Charadriformes I
Plovers, Shorebirds, Phalaropes
About the
categories Name Common name Food The main food category. Feeding Techniques How it acquires its food. Habitat What kind of area does the bird
live? Plumage Is there similarity between the male
and the female, between winter and spring, young and adult,
or are there variations in the plumage amongst the species.
Distribution Approximately where it is found in the
United States. Breeding Unique aspects on how the species
breeds. About the Notes from A.C.
Bent Special notes on the status or natural
history of this bird. Notes from A. C.
Bent Selections from the Life Histories of
North American Birds, edited by
A. C. Bent. Name Food Feeding
Techniques Runs along the shoreline,stops and
picks at prey on the surface. Habitat Wetlands Plumage The
male and the female have the same plumage.
seasonal plumage very
different Distribution Found along both coasts Breeding About the Notes
from A.C. Bent Notes from A.C.
Bent Food: In the interior they fed, 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) mentions a bird taken in
California which had in its stomach "14 small snails, 1
small bivale 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. Name Food Feeding
Techniques Runs along the shoreline,stops and
picks at prey on the surface. Habitat Agricultural areas, wetlands; spends
the winter in Hawaii Plumage The
male and the female have the same plumage.
, seasonal plumages very
different Distribution Pacific coast Breeding About the Notes
from A.C. Bent Notes from A.C.
Bent Edward
H. Forbush (1912) tells of two
men who killed plover enough to fill a tip car two-thirds
full in one day, during a big storm on Nantucket in the
forties. Again he speaks of a great flight which occurred
there on August 29, 1863, "when golden plover and Eskimo
curlew landed on the island in such numbers as to almost
darken the sun. Between seven and eight thousand of these
birds were killed on the island and on Tuckernuck." He says
that from 1860 on the species began to decrease, due to the
demand created by the failing supply of passenger pigeons,
and that in 1890 alone two Boston firms received from the
West 40 barrels closely packed with curlew and plover, with
25 dozen curlew and 60 dozen plover to the
barrel. By the end of the last century this
species had about reached its lowest ebb; it had become
scarce where it once abounded; no more big flights occurred;
and in many places it was rarely seen. But protective
measures came in time to save it from extermination; the
stopping of the sale of game and the removal of this species
from the game-bird list were badly needed. Since the last
move was made the species has shown some signs of recovery.
Edwin Beaupre (1917) says that "after an absence of almost
15 years, the golden plover has apparently resumed its
migratory visits to eastern Ontario." Prof. William Rowan
(1923) says: This year has been an exceptional
golden-plover year. At the place referred to above,
somewhere over a thousand birds were seen on the 20th of May
alone, in moving flocks varying in number from 30
individuals to several hundreds. This was evidently not
unique; for about the same time I got a report from quite
another part of the Province that this species was unusually
abundant, while from yet another quarter I got a very good
description of the bird in a letter with a request that I
name it for the inquirer, a careful bird observer. Her
comment was that she had never seen the species before, but
that it was, at the time of writing, present on the plowed
fields in enormous numbers. Name Food Feeding
Techniques Runs along the shoreline,stops and
picks at prey on the surface. Habitat Wetlands Plumage The
male and the female have the same plumage.
, slight variation in seasonal
plumages Distribution Throughout the United
States Breeding About the Notes
from A.C. Bent Notes from A.C.
Bent Field marks: The semipalmated plover
is easily distinguished in the field from the killdeer by
its smaller size, its single neck ring, and by the absence
of the rufous color on the rump. Its darker colors
distinguish it from the piping plover. From the sandpipers,
even at a distance on the sand, it is distinguished most
readily by its plover behavior, as already described. In
flying they show a faint white line on the wings which
contrasts with the general brown of the upper parts. The
neck ring is noticeable both in the flying and walking bird,
and the orange yellow of the tarsi and base of the bill can
be made out with glasses. In the young, which arrive on the
Massachusetts coast about a month behind their elders in the
autumn migration, the ring is gray instead of glossy black,
and the tarsi are pale yellow. It may be distinguished from
the Wilson's plover by the fact that that bird has a much
longer bill, wholly black.
Name |
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Food |
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Feeding Techniques |
Runs along the shoreline,stops and picks at prey on the surface. |
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Habitat |
Barrier islands, sandy beaches, mud flats |
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Plumage |
Male and female are slightly different |
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Distribution |
Southeastern coast |
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Breeding |
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About the Notes from A.C. Bent |
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Notes from A.C. Bent |
Behavior: Audubon (1840) describes the behavior of this plover very well, as follows: The flight of this species, is rapid, elegant, and protracted. While traveling from one sand beach or island to another, they fly low over the land or water, emitting a fine, clear, soft note. Now and then, when after the breeding season they form into flocks of 20 or 30, they perform various evolutions in the air, cutting backward and forward, as if inspecting the spot on which they wish to alight, and then suddenly descend, sometimes on the sea beach and sometimes on the more elevated sands at a little distance from it. They do not run so nimbly as the piping plovers nor are they nearly so shy. I have in fact frequently walked up so as to be within 10 yards or so of them. They seldom mix with other species, and they show a decided preference to solitary uninhabited spots. |
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Food |
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Feeding Techniques |
Runs along the ground,stops and picks at prey on the surface. |
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Habitat |
Found primarily on beaches. |
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Plumage |
The male and the female have the same plumage. , non-breeding plumage more drab than breeding plumage |
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Distribution |
Primarily along the west coast and southeast coast |
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Breeding |
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About the Notes from A.C. Bent |
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Notes from A.C. Bent |
Food: Snowy plover feed mainly on the sandy beaches, foraging on the wet sand and at the surf line, where they are expert at dodging the incoming waves and very lively, running up and down the beach as the waves advance or recede. Here they often forage in compact bunches, picking up small crustaceans, marine worms, or other minute marine organisms. Inland they feed along the muddy or alkaline shores of ponds or lakes, on various insects, such as beetles or flies. Dr. A. K. Fisher (1893) says: This handsome little plover was observed by the writer on the shores of Owens Lake, near Keeler, May 30 to June 4, where it was common in small flocks of 5 or 10 on the alkaline flats which border the lake. Like most other birds in the vicinity, it fed extensively, if not exclusively, on a species of small fly (Ephydra hians Say), which was found in immense masses near the edge of the lake. Many of these swarms of flies were four or five layers deep and covered an area of 15 or 20 square feet. Some idea can be formed of the inexhaustible supply of food which this insect furnishes for birds when it is known that colonies of equal size occurred at close intervals in suitable localities all around the lake, which has a shore line of between 40 and 50 miles. |
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Name |
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Food |
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Feeding Techniques |
Runs along the ground, stops and picks at prey on the surface. |
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Habitat |
Upland dry fields |
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Plumage |
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Distribution |
Sparse distribution |
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Breeding |
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About the Notes from A.C. Bent |
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Notes from A.C. Bent |
Nesting: W. C. Bradbury (1918) has given us a very good acccount of the nesting habits of the mountain plover in Colorado. Of the nesting site and nest he says: The ground is an open, rolling prairie, above the line of irrigation, and is devoted to cattle range. It is several miles from natural surface water and streams, and is covered with short-cropped buffalo or gramma grass, 2 or 3 inches high, with frequent bunches of dwarfed prickly pear, and an occasional cluster of stunted shrub or weed, rarely more than a foot in height. With the six sets secured, in no instance had the parent bird taken advantage of the slight protection offered from sight or the elements by the nearby cactus, shrubs or uneven spots of ground. In each case, she had avoided such shelter, locating in the open, generally between the small grass hummocks and not on or in them; there was no evidence of the parent birds having given more thought to nest preparation or concealment, than does any other plover. In two of the sets the eggs were all individually embedded in the baked earth to a depth of one-eighth to one-fourth of an inch, evidently having settled when the surface of the ground was reduced to soft mud by rain-water collecting in the slight depressions. As the ground dried up the eggs were fixed in a perfect mould or matrix, from which they could not roll. In fact they could hardly be disturbed at all by the sitting birds. The only nesting material was a small quantity of fine, dry rootlets and "crowns" of gramma grass, the eggs in some instances being slightly embedded in this lining. As it is also present in all other depressions on the prairie it is highly probable that here as elsewhere it was deposited about the eggs by the wind and not through the agency of the birds themselves.The protective coloration of the nest and eggs, as well as of the rear view of the birds themselves, even when in motion, is unsurpassed. In no instance, except one hereinafter noted, was the bird seen to leave the nest, nor was any nest found except in the immediate vicinity of moving birds. |
