Chapter XVI: Introduction (15)

_Young._--Regarding incubation and care of the young, Mr. Dixon (1918) writes:

Regarding the time required for incubation, we have only
circumstantial evidence to offer, but our observations lead us to
believe that about 18 or 20 days elapse between the time the last
egg is laid and the first young hatched. The most striking fact in
the domestic life of the spoonbilled sandpiper is that the major
portion of the household duties, aside from the actual laying of
the eggs, is performed by the male and not the female bird. In
addition to our own observations, Kleinschmidt also has found this
to be the case. In the author's experience, none of the several
females taken were found on or within 50 feet of the nest. It is
possible, however, that they may have been warned by the male birds
and had sneaked off before we were close enough to detect their
leaving. In the unequal division of domestic duties conditions
among the spoonbills are similar to those among the phalaropes,
where the male, after he has been courted and won by the larger and
more brilliant female, takes upon himself almost all of the
household cares. However, in the case of the spoonbilled sandpiper
there is nothing to show that the female does the courting,
although she is the larger of the two. The female spoonbill is thus
seemingly content to merely lay the eggs, while she lets the male
build the nest, incubate the eggs, and take care of the young. In
corroboration of the latter statements, the author observed a male
bird building a nest at Providence Bay, Siberia, June 22, 1913;
another male was flushed repeatedly from a nest containing two
fresh eggs near the same place, on the same day, while a third male
was found tending three downy young at Cape Serdze, Siberia, on
July 17, 1913.

On July 17, 1913, at Cape Serdze, Siberia, while strolling along
the spongy green turf beside a fresh-water pond, my attention was
attracted by the "broken wing" antics of a spoonbilled sandpiper.
Although my eyes remained "glued" on the spot from which the bird
arose, no nest or sign of young could be found when I reached the
place. Soon a second bird, presumably the female, arrived on the
scene. Both appeared much concerned, and from their actions I felt
sure that there were young near by. A careful search of the short
grass, which was not over 2 inches high, failed to reveal any
living creature. I therefore retired to a grassy mound about 20
yards away and awaited developments. Both parent birds, giving
their alarm notes, circled about overhead, where they were soon
joined by a pair each of Eastern least and Temminck's stints. The
two pairs of stints were later found to have broods of downy young
in the grass on the opposite shore of the lagoon near by. Soon both
spoonbills flew off across the lagoon and disappeared, but the male
returned promptly, alighting quietly near the margin of the pond.
Here he stood motionless for nearly a minute, and then trotted
through the grass directly to the spot from which I had first
flushed him. At this point he stood still for another full minute,
during which time he looked all around, seemingly to make sure that
the coast was clear. Having satisfied himself that no active enemy
was in sight he stepped forward and bending over uttered a soft
call in a low tone, _plee-plee-plee_. This call was repeated a
second time, and instantly there arose directly in front of him a
tiny mouse-like brown form, seemingly rising from out of the very
ground. With tottering unsteady steps the downy young sandpiper
stumbled and fell toward the parent, who continued calling and
encouraging it. Upon my sudden appearance the old bird gave a quick
warning note and at this signal the youngster squatted motionless
with neck stretched forward on the ground. Although I knew the
exact spot where it disappeared, it was some time before I was able
to locate the tiny form, so well did it blend with the clump of
reddish moss upon which it had squatted. A careful search revealed
no other young sandpipers, so I returned to my hiding place. This
time I had to wait longer for the male to return, and while I was
waiting a second sandpiper, which I believed to be the female,
arrived but did not go near or call the young. Two or three minutes
elapsed this time between the return of the male and the giving of
the low call notes, when, as before, another downy young quickly
arose at the signal and toddled over to its parent. After this
second experience I was forced to change my hiding place, as the
male sandpiper refused to return to the young until I moved. He
seemed much concerned upon this last visit, probably realizing that
it was high time the young should be hovered and warmed.

I could not understand why all the young had not risen at once in
answer to the parent's call, but I noticed that he had in each case
gone up to within less than two feet of the one in hiding, and then
with lowered head facing the chick, gave the call note. In each
case it was the youngster thus directly addressed that responded to
the signal and arose. The note of the young was a low rusty squeak,
scarcely audible to human ears. It was very similar to the note of
the young semipalmated sandpiper. As far as my observations went,
there was no attempt on the part of the parent to feed the young,
and it is my belief that from the time they are hatched the young
spoonbills hunt their own food. The exercise thus gained was found
in the case of young semipalmated sandpipers to be essential to the
health of the chicks. In addition to keeping warm by running about
the young spoonbills are hovered and warmed at regular intervals by
the parent. The brood mentioned above had survived a fairly severe
snowstorm on the preceding day.

_Plumages._--The most remarkable thing about the downy young spoonbill sandpiper is the well developed spoon-shaped bill, even when first hatched. As will be seen by referring to Colonel Thayer's (1911) excellent colored plate, this is much shorter than the adult bill and the spatulate tip is more oval. The crown, back, rump, wings, and thighs are variegated with black, white, "ochraceous tawny" and paler buffs, dotted with white terminal tufts on the head, which form two white stripes from the eyes to the nape, and dotted with both white and buff tufts on the back and rump; the forehead, a superciliary stripe, the sides of the head, the throat, and the neck are "warm buff"; the rest of the under parts are white; a median frontal stripe, a loral stripe, and a malar spot are black.

The juvenal plumage I have never seen. Birds collected on the southward migration are apparently all in winter plumages; young birds are distinguishable from adults at this age. For descriptions of first winter and subsequent plumages I would refer the reader to Ridgway's Birds of North and Middle America. I have not studied sufficient material to work out the seasonal molts, but they are apparently similar to those of other small sandpipers of the genus _Pisobia_.

