May 28, 1877, one about
March 9, 1880, at Ponquogue, and one at Greenport, June 2, 1882;
Massachusetts, two in August, 1899, at Chatham, one in April, 1885, at
Monomoy Island, two seen September 10, 1924, at Eastham, a pair taken
in 1837, at Marshfield, and one in Boston harbor, killed prior to 1814;
Maine, reported by Audubon as occurring at Portland but this record
is considered doubtful; New Brunswick, a specimen has been reported
upon the authority of Boardman (Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway, 1884) as
taken at Grand Manan. This last is considered unsatisfactory as being
indefinite, while Audubon’s statement that it bred in Labrador is
probably an error.
_Egg dates._--Virginia: 37 records, April 26 to July 9; 19 records, May
21 to June 19. South Carolina and Georgia: 25 records, March 27 to June
25; 13 records, May 5 to 23. Texas: 8 records, March 29 to May 5.
HAEMATOPUS PALLIATUS FRAZARI Brewster
FRAZAR OYSTER CATCHER
HABITS
It now seems to be generally recognized that this Lower California
oyster catcher is a subspecies of _palliatus_, although William
Brewster (1902) originally described it as a full species and named
it in honor of the veteran collector, M. Abbott Frazar. Dr. Robert
Cushman Murphy (1925) has recently reviewed this group, in which he has
designated six subspecies of _palliatus_, inhabiting various parts of
North and South America. To _frazari_ he assigns the following limited
range:
Pacific and Gulf coasts of Lower California and adjacent
parts of Mexico, including the islands; formerly northward
in Ventura County, Calif.; southward along the west coast
of Mexico to Tepic and Jalisco, and at least occasionally
to Guerrero.
Ridgway lists specimens from Sihutanejo and Acapulco,
Guerrero. Contrary to former opinion, however, this race is
principally confined to the zone of generally arid shores
centering about the peninsula and gulf of Lower California.
Its range approaches or meets that of _H. p. palliatus_ on
the more tropical coast farther south, probably at a point
not far from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
He says of the characters of this race:
The subspecific characters of _frazari_, which include
darker coloration of the brown upper parts than in
_palliatus_, heavy mottling on the breast along the
junction of white and black plumage, longer wing and tail
(?), and smaller bill and feet, are given fully by Ridgway.
The latter makes no mention, however, of the practical
elimination of the white blotching of the primaries, a
character which this oyster catcher shares with other
western races. In most specimens the white spots are wholly
lacking, but a few show obsolescent white or mottled
markings of the conventional pattern on the eighth or ninth
from the outermost quill. It is interesting to note that
the mottling of the breast, which is so strongly typical of
this race, appears to be carried by a genetic factor deeply
rooted in the species as a whole. Scarcely any large series
of _H. p. palliatus_, indeed, lacks one or more birds of
this type. In its maximum expression, however, when the
whole breast, sides, flanks, and under tail coverts are
heavily blotched, the character is peculiar to _frazari_.
_W._ Leon Dawson (1923) says, in explanation of its disappearance from
California:
By reason of its conspicuous coloration, as well as its
excessive noisiness, the Frazar oyster catcher has suffered
a fatal prominence. Its former appearances on the Channel
Islands (as far north as Ventura County) were concluded by
an early martyrdom, and the species is rare even in its
primitive fortresses on Los Coronados Islands.
_Nesting._--Being more permanently resident than even its eastern
relative, the Frazar oyster catcher has no migrations, except its late
summer wanderings, and remains on its breeding range throughout the
year. As to the nesting habits of this bird at Scammons Lagoon, Lower
California, Griffing Bancroft (1927) writes:
They climb up on the shell banks which are the back stops
of the beaches and there build their nests. The shell
banks are usually a yard or two above high-water mark;
they are flat and quite narrow and often have fingerlike
projections of 50 yards or so on the same level, running
toward the east. Typically, all these higher flats are
composed of nothing but shell, largely unbroken and of a
size which may be judged in the accompanying illustration.
Sand and small impurities have been garnered by the wind.
The oyster catcher likes to build her nest where she
has an unobstructed view in all directions, securing to
herself the opportunity of slipping off unobtrusively at
the approach of an enemy. But she is a stupid bird and is
easily satisfied with a makeshift which seems to her to
accomplish her purpose but in reality does not do so at
all. So on some of the earthen islands we find her nesting
on little mounds, from which, it is true, she can see, but
to only a matter of a few feet.
In the Gulf of California the favorite site for an
oyster catcher is the end of the rather long spits of
cobblestones. These are so nearly level that a sitting bird
has an unobstructed view for a hundred yards. There she
builds a nest of fine hard material--small pebbles and bits
of shell. And as she can not have broken the larger stones
that were originally on the site she must have removed
them. I use the analogy for Scammons. Instead of breaking
the shells with her powerful bill she probably pulls them
out of the way until she has a flat circle about 10 inches
across. This clearing she lines as neatly as tile work, and
on them deposits her eggs, one, two, or three. The breeding
season seems quite long, as we found both well-developed
young and fresh eggs. I have observed parents with their
young long after the latter had taken wing, and so feel
sure that the oyster catchers raise but one brood a year.
I have a set of two eggs in my collection, taken by W. W. Brown, jr.,
May 2, 1912, on San Jose Island; the nest is described as a depression,
lined with pebbles, in a crevice on top of a jagged, weatherworn ledge,
40 feet above the surf. There are two sets in the Thayer collection,
taken by Mr. Brown near La Paz on March 24 and 26, 1909; one nest was
similarly located to mine; “it was out of reach of the surf, but the
spray, no doubt, dampened it in rough weather”; the nest from which the
other set was taken is described as “a depression in the sand.” The
eggs were laid on the bare ground, there being no lining to the nest
whatever. It was 80 feet from the surf.
_Eggs._--The Frazar oyster catcher lays two or three eggs, sometimes
only one. These are practically indistinguishable from those of the
American oyster catcher. The measurements of 27 eggs average 57.1 by
38.8 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure =60.9= by
37.8, 59.8 by =41.5=, =50.7= by 40.8, and 60.7 by =36= millimeters.
_Plumages._--The plumages and molts from the downy stage to maturity
are apparently the same as in the American oyster catcher. Mr. Bancroft
(1927) has published some interesting notes on his observations, which
suggest that either there are two color phases in these birds or that
they interbreed with black oyster catchers (_bachmani_) and produce
hybrids; I am inclined to accept the latter theory, but quote from Mr.
Bancroft’s (1927) paper, as follows:
Ninety per cent of the oyster catchers had white bellies,
the rest had all their underparts black, with the exception
of one, whose belly was streaked black and white. Mr.
Chester Lamb wrote me that on Natividad Island there was
a much larger percentage of mixed underparts than we
found. That there were two phases of one bird instead of
two distinct species in the lagoon was apparent to anyone
watching them. There was only one case I observed of a
black bird paired with another black; all the other blacks
had white-bellied mates. The difference between the birds
was limited to the abdomens; place a mixed series in a
row with the backs up and one could not tell one bird
from another. In their conduct, especially when their
nests were threatened, there were no differences at all. I
feel perfectly safe in saying there were no black oyster
catchers (_Haematopus bachmani_) present. I have seen too
many of them, from Monterey to Sitka, not to know by heart
every movement they will make and every note they will
utter when one trespasses on their home sites. The actions
and the cries, and especially the noise, are more unusual
and more uniform than those of any bird with which I am
acquainted. They fly customarily in a complete half circle
from the rocks on one side to those on the other, the
birds keeping near each other and almost always close to
the water. The noise is incessant, shrill, continuous, and
loud beyond belief. The contrast with the birds in Scammons
is striking. There, both the white and the black bellied
are almost as silent as plover and try to win safety by
a prodigious show of indifference. There is little or no
excitement while we tramp around the nesting sites. When
the parents find we can not be persuaded to follow them
away they take up positions 50 to 100 feet from us and
there remain motionless, usually as long as we are in the
neighborhood. There is another great difference between
_H. bachmani_ and the black phase in the south. The former
is decidedly darker than the latter, especially on the
back, whereas true _Haematopus frazari_ from both ends of
the Gulf appear to be the same as those in Scammons.
We found and photographed a pair of downy young not over a
few days old. These youngsters are obviously of the white
and black types, respectively; we have the skins to show
that there is no photographic illusion here. So we have
very strong evidence that the black and the white phases do
mate and do produce fertile offspring and that the young
have partaken of the coloring, one of one parent and one of
the other. These little birds are not mongrels, though we
know from some adults that occasionally there are chicks
which do inherit from both parents. Comparison shows that
the white-breasted downy does not differ at all, at a
cursory glance, from a baby taken on Coronado Island in the
Gulf.