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Name |
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Food |
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Feeding Techniques |
Runs along the ground,stops and picks at prey on the surface. |
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Habitat |
Found in many different habitats. |
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Plumage |
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Distribution |
Throughout the United States |
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Breeding |
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About the Notes from A.C. Bent |
Scientific name, vociferous, refers to its habit of spreading alarm often. |
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Notes from A.C. Bent |
It may be said of the killdeer that it is probably the most widely distributed and best known of all our shore birds. Unlike most of the group, it is not confined to the borders of lakes and of the sea but is found in meadows, pastures, and dry uplands often many miles from water. Unlike, also, the majority of our shore birds, its sojourn here is not limited to the migration periods, for it breeds and winters throughout a large portion of the United States. It is not of a retiring disposition, and it often makes its presence known by loud calls and cries, to which it owes both its common and scientific names: killdeer and vociferus. Its strikingly marked and handsome plumage makes it very conspicuous when it is in motion, as is nearly always the case. In all these respects it resembles the European lapwing, a resemblance to which both Wilson and Audubon called attention. Wilson (1832) says that "this restless and noisy bird is known to almost every inhabitant of the United States." During the latter part of the last. century and early in this persecution by shooting brought down the numbers of the killdeer so that in certain parts of the country where it formerly bred it became extremely rare. Thus, Forbush (1925) says: The killdeer was once a common breeding bird in New England. Early in the present century it became so reduced in numbers that it was believed to have been practically exterminated as a breeding species. * * * Legislation protecting it perpetually has resulted in a gradual increase of the species which is now nesting locally but not uncommonly in the coastal region and river valleys of southern New England. |
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Name |
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Food |
Mollucks, crustaceans, marine worms, bivalves |
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Feeding Techniques |
Hunts for prey items along rocks right on the coast |
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Habitat |
Rocky coasts |
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Plumage |
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Distribution |
Only along the Pacific coast |
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Breeding |
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About the Notes from A.C. Bent |
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Notes from A.C. Bent |
Courtship: W. Leon Dawson (1909) writes: Left to themselves, the birds are no Quakers, and the antics of courtship are both noisy and amusing. A certain duet, especially, consists of a series of awkward bowings and bendings in which the neck is stretched to the utmost and arched over stiffly into a pose as grotesque as one of Cruikshank's drawings, the whole to an accompaniment of amorous clucks and wails. |
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Name |
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Food |
Variety of worms, crabs, insects |
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Feeding Techniques |
Probes the sand in addition to hunting for prey on the rocks |
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Habitat |
Coastal waters |
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Plumage |
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Distribution |
Southeast coast |
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Breeding |
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About the Notes from A.C. Bent |
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Notes from A.C. Bent |
Food: Audubon (1840) says of the feeding habits of the oystercatcher: I have seen it probe the sand to the full length of its bill, knock off limpets from the rocks on the coast of Labrador, using its weapon sideways and insinuating it between the rock and the shell like a chisel, seize the bodies of gaping oysters on what are called in the Southern States and the Floridas "raccoon oyster beds," and at other times take up a "razor handle" or solen, and lash it against the sands until the shell was broken and the contents swallowed. Now and then they seem to suck the sea urchins, driving in the mouth, and introducing their bill by the aperture, without breaking the shell; again they are seen wading up to their bodies from one place to another, seizing on shrimps and other crustacen, and even swimming for a few yards, should this be necessary to enable them to remove from one bank to another without flying. Small crabs, fiddlers, and sea worms are also caught by it, the shells of which, in a broken state, I have found in its gizzard in greater or less quantity. Frequently, while on wet sea beaches, it pats the sand to force out the insects; and in one instance I saw an individual run from the water to the dry sand with a small flounder in its bill, which it afterwards devoured. |
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Name |
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Food |
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Feeding Techniques |
Feeds in small ponds |
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Habitat |
Wetlands |
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Plumage |
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Distribution |
Scattered throughout the US |
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Breeding |
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About the Notes from A.C. Bent |
wabbly - wabble is a variation of the word wobble, which refers to uneven movements |
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Notes from A.C. Bent |
Although I first met the black-necked stilt in the Florida Keys in 1903, it was not until I visited the irrigated regions of the San Joaquin Valley in California in 1914, that I saw this curious bird living in abundance and flourishing in most congenial surroundings. It was a pleasant change from the cool, damp air of the coast region to the clear, dry warmth of this highly cultivated valley. The naturally arid plains between the distant mountain ranges had been transformed by irrigation into fertile fields of alfalfa and wheat, vast areas had been flooded with water from the melting snows of the Sierras, forming grazing lands for herds of cattle and endless marshes, wet meadows, ponds and creeks, for various species of water birds. As W. Leon Dawson (1923) puts it: The magic touch of water following its expected channels quickens an otherwise barren plain into a paradise of avian activities. Ducks of six or seven species frequent the deeper channels; coots and gallinules and pied-billed grebes crowd the sedgy margins of the ponds; herons, bitterns, ibises, and egrets, seven species of Herodiones, all told, occupy the reedy depths of the larger ponds or deploy over the grassy levels. Rails creak and titter, red wings clink, yellow-headed blackbirds gurgle, wrangle, and screech; while the marsh wrens, familiar spirits of the maze, sputter and chuckle over their quaint basketry. The tricolored blackbirds, also in great silent companies recruited from a hundred acres, charge into their nesting covert with a din of uncanny preoccupation. Over the open ponds black terns hover, and Forster terns flit with languid ease. The killdeer is not forgotten, nor the burrowing owl, whose home is in the higher knolls; but over all and above all and through all comes the clamor of the black-necked stilt and the American avocet. Of all these birds, the stilts were the most conspicuous in the wet meadows about Los Banos, where they were always noisy and aggressive. I have never seen them so abundant elsewhere, though I have seen them in similar situations in Florida and Texas, on extensive wet meadows where shallow water fills the hollows between myriads of little muddy islets and tufts of grass. Here they can wade about and feed in the water or build their nests on the hummocks above high-water mark, and here their young can hide successfully among the grassy tufts. Behavior: The flight of the stilt is steady and direct, but not particularly swift; the bill is held straight out in front and the legs are extended backwards, giving the bird a long, slim appearance. Over their eggs or young, stilts sometimes hover on steadily heating wings with dangling legs. In their excitement they sometimes climb up into the air and make startling dives. But stilts are essentially waders; for wading they are highly specialized, and here they show to best advantage. At times they seem a bit wabbly on their absurdly long and slender legs, notably when trembling with excitement over the invasion of their breeding grounds. But really they are expert in the use of these well-adapted limbs, and one can not help admiring the skillful and graceful way in which they wade about in water breast deep, as well as on dry land, in search of their insect prey. The legs are much bent at each step, the foot is carefully raised and gently but firmly planted again at each long stride. The legs are so long that when the bird is feeding on land it is necessary to bend the legs backward to enable the bill to reach the ground. |
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Food |
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Feeding Techniques |
Moves its long beak like a scyth over the surface of a pond or similar body of water. |
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Habitat |
Wetland |
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Plumage |