_Food._--The food of the spoonbill sandpiper seems not to have been definitely determined, but Mr. Dixon (1918) watched a pair feeding, of which he says:

Our observations disclosed no peculiar advantage attending the
singular shape of this sandpiper's bill, though careful watch was
kept to see just how this member was used. On July 17, 1913, a pair
of spoonbilled sandpipers was watched for half an hour as the two
birds fed within 50 feet of the observer, concealed behind a sandy
dune. Their favorite feeding ground was a fresh-water pond with a
fringe of green algae about the sandy border. Under these
conditions the birds used their bills, as any other sandpipers
would, as probes to pick out insects or larvae from the algae.
Occasionally one would hesitate a moment, when the vascular tip of
the mandible quivered slightly as though the bird were straining
something out of the green algae. At this time the bill was held at
nearly right angles to the surface of the water; it was never used
as a scoop along the surface.

_Behavior._--I must again quote from Mr. Dixon (1918), who has furnished most of our information about this little known species. Referring to behavior and recognition marks he writes:

In color, size, and actions the spoonbilled sandpiper closely
resembles the Eastern least stint (_Pisobia minuta ruficollis_),
the marked similarity between them resulting in both the author and
his fellow collector W. S. Brooks, failing to distinguish between
the two species until June 20, after we had been among them for
some days. Although the spatulate tip of this bird's bill is very
noticeable when viewed from directly above or below, it is not a
character which can be advantageously used to identify the species
in the field, for the simple reason that in nearly all close views
of the living bird only lateral or frontal aspects of the bill are
obtained. Even when a bird was feeding, and the bill was observed
under the most favorable conditions, the peculiar shape was not
nearly as conspicuous as one would expect. In the author's
experience, the most reliable method of identifying the bird in the
field was by noting the glint of light that was reflected from the
broad tip of the upper mandible when the sunlight struck the bill
at a certain angle. Even in flight the bird could often be
identified by this faint beam of reflected light. We found that the
sandpiper had a decided preference for the grassy margins of
fresh-water ponds, while single birds were frequently found feeding
along the algae-bordered rims of tundra pools. Sandy lagoons where
rivers entered the bay were favored by them as well.

_Fall._--The same writer outlines the fall migration, based on birds in the British Museum, as follows:

An adult male, still in summer plumage, was taken August 8, at the
mouth of the Amur River in southwestern Russia. An immature was
secured on October 8 at Hakodadi (Hakodate), Japan, while an adult
female was collected at Rangoon, India, on December 1.

_Winter._--In their winter home in India, according to Doctor Nelson (1887) "these birds frequent the muddy flats at the mouths of rivers, sand bars, and the seashore, where, with the various species of _Tringa_, they always find an abundant harvest of food deposited by the receding tide."

DISTRIBUTION

_Range._--Eastern Siberia, south in winter to southern China and India; casual in Alaska.

_Breeding range._--The spoonbilled sandpiper has been found breeding only along the Arctic coast of northeast Siberia (Cape Wankarem, Pithkaj, Cape Serdze, near Koliuchin Island, and Providence Bay).

_Winter range._--The winter range of this species appears to be mainly on the coasts of India (Rangoon, Akyab, Tenasserim, and the Arakan coast).

_Migration._--Specimens have been collected at Shanghai, China, in April and it seems to arrive on its breeding grounds early in June (Emma Harbor, Siberia, June 6). An early date of fall arrival is indicated by a specimen from the mouth of the Amur River, southwestern Russia, taken on August 8, while a late date of fall departure is October 8, at Hakodadi, Japan.

_Casual records._--A specimen of this sandpiper has been reported as taken on the Choris Peninsula, Alaska, in 1849 (Harting, 1871), but subsequent investigation (Dixon, 1918) indicates that the bird was probably taken on the Siberian side of Bering Strait. Two specimens were, however, taken near Wainwright Inlet, on August 15, 1914 (Dixon, 1918).

_Egg dates._--Siberia: 2 records, June 22 and July 15.

EREUNETES PUSILLUS (Linnaeus)

SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER

HABITS

_Contributed by Charles Wendell Townsend_

This little sandy colored sandpiper, appropriately called the "sand peep," seems most at home on the sea beaches, but it also frequents the sand flats of tidal estuaries, and to a less extent, the salt marshes, and is even found on the shores of inland lakes during the migrations.

_Courtship._--Although I have never seen this bird on its northern breeding grounds, I have been so fortunate as to have heard many times the courtship song during the migrations on the New England coast, and to have witnessed some, at least, of its posturing on the ground. This sandpiper is more of a musician than the least, and his song is well worth hearing. I can but repeat what I have already published on the subject (1905):

Rising on quivering wings to about 30 feet from the ground, the
bird advances with rapid wing beats, curving the pinions strongly
downward, pouring forth a succession of musical notes--a continuous
quavering trill--and ending with a few very sweet notes that recall
those of a goldfinch. He then descends to the ground where one may
be lucky enough, if near at hand, to hear a low musical _cluck_
from the excited bird. This is, I suppose, the full love flight
song, and is not often heard in its entirety, but the first
quavering trill is not uncommon, a single bird or member of a flock
singing this as he flies over.

Dr. Joseph Grinnell (1900) writes as follows of this species at Cape Blossom, Alaska, in July:

A few were to be found in the Interior on damp, grassy flats, but
the strip of low meadow bordering the lagoon back of the mission
was by far the most popular resort. Here the grass was short and
smooth as a lawn, with occasional narrow branches from the main
slough cutting their way back toward the higher ground. In one part
of this stretch of tide flats the sandpipers were so numerous that
as many as a dozen pairs were in sight at once, and their
twittering notes were to be heard on all sides. They were flying
back and forth over the meadows chasing one another, with shrill,
rolling notes uttered so continuously as to become almost inaudible
from their monotony. At times in an individual case this trilling
would become so intensified as to remind one of the shrill notes of
the white throated swift.