_Behavior._--The same observer writes:
Scammons Lagoon is a haven for oyster catchers, or appears
so to such of us as are accustomed to but an occasional
pair scattered along the various islands and rocky
projections in the more northerly Pacific Ocean. There are
at least two or three hundred oyster catchers fairly evenly
distributed over the islands we visited, with an occasional
pair or so on favorable mainland strands. When the tides
are going down vast stretches of hard flats are exposed
and become feeding grounds. The birds pursue the receding
water even to the point of wading, and there they hunt the
small marine life on which they live. When the tide turns
they use the black levels as a lounging place until driven
ashore by the sea. They are markedly indolent and slow in
movement and, when undisturbed, never appear the least bit
busy.
Walter E. Bryant (1890) says:
I found this oyster catcher tolerably common at Magdalena
Bay and northward, and on Santa Margarita Island. They were
mated in January. They were rather shy, running rapidly on
the beach, and if approached, taking wing with loud, clear,
whistling notes, and after flying some distance, alighting
again at the water’s edge. Their food was chiefly small
bivalves found in the gravelly beach.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--Pacific coast of Mexico and southern California. The Frazar
oyster catcher is confined chiefly to Lower California (San Quintin
Bay, Cedros Island, Natividad Island, San Roque, Ascuncion Island, Los
Coronados Islands, Carmen Island, San Jose Island, La Paz, and Todos
Santos); and the mainland coast of Mexico; Sonora (Quotla); Sinaloa
(Altata); Nayarit (Maria Madre Island, Maria Cleofas Island, Tres
Marias, Isabela Island, and San Blas); and Guerrero (Sihutanejo, and
Acapulco). The species is of casual occurrence (formerly more common)
on the coast and islands of southern California (San Diego, Santa
Barbara Island, San Clemente Island, and Ventura County). Breeding
records for California are not satisfactory.
_Egg dates._--Lower California: 39 records, March 24 to June 24; 20
records, April 22 to May 13.
HAEMATOPUS BACHMANI Audubon
BLACK OYSTER CATCHER
HABITS
At the northern end of their range, in the Aleutian Islands, I first
became acquainted with these big black waders. Here we frequently saw
them at various points, as we entered or left the rock-bound harbors,
sitting in little groups or in pairs on the rocks or outlying ledges.
They were surprisingly inconspicuous on the wet and dark colored rocks,
which were often half hidden in the prevailing fogs. They seemed to
fit very well into their dark and gloomy surroundings. They were not
particularly shy, as they stood on the slippery rocks and nodded to us
with grotesque dignity, or as they flew out around us uttering their
loud and penetrating cries.
_Courtship._--W. Leon Dawson (1909) writes:
Left to themselves, the birds are no Quakers, and the
antics of courtship are both noisy and amusing. A certain
duet, especially, consists of a series of awkward bowings
and bendings in which the neck is stretched to the utmost
and arched over stiffly into a pose as grotesque as one of
Cruikshank’s drawings, the whole to an accompaniment of
amorous clucks and wails.
_Nesting._--We did not succeed in finding any nests of the black oyster
catcher in the Aleutian Islands, though they undoubtedly breed there.
Dr. W. H. Dall (1873) found two nests in the Shumagins on June 23,
1872; there were two eggs “in one nest and one in another, if nest it
could be called, being simply a depression in the gravel of the beach
without even a straw to soften its asperities.” Dr. Wilfred H. Osgood
(1901) found a nest in the Queen Charlotte Islands, which “was merely a
hollow about 2 inches deep and almost perfectly round, scooped out of
a weedy turf a few feet above highwater mark. The bottom of the hollow
was covered with bits of broken stone, evidently placed there by the
old bird.”
Referring to the rocky islands off the coast of Washington, Mr. Dawson
(1909) says:
The eggs of the black oyster catcher, normally three
in number, are oftenest placed in the hollow of a bare
rock, lined with a pint or so of rock flakes, laboriously
gathered. Occasionally bits of shell, especially the
calcareous plates of the goose barnacle, are added by way
of adornment. Now and then the wader emulates the gull
and prepares a careful lining of grasses. One such nest
with three eggs I passed repeatedly, on Carroll, languidly
supposing it to be a gull’s until Professor Jones exclaimed
over it.
For a nesting site the upper reaches of barren reefs or
shoulders are chosen, but on the smaller rocks, where
the waders have exclusive rights, the eggs may be lodged
on the very crest of the islet. Again, upon Destruction
Island, we found eggs on a coarse beach gravel, where to
the protection of color, stone-gray with black spots and
blotches, was added the almost perfect assimilation of form
to that of the rounded pebbles.
_Eggs._--The black oyster catcher lays two or three eggs, occasionally
only one and more rarely four. They are very much like the eggs of
the American oyster catcher, but perhaps they will average a little
more buffy. They are ovate in shape and have a very slight gloss. The
ground colors vary from “cream buff” to “olive buff.” They are usually
quite evenly covered with small spots and scrawls of black or very dark
browns, “bister” or “Dresden brown,” and various shades of “Quaker
drab.” The measurements of 44 eggs average 56.2 by 39.5 millimeters;
the eggs showing the four extremes measure =62= by 39.5, 58.1 by =42=,
=51= by 39.5 and 54.2 by =37.5= millimeters.
_Young._--Nothing seems to be known about the period of incubation or
whether both sexes share in it; both parents are interested in the care
of the young and are very solicitous for their welfare. Dr. Joseph
Grinnell (1910) writes:
Dixon observed two half-grown young running about on the
beach; but as soon as the old birds, which were always
watching, saw anyone approaching a warning note was
uttered, at which the young ones promptly squatted among
the rocks wherever they happened to be, even if in the edge
of the water. They remained perfectly quiet and blended so
nicely with their surroundings that it was difficult to
locate them even when they had been previously seen from a
distance. The old birds attacked and put to rout any gulls
or ravens that approached the vicinity.
Prof. Harold Heath (1915) says:
The precocial fledglings very early accompanied their
parents on short journeys about the cliffs, and within
a week after hatching were observed pecking at limpets,
although it is highly probable that for several days
thereafter they depended on the old birds for the greater
part of their food supply. During this time the young
resemble diminutive ostriches, with thick-set legs,
big feet, and fluffy plumage, which, it may be added,
harmonizes to a high degree with the surroundings.
Furthermore, they have the same habit of hiding the head
when it is not possible to conceal the entire body beneath
a stone.
_Plumages._--The downy young black oyster catcher is a swarthy little
fellow, clothed in short, thick, dark, grizzly down, a color pattern
well suited for concealment among the dark rocks where it lives. The
down of the upper parts is basally sooty black and very dark gray, but
the pale buffy tips give the bird its grizzly appearance. There is an
indistinct loral and postocular stripe and two broad, more distinct,
parallel stripes down the back of brownish black and two blackish areas
on the thighs; between the back stripes and on the rump the buff tips
produce a transverse barred effect. The underparts are dull grays,
darkest on the throat and breast and lightest on the belly; the sides
are faintly mottled or barred.
In juvenal plumage the young bird is much like the adult, but the
feathers of the wing coverts, scapulars, tertials, and back are tipped
with narrow terminal bars of “cinnamon buff” and subterminal blackish
bars; those of the flanks, thighs, and under tail coverts are tipped
with the same color; most of these buffy tips soon wear away, and
before the postjuvenal molt there are only a few spots left on the wing
coverts, scapulars, and tertials, some of which are carried through
the winter as evidences of immaturity. I have not seen enough material
collected at the proper seasons to trace the molts of adults.
_Food._--Mr. Dawson (1909) writes:
Even when visiting the mainland shore, which is not often,
the bird confines its attention to the barnacle-covered
rocks and high-lying mussel beds. Its food consists of
marine worms and crustaceans of various sorts, barnacles,
limpets, and especially mussels. Its stout, chisel-shaped
beak enables it to force an entrance into the most
refractory mussel shell and to sever as by a knife the
strong adductor muscles, which hold the valves together.
Its feet also are large and strong, and the toes are
provided with an elaborate set of pectinations which enable
the bird to maintain a footing upon the most slippery
rocks. If the foothold on a sloping rock is anywise
precarious, the bird retreats backward and uphill by means
of these convenient calks.
A. B. Howell (1917) says:
Certain rocky points are selected by the birds, and to
these are often brought the barnacles which they pry off
the rocks. These are worked over at leisure, and at one
such depot on the Coronados, which I examined there was
fully a bushel of shells.
_Behavior._--The flight of the black oyster catcher is strong and
direct, but it seemed to me to be rather slow and heavy. Lucien M.
Turner (1886) says:
The flight consists of a few rapid strokes of the wing,
followed by a sail for a few yards. It is sluggish when
on the wing, and flies with difficulty, and rarely long
continued. When alarmed it flies over the water within a
few yards of the shore, and in going from one point of
rocks to another it either makes the trip in easy stages
from one large rock to another, or else follows the
indentations of the shore line. The bird is always on the
alert, and not at all shy. It generally sees the hunter
long before he suspects the presence of the bird. The bird
either squats in a depression of the rocks, or stealthily
creeps to the top of some huge bowlder, where it utters
a piercing, whistling chatter like that of a policeman’s
rattle. It causes the intruder long search to discover the
presence of the bird, for its color is so near that of the
rocks it frequents that it is not easily detected. The
note is then answered by another bird, so that in a few
minutes a dozen may be chattering hideously, making the
hunter wonder where all the birds came from so suddenly, as
all the birds within hearing assemble on the first note of
alarm.