The male and the female have the same plumage. ; develops orange head during breeding season |
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Distribution |
Throughout most of the western US, scattered areas of the east |
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Breeding |
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About the Notes from A.C. Bent |
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Notes from A.C. Bent |
Behavior: Avocets are at all times tame and unsuspicious, very solicitous and aggressive on their breeding grounds, quiet and indifferent at other times, showing only mild curiosity. Their demonstrations of anxiety on their nesting grounds, particularly if they have young, are amusing and ludicrous. Utterly regardless of their own safety, they meet the intruder more than half way and stay with him till he leaves. W. Leon Dawson (1909) has described it very graphically, as follows: The mother bird had flushed at a hundred yards, but seeing our position she flew toward us and dropped into the water some 50 feet away. Here she lifted a black wing in simulation of maimed stiffness, and flopped and floundered away with the aid of the other one. Seeing that the ruse failed, she ventured nearer and repeated the experiment, lifting now one wing and now both in token of utter helplessness. After a while the male joined her, and we had the painful spectacle of a crippled family, whose members were uttering most doleful cries of distress, necessitated apparently by their numerous aches and breaks. Once, for experiment's sake, we followed, and the waders flopped along in manifest delight coaxing us up on shore and making off through the sagebrush with broken legs and useless wings. But we came back, finding it better to let the birds make the advances. The birds were driven to the very limit of frenzy, dancing, wing trailing, swaying, going through last convulsions and beginning over again without regard to logical sequence, all in an agony of effort to divert attention from those precious eggs. As time elapsed, however, the color of the play changed. Finding that the appeal of cupidity was of no avail, the birds appeared to fall back upon the appeal to pity. Decoying was useless, that was plain; so they stood with upraised wings, quivering and moaning, in tenderest supplication. It was too much even for conscious rectitude and we withdrew abashed. |
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Food |
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Feeding Techniques |
Uses its beak to hunt for prey - from land and from water |
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Habitat |
Wetlands |
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Plumage |
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Distribution |
Mainly in the western states, but increasing in the east |
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Breeding |
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About the Notes from A.C. Bent |
swale - |
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Notes from A.C. Bent |
Nesting: The eastern willet is decidedly a coastwise bird and it is seldom seen far from the coastal marshes, beaches, and islands. Its favorite nesting places are on sandy islands overgrown with grass, tall and thick enough to conceal its nest, or on dry uplands where similar conditions may be found in close proximity to marshes or the shore. In Nova Scotia I was too late to find nests, but Mr. Lewis (1920) writes: I have occasionally searched for the nests or the young of the willets, but without success until June 5, 1920, when I found a nest with four eggs of this species, in an open swale in an upland pasture, about a quarter of a mile from the nearest salt marsh or salt water, at Arcadia, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia, on the western side of the Chetogue River. The nest was near the Junction of the River Road with Argyle Street, and was about 150 yards from each of those much-traveled highways, which were in full view from the nest site. Several cattle occupied the pasture at the time when the nest was found. The swale in which the nest was placed was of considerable extent and was of the kind preferred as a breeding place by Wilson's snipe; in fact, a pair of those birds were evidently nesting there. The willet's nest was a slight hollow in the damp ground, lined with a few dead rushes. It was surrounded by growing rushes, cinnamon fern, low blackberry bushes, and wild rose bushes, and was well concealed. |
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Food |
Primarily insects |
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Feeding Techniques |
Uses its beak to hunt for prey - from land and from water |
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Habitat |
Wetlands |
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Plumage |
The male and the female have the same plumage. , non-breeding plumage is less mottled than breeding plumage |
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Distribution |
Throughout the United States |
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Breeding |
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About the Notes from A.C. Bent |
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Notes from A.C. Bent |
The names, telltale and tattler, have long been applied to both of the yellow-legs, and deservedly so, for their noisy, talkative habits are their best known traits. They are always on the alert and ever vigilant to warn their less observant or more trusting companions by their loud, insistent cries of alarm that some danger is approaching. Every sportsman knows this trait and tries to avoid arousing this alarm when other, more desirable, game is likely to be frightened away. And many a yellow-legs has been shot by an angry gunner as a reward for his exasperating loquacity. |
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Food |
Primarily insects |
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Feeding Techniques |
Uses its beak to hunt for prey - from land and from water |
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Habitat |
Wetlands |
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Plumage |
The male and the female have the same plumage. , non-breeding plumage is less mottled than breeding plumage |
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Distribution |
Throughout the United States |
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Breeding |
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About the Notes from A.C. Bent |
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Notes from A.C. Bent |
Young: Incubation is shared by both sexes, but we have no information as to its duration. MacFarlane found a pair of yellowlegs with three recently hatched young "in a small watery swamp," where the young were able to conceal themselves in the short grass. Mr. Street (1923) says: Young were found for the first time on June 4. Both male and female at this time were highly excited, the female approaching within 10 feet of us. All the young had left the nest and had taken refuge in the shade of a log to escape the burning rays of the sun. No eggshells were found in the nest or near by. As we retired from the immediate locality the female flew down to the ground and softly "kipped" as if to rally the scattered young. On the succeeding day a nest was found which at 10 a. m. contained one young and two eggs. At 12.30 p.m. all the birds had hatched and had left the nest, being found quite a distance away. One bird was walking, readily indicating that the migration to the water must start within a few hours of the time that the young are out of the eggs. |
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Food |
Primarily insects (see below) |
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Feeding Techniques |
Hunts for prey in rocky coastal areas |
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Habitat |
Rocky coastal shores |
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Plumage |
The male and the female have the same plumage. - heavily barred during breeding season, grayer plumage for non-breeding plumage |
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Distribution |
Pacific coast |
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Breeding |
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About the Notes from A.C. Bent |
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Notes from A.C. Bent |
Food: The usual feeding grounds of the wandering tattler are the rocky shores, where it searches for its food among the kelp covered rocks at the water's edge, following the receding waves and nimbly dodging the incoming breakers or making short flights to avoid the surf. If over-taken and drenched it flies to a rock, shakes the water from its plumage and soon resumes its feeding. B. J. Bretherton (1896) says that on Kodiak Island: This species seemed to habitually frequent the sand or gravel beaches in preference to rocky localities, and had regular feeding grounds to which they resorted at certain stages of the tide, returning regularly each day at the same time. Their food consists largely of decapods together with small crabs, marine worms, and minute mollusks. Its food seems to be mainly insects, but includes small crustaceans, minute mollusks, marine worms, and other small marine animals. The contents of six stomachs, reported on by Preble and McAtee (1923) consisted of "flies (Diptera), 46.1 per cent; caddis flies 30.6 per cent; amphipods, 16 per cent; mollusks, 3.6 per cent; and beetles 1.1 per cent." |
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Food |
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Feeding Techniques |
Turns stones over to find food underneath. |
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Habitat |
Rocky shore |
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Plumage |
Breeding plumage brighter than non-breeding plumage; The male and the female have the same plumage. |
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Distribution |
Both Atlantic and Pacific coasts |
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Breeding |
Winters along both coasts |
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About the Notes from A.C. Bent |
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Notes from A.C. Bent |