Joseph Dixon (1917_a_), writing of a bird that sang at an elevation of about 50 feet above the nest says: "His song seemed to come from every direction, and this illusion was difficult to account for even by the unusual location of the songster." Whether the _whinny_ heard from birds, many of which are posturing on the sand is a modification of the nuptial song or rather a partial reproduction of it, I do not know, but I am inclined to think it is. Many of these musicians appear on close scrutiny to be young birds, which would explain the imperfection of the song. The posturing is often in the nature of mock fighting--I have never seen any real blows exchanged--when two, facing each other, crouch almost flat on the sand, and then suddenly spring at each other with wings outspread. Again, two would slowly walk toward each other with neck and body almost touching the ground and with head up. This act is often performed with tail cocked up over the back, displaying a white triangle of tail coverts, and every now and then the birds would run at each other with outspread wings. All birds acting thus appeared to be uttering a series of rolling notes, which, emitted from a number of birds scattered over the flats, produces a considerable volume of sound. I have described this partial song as a _whinny_, and have tried to reduce it to syllables--_eh, eh, eh_, or _what-er, what-er_.

Lucien M. Turner in his Ungava notes records two individuals that "ran back and forth, uttering a purring twitter, holding their wings over their back with the head and neck depressed, while the posterior portion of the body was somewhat elevated. The throat was at times inflated and at other times every feather of the body was nearly reversed, presenting a strange sight."

Herbert W. Brandt supplies the following from observations in Alaska:

The semipalmated sandpiper flies high into the air, often almost
out of sight, and pours forth a sustained tinkling song, which
sounds like its native name uttered as a high-pitched
trill--"la-v-la-v-la-v." As it sings it rapidly fans the air with
short wing beats, at the same time moving at considerable speed
continuously back and forth over a distance of 50 yards or more.
Four of the birds which I took to be males were rather noisy,
twittering, and purling, and occasionally one of them rushed at
another as if he seriously intended to wage mortal combat. The
feathers on his dainty neck stood out in an angered ruff; his wings
were half spread, showing their light markings; and when the little
warrior was just about to strike he folded his wings and elevated
his tail until it was almost vertical above his long wing tips.
There was, however, no real fight, for each one seemed to know his
superior and gave way, after a little display, like a weaker
rooster in a well-regulated barnyard.

_Nesting._--H. W. Brandt contributes the following:

The semipalmated sandpiper nests amid the short herbage on the
grassy dunes near the moaning breakers of Point Dall, where it
selects a site quite exposed to view. Among the creeping berry
vines the bird simply scratches a depression in the sand, and this
it lines with a few disconnected grass stems, stiff moss stems, and
a handful of tiny, crisp-dried leaves of the cranberry, willow, or
dwarf birch. The range of measurements of five nests is: Inside
diameter, 2 to 2-1/2 inches; inside depth, 1-1/2 to 2 inches; total
depth, 2-1/2 to 3-1/4 inches. The nest is very fragile and breaks
up at once if disturbed. Like all shore birds that nest in the
open, the brooding bird is anything but a close sitter, and in
consequence the nest must be found by diligent search. An
incubating female was collected as it departed from the nest.

Roderick Macfarlane, who found many nests of this species in the Barren Grounds, describes two of them as follows:

Nest was found between two small lakes--a few withered grasses and
leaves in a shallow hole or depression, partly shaded from view by
a tuft of grass. The nest was a mere depression in the midst of
some hay and lined therewith, as well as with a few withered
leaves.

Winthrop Sprague Brooks (1915) relates his experience in Alaska as follows:

Thirteen nests were found, the first, a set of three fresh eggs,
being taken on June 12. All the nests were essentially alike--mere
cavities in damp tundra close to a pool, and lined with dry willow
leaves. On seven nests the female was found, and the male on six.
Although the male seems to take about an equal share in brooding on
the eggs and taking care of the young, I could not see that he did
this at any particular time, for I could find either sex on the
nest at midnight or midday. Neither sex showed any more concern
than the other when an intruder was at the nest. In most cases the
bird disturbed would flutter along a few yards and then remain
walking quietly and watching. On one occasion a female made a great
disturbance. Semipalmated sandpipers on the breeding ground are the
most gentle and interesting birds of the North.

_Eggs._--[_Author's note_: Four eggs seems to be the invariable rule with the semipalmated sandpiper. They are usually ovate pyriform in shape with a tendency to become subpyriform. The shell is somewhat glossy. The eggs can not with certainty be distinguished from those of the least sandpiper on one hand or the western sandpiper on the other hand; the measurements overlap with both and the colors and markings intergrade with both. I have 11 sets of semipalmated, and I can match nearly every one of them with sets from my series of the other two species. In series, however, they much more closely resemble the least sandpiper.

Herbert W. Brandt has sent me a description of his sets taken in Alaska, which are probably of the normal type, as follows:

In the six sets before me the ground color is uniformly dull white
and is conspicuous. The markings are bold and individual, with most
of them round instead of elongate, although there is a slight
spiral tendency. These spots are dark, ranging from "claret brown"
to "burnt lake," producing a deep red effect when examined in
series. The underlying spots are numerous and rather conspicuous,
due to the whitish ground color. They shade from "light Quaker
drab" to "Quaker drab."