Carl Lien says in his notes:
If occasion requires these birds are good swimmers and,
if pursued when crippled, will dive deep and long. A very
alert bird and always first to give alarm.
_Voice._--My notes refer to the cries of this bird as loud, penetrating
screams, sounding like _whee-up_, or _whee-ep_.
Doctor Dall (1873) says:
They utter, when disturbed, a peculiar, low whistle; which
once heard, is likely to be remembered; and they have a
habit of standing on the beach or rocks a little way apart,
and whistling to one another; one calling and the other
answering; and keeping it up for half an hour at a time.
It is one of the most peculiar birds of the region, in
its motions, having a grave, solemn and stilted gait, and
bobbing its head up and down with every step.
_Winter._--As the black oyster catcher is practically resident all the
year round throughout most, if not all, of its range, there is not much
to be said about its migrations, though there is probably some shifting
of individuals. Doctor Dall (1873) refers to it as a summer visitor in
the Aleutian Islands, but Mr. Turner (1886) records it as a permanent
resident there.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--Pacific coast of North America and Lower California.
_Breeding range._--The breeding range of the black oyster catcher
extends north to Alaska (Atka Island, Range Island, St. Paul Harbor,
Montague Island, Hinchinbrook Island, Sitka, St. Lazaria Island,
probably Kuiu Island, Coronation Island, Prince of Wales Island,
Forrester Island, and Duke Island); south along the coast of British
Columbia (Porcher Island, Skidegate, Vancouver Island, and New
Westminster); Washington (Bellingham Bay, Waldron Island, Flattery
Rocks, Quillayute Needles, Destruction Island, and Copalis Rock);
Oregon (Three Arch Rock, Newport, and Bandon); California (probably
Prince Island, Eureka, probably the Farallon Islands, Point Pinos, San
Miguel Island, Santa Cruz Island, Anacapa Island, San Clemente Island,
and San Diego); and Lower California (Todos Santos, San Benito Island,
Cedros Island, Natividad Island, Abreojos Point, and Los Coronados
Islands).
_Winter range._--In winter, the black oyster catcher is found
throughout its breeding range except (normally) in Alaska and
(probably) northern British Columbia. It has, however, been recorded on
one occasion at this season, in Alaska, St. George Island, January 12,
1917 (Hanna).
_Migration._--An early date of arrival in Alaska is Unalaska Island,
April 29, while a late date of departure is St. Lazaria Island,
September 30.
_Egg dates._--Alaska: 14 records, June 5 to 26; 7 records, June 13 to
23. British Columbia: 13 records, May 27 to June 20; 7 records, June 6
to 12. California: 7 records, May 25 to June 10.
Family JACANIDAE Jacanas
JACANA SPINOSA GYMNOSTOMA (Wagler)
MEXICAN JACANA
HABITS
The American jacanas are now split into three species and three
additional subspecies, six forms in all. They are widely distributed
throughout the American Tropics. All are closely related and all are
much alike in habits. The above form barely comes within the range of
our check list, as a rare straggler from Mexico into the valley of the
lower Rio Grande near Brownsville, Tex.
I have never seen this curious bird in life, but can imagine that it
must be a beautiful sight to see it tripping lightly over the floating
lily pads, supported on its long toes, where it seems to be actually
walking on the water; and it must produce quite a surprising thrill as
it spreads its wings to fly, displaying the conspicuous yellow-green
patches in its wings, which flash in the sunlight like banners of
golden yellow. It seems like a strange connecting link between the
spur-winged plovers and the rails or gallinules.
It is a sedentary species of decidedly local distribution and seldom
strays far from its favorite breeding haunts. Thomas S. Gillin, who has
sent me some very good notes on this bird, describes its habitat as
follows:
I learned of a lake a few miles from Tampico and on my
first visit to this lake on April 3, 1923, I found over
a dozen birds feeding and chasing one another over the
floating vegetation. As the first sets of eggs were found
on April 25 I apparently found them right in the midst of
the mating season. The lake where I found them was about a
half mile long and from 100 to 250 yards wide, curved and
irregular in outline. Nowhere in the lake was the water
over 4 feet deep except where the alligators had their
holes; in some of these spots there was always danger of
getting in over one’s head. Scattered through the lake were
a few stunted trees similar in appearance to our sour gum,
_Nyssa sylvatica_, and in the decayed stump of one of these
trees I found a nest of the black-bellied tree duck. About
one-third of the surface of the lake was open water and the
remaining two-thirds was covered with a floating plant,
each individual plant measuring about 12 inches across
and resembling lettuce that has not headed up, though the
leaves were coarser, more like cabbage leaves. As this
did not have its roots extending into the mud the entire
mass of vegetation at times changed its position as the
direction of the winds might change and cause the entire
body of vegetation, and again only part of it, to drift to
the opposite side of the lake. The jacanas were, to all
appearances, in no way inconvenienced by these free rides,
though there was always the danger that the eggs might
be lost by the move. During my many visits to this lake
from early April until the middle of August I always found
the jacanas playing or feeding over the surface of the
vegetation. At times the green herons, little blue herons,
and an occasional gallinule, least bittern, or redwing
would be seen feeding on the surface of the lake.
_Courtship._--He refers to the courtship, which must be a very pretty
performance, as follows:
During courtship the birds raise their wings over their
backs very much as the Bartramian sandpipers do and flirt
their wings at each other as if they were attempting to
strike one another with the sharp spurs with which their
wings are armed.
_Nesting._--In the above locality, Mr. Gillin found 38 nests of this
jacana between April 25 and August 15, 1923, of which he says:
I sometimes surprised the birds on their nests, but as a
usual thing they would leave the nest at the first alarm.
The number of eggs was invariably four, though in one
case I collected a set of three. The nests consisted of
a few bits of green leaves of cat-tails and small pieces
of the green leaves of the plants on which they nested,
in all nests containing fresh eggs, though in cases where
the eggs were incubated the nest material had sometimes
turned brown. There was merely enough material to prevent
the eggs from rolling apart or falling through into the
water, though in most cases the bottom side of the eggs was
laying in the water. One day while watching the lake from
a blind I saw a jacana go to its eggs and stand over them
apparently shading them from the hot sun; this position was
maintained for five or six minutes; no attempt was made
to warm the eggs by sitting on them; at the end of this
shading of the eggs the birds went back to feeding near by.
The late Frank B. Armstrong distributed a large number of eggs of the
jacana, taken by his collectors across the Rio Grande in Mexico, mostly
near Tampico or somewhere in the State of Tamaulipas. His data describe
the nests as made of floating weeds or trash on or under the leaves of
lilies or other floating plants, in fresh water ponds.
_Eggs._--The jacana’s eggs are as unique as the bird itself, and can
not be mistaken for anything else. They are ovate to short ovate,
or even rounded ovate, in shape; and they are decidedly glossy. The
ground colors vary from “buckthorn brown” or “Isabella color” to
“chamois.” They are well covered with fantastic scrawls and tangled,
fine, pen-like lines of black; these markings are usually quite
evenly distributed, but they are sometimes concentrated more thickly
at either end or in the middle. The set almost invariably consists
of four eggs, but I have records of a few sets of five and of three;
Mr. Gillin’s series consists of 37 sets of four and one set of three.
The measurements of 50 eggs average 30.1 by 23 millimeters; the eggs
showing the four extremes measure =31.8= by 23.3; 31 by =24.1=, =28.3=
by 22.2, and 30.3 by =21.7= millimeters.
=Young.=--Mr. Gillin says in his notes:
The young run as soon as hatched, and in one case, when I
came upon a nest in which the young had just hatched, they
dived into the water and swam under the water for several
feet before they came to the surface.
_Plumages._--The young jacana in natal down is beautifully marked
with rich colors. A narrow frontal line, the sides of the face and
the entire underparts are white; the crown and nape are “ochraceous
orange,” centrally browner, with a black “crow-foot” on the occiput,
and with a black line from the eye to the hind neck, which is dusky
black; the central area of the back and rump is “burnt sienna,”
bordered on each side by a band of “ochraceous buff,” below which is
an indistinct dusky band; the thighs and the inner joints of the wings
are “burnt sienna”; the outer joint of the wing is white; the tail and
sides of the rump are jet black; and the tibia are dusky black. The
bright colors become duller as the chick grows older.