Field marks: The turnstone is a conspicuous and well-marked bird, not likely to be mistaken for anything else. It is a stout, short legged bird with a short neck and a short, straight bill. In its brilliant spring plumage the white head, black throat, red legs, and rufous back are unique field marks. But the best field marks, most conspicuous in the nuptial plumage, but present in all plumages, are the five white stripes on the upper surface, which show very plainly as the bird flies away; these are a broad central stripe on the back, separated by a black patch on the rump from the white area in the tail, a narrow stripe on the outer edge of the scapulars and a band across the wing on the secondaries and primaries. Unfortunately for observers on the Pacific coast, the black turnstone has somewhat similar white stripes, but the pattern is a little different. |
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Food |
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Feeding Techniques |
Turns stones over to find food underneath. |
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Habitat |
Rocky shore |
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Plumage |
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Distribution |
Winters along Pacific coast |
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Breeding |
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About the Notes from A.C. Bent |
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Notes from A.C. Bent |
Young: Mr. Conover says, in his notes, that "both male and female take care of the young." He obtained some data which seems to show that the eggs hatch in from 21 to 22 days. A nest was found on May 31 with four fresh eggs; in the evening of June 21 this nest contained three young, already dry, and one pipped egg; the next morning the last egg had hatched. Another nest was found on May 31 with three eggs; the next day there were four eggs; at noon on June 22 the eggs had not hatched; but at 4 pm the next day the nest was empty and the young had disappeared from the vicinity. Mr. Brandt says in his notes: We enjoyed the pleasure of seeing the downy young for the first time on June 21, and were greatly interested in them, as they had not been described or figured. They are born from the egg 21 days after incubation begins, and the mottled chick, like other shore birds, leaves its nest at once. The downy young have a remarkably protective coloration, and, furthermore, are distinguishable from any of their relatives. |
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Name |
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Food |
Primarily insects |
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Feeding Techniques |
Hunts its prey as it walks around rocks where the waves meet the shore |
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Habitat |
Rocky shore |
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Plumage |
The male and the female have the same plumage. ; non-breeding plumage less colorful than breeding |
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Distribution |
Pacific coast |
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Breeding |
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About the Notes from A.C. Bent |
Phalangoidea - A division of Arachnoidea, including the daddy longlegs or harvestman (Phalangium) and many similar kinds. They have long, slender, many-jointed legs; usually a rounded, segmented abdomen; and chelate jaws. They breathe by tracheæ. Called also Phalangides, Phalangidea, Phalangiida, and Opilionea. |
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Notes from A.C. Bent |
Food: On its breeding grounds in summer the surf bird feeds almost entirely on insects, mainly flies and beetles. The analysis of the stomach contents of eight birds, taken in Alaska and examined by the Biological Survey, shows the following proportions: Diptera, 55.2 per cent; Coleoptera, 36 per cent; Lepidoptera, 3.8 per cent; Hymenoptera, 3.3 per cent; Phalangidea, 1 per cent; snails, 5 per cent; and seeds, 2 per cent. Mr. Dixon (1927) says of its feeding habits: Three days later seven surf birds were found feeding in company at midday near this same spot. This time they were foraging near the top of a very steep talus slope that lay fair to the sun. Only a few scant flowers grew amid the rocks, but insects were numerous and active. One surf bird which, when later collected, proved to be a male stood guard while the others fed. The slightest movement on my part was sufficient to cause a warning note to be given by this sentinel. When feeding, these birds ran hurriedly over the rocks, traveling as fast or faster than a man could walk. When an insect was sighted the pursuing surf bird would stretch out its neck as far and as straight as possible. Then moving stealthily forward the bird would make a final thrust and secure the insect in its bill, much in the same manner that a turkey stalks a grasshopper. At other seasons the surf bird feeds along the water line on ocean beaches, preferring the rocky or stony shores, or reefs exposed at low tide; here it extracts the soft parts of barnacles, mussels, or other crustaceans and small mollusks, or picks up other minute forms of marine life. It also feeds to some extent at the surf line on sandy beaches or on mud flats, where it picks up similar food from the surface without probing for it. At such times the birds are quite pugnacious unless sufficiently scattered. |
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Name |
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Food |
Primarily insects |
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Feeding Techniques |
Uses its beak to hunt for prey - from land and from water |
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Habitat |
Wetlands |
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Plumage |
The male and the female have the same plumage. breeding plumagemore colorful than non-breeding plumage |
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Distribution |
Western United States |
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Breeding |
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About the Notes from A.C. Bent |
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Notes from A.C. Bent |
Courtship: Doctor Nelson (1887) writes: These are very demonstrative birds in their love-making, and the last of May and first of June their loud cries are heard everywhere about their haunts, especially in morning and evening. Two or three males start in pursuit of a female and away they go twisting and turning, here and there, over marsh and stream, with marvelous swiftness and dexterity. At short intervals a male checks his flight for a moment to utter a strident poet a iceet; wee-too, wee-too; then on he goes full tilt again. After they have mated, or when a solitary male pays his devotions, they rise 15 or 20 yards from the ground, where, hovering upon quivering wings, the bird pours forth a lisping but energetic and frequently musical song, which can he very imperfectly expressed by the syllables peet-peet; pee-ter-wee-too; wee-too; pee-ter-wee-too; pee-ter-wee-too; wee-too; wee-too. This is the complete song but frequently only fragments are sung, as when the bird is in pursuit of the female. |
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Name |
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Food |
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Feeding Techniques |
Forages while walking |
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Habitat |
Mudflats, shoreline, wetlands |
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Plumage |
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Distribution |
Winters primarily along both coasts |
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Breeding |
Breeds in north Canada |
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About the Notes from A.C. Bent |
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Notes from A.C. Bent |
Enemies: The large gulls and skuas, though often successfully driven off when approaching singly, are often successful in destroying the eggs or young where present in numbers and the enormous increase in the numbers of the great skua in the Shetlands has proved very detrimental to this species. In Iceland the Arctic fox is also an enemy to be counted with and the crow tribe (raven and hooded crow) are always ready to take advantage of any chance opportunity. |
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Name |
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Food |
Primarily invertebrates |
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Feeding Techniques |
Probing in the mud |
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Habitat |
Wetlands |
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Plumage |
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Distribution |
Winters along both coasts |
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Breeding |
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About the Notes from A.C. Bent |
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Notes from A.C. Bent |
Behavior: Dowitchers are the gentlest and most unsuspicious of shore birds, which has made them easy prey for the avaricious gunner. Their flight is swift and steady, often protracted and sometimes at a great elevation, when looking for feeding places. They usually fly in compact flocks by themselves, sometimes performing interesting evolutions high in the air. They often fly, however, in flocks with other small waders, but the dowitchers are generally bunched together in the flock; I once shot four dowitchers out of a mixed flock without hitting any of the smaller birds. When a flock of dowitchers alights the birds are closely bunched, but they soon scatter out and begin to feed. If a flock is shot into, the sympathetic and confiding birds return again and again to their fallen companions until only a pitiful remnant is left to finally escape. Such slaughter of the innocents well-nigh exterminated this gentle species; but, now that it is protected, it is beginning to increase again. Although all shore birds can swim, the dowitcher seems to be especially adept at it Doctor Coues (1874) writes: Being partly web-footed, this snipe swims tolerably well for a little distance in an emergency, as when it may get for a moment beyond its depth in wading about, or when it may fail, broken-winged, on the water. On such an occasion as this last, I have seen one swim bravely for 20 or 30 yards, with a curious bobbing motion of the bead and corresponding jerking of the tail, to a hiding place in the rank grass across the pool. When thus hidden they keep perfectly still, and may be picked up without resistance, except a weak flutter, and perhaps a low, pleading cry for pity on their pain and helplessness. When feeding at their ease, in consciousness of peace and security, few birds are of more pleasing appearance. Their movements are graceful and their attitudes often beautifully statuesque. |
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Name |