Less than half of my sets, all from Alaska, would fit his description; the ground colors in most of mine vary from "pale olive buff" to "olive buff"; in some it is "deep olive buff," and in one "Isabella color." The colors of the markings run from "liver brown" to "chestnut brown" in the darkest and from "hazel" to "cinnamon brown" in the lightest. There are comparatively few underlying drab markings. The eggs show the same variations in shape and arrangement of markings as eggs of the least sandpiper. I have two sets from Point Barrow, taken with the parent bird, which are almost exactly like eggs of the western sandpiper in color and style of markings but smaller, and several other sets approaching them in appearance. There are 10 sets of eggs in the Museum of Comparative Zoology in Cambridge collected by W. Sprague Brooks near Demarcation Point, Alaska, with the parent bird in each case. Three of these are of the western sandpiper type, and three others are similarly marked with different shades of brown. The measurements of 52 eggs average 30.2 by 21.2 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure =32= by 21, 30 by =22=, =27.7= by 21.3, and 31.5 by =20= millimeters.]

_Young._--According to Mr. Dixon (1917_a_), incubation lasts 17 days. It is performed equally by the male and female, as is shown by Mr. Brooks's very conclusive report quoted above. Mr. Dixon (1917_a_), writing of birds observed in Alaska says the young so exactly match the surroundings that they are invisible at 3 feet. He relates the case of a snowy owl that sailed from its perch in the direction of a brood of young which flattened and froze obedient to the alarm cry of the mother. The owl poised directly over them, but evidently failed to see them and flew away. On another occasion two parasitic jaegers flew by; the young flattened, and all escaped but one that began to move before the second jaeger had passed and was promptly snapped up.

He says:

It was found that the parents made no effort to feed the young. It
was soon seen, however, that such care was not necessary. The young
would stumble about and pick up minute gnats and flies with great
dexterity, and the shallow algae-rimmed pools furnished them many a
juicy "wriggler." The gait of the young sandpipers was a stumbling
toddle, while their large feet and legs were all out of proportion
to the rest of their slender bodies. By dropping and extending
their wings they were able to use them as crutches, which often
kept them from falling.

In about a month they were fully fledged, and a week later the sandpipers were leaving for the south.

_Plumages._--[_Author's note_: In natal down the young semipalmated most closely resembles the young western sandpiper, but it is generally paler, with less brown or rufous. The forehead, sides of the head, and all under parts are white, faintly washed on the cheeks and upper breast with pale buff; a median stripe on the forehead, reaching only halfway to the bill, a broad loral stripe, and a malar spot are black; there is a black spot in the center of the crown, broken by a few very small white dots, surrounded by "hazel" and bordered with black; a short stripe over the eye and an auricular patch are black and "hazel" mixed; between these and the crown patch there is a broad band of white dots, terminal tufts; the back, rump, wings, and thighs are variegated "hazel" and black, with numerous small white dots, terminal tufts. The bill is broad at the tip.

Young birds are in juvenal plumage when they reach the United States on the fall migration. They can be distinguished from adults by the buffy edgings above and by the absence of dusky streaks on the throat and upper breast. The feathers of the crown are edged with sandy buff and those of the back and scapulars with "ochraceous buff" or creamy white; the wing coverts are edged with pale buff; the upper breast is washed with buff and the rest of the under parts are white. This plumage is partially molted during September and October, producing a first winter plumage, which is like the adult winter plumage, except for the juvenal wing coverts, some scapulars, and a few body feathers, which are retained. At the first prenuptial molt, the next spring, young birds become practically adult.

Adults have a complete molt from July to November, the body plumage being molted first and the wings last, the latter sometimes not until winter. Their partial prenuptial molt involves the body plumage, sometimes the tail and some wing coverts; it begins in February and lasts into May. The freshly molted spring plumage, in early May, has a "drab-gray" appearance, due to broad drab-gray tips on the feathers of the mantle; these tips soon wear away, revealing the bright colors of the nuptial plumage before the end of May.]

_Food._--I have recorded the following found by me in the stomachs of this species taken on the New England coast; insects of various kinds, including beetles, small mollusks (_Littorina_), worms and crustaceans (_Gammarus orchestia_), bits of seaweed and sand. Dr. Alexander Wetmore (1916) records the contents of six stomachs from birds taken in Porto Rico in August; 99.16 per cent was animal matter, 0.84 per cent vegetable matter.

Beetles, bugs, fly pupae, and small mollusks form the bulk of the
food. Small water scavenger beetles (_Hydrophilidae_) were found in
four stomachs and amount to 27 per cent. Two ground beetles
(_Bembidium_ sp.) amount to 5 per cent and miscellaneous beetles to
3.34 per cent. One bird had eaten nothing but four back swimmers
(_Notonecta_ sp.), and these made 16.66 per cent. Fly pupae figure
largely in two stomachs, forming 21.66 per cent of the total, and
snails (_Planorbis_ sp.) 13 per cent, while miscellaneous animal
matter amounts to 12.50 per cent. The small quantity of vegetable
matter present was rubbish. The numbers of Diptera eaten speak well
for this sandpiper.

Preble and McAtee (1923) found in the stomach of a bird shot in the Pribilof Islands "remains of the beach beetle (_Aegialites californicus_), 10 per cent; fragments of small flies (Diptera), 85 per cent; and two seeds (not identified), 5 per cent."

Arthur H. Howell (1924) says, "Two stomachs of these birds from Alabama contained the remains of small mollusks, fly larvae and beetles. This species is known to feed on marine worms and mosquitoes."