In fresh juvenal plumage the crown and occiput are “warm sepia,” the
feathers faintly tipped with “cinnamon”; the back and sides of the
neck are brownish black; the back, scapulars and wing coverts are from
“sepia” to “Saccardo’s umber,” the feathers broadly tipped with “tawny”
and with a subterminal dusky bar; a black stripe extends from the eye
to the back side of the neck and a broad stripe of “cream buff” from
the lores, over the eyes to the nape; the sides of the head, chin,
throat, and underparts are white, suffused with “cream buff” on the
breast. A partial postjuvenal body molt takes place during the fall, or
else the edgings entirely wear away leaving only the plain colors of
the upper parts, the juvenal wing coverts and some of the scapulars. In
late winter or early spring, from January to April, a nearly, if not
quite, complete prenuptial molt takes place, which produces a plumage
which is practically adult, including the frontal shield. I have no
data on the molts of adults. In this plumage the female is decidedly
larger, is somewhat more brightly colored and has a larger frontal
shield.
_Food._--Mr. Gillin says in his notes:
The food of the jacanas must consist of minute insect life
that they are able to find on this floating vegetation as
they are very active and seem to spend practically all
their time feeding, which would lead to the conclusion that
their food is secured in very small morsels or else they
require a great amount of food.
_Behavior._--P. L. Jouy says in a letter:
When standing in reeds or sedge they frequently stretch the
neck up straight on the lookout. They also have a curious
habit of extending the wings and raising them up over the
back until they meet. This, I suppose, is a kind of signal,
the green of the primaries being conspicuous for a long
distance when in this position. On wounding one of these
birds I found that it was a very fair swimmer, and when I
overtook it, it dived, to my astonishment, with as much
confidence as a grebe, and I never saw it again.
Mr. Gillin writes:
On three different occasions I had wounded birds submerge
themselves about a foot below the surface of the water for
several minutes before I could locate them and secure them
by hand. They clutched whatever was available with their
feet and from above looked just as comfortable under water
as a quail or grouse would be crouching in the leaves of a
briar patch.
_Voice._--Mr. Jouy says that “these birds have a noisy, cackling voice
when they take flight.” Mr. Gillin refers to their note as “a plaintive
call of alarm.”
_Fall._--In September he found them “in flocks, flying around and
feeding on ponds where” he “was sure that they had not bred.” The
records of this form in Texas and the West Indian form in Florida were
probably due to such post-breeding wanderings.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--The Mexican jacana is found in Mexico and the lower Rio
Grande valley in Texas. The range extends north to Sinaloa (Mazatlan);
and southern Texas (Brownsville). East to Texas (Brownsville);
Tamaulipas (Alta Mira, and Tampico); Vera Cruz (Jalapa, Alvarado,
Tlacotalpan, and Cosamaloapam); Tabasco (Barra de Santa Ana, San Juan
Bautista, and Teapa); and Quintana Roo (Cozumel Island). South to
Quintana Roo (Cozumel Island); Chiapas (Tonala); Oaxaca (Zanatepec and
Santa Efigenia); and Guerrero (Acapulco). West to Guerrero (Acapulco);
Michoacan (Lake Patzcuaro); Colima (Rio Coahuayana, and Manzanillo);
Jalisco (Zapotlan, Ocotlan, and Guadalajara); Nayarit (Tepic, San Blas,
and Santiago); and Sinaloa (Mazatlan).
In October, 1899, a specimen of jacana was killed on Pelican Bay,
Lake Okeechobee, Fla. (Mearns, 1902); and H. H. Bailey (1925) reports
another seen by his father in Osceola County, Fla., in March, 1911.
The first of these has been tentatively referred by Ridgway (1919) to
_Jacana s. violacea_, a race found in Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, and Porto
Rico.
_Egg dates._--Northeastern Mexico: 68 records, April 25 to August 15;
34 records, May 28 to July 13.
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_Plates_
[Illustration: PLATE 1. UPLAND PLOVER. Belleville, Mich., June 17,
1923, presented by Dr. Frank N. Wilson.]
[Illustration: PLATE 2. SOLITARY SANDPIPER _Upper_: Nesting site of
solitary sandpiper, near Belvedere, Alberta, presented by Mr. Richard
C. Harlow. _Lower_: Solitary sandpiper, Staten Island, N. Y., presented
by Mr. Howard H. Cleaves.]
[Illustration: PLATE 3. SOLITARY SANDPIPER _Upper_: Nesting site of
solitary sandpiper, Red Lodge, Alberta, May 29, 1923. _Lower_: Nest and
eggs in above locality. Both photographs presented by Mr. J. Fletcher
Street. Referred to on page 3.]
[Illustration: PLATE 4. WILLET _Upper_: Nesting site of a colony of
willets. _Lower_: A nest in above colony, Bulls Island, S. C., May 22,
1915. Both photographed by the author. Referred to on page 29.]
[Illustration: PLATE 5. WILLET. _Upper_: Nest of willet in an open
situation, Bulls Island, S. C., May 23, 1915; photographed by the
author. Referred to on page 30. _Lower_: Willet on its nest in a still
more open situation, Sandy Point, S. C., June 7, 1927; presented by Mr.
Roger T. Peterson. Referred to on page 30.]
[Illustration: PLATE 6. WILLET. _Upper_: Willet watching the passing
of a boat down a tidal creek, near Bulls Bay, S. C.; presented by Mr.
Howard H. Cleaves. _Lower_: Nest of willet, Merritts Island, Fla., June
2, 1927; presented by Mr. Donald J. Nicholson.]
[Illustration: PLATE 7. WILLET. Willet on its nest, among sand dunes,
near Bulls Bay, S. C.; presented by Mr. Howard H. Cleaves. The grass
pattern is well illustrated.]
[Illustration: PLATE 8. WESTERN WILLET. Western willet on its nest,
near Salt Lake City, Utah; presented by Mr. Clark Blickensderfer.
Notice the protective coloration.]
[Illustration: PLATE 9. WESTERN WILLET. Nest of western willet, near
Salt Lake City, Utah; presented by Mr. Clark Blickensderfer.]
[Illustration: PLATE 10. WANDERING TATTLER. _Upper_: Nesting site
of wandering tattler, on the gravel in the foreground, upper Savage
valley, Alaska, July 1, 1925. _Lower_: Nest of wandering tattler in
above locality. Both photographs presented by Mr. Olaus J. Murie, by
courtesy of the Biological Survey. Referred to on page 43.]
[Illustration: PLATE 11. WANDERING TATTLER. _Upper_: Young wandering
tattler, about 12 days old, Mount McKinley, Alaska, July 8, 1926;
presented by Mr. Joseph Dixon. _Lower_: Wandering tattler on its nest,
upper valley of Savage River, Alaska, July 1, 1925; presented by Mr.
Olaus J. Murie, by courtesy of the Biological Survey. Referred to on
page 43.]
[Illustration: PLATE 12. WANDERING TATTLER. _Upper_: Male wandering
tattler feeding in shallow water. _Lower_: Same bird brooding and
talking to chick. Both photographs presented by Mr. Joseph Dixon and
taken by him at Mount McKinley, Alaska, June 22, 1926.]
[Illustration: PLATE 13. UPLAND PLOVER. _Upper_: Nest of upland plover,
Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., May 26, 1900. Referred to on page 58.
_Lower_: Nest of upland plover, near Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, June
11, 1906. Referred to on page 58. Both photographs by the author.]
[Illustration: PLATE 14. UPLAND PLOVER. Nest of upland plover,
Columbus, Ohio; presented by Mr. Edward S. Thomas.]
[Illustration: PLATE 15. _Upper_: UPLAND PLOVER. Young upland plover,
Holt County, Nebr.; presented by Mr. Frank C. Pellett. _Lower_: SPOTTED
SANDPIPER. Nest of spotted sandpiper, at the base of a mullein stalk,
on the bank of a creek, Bear Creek, Oreg.; presented by Mr. J. E.
Patterson.]
[Illustration: PLATE 16. SPOTTED SANDPIPER. _Upper_: Nest of spotted
sandpiper, Branchport, N. Y., June 24, 1914; presented by Mr. Verdi
Burtch. _Lower_: Nest of spotted sandpiper, Columbus, Ohio, June, 1925;
presented by Mr. Edward S. Thomas.]
[Illustration: PLATE 17. SPOTTED SANDPIPER. _Upper_: Immature spotted
sandpiper swimming. It propelled itself by wings alone while beneath
the surface and by use of the feet, like a phalarope, on the surface.
Presented by Mr. Howard H. Cleaves. _Lower_: Young spotted sandpiper,
Jamestown, N. Y., June 20, 1925; presented by Mr. Roger T. Peterson.]
[Illustration: PLATE 18. SPOTTED SANDPIPER. _Upper_: Adult spotted
sandpiper in spring plumage, Staten Island, N. Y.; presented by Mr.
Howard H. Cleaves and by courtesy of Collier’s Weekly and Mr. Edward
H. Forbush. _Lower_: Immature spotted sandpiper, Staten Island, N. Y.;
presented by Mr. Cleaves.]
[Illustration: PLATE 19. LONG-BILLED CURLEW. _Upper_: Nest of
long-billed curlew, Bear River marshes, Utah, May 2, 1927. _Lower_:
Adult curlew on above nest. Both photographs presented by Lieut. L. R.
Wolfe.]
[Illustration: PLATE 20. LONG-BILLED CURLEW. _Upper_: Newly hatched
young and pipped eggs of long-billed curlew, near Salt Lake City, Utah;
presented by Mr. Clark Blickensderfer. _Lower_: Older young, near Crane
Lake, Saskatchewan, June 1, 1905; photographed by the author. Referred
to on page 101.]
[Illustration: PLATE 21. WHIMBREL. _Upper_: Whimbrel approaching its
egg and chick in its nest, Shetland Islands, June 24, 1922. _Lower_:
Same bird, rising to accommodate its chick. Both photographs presented
by Mr. Ralph Chislett.]
[Illustration: PLATE 22. WHIMBREL. _Upper_: Whimbrel on the nest shown
below. _Lower_: Nest of whimbrel, Shetland Islands, June 11, 1923;
presented by Mr. William E. Glegg.]
[Illustration: PLATE 23. _Upper_: BRISTLE-THIGHED CURLEW.
Bristle-thighed curlew, stealing an egg from a man-o-war-bird’s nest,
Laysan Island; presented by Mr. Donald R. Dickey, by courtesy of the
National Geographic Society. _Lower_: WHIMBREL. Whimbrel settling down
on its nest, Shetland Islands, June 11, 1923; presented by Mr. William
E. Glegg.]
[Illustration: PLATE 24. LAPWING. _Upper_: Nest of lapwing. _Lower_:
Another nest of lapwing on a beach. Both photographs presented by Mr.
C. W. Colthrup.]
[Illustration: PLATE 25. DOTTEREL. Two views of dotterels on two
different nests, near the Yenisei River, Siberia; presented by Mrs.
Maud D. (Haviland) Brindley.]
[Illustration: PLATE 26. BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER. _Upper_: Immature
black-bellied plover, Branchport, N. Y., October 3, 1911; presented by
Mr. Verdi Burtch. _Lower_: Adult male black-bellied plover, Florida
Keys, May, 1903; presented by Mr. Herbert K. Job.]
[Illustration: PLATE 27. BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER. _Upper_: Nest and eggs
of gray plover (black-bellied plover) near Yenisei River, Siberia;
presented by Mrs. Maud D. (Haviland) Brindley. _Lower_: Black-bellied
plover on its nest, near Point Barrow, Alaska, June 20, 1917. A
photograph taken by Mr. T. L. Richardson for the author.]
[Illustration: PLATE 28. AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER. Two nests of American
golden plover, Demarcation Point, Alaska, June 23, 1914; presented by
Mr. W. Sprague Brooks.]
[Illustration: PLATE 29. PACIFIC GOLDEN PLOVER. _Upper_: Nesting site
of Pacific golden plover. _Lower_: Nest and eggs of Pacific golden
plover. Both photographs taken by Mr. T. L. Richardson at Unalakleet,
Alaska, for the author.]
[Illustration: PLATE 30. PACIFIC GOLDEN PLOVER. _Upper_: Pacific golden
plover. _Lower_: Pacific golden plover brooding. Both photographs
presented by Mrs. Maud D. (Haviland) Brindley, taken by her near the
Yenisei River, Siberia.]
[Illustration: PLATE 31. KILLDEER. _Upper_: Nest and eggs of killdeer,
Barr Lake, Colo.; presented by the Colorado Museum of Natural History.
_Lower_: Nest and eggs of killdeer, Manitoba; presented by Herbert K.
Job.]
[Illustration: PLATE 32. KILLDEER. _Upper_: Killdeer at its nest,
near Kansas City, Mo. _Lower_: Nest and eggs of the same bird. Both
photographs presented by Dr. A. H. Cordier.]
[Illustration: PLATE 33. KILLDEER. _Upper_: Downy young killdeers;
photograph by H. H. Pittman. _Lower_: Nest and eggs of killdeers,
Banff, Alberta; presented by Mr. Dan McCown.]
[Illustration: PLATE 34. KILLDEER. _Upper_: Killdeer settling on
its nest. _Lower_: Young killdeer, a few days old. Both photographs
presented by Mr. Howard H. Cleaves and by courtesy of the National
Geographic Society. Taken on Staten Island, N. Y.]
[Illustration: PLATE 35. SEMIPALMATED PLOVER. Two nests of semipalmated
plover, Magdalen Islands, Quebec, June 20, 1904; photographed by the
author.]
[Illustration: PLATE 36. SEMIPALMATED PLOVER. _Upper_: Nest and eggs of
semipalmated plover, Atlin, British Columbia, June 10, 1924; presented
by Mr. Harry S. Swarth. _Lower_: Semipalmated plover, Santa Barbara,
Calif., May 2, 1913; presented by Mr. W. Leon Dawson.]
[Illustration: PLATE 37. SEMIPALMATED PLOVER. Nesting site of
semipalmated plover, Atlin Lake, British Columbia, June 10, 1924;
presented by Mr. Harry S. Swarth.]
[Illustration: PLATE 38. SEMIPALMATED PLOVER. _Upper_: Semipalmated
plover brooding young, Magdalen Islands, June 20, 1904; presented by
Mr. Herbert K. Job. _Lower_: Downy young semipalmated plover, Baffin
Island, July 29, 1925; presented by Mr. J. Dewey Soper and by courtesy
of the Department of Mines, Canada.]
[Illustration: PLATE 39. RINGED PLOVER. _Upper_: Nest and eggs of
ringed plover, presented by Mr. C. W. Colthrup. _Lower_: Ringed plover
at its nest; presented by Mrs. Maud D. (Haviland) Brindley.]
[Illustration: PLATE 40. PIPING PLOVER. _Upper_: Nest and five eggs of
piping plover, Dartmouth, Mass., June 16, 1916; photographed by the
author. _Lower_: Nest and eggs of piping plover, Bay Point, Ohio, June,
1925; presented by Mr. Edward S. Thomas.]
[Illustration: PLATE 41. PIPING PLOVER. _Upper_: Piping plover
incubating. _Lower_: Piping plover standing at its nest. Both
photographs taken by the author, Chatham, Mass., June 2, 1921.]
[Illustration: PLATE 42. PIPING PLOVER. _Upper_: Nest and eggs of
piping plover, Stump Lake, N. Dak., June 15, 1901; photographed by the
author. _Lower_: Piping plover chicks, about three days old, Martha’s
Vineyard, Mass.; presented by Mr. Howard H. Cleaves.]
[Illustration: PLATE 43. _Upper_: SNOWY PLOVER. Nest and eggs of snowy
plover, Orange County, Calif., June 11, 1916; presented by Mr. Wright
M. Pierce. _Lower_: PIPING PLOVER. Piping plover brooding young,
Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.; presented by Mr. Howard H. Cleaves and by
courtesy of the National Geographical Society.]
[Illustration: PLATE 44. SNOWY PLOVER. _Upper_: Snowy plover on its
nest, Los Angeles County, Calif., May 29, 1914. _Lower_: Another nest,
same locality and date. Both photographs by the author, referred to on
page 248.]
[Illustration: PLATE 45. SNOWY PLOVER. _Upper_: Downy young Cuban
snowy plover, Pensacola, Fla., June 26, 1927; presented by Mr. Francis
M. Weston. _Lower_: Downy young snowy plover, southern California;
presented by Mr. Wright M. Pierce.]
[Illustration: PLATE 46. WILSON PLOVER. _Upper_: Nest and eggs of
Wilson plover, Bulls Island, S. C., May 22, 1915; presented by Mr.
Alexander Sprunt, jr. _Lower_: Nest and eggs of Wilson plover, Chatham
County, Ga., April 26, 1922; presented by Mr. W. J. Erichsen.]
[Illustration: PLATE 47. WILSON PLOVER. _Upper_: Nest and eggs of
Wilson plover, Bulls Island, S. C., May 22, 1915; photographed by the
author and referred to on page 257. _Lower_: Nest and eggs of Wilson
plover among pickle weed, Merritt’s Island, Fla., June 20, 1926;
presented by Mr. Donald J. Nicholson.]
[Illustration: PLATE 48. WILSON PLOVER. _Upper_: Young Wilson plover,
just hatched, Raccoon Key, S. C, June 7, 1927; presented by Mr. Roger
Tory Peterson. _Lower_: Adult female Wilson plover, about to settle on
her nest, near Bulls Bay, S. C; presented by Mr. Howard H. Cleaves.]
[Illustration: PLATE 49. MOUNTAIN PLOVER. _Upper_: Mountain plover at
its nest. _Lower_: Nest and eggs of mountain plover. Both photographs
taken in Colorado by or for Mr. William C. Bradbury, presented by the
Colorado Museum of Natural History and referred to on page 264.]
[Illustration: PLATE 50. MOUNTAIN PLOVER. _Upper_: Young mountain
plover, a day or two old, June 4, 1911. _Lower_: Another, perhaps 10
days old, June 11, 1911. Both photographs taken by Mr. Edward R. Warren
in Weld County, Colo., and presented by him.]
[Illustration: PLATE 51. MOUNTAIN PLOVER. _Upper_: Adult mountain
plover approaching its nest; presented by the Colorado Museum of
Natural History, photographed by Mr. W. C. Bradbury, and referred to on
page 264. _Lower_: Mountain plover attending its young, Weld County,
Colo., June 4, 1911; presented by Mr. Edward R. Warren.]
[Illustration: PLATE 52. SURF BIRD. _Upper_: Surf bird on its nest.
_Lower_: Surf bird inspecting its eggs. Both photographs taken by Mr.
Joseph Dixon in the Mount McKinley District, Alaska, May 29, 1926,
presented by him and referred to on page 271.]
[Illustration: PLATE 53. SURF BIRD. _Upper_: Male surf bird beside its
nest. _Lower_: Nest and eggs of surf bird. Both photographs taken by
Mr. Joseph Dixon in the Mount McKinley District, Alaska, May 29, 1926,
presented by him and referred to on page 271.]
[Illustration: PLATE 54. TURNSTONE. _Upper_: Turnstone on its nest.
_Lower_: Nest and eggs of the same bird. Both photographs taken by Mr.
Ralph Chislett, on a Baltic isle, off Öland, June 19, 1924, presented
by him and referred to on page 283.]
[Illustration: PLATE 55. TURNSTONE. _Left_: Male turnstone on its nest
under cover. _Right_: Female turnstone. Both photographs taken by Mr.
Ralph Chislett on a Baltic isle, off Öland, June 19, 1924, presented by
him and referred to on page 283.]
[Illustration: PLATE 56. TURNSTONE. _Upper_: Turnstone at its nest,
Spitsbergen, 1921; presented by Mr. Seton P. Gordon and referred to on
page 282. _Lower_: RUDDY TURNSTONE. Downy young ruddy turnstone, Yukon
Delta, Alaska, June 19, 1914; photographed by Mr. F. Seymour Hersey for
the author.]
[Illustration: PLATE 57. BLACK TURNSTONE. Flock of black turnstones,
presented by Mr. Donald R. Dickey.]
[Illustration: PLATE 58. AMERICAN OYSTER CATCHER. Two nests of American
oyster catcher, Bulls Island, S. C., May 22, 1915; photographed by the
author and referred to on page 310.]
[Illustration: PLATE 59. AMERICAN OYSTER CATCHER. _Upper_: Immature
American oyster catcher, Cape Romain, S. C., June 8, 1927; presented by
Mr. Roger Tory Peterson. _Lower_: Adult American oyster catcher, Bulls
Bay, S. C., May, 1904; presented by Mr. Herbert K. Job.]
[Illustration: PLATE 60. FRAZAR OYSTER CATCHER. Two views of Frazar
oyster catcher, Lower California, 1927; presented by Mr. Wright M.
Pierce.]
[Illustration: PLATE 61. FRAZAR OYSTER CATCHER. Two views of young
Frazar oyster catchers, Lower California, 1926; presented by Mr. Wright
M. Pierce.]
[Illustration: PLATE 62. BLACK OYSTER CATCHER. Black oyster catchers on
a reef, coast of Washington, June 22, 1910; presented by Mr. W. Leon
Dawson.]
[Illustration: PLATE 63. BLACK OYSTER CATCHER. Nesting site and nest of
black oyster catcher, Destruction Island, Wash.; presented by Mr. W.
Leon Dawson.]
[Illustration: PLATE 64. BLACK OYSTER CATCHER. _Upper_: Nest and eggs
of black oyster catcher, Graham Island, British Columbia, May 26, 1927;
presented by Mr. S. J. Darcus. _Lower_: Nest, eggs and young, just
hatched, of black oyster catcher, Destruction Island, Wash., July 16,
1906; presented by Mr. W. Leon Dawson.]
[Illustration: PLATE 65. MEXICAN JACANA. Two views of Paradise Lake,
near Tampico, Mexico, nesting site of Mexican jacana; presented by Mr.
Thomas S. Gillin and referred to on page 324.]
[Illustration: PLATE 66. MEXICAN JACANA. _Upper_: Nest and eggs of
Mexican jacana. _Lower_: Mexican jacana at home. Both photographs taken
by Mr. Thomas S. Gillin, Paradise Lake, near Tampico, Mexico; presented
by him and referred to on page 325.]
INDEX
Actitis macularia, 78
Aiken and Warren, on mountain plover, 266
Alexander, W. B.--
on Pacific golden plover, 200
on Polynesian tattler, 49
on turnstone, 293
Allen, Francis H.--
on black-bellied plover, 162
on turnstone, 287
altifrons, Pluvialis apricaria, 171
American golden plover, 175
American oyster catcher, 309
americanus, Numenius, 97
Aphriza virgata, 269
apricaria altifrons, Pluvialis, 171
Arenaria interpres, 278
melanocephala, 298
arquata arquata, Numenius, 109
Numenius arquata, 109
Audubon, J. J.--
on American golden plover, 187
on American oyster catcher, 313, 314
on Eskimo curlew, 131
on long-billed curlew, 103
on semipalmated plover, 219, 222
on spotted sandpiper, 78, 81
on Wilson plover, 260, 261
bachmani, Haematopus, 320
Bailey, Alfred M., on Mongolian plover, 253
Bailey, Florence Merriam--
on snowy plover, 250
on surf bird, 275
on western willet, 39
Bailey, H. H., on American oyster catcher, 310
Bancroft, Griffing, on Frazar oyster catcher, 317, 318, 319
Barrett, Charles--
on black-bellied plover, 166
on Pacific golden plover, 200
on turnstone, 292
Barrows, W. B., on upland plover, 58
Bartramia longicauda, 55
Bartsch, Paul--
on bristle-thighed curlew, 142
on turnstone, 287
Bates, J. M.--
on killdeer, 205
on upland plover, 61
Baynard, Oscar E., on Wilson plover, 258
Beaupre, Edwin--
on American golden plover, 176, 184
on Hudsonian curlew, 115
on piping plover, 244
Benners, G. B., on upland plover, 57
Bent, A. C., on piping plover, 237, 238
Bergtold, W. H., on spotted sandpiper, 86
Berteau, F. C., on Eskimo curlew, 126, 133
bird, surf, 269
Bishop, L. B., on semipalmated plover, 220
black-bellied plover, 154
black oyster catcher, 320
black turnstone, 298
borealis, Numenius, 125
Bradbury, W. C., on mountain plover, 263
Brandt, Herbert W.--
on black-bellied plover, 157, 159, 161
on black turnstone, 299, 300, 303
on bristle-thighed curlew, 141
on Pacific golden plover, 195, 196, 198
on turnstone, 281, 283, 290
Bretherton, B. J., on wandering tattler, 45
brevipes, Heteroscelus, 48
Brewster, William--
on American golden plover, 182
on semipalmated plover, 217, 222
on solitary sandpiper, 1, 7, 8
on spotted sandpiper, 81
on western willet, 36
bristle-thighed curlew, 140
Brock, S. E., on lapwing, 145
Brooks, W. Sprague, on American golden plover, 180
Brown, D. E., on wandering tattler, 42
Brown, W. J., on killdeer, 203
Brown, W. W., jr., on Frazar oyster catcher, 318
Bryant, Harold C., on killdeer, 205
Bryant, Walter E., on Frazar oyster catcher, 319
buff-breasted sandpiper, 69
Burroughs, M. H., on American oyster catcher, 311
Cahoon, John C.--
on American golden plover, 187
on black-bellied plover, 165
Carroll, W. J., on Eskimo curlew, 126, 133
catcher, American oyster, 309
black oyster, 320
European oyster, 305
Frazar oyster, 316
Catoptrophorus semipalmatus inornatus, 36
Catoptrophorus semipalmatus semipalmatus, 27
Chambers, W. Lee, on snowy plover, 247
Chapman, Frank M.--
on killdeer, 211
on western solitary sandpiper, 14
on Wilson plover, 259
Charadrius dubius curonicus, 233
hiaticula, 229
melodus, 236
mongolus mongolus, 253
nivosus nivosus, 246
nivosus tenuirostris, 252
semipalmatus, 217
Chislett, Ralph, on turnstone, 283
cinnamomea, Tringa solitaria, 13
Clark, Austin H.--
on American golden plover, 177, 184
on black turnstone, 298
on spotted sandpiper, 86
Cleaves, H. H., on spotted sandpiper, 89
Conover, H. B.--
on black turnstone, 300, 301
on bristle-thighed curlew, 141, 143
on turnstone, 280
Cooke, Wells W.--
on American golden plover, 178
on buff-breasted sandpiper, 70, 75
on semipalmated plover, 217, 224
on spotted sandpiper, 92
on wandering tattler, 42
Coues, Elliott--
on Eskimo curlew, 129, 130, 133
on mountain plover, 263, 266, 267
on solitary sandpiper, 5, 7
on upland plover, 59
Cuban snowy plover, 252
curlew, bristle-thighed, 140
Eskimo, 125
European, 109
Hudsonian, 113
long-billed, 97
curonicus, Charadrius dubius, 233
Dall, W. H., on black oyster catcher, 320, 323
Davies, S. A., on wood sandpiper, 25
Dawson, W. Leon--
on black oyster catcher, 320, 322
on Frazar oyster catcher, 317
on Hudsonian curlew, 119
on killdeer, 211, 212
on wandering tattler, 45
Dickey, Donald R., on bristle-thighed curlew, 142
Dill and Bryan, on bristle-thighed curlew, 142
Dixon, Joseph--
on semipalmated plover, 219
on surf bird, 270, 271, 272, 274, 275
dominica dominica, Pluvialis, 175
fulva, Pluvialis, 193
Pluvialis dominica, 175
Doolittle, E. A., on buff-breasted sandpiper, 75
dotterel, 150
dubius curonicus, Charadrius, 233
Dwight, Jonathan, on spotted sandpiper, 81
eastern willet, 27
Ekblaw, W. Elmer--
on ringed plover, 229, 231
on turnstone, 280
Elliot, D. G., on long-billed curlew, 105
Erichsen, W. J., on American oyster catcher, 311
Eskimo curlew, 125
Eudromias morinellus, 150
European curlew, 109
European golden plover, 171
European oyster catcher, 305
Farley, John A., on piping plover, 243
Farren, William--
on European curlew, 110
on European oyster catcher, 306
on ringed plover, 230
Feilden, H. W., on American golden plover, 185
Ferry, John F., on killdeer, 211
Fisher, A. K., on snowy plover, 249
Forbush, E. H.--
on American golden plover, 176
on black-bellied plover, 161
on Eskimo curlew, 127
on killdeer, 202
on piping plover, 240, 241
on solitary sandpiper, 5
on spotted sandpiper, 86, 87, 88
on upland plover, 64
Ford, Edward R.--
on piping plover, 238
on upland plover, 59
Frazar oyster catcher, 316
frazari, Haematopus palliatus, 316
fulva, Pluvialis dominica, 193
Gabrielson, Ira N., on killdeer, 204, 205, 207
Gibson, Ernest, on Eskimo curlew, 127
Gillin, Thomas S., on Mexican jacana, 324, 325, 326, 327
Giraud, Jacob P., on solitary sandpiper, 5
glareola, Rhyacophilus, 22
golden plover, American, 175
European, 171
Pacific, 193
Gordon, Seton--
on dotterel, 152
on European curlew, 110
on European golden plover, 171
Goss, N. S., on killdeer, 211
green sandpiper, 16
Grinnell, Bryant, and Storer--
on black-bellied plover, 161, 163
on black turnstone, 301
on mountain plover, 266
on snowy plover, 248, 250
Grinnell, George B., on eastern willet, 28
Grinnell, Joseph--
on black oyster catcher, 321
on Hudsonian curlew, 116, 117
on surf bird, 269
on western solitary sandpiper, 13
gymnostoma, Jacana spinosa, 324
Hadeler, E. W., on piping plover, 238
Haematopus bachmani, 320
ostralegus, 305
palliatus frazari, 316
palliatus, 309
Hancock, John, on wood sandpiper, 23
Hanna, G. Dallas, on Polynesian tattler, 49
Hartert, Ernst, on green sandpiper, 17
Haviland, Maud D., on Pacific golden plover, 196, 197, 199
Heath, Harold, on black oyster catcher, 321
Henderson, A. D., on solitary sandpiper, 3, 4
Henderson, Junius, on semipalmated plover, 222
Henshaw, Henry W.--
on Pacific golden plover, 194, 197, 198, 199
on turnstone, 292
on wandering tattler, 42, 46
Heteroscelus brevipes, 48
incanus, 41
Hewitson, W. C., on turnstone, 282
hiaticula, Charadrius, 229
Hoare, A. R., on turnstone, 281
Hoskin, H. G., on mountain plover, 264
Howell, A. B.--
on black oyster catcher, 322
on black turnstone, 304
Howell, Arthur H.--
on piping plover, 240
on Wilson plover, 260
Hoxie, Walter J., on American oyster catcher, 311
Hudson, W. H.--
on American golden plover, 176, 188
on buff-breasted sandpiper, 69
on solitary sandpiper, 9
on upland plover, 56, 62, 65
Hudsonian curlew, 113
hudsonicus, Numenius, 113
Hunter, Katharine U., on upland plover, 58, 59
Huxley and Montague, on European oyster catcher, 306
incanus, Heteroscelus, 41
inornatus, Catoptrophorus semipalmatus, 36
interpres, Arenaria, 278
Iseley, Dwight, on killdeer, 203
jacana, Mexican, 324
Jacana spinosa gymnostoma, 324
Janvrin, E. R. P.--
on black-bellied plover, 163
on Hudsonian curlew, 119
Jessup, J. M., on wandering tattler, 42
Jewel, L. L.--
on Hudsonian curlew, 118
on spotted sandpiper, 88
Jewell, H. W., on spotted sandpiper, 86
Job, Herbert K.--
on Hudsonian curlew, 115
on spotted sandpiper, 86
Jones, Lynds, on upland plover, 63
Jourdain, F. C. R.--
on dotterel, 150
on European curlew, 109
on European golden plover, 171
on European oyster catcher, 305
on green sandpiper, 16
on lapwing, 144
on little ringed plover, 233
on Mongolian plover, 253, 254, 255, 256
on ringed plover, 229
on ruff, 49
on solitary sandpiper, 4
on turnstone, 280, 288
on whimbrel, 136
on wood sandpiper, 22
Jouy, P. L., on Mexican jacana, 326, 327
Kalmbach, E. R., on killdeer, 210
Kelso, J. E. H., on spotted sandpiper, 91
Killdeer, 202
Knight, Ora W., on solitary sandpiper, 4
lapwing, 144
Lawrence, Alexander G., on piping plover, 239
Lewis, H. F.--
on eastern willet, 29
on solitary sandpiper, 6
Lien, Carl--
on black oyster catcher, 322
on black turnstone, 304
on surf bird, 276
little ringed plover, 233
long-billed curlew, 97
longicauda, Bartramia, 55
Lyon, Wm. I., on Hudsonian curlew, 115
MacFarlane, Roderick--
on American golden plover, 179
on black-bellied plover, 158
on buff-breasted sandpiper, 72
on Eskimo curlew, 128
on Hudsonian curlew, 117
Mackay, George H.--
on American golden plover, 182, 183, 185, 187
on black-bellied plover, 161, 164
on buff-breasted sandpiper, 74
on Eskimo curlew, 130, 132
on Hudsonian curlew, 114, 118, 119, 121
MacMillan, Donald B., on turnstone, 289
macularia, Actitis, 78
Manniche, A. L. V., on turnstone, 284
May, John B., on solitary sandpiper, 2
Maynard, C. J.--
on American oyster catcher, 314
on eastern willet, 30
McAtee, W. L.--
on killdeer, 209
on upland plover, 61
Mearns, Edgar A., on spotted sandpiper, 81
melodus, Charadrius, 236
Merrill, J. C., on spotted sandpiper, 90
Mexican jacana, 324
Meyer, G. Ralph, on Pacific golden plover, 200
Mongolian plover, 253
mongolus, Charadrius mongolus, 253
mongolus, Charadrius, 253
montanus, Podasocys, 263
Moore, N. B., on turnstone, 289
morinellus, Eudromias, 150
mountain plover, 263
Mousley, Henry, on spotted sandpiper, 82, 89
Munn, P. W., on little ringed plover, 235
Murdoch, John--
on American golden plover, 179, 180, 183
on buff-breasted sandpiper, 71, 72
Murie, O. J.--
on surf bird, 270
on wandering tattler, 43, 44, 46
Murphy, Robert Cushman, on Frazar oyster catcher, 316
Naumann, J. F., on little ringed plover, 234
Nelson, E. W.--
on black turnstone, 300, 303
on bristle-thighed curlew, 140
on Eskimo curlew, 128
on wandering tattler, 41, 45, 46
Newton, Alfred, on green sandpiper, 17
Nichols, John T.--
on American golden plover, 177, 183
on American oyster catcher, 314
on black-bellied plover, 163
on eastern willet, 28, 33
on Hudsonian curlew, 119
on Pacific golden plover, 199
on piping plover, 243,
on ringed plover, 232
on solitary sandpiper, 6, 7, 8
on spotted sandpiper, 87, 90, 91
on turnstone, 287, 289
on western willet, 38
on Wilson plover, 261
Nicholson, Donald J., on Wilson plover, 259
nivosus tenuirostris, Charadrius, 252
Noble, Frank T., on turnstone, 286
Numenius americanus, 97
arquata arquata, 109
borealis, 125
hudsonicus, 113
phaeopus phaeopus, 136
tahitiensis, 140
Nuttall, Thomas, on spotted sandpiper, 78, 83
ocrophus, Tringa, 16
Osgood, Wilfred H.--
on black oyster catcher, 320
on semipalmated plover, 220
on western solitary sandpiper, 14
ostralegus, Haematopus, 305
Oxyechus vociferus, 202
oyster catcher, American, 309
black, 320
European, 305
Frazar, 316
Pacific golden plover, 193
Paget-Wilkes, A. H., on turnstone, 282, 284
Pagolla wilsonia wilsonia, 257
palliatus frazari, Haematopus, 316
Haematopus palliatus, 309
palliatus, Haematopus, 309
Palmer, William--
on spotted sandpiper, 84
on turnstone, 291
on wandering tattler, 46
Patten, C. J., on green sandpiper, 17
Pearse, Theed, on killdeer, 204
Pearson, Henry J.--
on black-bellied plover, 158
on turnstone, 282
on wood sandpiper, 25
Pennock, C. J., on Wilson plover, 261
phaeopus, Numenius phaeopus, 136
phaeopus, Numenius, 136
Philipp and Bowdish, on piping plover, 238
Philipp, P. B.--
on eastern willet, 34
on semipalmated plover, 218, 220
Philomachus pugnax, 49
Pickwell, Gayle, on piping plover, 239, 243
Pierce, Fred J., on upland plover, 57
Piping plover, 236
plover, American golden, 175
black-bellied, 154
Cuban snowy, 252
European golden, 171
little ringed, 233
Mongolian, 253
mountain, 263
Pacific golden, 193
piping, 236
ringed, 229
semipalmated, 217
snowy, 246
upland, 55
Wilson, 257
Pluvialis apricaria altifrons, 171
dominica dominica, 175
fulva, 193
Podasocys montanus, 263
Polynesian tattler, 48
Praeger, W. V., on semipalmated plover, 222
Preble, Edward A., on turnstone, 290
Preble and McAtee, on wandering tattler, 45
pugnax, Philomachus, 49
Raine, Walter, on solitary sandpiper, 3
Rathbun, S. F.--
on black-bellied plover, 156, 160
on black turnstone, 302
on killdeer, 204
on turnstone, 279
Reid, Savile G.--
on American golden plover, 185
on solitary sandpiper, 8
Rhyacophilus glareola, 22
Rich, Walter H.--
on black-bellied plover, 166
on solitary sandpiper, 6
Ridgway, Robert, on western solitary sandpiper, 14
ringed plover, 229
ringed plover, little, 233
Robbins, C. A., on piping plover, 239, 242
Roberts, Thomas S.--
on long-billed curlew, 98
on upland plover, 56
Rockwell, Robert B., on killdeer, 207
Roosevelt, Robert B., on American golden plover, 175
Rowan, William--
on American golden plover, 177, 178, 186, 187
on black-bellied plover, 156, 164
on buff-breasted sandpiper, 70, 71, 73, 74, 75
on killdeer, 203, 212
on upland plover, 58
ruff, 49
Samuels, E. A., on eastern willet, 30
sandpiper, buff-breasted, 69
green, 16
solitary, 1
spotted, 78
western solitary, 13
wood, 22
Sandys, Edwin, on upland plover, 62, 64
Saunders, Aretas A.--
on killdeer, 204, 208, 212
on piping plover, 242
on spotted sandpiper, 83, 84, 90, 92
Scott, W. E. D., on piping plover, 244
Seebohm, Henry--
on Pacific golden plover, 195
on wood sandpiper, 23
Selous, Edmund--
on European oyster catcher, 306
on ruff, 50, 52
semipalmated plover, 217
semipalmatus, Catoptrophorus semipalmatus, 27
Charadrius, 217
inornatus, Catoptrophorus, 36
semipalmatus, Catoptrophorus, 27
Sennett, George. B., on American oyster catcher, 311
Seton, E. T. (Thompson), on western willet, 37
Shelley, Lewis O., on spotted sandpiper, 80
Sherman, Althea R., on killdeer, 207
Shick, Charles S., on spotted sandpiper, 81
Silloway, P. M., on long-billed curlew, 99, 100, 104
Skinner, M. P., on killdeer, 203, 204, 205, 208, 211, 213
Smith, Wm. G., on mountain plover, 264, 265, 266
snowy plover, 246
snowy plover, Cuban, 252
Snyder, L. L., on spotted sandpiper, 89
solitaria cinnamomea, Tringa, 13
solitaria, Tringa, 1
Tringa solitaria, 1
solitary sandpiper, 1
western, 13
spinosa gymnostoma, Jacana, 324
spotted sandpiper, 78
Squatarola squatarola, 154
squatarola, Squatarola, 154
Stanford, John K., on ringed plover, 230
Stejneger, Leonhard--
on Mongolian plover, 254, 255, 256
on turnstone, 280, 287, 291
Stockard, Charles R., on killdeer, 205
Street, J. Fletcher, on solitary sandpiper, 2
subruficollis, Tryngites, 69
surf bird, 269
Sutton, G. M., on spotted sandpiper, 83, 88
Swarth, H. S.--
on semipalmated plover, 218, 219, 220
on surf bird, 270
Swenk, Myron H., on Eskimo curlew, 125, 126, 127, 129, 131, 133
tahitiensis, Numenius, 140
tattler, Polynesian, 48
wandering, 41
Taverner, P. A.--
on long-billed curlew, 105
on spotted sandpiper, 89
tenuirostris, Charadrius nivosus, 252
Terrill, L. McI., on spotted sandpiper, 82
Thayer, Gerald H., on semipalmated plover, 222
Thurston, Henry, on Wilson plover, 258, 259
Torrey, Bradford--
on black turnstone, 301
on spotted sandpiper, 80
on western willet, 38
Townsend, Charles W.--
on black-bellied plover, 162
on Eskimo curlew, 126
on Hudsonian curlew, 119
on killdeer, 202
on semipalmated plover, 217, 223
on spotted sandpiper, 83
Treganza, A. O., on long-billed curlew, 100
Tringa ocrophus, 16
solitaria cinnamomea, 13
solitaria, 1
Tryngites subruficollis, 69
Turner, Lucien M.--
on black oyster catcher, 322
on black turnstone, 298, 303
on Eskimo curlew, 130, 131
on Pacific golden plover, 198
turnstone, 278
turnstone, black, 298
Tyler, John G.--
on Hudsonian curlew, 116, 120
on killdeer, 206
on mountain plover, 267
Tyler, Winsor M.--
on piping plover, 236, 238
on spotted sandpiper, 78
upland plover, 55
Van Denburgh, J., on western willet, 37
Vanellus vanellus, 144
vanellus, Vanellus, 144
Van Rossem, A. J., on spotted sandpiper, 80, 82
virgata, Aphriza, 269
vociferus, Oxyechus, 202
wandering tattler, 41
Warburton, Stanton, jr., on Hudsonian curlew, 117
Warren, Edward B., on mountain plover, 265
Wayne, Arthur T.--
on American oyster catcher, 315
on black-bellied plover, 155
on eastern willet, 30, 31
on Hudsonian curlew, 115
on killdeer, 203, 210
on long-billed curlew, 98
on turnstone, 287
on Wilson plover, 263
western solitary sandpiper, 13
western willet, 36
Weston, Francis M.--
on black-bellied plover, 163
on Cuban snowy plover, 252
on Wilson plover, 261
Wetmore, Alexander--
on American golden plover, 177, 188, 189
on bristle-thighed curlew, 142
on buff-breasted sandpiper, 75, 76
on spotted sandpiper, 87, 93
on turnstone, 288, 292
on upland plover, 56, 65
on western solitary sandpiper, 15
Wheelwright, Horace W., on green sandpiper, 17, 18
whimbrel, 136
Whittle, C. L.--
on lapwing, 149
on spotted sandpiper, 80
Wickersham, C. W., on long-billed curlew, 102, 104, 105, 106
Willet, eastern, 27
western, 36
Willett, George, on spotted sandpiper, 93
Williams, R. W., on killdeer, 213
Wilson, Alexander--
on American oyster catcher, 314
on killdeer, 202
on spotted sandpiper, 78, 83, 92
Wilson plover, 257
wilsonia, Pagolla wilsonia, 257
wilsonia, Pagolla, 257
Witherby, H. F., on little ringed plover, 234, 235
Wood, Allen H., on piping plover, 237
wood sandpiper, 22
Wright and Harper, on spotted sandpiper, 79
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