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Food |
Small crustaceans, small mollusks, marine worms, insects |
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Feeding Techniques |
Probes sand as waves recede |
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Habitat |
Sandy beaches |
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Plumage |
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Distribution |
Found along both coasts |
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Breeding |
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About the Notes from A.C. Bent |
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Notes from A.C. Bent |
Courtship: The same observer tells us all we know about the courtship of the sanderling, as follows: The pairing began toward the middle of June. The peculiar pairing flight of the male was to be seen and heard when the weather was fine, and especially in the evening. Uttering a snarling or slight neighing sound, he mounts to a height of some two meters from the surface of the ground on strongly whirring wings, to continue at this height his flight for a short distance, most frequently in a straight line, but sometimes in small circles. When excited he frequently sits on the top of a solitary large stone, his dorsal feathers blown out, his tall spread, and his wings half let down, producing his curious subdued pairing tones. He, however, soon returns to the female, which always keeps mute, and then he tries by slow, affected, almost creeping movements to induce her to pairing, until at last the act of pairing takes place; when effected, both birds rush away in rapid flight, to return soon after to the nesting place. I have also observed males in pairing flight without being able to discover any female in the neighborhood, and then, of course, without realizing the pairing as completing act. The male is in the pairing time very quarrelsome, and does not permit any strange bird to intrude on the selected domain. He seems to be meet envious against birds of his own kin. |
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Name |
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Food |
Crustaceans, mollusks, marine worms, insects |
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Feeding Techniques |
Probes with its large beak |
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Habitat |
Wetlands and coastal shore |
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Plumage |
The male and the female have the same plumage. - slight difference between breeding and non-breeding |
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Distribution |
Along Pacific and Atlantic coastal areas |
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Breeding |
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About the Notes from A.C. Bent |
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Notes from A.C. Bent |
Food: Doctor Roberts (1919) says of the feeding habits of the marbled godwit: With their long, up-curved bills they probe the shallow water of sloughs and lake shores for aquatic insects and mollusks and also spend much of their time on meadows and low-lying prairies, where they devour grasshoppers and other insects of many kinds. These big birds, when they were as abundant as they once were, must have been an important factor in keeping in check the dangerous insect hordes of our State. But they, with others of their kind, are gone and man is left to fight conditions as he must with agencies of his own devising, less efficient, perhaps, than those provided by nature. |
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Name |
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Food |
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Feeding Techniques |
Probes with its beak |
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Habitat |
Wetlands |
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Plumage |
The male and the female have the same plumage. Strong difference between breeding and non-breeding plumage |
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Distribution |
Found along both Atlanta and Pacific coasts |
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Breeding |
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About the Notes from A.C. Bent |
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Notes from A.C. Bent |
Behavior: The knots fly swiftly in compact flocks, twisting and turning in unison like the smaller sandpipers, for which they might easily be mistaken at a distance. On the ground they are rather deliberate in their movements, generally grouped in compact bunches and all moving along together; they are less likely to scatter over their feeding grounds than other waders. When resting on the high beaches between tides they stand quietly in close groups, all facing the wind; their grey plumage renders them quite inconspicuous at such times. F. M. Allen tells me that he has seen half a dozen of them hopping about on one leg in shallow water; this may be a sort of game, frequently indulged in by many small waders. |
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Name |
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Food |
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Feeding Techniques |
Probes with beak |
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Habitat |
Wetlands |
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Plumage |
The male and the female have the same plumage. ; breeding and non-breeding plumage differ |
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Distribution |
Western states |
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Breeding |
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About the Notes from A.C. Bent |
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Notes from A.C. Bent |
Behavior: S. F. Rathbun has sent me the following notes on the habits of the western sandpiper on the coast of Washington: This is one of the small sandpipers of this region that will be found common at the time of the migration periods along the ocean beaches and on the tide flats. It occurs in flocks of varying sizes, some of which contain an exceedingly large number of birds. At times if care is used one can approach a flock quite closely, often within 15 or 20 feet, and it is of interest to watch the actions of the individuals. They are active birds, being constantly on the move as they feed, and while thus engaged keep up a continual conversation, as it were, this being of the nature of a soft, roiling whistle which is pleasant to hear. These sandpipers seem to prefer to feed at or near the waters edge, particularly where there is an ebb and flow, being very active in following up the water as it recedes and equally so in avoiding its incoming, but always at the very edge as it were. They secure their food by a skimming like movement of the bill over the surface of the mud that has just been covered by the water, and as the birds advance or retreat in following the flow it is quite amusing to observe the seeming pains taken to avoid coming into contact with it. And still at times individuals may be seen in some of the very shallow spots. It is a fine sight to see a flock of these sandpiper suddenly take alarm as they are feeding; all quickly spring into the air as if moved by the same impulse at exactly the same moment, and then form a compact body that will execute a variety of evolutions in perfect harmony. The flock will rise and fail and wheel and turn, and at times may split into several smaller ones, these to again reunite, and should one happen to stand where the light falls directly on the birds the white of their underparts as they turn is very striking. These actions may be repeated a number of times, and then without warning the flock of birds will all alight and quickly scatter in search of food. Scenes like this are what give an enlightenment to the waste places and fortunately, under the protection now afforded the species, are likely to continue to be enacted in the future. But large as the numbers of the western sandpiper still appear to be, they are not comparable to those of fifteen or twenty years ago, and the cause of this decrease in their numbers is the same old story. It seems hardly possible that a bird so small could have been regarded as game and its hunting come under the name of sport, but such was the case and it brought about the logical result. One may be thankful, however, that this no longer can be done, and hope that the lapse of time may bring about somewhat of an increase in the number of these birds. |
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Name |
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Food |
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Feeding Techniques |
Probes with beak |
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Habitat |
Wetlands |
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Plumage |
The male and the female have the same plumage. Slight variation in breeding and non-breeding plumages |
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Distribution |
Throughout the US |
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Breeding |
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About the Notes from A.C. Bent |
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Notes from A.C. Bent |
Food: These birds appear to be feeding on small crustaceans and worms on the beaches and on insects and their larvae in the marshes. It is to be hoped that with the increase of the birds the pest of green-head flies and of mosquitoes in the salt marshes may diminish. E. A. Preble (1923) examined two stomachs from birds shot in the Pribilof Islands and found that one of them contained amphipods exclusively, the other the following items: "23 seeds of bottle brush (Hippuris vulgaris), 50 per cent; bits of hydroid stems, 40 per cent; and chitin from the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis), 10 per cent." A. H. Howell (1924) reports as follows: "Of the 19 stomachs of this bird collected in Alabama, practically all contained larvae or pupae of small flies (Chironomidae) in a few bits of aquatic beetles were found." Dr. Alexander Wetmore (1916) found in the stomach of a bird taken in Porto Rico "the heads of more than 100 minute fly larvae (75 per cent) and fragments of small beetles (Hetercerus sp.) (25 per cent)." |
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Name Food Feeding
Techniques Probes with beak Habitat Plumage The
male and the female have the same plumage.
- slight variation between
breeding and non-breeding plumage Distribution Migrates through the Eastern United
States Breeding Breeds in the Canadian
tundra About the Notes
from A.C. Bent Notes from A.C.