_Behavior._--Semipalmated sandpipers are fascinating birds to watch. When feeding on the beaches, they run along in a scattered flock just above the wave line, retreating rapidly as the wave advances, but sometimes being forced to flutter above it, all the time eagerly seeking for choice morsels. With head down, not held up as is the case with its companions the semipalmated plovers, it runs along dabbling here and there irregularly, and occasionally probing with its bill in the sand. These probings are not so deep nor so systematic as those of the sanderling, which makes a series of six to a dozen holes in succession throwing up the sand on either side. In its greediness the semipalmated sandpiper sometimes attempts to swallow too large a morsel for its small round mouth, which is much out of proportion to the stretch of the end of the bill, and many shakings of the head are needed to get a large morsel past the sticking point. I have seen one try several times to swallow a large beach flea (_Talorchestia megalophthalma_), and then fly off with it in its bill.

On a rocky shore I have seen them hunting for insects at high tide on the smooth rocks, and at low tide, running among the rocks covered with seaweed (_Fucus vesiculsus_) and on the floating weed, fluttering their wings from time to time to keep from sinking. Here they find plenty of food in the small mollusks and crustaceans, _Littorina_ and _Gammarus_. On an August day on the coast of Maine I saw one searching about on floating rockweed several miles from land. Shore birds doubtless often rest in this way in their long journeys over sea.

In flight, semipalmated sandpipers in flocks, large and small, often move as one bird, twisting and turning with military precision, alternately displaying their light breasts and darker backs--flashing white and then almost disappearing. The method which enables shore birds, or, indeed, any flocking bird, to accomplish these evolutions is obscure. In the case of the semipalmated sandpiper these evolutions appear often to be made in silence, although it is of course possible that signals, not audible to the human observer, may be given. It has been suggested that telepathy or even that "a common soul" dominating the flock may be the interpretation, but both of these explanations are at present, at least, outside of scientific ken. I have noticed that birds who do not habitually execute evolutions, like English sparrows and the young of those that are skillful in this direction when adult, as for example, starlings, are much less proficient at this, and it seems to me possible that the whole thing may be accounted for by quickness of observation and of reaction, inherited and acquired.

Semipalmated sandpipers like other shore birds often stand on one leg and even hop along on it in feeding and they also sleep in this attitude. It is difficult to distinguish these from cripples, and one is easily deceived; the cripples seem as happy and tireless in feeding as the others.

William Brewster (1925) thus charmingly describes the habits of this bird in the wet and soft ground at Lake Umbagog:

Here they trot to and fro, almost as actively and ceaselessly as so
many ants, picking up the inconspicuous worms or larvae from the
surface of the ground and seeking them beneath it by thrusting down
their sensitive bills quite to the nostrils, after the manner of
boring snipe, but less quickly, vigorously, and persistently. They
are also given to wading out into shallow water where they pull up
good sized masses of aquatic plants, such as _Utricularia_. By
shaking and piercing these with their bills they evidently obtain
from them food of some kind, perhaps insect larvae or small
_Crustacea_.

At high tide on the beaches, when the wet sand with its bountiful food supply is covered, great flocks of this species, together with the least sandpiper, the sanderling, and the semipalmated plover, often spend an hour or more huddled together on the dry sand. Each species keeps more or less separate. The birds generally face the wind, but sometimes they arrange themselves in the lee of bits of driftwood or other obstructions, and "tail out" down wind in long streamers as it were, each sheltered by the one next to windward. They sleep standing on one or both legs with the bill tucked under the feathers of the back--not "under the wing" as in poems--or they squat down, resting their breasts on the sand. They occasionally seem to yawn by stretching one wing over a leg. They also spread both wings above the back as do many other shore birds, and they flirt the bill nervously from side to side, to relieve their ennui, perhaps shaking the head at the same time.

_Voice._--The varied courtship songs and notes have been described above. Their call note, to my ears, is very much like that of the least sandpiper, but shriller and less melodious. A harsh rasping note and a peeping sound are also given and a low, rolling gossipy note is often emitted when they approach other birds or decoys, a note that used to be imitated with deadly effect by gunners. John T. Nichols (1920) says:

The flight note of the semipalmated sandpiper is a rather loud
"cherk," softer and less reedy than the analogous krieker "kerr."
It is commonly modified to a softer "cher" or "che," which with
much variation becomes the conversational twittering of members of
a feeding flock. Soft short, snappy "chips" are characteristic of
flocks maneuvering about decoys * * * Hurried cheeping notes
("ki-i-ip") on being flushed, are suggestive of the same note of
the krieker.

_Field marks._--These have been discussed at length under least sandpiper to which the reader is referred, but may be summed up here as follows: a little larger than the least sandpiper, grayer, bill stouter and straight, tarsi and feet black, semipalmated. The young can be distinguished from the old in the field by their nearly white breasts washed with a smoky tint. In the hand their tarsi are seen to be black with a slight greenish hue.

_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 reinforced 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.

_Fall._--On the New England coast the semipalmated sandpiper is a little later in migration than its colleague, the least sandpiper. July 10 to October 30 are the usual dates, but few are seen after September 20. The adults come first, but after the middle of August the young appear, to be distinguished by their nearly white breasts washed with a smoky tint, and by their more unsuspecting ways.

The extraordinary abundance of this species at certain times on migration is well illustrated by what Stuart T. Danforth (1925) says of it in Porto Rico. He writes:

The semipalmated sandpiper is by far the most abundant shore bird
at Cartagena Lagoon, though it occurs only as a fall migrant. I
have records from August 13 to October 20, 1924. During the latter
part of August they are present in almost unbelievable numbers. I
hardly dare estimate their numbers, but on August 26, when they
were at the height of their abundance, I am sure that 100,000 would
have been a low estimate of their numbers. They simply swarmed over
the mud flats. On this date, although I was trying to avoid
shooting them, I got 16 while shooting other birds. They were so
abundant that stray shots could not help killing numbers of them.
On other days many were also unintentionally shot in the same
manner. In fact, all but 4 of the 36 that I collected were shot in
this way. This species prefers the mud flats, but when they were so
excessively abundant some were forced to feed in the sedge and
grass associations, and when the fall rains came a little later
practically all of them were forced to the sedges and grasses and
even to the cane fields. But within a few days after this most of
them left for parts unknown.

