Part 2 — Family CHARADRIIDAE, Plovers

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]

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.