Bent Game: The fact that so many of these
birds could be easily killed at one shot, and the fact that
they were so fat and palatable broiled or cooked in a pie,
made them always much sought after by the pot hunter. As
large shore birds grew scarcer and it became more and more
difficult for the gunner to fill his bag with them, "peep"
shooting, even by sportsmen, was in vogue. The Federal law
has now wisely removed this species from the list of game
birds and prevented its extinction. The bird has responded
to this protection in a marked degree, and flocks of 500 or
more are common and pleasing sights on our beaches where
one-tenth of this number was once rare. The shooting of semipalmated
sandpipers occurred largely on the beaches. The gunner dug a
hole in the sand, banked it up, and put brush and driftwood,
often reinfoxced with seaweed, on the ramparts. At a
convenient distance decoys of wood or tin were placed,
arranged like a flock of birds with their heads pointing to
the wind. Occasionally large clamshells were stuck in the
sand, simulating very well a flock of peep. Much depended on
the skill of the gunner in calling down the birds as they
flew along, by cunningly imitating their notes and by his
care in keeping concealed and motionless until the moment
that he delivered his fire. To bring down a score of birds
from a closely packed flock required but little skill,
where, to pick off a single peep, flying erratically and
swiftly by, called for well-seasoned judgment; but the
chances for these birds were small indeed when the beaches
were lined with inviting decoys and concealed whistling
gunners.
Name Food Feeding
Techniques Probes with beak Habitat Wetlands Plumage The
male and the female have the same plumage.
- slight variation between
breeding and non-breeding plumage Distribution Primarily eastern states but also
Pacific Coast during migration Breeding About the Notes
from A.C. Bent Notes from A.C.
Bent Courtship: S. A. Buturlin (1907) gives
a somewhat different account of it, as observed by him in
Siberia, as follows: One would every now and then stretch
both wings right over its back, and afterwards commence a
grotesque sort of dance, hopping alternately on each leg;
another would inflate its gular pouch and run about,
crouching down to the ground, or would fly up to about a
hundred feet in the air, then inflate its pouch and descend
slowly and obliquely to the ground on extended wings. All
these performances were accompanied by a strange hollow
sound, not very loud when near, but audible at some
distance, even as far as 500 yards. These notes are very
difficult to locate, and vary according to the distance.
When near they are tremulous booming sounds something like
the notes of a frog, and end in clear sounds like those
caused by the bursting of water bubbles in a copper
vessel. Name Food Feeding
Techniques Probes with beak Habitat Wetlands Plumage The
male and the female have the same plumage.
- slight variation with
breeding and non-breeding Distribution Midwest Breeding About the Notes
from A.C. Bent Alexander Wetmore (1886-1978) was an
ornithologist who was an expert on the birds and bird
fossils of Central and South America. He named many species
of fossil birds, including Plegadornis, 1962 (now
Angelinornis). He was put in charge of the National Museum
(the Smithsonian), the National Gallery of Art, and the
National Zoo in 1925. He collected a lot of birds (which
were stuffed for the Smithsonian's collection) and fossils.
In addition to his field work and administrative duties, he
was famous for being extremely formal. While in the
rainforests collecting specimens, he would always wear a
tie, and he insisted that the tents, chairs and tables were
always arranged perfectly in a particular linear fashion.
The Cretaceous Period fossil bird Alexornis (meaning "Alex's
bird") was named by Pierce Brodkorb in 1976 in honor of
Wetmore. Notes from A.C.
Bent Spring: This sandpiper belongs to that
class of birds which Abel Chapman (1924) so aptly terms
"globe spanners," for on its migrations it traverses the
whole length of both American continents twice a year. From
its wintering grounds in Patagonia it must start north even
earlier than the preceding species (White-rumped Sandpiper)
or else it must travel faster. Dr. Alexander Wetmore (1926)
observed it migrating past Buenos Aires on March 5 in
company with white-rumped sandpipers, and it has been known
to reach Texas early in March. From there its course seems
to be northward between the Mississippi River and the Rocky
Mountains. A. G. Lawrence tells me that it passes through
Manitoba between April 28 and May 29; and J. A. Munro gives
me, as his spring dates for southern British Columbia, April
30 to May 10. Prof. William Rowan (Mss.) calls it extremely
abundant in Alberta about the middle of May and usually gone
by the 24th. It is very rare east of the Mississippi in the
spring. E. A. Preble (1908) saw large flocks foraging on
floating ice at Lake Athabaska on May 25. Dr. Joseph
Grinnell
(1900) records it at the Kowak River, Alaska, on May 20.
Joseph Dixon (1917) says: On May 31, 1914, at Grimn Point,
Arctic Alaska, the first pair of Baird sandpipers for the
season were noted feeding along the rim of a frozen tundra
pond. The weather had turned bitterly cold during the
previous night, and as a result the newly formed ice on the
ponds was thick enough to support a man. Strictly speaking,
there was no night at this date, for the two months of
continuous daylight had already begun; so in a short time
the sandpipers were hustling about picking up the mosquito
and other pupae which were being washed out by a newly-born
stream that gurgled under the snow and ice on its way down
to the frozen lagoon. Name Food Feeding
Techniques Probes with beak Habitat Wetlands Plumage The
male and the female have the same plumage.
- strong variation between
breeding and non-breeding Distribution Throughout most of the
country Breeding About the Notes
from A.C. Bent Notes from A.C.
Bent Young: Incubation
is shared by both sexes and requires 22 days. Macgillivray
(1852) says of the young: Like those of the golden plover and
lapwing, they leave the nest immediately after exclusion
from the egg, run about, and when alarmed conceal themselves
by sitting close to the ground and remaining motionless. If
at this period a person approaches their retreat, the male
especially, but frequently the female also, flies up to meet
the intruder and uses the same artifices for deceiving him
as many other birds of this family. After they are able to
shift for themselves the young remain several weeks on the
moors with their parents, both collecting into small flocks,
which are often intermingled with those of the golden
plover, and often in the evenings uniting into larger. They
rest at night on the smoother parts of the heath, and both
species, when resting by day, either stand or lie on the
ground. When one advances within a hundred yards of such a
flock it is pleasant to see them stretch up their wings, as
if preparing for flight, utter a few low notes, and
immediately stand on the alert or run a short way; but at
this season they are not at all shy. Name Food Feeding
Techniques Probes with its long curved
beak Habitat Wetlands Plumage The
male and the female have the same plumage.
- no variation in breeding
andf non-breeding plumage Distribution Primarily western states - also
southeast coast Breeding About the Notes
from A.C. Bent Notes from A.C.
Bent One can not see this magnificent bird
for the first time without experiencing a thrill of
enthusiasm for the largest, one of the most interesting and
notable of our shore birds, one that seems to embody more
than any other the wild, roving spirit of the vast open
prairies. Its large size, its long, curving bill, the flash
of cinnamon in its wings, and above all, its loud, clear,
and prolonged whistling notes are bound to attract
attention. In its former abundance this species must have
been a most striking feature of the western plains, as it
flew in large wedge-shaped flocks in full cry. The last of
the great open prairies are rapidly disappearing; and with
them are going the curlews, the marbled
godwits, the upland plover,
the longspurs, and a host of other birds that can not stand
the encroachments of agriculture. The long-billed curlew formerly bred
over a large portion of central North America, including all
of the prairie regions, at least as far east as Michigan and
Illinois, and probably Ohio. But, with the settling of the
country and the disappearance of the prairies, it has been
gradually driven farther and farther west, and even there
into a more and more restricted range. It seems to me that
we can hope for its survival only on the maintenance of
large, open ranges as grazing lands for cattle where it
still continues to breed. Name Food Insects
and earthworms Feeding
Techniques Probing the ground with its long beak.
Habitat Wet areas such as marshes, wetlands
etc. Plumage Distribution Throughout most of the United
States Breeding Female builds nest on the ground.
Young are precocial. About the Notes
from A.C. Bent Notes from A.C.