DISTRIBUTION

_Range._--North America, South America, the West Indies, and northeastern Siberia; accidental in Europe.

_Breeding range._--The semipalmated sandpiper breeds north to the northeastern coast of Siberia (Plover Bay); Alaska (Point Hope, Point Barrow, Barter Island, Camden Bay, and Demarcation Point); Yukon (probably Herschel Island); Mackenzie (Franklin Bay), Victoria Land; northern Keewatin (Cape Fullerton); Labrador (Okak); and Newfoundland. East to Labrador (Okak). South to Labrador (Okak); Newfoundland; northern Quebec (Fort George); southern Keewatin (Severn River); probably eastern Manitoba (York Factory and Fort Churchill); Mackenzie (Fort Anderson); and Alaska (Pastolik). West to Alaska (Pastolik, Hooper Bay, St. Michael, probably Nome, Port Clarence, Kowak River, probably Cape Blossom, and Point Hope); and northeastern Siberia (Plover Bay).

_Winter range._--North to Sonora (Hermosillo); Texas (Fort Brown, Corpus Christi, and Refugio County); Louisiana (State Game Preserve, Marsh Island, False River, and Hog Bayou); and South Carolina (Bulls Point). East to South Carolina (Bulls Point, Sea Islands, Frogmore, and Port Royal); Georgia (Chatham County, Blackbeard Island, Darien, and St. Marys); Florida (Mosquito Inlet and St. Lucie); Bahama Islands (Great Inagua); Haiti (Monte Christi and Sanchez); Porto Rico; Lesser Antilles (Antigua, Barbados, Carriacou, Grenada, and Trinidad); French Guiana (Cayenne); and Brazil (Island Mexiana, Island Cajetuba, and Bahia). South to Brazil (Bahia); rarely Patagonia (Nuevo Gulf); and Peru (Parecas Bay). West to Peru (Parecas Bay); Colombia (Cartagena and Sabanillo); Guatemala (San Jose); Valley of Mexico; Sinaloa (Mazatlan); and Sonora (Hermosillo).

_Spring migration._--Early dates of arrival in the spring are: North Carolina, Highlands, April 12, and Raleigh, April 13; Virginia, Cobb Island, May 14, and Smiths Island, May 16; District of Columbia, Washington, May 10; Pennsylvania, Grove City, May 3, and Milford, May 9; New Jersey, Elizabeth, May 6; New York, Orient, April 16, Canandaigua, April 26, Geneva, May 5, and Rochester, May 7; Connecticut, Saybrook, May 9, and Norwalk, May 11; Massachusetts, Monomoy Island, April 22, Ipswich, April 24; Maine, Lewiston, May 6; Quebec, May 2; Missouri, Appleton City, April 3, and Boonville, April 16; Illinois, Springfield, April 25, Quincy, May 3; Indiana, Camden, April 18, Bicknell, April 24, and Bloomington, April 26; Ohio, Lakeside, May 3, New Bremen, May 5, and Oberlin, May 7; Michigan, Ann Arbor, April 1; Ontario, Toronto, May 14, and Ottawa, May 14; Iowa, Keokuk, April 19, Emmetsburg, April 27, and Sioux City, May 2; Wisconsin, Elkhorn, May 1, and Madison, May 7; Minnesota, Wilder, April 19, Jackson, April 24, and Hallock, May 9; Kansas, McPherson, April 15, Lawrence, May 5, and Emporia, May 9; Nebraska, Neligh, April 30, Omaha, May 4, and Lincoln, May 5; South Dakota, Sioux Falls, May 5, and Harrison, May 8; Manitoba, Gimli, May 10, and Shoal Lake, May 19; Saskatchewan, Dinsmore, May 13, and Indian Head, May 19; and Mackenzie, Fort Chipewyan, May 24, and Fort Simpson, May 26.

Late dates of spring departure are: Cuba, Guantanamo, May 8, and Mariel, May 10; the Bahama Islands, Hog Island, April 27, Salt Key, May 5, and Inagua, May 27; Florida, Whitfield, May 11, Fort De Soto, May 25, and St. Marks, May 26; Georgia, Savannah, May 22; South Carolina, Ladys Island, May 26; North Carolina, Fort Macon, May 17, Cape Hatteras, May 20, and Raleigh, May 22; Virginia, Smiths Island, May 22, and Cape Charles, May 27; District of Columbia, Washington, May 22; Pennsylvania, Warren, May 24, and Erie, June 4; New Jersey, Camden, May 25, Long Beach, June 1, and Elizabeth, June 18; New York, Rochester, June 2, Syracuse, June 4, Poughkeepsie, June 5, Geneva, June 8, and New York City, June 15; Connecticut, Norwalk, May 30, and Fairfield, June 9; Rhode Island, Sakonnet Point, June 4; Massachusetts, Dennis, May 30, Lynn, June 2, and Harvard, June 9; Maine, Portland, June 3; Louisiana, Lobdell, May 28; Missouri, Boonville, May 31; Illinois, Oak Park, May 26, Shawneetown, May 27, and Chicago, June 13; Ohio, Oberlin, June 1, Port Clinton, June 3, and Lakeside, June 10; Michigan, Sault Ste. Marie, May 31, and Detroit, June 2; Ontario, Toronto, June 2, Hamilton, June 5, and Todmorden, June 13; Iowa, Clear Lake, May 20, Mason City, May 27, and Sioux City, May 30; Wisconsin, Madison, May 31; Minnesota, Leech Lake, May 27, Minneapolis, June 1, and Lanesboro, June 3; Texas, Texas City, May 17, Point Isabel, May 19, and Gainesville, May 24; Kansas, Fort Riley, May 22, Republican Fork, May 25, Emporia, May 27, and Stafford County, June 6; Nebraska, Long Pine, May 25, Valentine, May 30, and Lincoln, June 8; South Dakota, Faulkton, May 27, Forestburg, June 2, and Harrison, June 3; Manitoba, May 31, Dominion City, June 1, and Shoal Lake, June 14; and Saskatchewan, Quill Lake, June 11, and Kutanajan Lake, June 13.

_Fall migration._--Early dates of fall arrival are: British Columbia, Okanagan Landing, July 15, Atlin, July 16, and Courtenay, July 24; Colorado, Larimer County, July 18; Saskatchewan, Quill Lake, July 4, and Kiddleston, July 16; Manitoba, Russell, July 11, Red Deer River, July 23, and Shoal Lake, August 3; North Dakota, Mouse River, August 10; South Dakota, Forestburg, August 2; Kansas, Emporia, August 31; Texas, Brownsville, October 1, and Lake Worth, October 19; Minnesota, St. Vincent, July 24; Iowa, Sioux City, July 12, and Winnebago County, July 29; Ontario, Todmorden, July 21, and Amherstburg-Colchester, July 29; Michigan, Charity Island, July 9, and Detroit, July 22; Ohio, Columbus, July 12, Bay Point, July 16, and Painesville, July 19; Illinois, Chicago, July 2; Missouri, St. Louis, August 6; Mississippi, Biloxi, July 10, Beauvoir, July 18, and Bay St. Louis, July 21; Nova Scotia, Wolfville, July 10; Maine, Portland, July 23, and Pittsfield, July 24; Massachusetts, Monomoy Island, July 3, Marthas Vineyard, July 8, and Ipswich, July 10; Rhode Island, Newport, July 14, and Providence, July 22; Connecticut, Milford, July 28, and New Haven, July 30; New York, Orient, July 4, East Hampton, July 8, Freeport, July 12, and Rochester, July 12; New Jersey, Long Beach, July 7, and Cape May, July 14; Pennsylvania, Carlisle, July 27; District of Columbia, Washington, August 10; Virginia, Cobb Island, July 15; South Carolina, Frogmore, July 22; Florida, Palma Sola, July 8, Fernandina, July 14, Pensacola, July 16, and Fort De Soto, July 17; Cuba, Guantanamo, August 15, and Batabano, August 26; Porto Rico, Mona Island, August 11, and Cabo Rojo, August 24; and the Lesser Antilles, St. Croix, August 14, and Barbados, August 18.

Late dates of departure in the fall are: British Columbia, Lake Teslin, September 12, and Okanagan Landing, September 16; Saskatchewan, Ravine Bank, August 25; Manitoba, Winnipeg, September 13; Nebraska, Lincoln, October 30; Kansas, Topeka, September 15; Minnesota, Lanesboro, September 15; Wisconsin, Racine, October 1; Iowa, Marshalltown, October 12, and Burlington, October 15; Ontario, Ottawa, October 5, London, October 16, and Point Pelee, November 15; Michigan, Sault Ste. Marie, October 1, and Detroit, October 15; Ohio, Salem, October 9, Youngstown, October 26, and Dayton, November 16; Illinois, Chicago, October 9, and Cantine, October 17; Missouri, St. Louis, October 17; Prince Edward Island, North River, October 27; Nova Scotia, Wolfville, September 24; Quebec, Montreal, October 18; Maine, Lewiston, October 17; Massachusetts, Dennis, October 21, Boston, October 23, Harvard, October 24, and Lynn, October 25; Connecticut, Middleton, October 7, and New Haven, October 23; New York, Canandaigua, October 14, Sing Sing, October 20, New York City, October 24, Shinnecock Bay, October 30, and Ithaca, November 1; New Jersey, Morristown, September 24, Cape May, October 2, and Elizabeth, October 16; Pennsylvania, Beaver, October 3; and District of Columbia, Washington, October 26.

_Casual records._--The semipalmated sandpiper is not common in Colorado and Utah, although in both of these States it has been taken on several occasions. Other casual records are Wyoming, Horse Creek, 1859, and Alkali Lake, October 31, 1897; Montana, Fort Keogh, May 15 and 16, 1889, Sweetgrass Hills, August 11, 1874, Billings, August 12, 1900, and Miles City, August 14 and 15, 1900; Washington, Blaine, August 4 to 8, 1900, Puget Sound, July 15, 1857, Shoalwater Bay, May 3, 1854, and Simiahmoo, May, 1858; and Pribilof Islands, St. Paul Island, June 12, 1890.

There also are at least three records for the British Isles: Romney Marsh, Kent, September, 1907, Marazion Marsh, Cornwall, October 10, 1853, and Northam Burrows, Devon, September, 1869.

_Egg dates._--Arctic Canada: 70 records, June 12 to July 24; 35 records, July 3 to 6. Alaska: 33 records, June 2 to July 5; 17 records, June 6 to 18.