Bent Behavior: Snipe are notorious for
their erratic flight and they often, probably usually, do
dodge and zigzag when they first flush in alarm, but not
always; I have seen them fly away as steadily as any other
shore bird. Snipe usually lie closely crouched on the ground
trusting to their excellent protective coloration, and do
not flush until nearly trodden upon; so that in their hurry
to get away their flight is erratic. When well under way
their flight is steady and swift with the occasional
turnings common to all shore birds. When first flushed they
generally fly low, but when flying from one part of a marsh
to another, or when migrating, they fly very high. When
alighting they pitch down suddenly from a great height and
then flutter down slowly into the grass or drop straight
down with wings elevated and bill pointing upwards. They are
less gregarious than other waders; they usually flush
singly, but often within a few yards of each other if
plentiful. They are seldom seen in flocks. John T. Nichols
tells me in his notes of a flock of seven which he saw on
Long Island: They were flying high from the east to
west, the regular southward lane for shore birds, and
bunched up like dowitchers or yellowlegs as they circled
over the marsh, then slanted down obliquely (as these other
birds would have done) to alight on a piece of dead stubble,
by the time I reached them they had scattered somewhat; four
(scattered) and three (bunched) flushed from this spot in
close succession, and went off into the southwest. The
migration of the snipe may be mostly by night; it certainly
flies to some extent along the coast by day. Name Food Feeding
Techniques Probes Habitat Plumage Distribution Eastern US, midwest Breeding About the Notes
from A.C. Bent Notes from A.C.
Bent This dainty "woodland tattler" is
associated in my mind with some secluded, shady woodland
pool in early autumn, where the summer drought has exposed
broad muddy shores and where the brightly tinted leaves of
the swamp maple float lightly on the still water. Here the
solitary wader may be seen, gracefully poised on some fallen
log, nodding serenely, or walking gracefully over the mud or
in the shallow water. Seldom disturbed by man, it hardly
seems to heed his presence; it may raise its wings,
displaying their pretty linings, or it may flit lightly away
to the other side of the pool, with a few sharp notes of
protest and a flash of white in its tail. I have often seen
it in other places where one would not expect to find shore
birds, such as the muddy banks of a sluggish stream,
somewhat polluted with sewage, which flows back of my garden
in the center of the city, or some barnyard mud puddle,
reeking with the filth of cattle; perhaps it is attracted to
such unsavory places by the swarms of flies that it finds
there. Name Food Feeding
Techniques Probes Habitat Wide variety of water
habitats Plumage The
male and the female have the same plumage.
- breeding plumage has spotted
breast, non-breeding plumage has a white breast Distribution Throughout the country Breeding About the Notes
from A.C. Bent Notes from A.C.
Bent Behavior: Nothing is more
characteristic of the spotted sandpiper than its flight.
When it first starts from the shore the wings seem to
vibrate like a taut wire; then, as the bird gains headway,
they set and, depressed and quivering, they carry the bird
slowly onward, often swaying from side to side, close to the
surface of the water. As a rule, when startled, the
sandpiper takes a semicircular course and alights a short
distance farther up the beach, and if followed either takes
another flight onward or doubles back as a kingfisher would
do under similar circumstances. This, scaling flight,
somewhat after the manner of a meadow lark, is seen most
commonly during the summer, but on infrequent occasions the
sandpiper lets go his wings and carries them back with a
long, free sweep and speeds through the air with the
rapidity of a swallow. The transition from one kind of
flight to the other is remarkable to see; with outstretched
neck it drives along with regular wing beats, a long,
slender, unfamiliar-looking wader. Name Food Mostly insects;
also some plant material Feeding
Techniques Forages by walking along the
ground Habitat Prairie - see below Plumage Distribution Primarily in the eastern
states Breeding Both sexes build nest on ground in
grass About the Notes
from A.C. Bent Notes from A.C.
Bent Let us be thankful that this gentle
and lovely bird is no longer called Bartramian sandpiper. It
is a sandpiper truly enough, but one that has adopted the
haunts and many of the habits of the plovers. To those who
love the rolling or hilly pasture lands of the east or the
broad flat prairies of the middle west, it will always be
known as the upland or "field plover or "prairie dove," or,
more affectionately, as "quailie." It is a characteristic
bird of the prairies and wide open grassy fields, where it
once abounded in enormous numbers. Excessive shooting for
the market, where it was much in demand, reduced its numbers
to an alarmingly low ebb. Dr. Thomas S. Roberts (1919) says
that, in Minnesota: Fifty years ago it was present all
through the summer, everywhere in open country, in countless
thousands. Now it is nearing extinction. Here and there an
occasional breeding pair may yet be found, but they are
lonely occupants of the places where their ancestors dwelt
in vast numbers. And with the disappearing prairies
have gone these and other interesting birds that made the
wide open places so attractive. When I visited the Quill
Lake region in Saskatchewan in 1917, I found that
practically all the prairies had been burned over or
cultivated; the long-billed
curlew had entirely
disappeared, though recently abundant there, and I saw only
one pair of chestnut-collared longspurs; but some of the
upland plover were adapting themselves to the new conditions
and were nesting in cultivated fields, much as the
spotted
sandpipers and the
killdeer
have learned to nest in grain fields and truck gardens.
Perhaps such adaptation may be the salvation of a useful and
attractive species. Some observers report it as already
increasing in numbers.
Name Food Feeding
Techniques Forages for food around
lilies Habitat Tropical marshes Plumage Distribution Southern part of Texas Breeding About the Notes
from A.C. Bent Notes from A.C.
Bent The American jacanas are now split
into three species and three additional subspecies, six
forms in all. They are widely distributed throughout the
American Tropics. All are closely related and all are much
alike in habits. The above form barely comes within the
range of our check list, as a rare straggler from Mexico
into the valley of the lower Rio Grande near Brownsville,
Tex. I have never seen this curious bird in
life, but can imagine that it must be a beautiful sight to
see it tripping lightly over the floating lily pads,
supported on its long toes, where it seems to be actually
walking on the water; and it must produce quite a surprising
thrill as it spreads its wings to fly, displaying the
conspicuous yellow-green patches in its wings, which flash
in the sunlight like banners of golden yellow. It seems like
a strange connecting link between the spur-winged plovers
and the rails or gallinules. It is a sedentary species of decidedly
local distribution and seldom strays far from its favorite
breeding haunts. Thomas S. Gillin, who has sent me some very
good notes on this bird, describes its habitat as
follows: I learned of a lake a few miles from
Tampico and on my first visit to this lake on April 3, 1923,
I found over a dozen birds feeding and chasing one another
over the floating vegetation. As the first sets of eggs were
found on April 25 I apparently found them right in the midst
of the mating season. The lake where I found them was about
a half mile long and from 100 to 250 yards wide, curved and
irregular in outline. Nowhere in the lake was the water over
4 feet deep except where the alligators had their holes; in
some of these spots there was always danger of getting in
over one's head. Scattered through the lake were a few
stunted trees similar in appearance to our sour gum, Nyssss
sylvatica, and in the decayed stump of one of these trees I
found a nest of the black-bellied tree duck. About one-third
of the surface of the lake was open water and the remaining
two-thirds was covered with a floating plant, each
individual plant measuring about 12 inches across and
resembling lettuce that has not headed up, though the leaves
were coarser, more like cabbage leaves. As this did not have
its roots extending into the mud the entire mass of
vegetation at times changed its position as the direction of
the winds might change and cause the entire body of
vegetation, and again only part of it, to drift to the
opposite side of the lake. The jacanas were, to all
appearances, in no way inconvenienced by these free rides,
though there was always the danger that the eggs might be
lost by the move. During my many visits to this lake from
early April until the middle of August I always found the
jacanas playing or feeding over the surface of the
vegetation. At times the green
herons, little
blue herons, and an occasional
gallinule,
least
bittern, or redwing
would be seen feeding on the surface of the lake. Name Food Insects
and crustaceans Feeding
Techniques Finds prey off the surface of the
water. Sometimes creates a whirlpool that draws up prey
items from a small body of water. Habitat Water areas generally near the
coast. Plumage The
male and the female have different plumage.
and seasonal plumages. Female
is more brightly colored than the male. Distribution Along both coasts. Sometimes seen
inland. Breeding About the Notes
from A.C. Bent Notes from A.C.
Bent Courtship: The same gifted writer (Dr.
E. W. Nelson) goes on to say: As the season comes on when the flames
of love mount high, the dull-colored male moves about the
pool, apparently heedless of the surrounding fair ones. Such
stoical indifference usually appears too much for the
feelings of some of the fair ones to bear. A female coyly
glides close to him and bows her head in pretty
submissiveness, but he turns away, pecks at a bit of food
and moves off; she follows and he quickens his speed, but in
vain; he is her choice, and she proudly arches her neck and
in mazy circles passes and repasses close before the
harassed bachelor. He turns his breast first to one side,
then to the other, as though to escape, but there is his
gentle wooer ever pressing her suit before him. Frequently
he takes flight to another part of the pool, all to no
purpose. If with affected indifference he tries to feed, she
swims along side by side, almost touching him, and at
intervals rises on wing above him and, poised a foot or two
over his back, makes a half dozen quick, sharp wing strokes,
producing a series of sharp, whistling noises in rapid
succession. In the course of time it is said that water will
wear the hardest rock, and it is certain that time and
importunity have their full effect upon the male of this
phalarope, and soon all are comfortably married, while mater
familias no longer needs to use her seductive ways and
charming blandishments to draw his notice. Name Food Insects
and crustaceans Feeding
Techniques Feeds more like a shorebird as it
wanders shorelines finding prey. Habitat Fresh water areas Plumage The
male and the female have different plumage.
and seasonal plumages. Female
is more brightly colored than the male. Distribution Western United States Breeding About the Notes
from A.C. Bent The loss of the prairies are keenly
felt in these comments and those of the Upland
Sandpiper. Notes from A.C.
Bent I shall never forget my first
impressions of a prairie slough with its teeming bird life,
an oasis of moisture in a sea of dry, grassy plain, where
all the various water birds of the region were thickly
congregated. Perhaps 10 or a dozen species of ducks could be
seen in the open water, gulls and terns were drifting about
overhead, grebes and countless coots were scurrying in and
out among the reeds, and noisy killdeers
added their plaintive cries to the ceaseless din from swarms
of blackbirds in the marsh. In marked contrast to the
clownish coots and the noisy killdeers and blackbirds, the
almost silent, gentle, dainty, little phalaropes stand out
in memory as charming features in the picture, so
characteristic of western bird life. The virgin prairies are
nearly gone, but there are still left a few oases of
moisture in our encroaching civilization, where these
graceful birds may continue to delight the eye with their
gentle manners. Unlike the other two world-wide
species, the Wilson phalarope is a strictly American bird,
making its summer home in the interior of North America and
wintering in southern South America. It differs from the
other two also in being less pelagic and more terrestrial;
it is seldom, if ever, seen on the oceans, being a bird of
the inland marshes; and it prefers to spend more time
walking about on land, or wading in shallow water, than
swimming on the water. Hence its bill, neck and legs are
longer, and its feet less lobed. It is a more normal shore
bird. Name Food Insects
and crustaceans Feeding
Techniques Feed from the water and sometimes land
on marine mammals to find food. See below. Habitat Oceanic Plumage The
male and the female have different plumage.
and seasonal plumages. Female
is more brightly colored than the male. Distribution Found along both coasts Breeding Female courts the male and has
brighter plumage. About the Notes
from A.C. Bent Delphinapterous leucas is the
scientific name for the Beluga Whale Ludwig Kumlien (1853-1902) Ludwig Kumlien was the chief
naturalist aboard the Florence during the Howgate Polar
Expedition of 1877-1878. The primary objective of this
American expedition was to establish a settlement on the
shores of Lady Franklin Bay. Scientific work was of second
priority, followed by whaling. As the voyage departed late,
much of the collecting season was missed, but valuable
scientific work was done. Kumlien took detailed notes on a
number of mammals and birds in the area, and aided in
meterolological studies. His findings on ethnology,
mammology and ornithology, along with notes by fellow
scientists on the expedition were published in 1879.
Kumlien, L. 1879. Contributions to the
natural history of Arctic America, made in connection with
the Howgate polar expedition, 1877-78. Government Printing
Office, Washington. http://www.arctic.uoguelph.ca/links_researchers/research/researchers/Leaders_1750-1900/kumlien.htm Notes from A.C.
Bent Food: During the month or so that they
are on their northern breeding grounds the red phalaropes
are shore birds, feeding in the tundra pools or along the
shores, but during the rest of the year they are essentially
sea birds, feeding on or about the floating masses of kelp
or seaweeds, or following the whales or schools of large
fish; hence they are aptly called "sea geese," "whale
birds," or "bowhead birds." They occasionally come in to
brackish pools near the shore or rarely are seen on the
sandy beaches or mud flats feeding with other shore birds.
Outlying rocky islands are often favorite feeding places.
Ludwig Kumlien (1879) writes: Whalemen always watch these birds
while thcy are wheeling around high in the air in graceful
and rapid circles, for they know that as soon as they sight
a whale blowing they start for him, and from their elevated
position they can, of course, discern one at a much greater
distance than the men in the boat. I doubt if it be
altogether the marine animals brought to the surface by the
whale that they are after, for if the whale remains above
the surface any length of time they always settle on his
back and hunt parasites. One specimen was brought me by an
Eskimo that he had killed on the back of an Orca gladiator;
the esophagus was fairly crammed with Laernodipodian
crustaceans, still alive, although the bird had been killed
some hours; they looked to me like Caprella phasma and
Cyamus ceti. According to the Eskimo who killed it, the
birds were picking something from the whale's back. I have
often seen them dart down among a school of Delphinapterous
leucas and follow them as far
as I could see. On one occasion a pair suddenly alighted
astern of my boat and were not 3 feet from me at times; they
followed directly in the wake of the boat, and seemed so
intent on picking up food that they paid no attention
whatever to us. They had probably mistaken the boat for a
whale.
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Food |
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Feeding Techniques |
Runs along the shoreline,stops and picks at prey on the surface. |
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Habitat |
Sandy beaches, lakeshores, dunes |
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Plumage |
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Distribution |
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Breeding |
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About the Notes from A.C. Bent |
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Notes from A.C. Bent |
Food: Arthur Howell (1924) says: The food of this plover, as indicated by the contents of four stomachs secured in Alabama, consists principally of marine worms, fly larvae, and beetles." E. H. Forbush (1925) lists the following: "Insects, crustaceans, mollusks, and other small marine animals and their eggs." The feeding habits of the piping plover as it hunts for food along our beaches are characteristic. In marked contrast to the nervous haste of the sanderling and the rapid darting about with lightning-like thrusts of the bill of the smallest sandpipers, the behavior of the plover is leisurely, and as they pick up food from the sand the movements of the head are deliberate. Three or four may sweep down the beach together, close to the sand, but when they alight, after a moment of stillness, they separate, each bird running a little way, isolating itself from its companions (another point of difference from the sanderling, etc., which in migration tend to keep close in a flock while feeding.) Generally they begin at once to hunt for food. They run a short distance, then pause and stare at the sand with neck a little outstretched, head tilted a bit to one side, perhaps looking for a movement to show where food is, for often, learning farther forward, they pick something from the sand. |