EREUNETES MAURI Cabanis

WESTERN SANDPIPER

HABITS

_Spring._--The western sandpiper has an unique distribution and peculiar migrations. It occupies a very restricted breeding range in the coastal regions of northwestern Alaska, but is spread out over a wide winter range, entirely across the continent in southern North America, in Central America, and in northern South America. But we know very little about its migration routes between these two seasonal ranges. I have not a single spring record for it from any of my correspondents in the interior. Undoubtedly it has been generally overlooked on account of its close resemblance to the semipalmated sandpiper, an abundant species which few collectors bother to shoot. Its northward migration along the Pacific coast, in April and May, is well known; this flight is mainly coastwise and the birds are often extremely abundant. D. E. Brown, in some notes sent to me from Westport, Washington, refers to this species as easily outnumbering all other shorebirds combined; they were associated with redbacks, but outnumbered them 10 to 1. Dr. E. W. Nelson (1887) says of the arrival of these birds in Alaska:

As the snow disappears on the low ground about Norton Sound; from
the 10th to the 15th of May each year, and the ponds, still
ice-covered, are bordered by a ring of water, these gentle birds
arrive on the shore of Bering Sea, in the vicinity of Saint Michael
and the Yukon mouth. The advancing season finds their numbers
continually augmented until, toward the end of May, they are
extremely common and are found scattered everywhere over the mossy
flats and low hillsides. Their gentle character and trusting ways
render them very attractive to the frequenter of their territory at
this season.

_Courtship._--The same gifted writer describes the courtship of this gentle little sandpiper as follows:

The warm days toward the end of May cause the brown slopes and
flats to assume a shade of green, and among the pretty bird
romances going on under our eyes none is more charming than the
courtship of this delicate sandpiper. They have forsaken the
borders of icy pools, and, in twos and threes, are found scattered
over the tundra, showing a preference for small dry knolls and the
drier tussock-covered parts of the country in the vicinity of damp
spots and small ponds. Here the gentle birds may be seen at all
times tripping daintily over the moss or in and out among the tufts
of grass, conversing with each other in low, pleasant, twittering
notes, and never showing any sign of the wrangling so frequent with
their kind at this season. The female modestly avoids the male as
he pays his homage, running back and forth before her as though
anxious to exhibit his tiny form to the best advantage. At times
his heart beats high with pride and he trails his wings, elevates
and partly spreads his tail, and struts in front of his lady fair
in all the pompous vanity of a pigmy turkey-cock; or his blood
courses in a fiery stream until, filled with ecstatic joy, the
sanguine lover springs from the earth, and, rising upon vibrating
wings, some 10 or 15 yards, he poises, hovering in the same
position, sometimes nearly a minute, while he pours forth a rapid,
uniform series of rather musical trills, which vary in strength as
they gradually rise and fall, producing pleasant cadences. The
wings of the songster meanwhile vibrate with such rapid motion that
they appear to keep time with the rapidly trilling notes, which can
only be likened to the running down of a small spring and may be
represented by the syllables _tzr-r-e-e-e, zr-e-e-e-, zr-e-e-e_, in
a fine high-pitched tone, with an impetus at each "=Z=." This part
of the song ended, the bird raises its wings above its back, thus
forming a =V=, and glides slowly to the ground, uttering at the
same time, in a trill, but with a deeper and richer tone, a series
of notes which may be likened to the syllables _tzur-r-r-r,
tzur-r-r-r_. The word "throaty" may be applied to these latter
notes as distinguished from the high-pitched key of the first part
of the song.

_Nesting._--Herbert W. Brandt, who has had extensive experience with the nesting habits of this species, says in his manuscript notes:

The gentle little western sandpiper is the most abundant and most
widely distributed shore bird occurring in the Hooper Bay region.
Throughout the area, wherever dry ground is found, it is plentiful,
and it even occurs on the lower mountain slopes of the Askinuk
Range. Before the tundra had discarded its snowy mantle the first
birds of this species had responded to the lure of early spring,
for they arrived on May 14, and two days later they were common,
while on May 20 they were abundant, carrying on everywhere their
dainty aerial butterfly courtship. The western sandpiper is usually
found in large scattering colonies especially on the upland tundra
where for large areas they average one or two pairs to the acre.
Isolated couples, however, are occasionally encountered.

The nest of the western sandpiper is well concealed from view by
the surrounding curly bunch-grass that everywhere in the dryer
areas forces its way up amid the moss. Under this protection a
depression is made and scantily lined with grass, and usually in
addition with considerable tiny leaves of the prostrate
berry-bearing vines, of the dwarf birch, and of the reindeer moss
stems. In consequence, the nest is very fragile and loosely made,
but before it is disturbed it is neatly cup-shaped. The range of
measurements of 32 nests is: Inside diameter, 2 to 3 inches; depth
of cavity, 1-1/2 to 3 inches; and total depth, 2-1/2 to 4 inches.
Both male and female share in the tender duties of incubation and
are often very loath to forsake their nest, so that when crossing
their chosen haunts an incubating bird, by fluttering up before
one's very feet, will occasionally unwittingly betray its
well-concealed abode.

These charming little creatures are most brave, even eager in
defense of their homes, often charging with puffed-out feathers
and head drawn against the body to make themselves look as
formidable as possible. Their tameness and familiarity are
remarkable. Often after we had removed the eggs the parent would
go to the empty nest, sit on it for a little while, then come out,
her little body a-purr with agitation, and inquire in her thin
incessant voice what had become of the eggs. It is little wonder
that I shot very few specimens for identification purposes. This
tiny sandpiper had won too deep a place in my affections.

The confiding nature of these birds is referred to by other writers. Doctor Nelson (1887) tells how one of his men lay on the ground with his outstretched hand close beside a nest; but the bird soon returned, crossed his arm and settled on the nest, where she was caught with turn of his hand and released. Alfred M. Bailey (1926) placed his "hat over one set of eggs, leaving just room for the parent bird to crawl under, which she immediately proceeded to do."

_Eggs._--Herbert W. Brandt has given me the following good description of his 120 eggs of this species, collected by him at Hooper Bay, Alaska: