Chapter IV: Introduction (3)

_Food._--The other two species of phalaropes feed mainly on the water, but the Wilson phalarope is more of a shore bird and obtains most of its food while walking about on muddy shores or wading in shallow water. It does, however, adopt the whirling tactics of the others occasionally, concerning which Mr. Dawson (1923) says:

Instead of swinging from side to side with a rhythmical motion, as
do the reds and northerns, the Wilson whirls all the way around.
Moreover, he keeps on whirling, and though he pauses for the
fraction of a second to inspect his chances, he goes on and on
again like an industrious, mad clock. One bird which I had under
the binoculars turned completely around 247 times in one spot,
without stopping save for instantaneous dabs at prey. These dabs
were directed forward or backward, i. e., with or against the
direction of the body motion. A single gyration normally contains
two such minute pauses, accompanied by a hitching motion of the
head; and these are evidently the periods of maximum attention,
since they are followed by, or rather flow into, the prey stroke,
if game is sighted. "Game" is not always abundant nor certain, and
I have seen a bird whirl a dozen times without a single stroke.

The method of feeding on mud flats or in shallow water is well described by Roland C. Ross (1924), as follows:

When feeding along the shallows with least, western, and red-backed
sandpipers, they differed from them not only in size and color, but
in their habit of steady, energetic walking and the constant "side
sweeping" with the bill. Occasionally they picked objects from the
surface with their needle bills, but this was not very actively
pursued. In deeper water they fed among the northern phalaropes,
knots, and dowitchers, wading along until they swam in places.
However, they were able to wade where the northern swam. At such
depths they feed with the head clear under and the energy of the
feeding operation was indicated by the motion of the tail. They
commonly walked steadily back and forth through the deeper sections
of the ponds, and in such deep places they moved as headless
bodies, evidently feeding as usual in the surface mud. From the
vigorous side moves of the tail it would seem they were feeding in
their usual manner as well; that is, "side sweeping." When the
birds were standing to feed in the deeper places the tail was again
much in evidence, and indicated the manner of feeding. This would
seem to be a probing motion performed with some rapid vibration
which was communicated to the tail as a series of quivers. It is
rather a droll sight, and arresting as well, to see a certain area
marked out by headless gray bodies buried in the water up to the
bend of the wing, the vibrating tail indicating the vigorous
operations being carried on down below. It seemed their best
feeding was in the deeper waters.

The feeding habits of this and the other phalaropes are almost wholly beneficial. They live very largely on the larvae of mosquitoes. They also eat crane-fly larvae, which are often very destructive in grass lands and wheat fields. Predaceous diving beetles, which are a nuisance in fish hatcheries, are eaten by them. Dr. Alexander Wetmore's (1925) analysis of the contents of 106 stomachs showed that the food of the Wilson phalarope is mainly insects, of which various flies made up 43.1 per cent, aquatic bugs 24.4 per cent and beetles 20.1 per cent. The remainder of the food included brine shrimps, amphipods, eggs of water fleas, and seeds of various aquatic plants.

_Behavior._--Much of the interesting behavior of the Wilson phalaropes has been described under different headings above. In all its movements it is light, airy and graceful. Its flight is much like that of the lesser yellow legs, with which it is often associated; but, when suddenly alarmed, it sometimes flies hurriedly away in a zigzag fashion. On its breeding grounds it often hovers, almost motionless in the air, as the upland plover sometimes does. It swims lightly and buoyantly, but apparently does not dive. It walks about on land actively and daintily, where it is said to resemble the solitary sandpiper. It mingles freely on its feeding grounds with various other species of shore birds. Toward the close of the nesting season the females become very gregarious; as early as June 18, in southern Alberta, we saw them in large flocks, mixed with lesser yellow legs, flying about the marshy lakes.

_Voice._--The only note I have recorded is a soft, nasal grunt or subdued quack. Dr. Walter P. Taylor (1912) describes a peculiar nuptial (?) call note "as _oit_, _oit_, _oit_, somewhat resembling the croak of a toad during the breeding season. At the instant of utterance of the note the bird which is calling raises its head somewhat, pauses momentarily in its flight, and its throat bulges slightly." Mr. Saunders calls it a low note sounding like _croo_, _croo_, _croo_.

E. S. Cameron (1907) writes:

The Wilson's phalaropes, both when feeding and when disturbed and
circling on the wing, constantly uttered a low croaking, which at
close quarters might be compared to the much louder note of the
sandhill cranes, or, at a distance, to the faintly heard barking of
a dog. On the other hand, I have heard them give a shrill and
totally different call of indecision or satisfaction on their first
arrival when hovering over a pool.

_Field marks._--The Wilson is larger than the other phalaropes and has a longer bill, neck, and legs. It can be distinguished from other shore birds by its needlelike bill and small head and by the absence of white in its wings. Its spring plumage is, of course, well marked and very beautiful. John T. Nichols gives me the following field characters:

Very rare, but apparently regular on the south shore of Long Island
in southward migration; those that I have known of have all been in
pale gray and white plumage occurring singly about the marshes in
flocks of the lesser yellow legs. Little smaller than that species,
they are to be picked out in a flock of same at once by their much
paler color. In alighting such a bird may swim on puddles of water
between the stubble where the others are wading. At short range the
long, straight, very slender bill and indications of a curved
"phalarope" mark on the neck, backward and downward from the eye,
are to be looked for. Large size and long, very slender bill should
prevent confusion of this with other phalaropes in the field in any
plumage.

_Fall._--As soon as the young are able to care for themselves the males join the flocks of females and they all depart on their fall migration in August. Some individuals wander eastward to the Atlantic coast, but the main flight is southward along both coasts of Mexico to their winter home in Argentina, Chile, and Patagonia.

DISTRIBUTION

_Range._--North and South America.

_Breeding range._--The breeding range of Wilson's phalarope extends north to Washington (Bumping Lake); Alberta (Alix, Buffalo Lake, and Edmonton); Saskatchewan (Osler, Quill Lake, and Indian Head); Manitoba (Moose Mountain, Brandon, and Shoal Lake); North Dakota (Pembina); Minnesota (probably Leech Lake); Michigan (St. Clair Flats); and southern Ontario (Dunnville). East to southern Ontario (Dunnville); northern Indiana (Lake County); northern Illinois (West Northfield, Fox River, and Calumet Marshes); and formerly Missouri (Pierce). South to Indiana (Whiting); Missouri (formerly Pierce); rarely southern Kansas (Meade County); Colorado (Sterling, Barr, and San Luis Valley); southwestern Wyoming (Fort Bridger); northern Utah (Salt Lake City); Nevada (Washoe Lake); and California (Tahoe Lake and Los Banos). West to California (Los Banos, Lassen County, and Tule Lake); Oregon (Klamath Lake); and Washington (Conconully and Bumping Lake). It also has been reported in summer from southern California (Furnace Creek and Tulare Lake) and from central Mexico (Lerma).

_Winter range._--The winter range of the Wilson phalarope is very imperfectly known. The few records available come chiefly from South America, but it also has been reported as wintering in Mexico (Mayorazgo, Ixtapalapa, and the City of Mexico); rarely southern Texas (Corpus Christi); and in southern California (Riverside). South American specimens have been taken or observed at this season in the Falkland Islands; Patagonia (Chupat); Argentina (Mendoza, Buenos Aires, Tucuman, Barracas al Sud, and Missiones); Chile (Valdivia); Bolivia (Alto Paraguay); Peru (Ingapirca); and Brazil (Caicara).

_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival are: Missouri, St. Louis, April 22, Corning, April 23, Independence, May 1, and Marionville, May 2; Illinois, Quincy, April 20, Chicago, April 21, Liter, April 27, Fernwood, May 1, and South Englewood, May 3; Indiana, Waterloo, April 27, and Kouts, April 30; Michigan, Ann Arbor, April 1, Detroit, May 1, and Iron Mountain, May 2; Ontario, Toronto, May 25; Iowa, Emmetsburg, April 24, Gilbert Station, April 27, Marshalltown, May 2, Sioux City, May 5, and Keokuk, May 6; Wisconsin, Delavan, April 26, North Freedom, April 29, and Whitewater, May 6; Minnesota, Heron Lake, May 8, Wilder, May 8, Hallock, May 9, and Waseca, May 12; northern Texas, Gainesville, May 6, and Huntsville, May 7; Kansas, Emporia, April 23, Paola, April 28, Onaga, April 29, and Wichita, April 30; Nebraska, Dunbar, April 5, Badger, April 18, Callaway, April 19, Lincoln, April 22, and Valentine, May 1; South Dakota, Harrison, April 29, Vermilion, April 29, Forestburg, May 1, Pitrodie, May 3, and Huron, May 4; North Dakota, Menoken, May 1, Bismarck, May 3, Charlson, May 4, Antler, May 10, Cando, May 17, and Westhope, May 18; Manitoba, Oak Lake, April 27, Shoal Lake, May 7, Reaburn, May 16, and Winnipeg, May 22; Saskatchewan, Indian Head, May 12, Dinsmore, May 13, and Osier, May 19; New Mexico, Albuquerque, April 20, and Aragon, April 21; Arizona, Tucson, April 12; Colorado, Denver, April 25, Durango, April 25, Loveland, April 27, Boulder, May 3, and Salida, May 4; Wyoming, Lake Como, May 6, near Cokeville, May 7, Yellowstone Park, May 11, and Cheyenne, May 19; Idaho, Meridian, May 14; Montana, Billings, April 30, Great Falls, May 9, Fort Keogh, May 10, Big Sandy, May 14, and Terry, May 21; Alberta, Beaverhill Lake, May 7, Alliance, May 18, Veteran, May 22, and Stony Plain, May 23; California, Santa Barbara, April 26, Unlucky Lake, April 28, and Stockton, May 2; Nevada, Steptoe Valley, May 12, Washoe Lake, May 19, and Quinn River, May 20; and Oregon, Klamath Lake, April 30, Narrows, May 1, and Lawen, May 20.

_Fall migration._--Late dates of fall departure are: Oregon, Malheur Lake, September 5; California, Santa Barbara, September 8, and near San Francisco, September 9; Montana, Milk River, July 21, and Great Falls, August 15; Utah, Great Salt Lake, September 16; Wyoming, Seven-mile Lake, September 14, and Yellowstone Park, September 27; Colorado, Denver, September 12; Arizona, Fort Verde, September 7; Saskatchewan, Ravine Bank, August 25; North Dakota, Grafton, September 11, and Westhope, September 24; South Dakota, Forestburg, August 13, Harrison, September 12, and Sioux Falls, October 14; Nebraska, Badger, August 30, and Gresham, September 1; Kansas, Emporia, August 31; Texas, Tivoli, September 14, and Corsicana, September 12; Minnesota, Lanesboro, September 13; Michigan, Kalamazoo County, September 8; and Ontario, near Toronto, September 23.

_Casual records._--Although essentially a western species the Wilson phalarope has many times been detected in eastern localities. Among these are: Alabama, Bayou la Batre, September 5, 1911; South Carolina, Sullivans Island, September 7, 1910; North Carolina, near Church Island, August 25, 1910, and Currituck Light House, September 14, 1911; New Jersey, Ocean City, May 19, 1898, and Cape May, May 4, 1909; New York, Mastic, September 21, 1918, and August 23, 1920, Shinnecock, August 20, 1883, and August 15, 1885, Far Rockaway, October 10, 1874, East River, October 15, 1879, Onondaga Lake, September 2, 1886, Oneida Lake, October 6, 1883, Ithaca, fall of 1892, Atlanticville, August 15, 1885, and June 1, 1887, and Bronx Park, September 21, 1924; Connecticut, Bridgeport (Linsley); Rhode Island, Newport, August 2, 1880, August 20, 1883 and September 13, 1886, Sakonnet, August 24, 1899, and Quonochontaug, August 28, 1909; Massachusetts, Chatham, October 19, 1888, Nantucket, August 31, 1889, Nahant, May, 1874, Salisbury and Boston (Townsend); New Hampshire, Rye Beach, August 15, 1872; Maine, Sabattus Pond, September or October, 1906, and Scarborough, June 9, 1881; and Quebec, Montreal, August, 1869. It also has been taken in British Columbia, Chilliwack, September 9, 1888, and Osoyoos Lake, May 15, 1922 and May 18, 1922. It has been detected a few times in Lower California, La Paz (date?), and San Jose del Cabo, one in spring and another in August, 1887.

_Egg dates._--Saskatchewan and Alberta: 51 records, May 16 to June 24; 26 records, June 5 to 11. Dakotas: 23 records, May 25 to June 22; 12 records, June 3 to 12. Colorado and Utah: 20 records, May 15 to July 10; 10 records, May 25 to June 8. California: 50 records, May 21 to June 22; 25 records, June 2 to 7.

Family RECURVIROSTRIDAE, Avocets and Stilts

RECURVIROSTRA AMERICANA Gmelin

AMERICAN AVOCET

HABITS

Wherever this large, showy bird is found it is always much in evidence. Its large size and conspicuous colors could hardly be overlooked, even if it were shy and retiring; but its bold, aggressive manners force it upon our attention as soon as we approach its haunts. Localities and conditions best suited to its needs are still to be found in many places on the great plains and in the interior valleys of the far west. Its favorite resorts seem to be the shallow, muddy borders of alkaline lakes, wide open spaces of extensive marshes, where scanty vegetation gives but little concealment, or broad wet meadows splashed with shallow pools. If the muddy pools are covered with reeking scum, attracting myriads of flies, so much the better for feeding purposes. Dry, sun-baked mud flats or low, gravelly or sandy islands, with scanty vegetation, furnish the desired nesting conditions. In such open spaces they can be seen from afar and, long before we reach their haunts, the avocets are flying out to meet us, advertising the fact that we are approaching their home, making the air ring with their loud yelping notes of protest, circling about us and darting down at us in threatening plunges.

_Courtship._--Prof. Julian S. Huxley (1925), who has made a study of the European species, says:

The avocet has no courtship. There are no songs or aerial displays;
no posturing by the male; no mutual ceremonies; no special
courtship notes. There is some hostility and fighting; a peculiar
action by the female which is a symbol of readiness to pair,
followed by an excited action on the part of the male; and a
special post-paring action by both birds; but of courtship in any
accepted sense none whatever.

However that may be, our bird does indulge in actions and posturings which look very much like courtship. On May 29, 1905, we spent some time in watching the avocets in a colony on an alkali flat covered with a sparse growth of short, curly grass, near Hay Lake in southwestern Saskatchewan. We could not find any nests there at that time and concluded that the birds had not laid. They were apparently still conducting their courtships, wading about gracefully in the shallow water, frequently bowing or crouching down close to the water; sometimes they danced about with wings widespread, tipping from side to side like a balancing tight-rope walker; occasionally one, perhaps a female in an attitude of invitation, would lie prostrate on the ground or water for a minute or more, with the head and neck extended and wings outstretched. Frequently they fooled us by squatting down on the ground, as if sitting on a nest; if we went to investigate, they would run away and repeat the act elsewhere; perhaps this act carried the suggestion of mating as a part of the courtship ceremony.

_Nesting._--We found no large breeding colonies in Saskatchewan but several small ones. The Hay Lake colony referred to above was perhaps the largest, containing 15 or 20 pairs. The nests, found here on June 15, were merely slight hollows in the sun-baked mud on the broad alkali flats bordering the shallow lake; they were scattered widely among the little tufts of short grass which scantily covered the flat; the hollows measured from 3 to 4 inches in diameter and were lined with a few dry grasses. Some of the nests were well formed and somewhat elevated. Although in plain sight, the eggs were not easy to find, as they matched their surroundings perfectly.

On June 14, 1906, we found an interesting little colony of avocets on an island in Big Stick Lake, Saskatchewan, which was also occupied by big colonies of California and ring-billed gulls, common terns, a few spotted sandpipers, and a few pairs of ducks. The avocets, terns, and sandpipers were all at one end of the island, a low grassy point; the ring-billed gulls and ducks were in the central, highest part; and the California gull colony was at the other end. The avocets' nests, ten or a dozen of them, were placed in the short grass near the edge of the beach or on the drift weed lying in windrows on the beach; one nest was partially under a fallen shrub or bushy weed. The nests were made of grasses, weed stems, straws and small sticks, with sometimes a few feathers, loosely arranged around small hollows, from 5 to 7 inches in diameter. Two of the nests held five eggs, the others three or four.

Robert B. Rockwell (1912) found an interesting colony of avocets on an island in Barr Lake, Colo., of which he says:

The nests were all located in very similar locations, among a young
growth of cockle burrs not over six inches in height and which had
probably grown at least half of that since the eggs were laid. The
cockle burrs formed a belt about 10 yards wide clear around the
island just below the dense blue-stem and other rank grass with
which the Island was covered and on ground that was under water
during the high water of the spring although inundated for a short
time only. Two of the nests were very crude affairs, being a mere
shallow hollow in the sand with a very few dead weed stalks of
short lengths arranged around the eggs. The other was constructed
in the same manner, but was quite well lined with weed stems, so
that the eggs did not touch the ground. There was no evident
attempt at concealment, the nests all being placed in small open
spaces from six inches to a foot in diameter, and with nothing to
protect them; but the color of the eggs was sufficient protection
to make them quite inconspicuous.

Dr. Alexander Wetmore (1925) writes:

The sites chosen often are subject to inundation by sudden floods,
when the birds scurry about, seemingly in confusion, but in reality
working actively to build up the nest in order to support the eggs
above the level of the encroaching water. In some cases it may be
necessary to erect a structure 12 or 15 inches in height. Weeds,
small sticks, bones, or dried bodies of ducks or other birds,
feathers, or any other materials available are utilized as building
materials.

_Eggs._--The American avocet lays three or four eggs, usually four and occasionally five. Numerous nests have been found containing seven or eight eggs, but these are probably products of two females. Edwin Beaupré writes to me that, in a colony of five pairs found by him on an island in a small lake in southern Alberta, the five pairs were occupying three nests; one contained eight eggs, another seven and the third four. The eggs vary in shape from ovate (rarely) to ovate pyriform and they are usually much elongated. The shell is smooth, but not glossy. The ground color varies from "Isabella color" to "deep olive buff." This is more or less evenly covered with irregular spots and blotches, in various sizes, of brownish black, blackish brown, or black, rarely "warm sepia" or "bister"; there are occasionally a few blackish scrawls, and numerous underlying spots of various shades of drab. The measurements of 55 eggs average 49.8 by 34 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure =56.3= by 34.6, 51.5 by =36.6=, =43.2= by 33.4 and 47 by =31= millimeters.

_Young._--The period of incubation of the American bird has apparently not been determined, but that of the European bird is said to be 28 days. I have no data as to how the sexes incubate. Young avocets are very precocial and leave the nest soon after hatching. They are expert at hiding, even on the open flats and beaches; and they take to the water at an early age, where they can swim and dive like young ducks. I have seen a brood of four young, that could not have been hatched more than a few hours, swimming out in a lake, as if very much at ease. They soon learn to tip up in shallow water and probe on the bottom, like their parents, for their insect food.

_Plumages._--The downy young avocet is well colored for concealment on an open beach or alkaline flat. The colors of the upper parts are "cinnamon buff," "cream buff," and buffy grays, lightest on the crown and darkest on the rump; there is a distinct but narrow loral stripe of black; the crown is indistinctly spotted with dusky. Two parallel stripes of brownish black distinctly mark the scapulars and two more the sides of the rump; the wings, back, rump, and thighs are less distinctly spotted or peppered with gray and dusky. The under parts are buffy white, nearly pure white on the throat and belly.

In fresh juvenal plumage the crown is "light drab" with "pinkish buff" tips; the sides and back of the neck are deep, rich "cinnamon," deeper and richer than in the adult, shading off, on the upper back, throat, and upper breast, to a suffusion of "pinkish buff"; the chin and belly are white; the color pattern of the upper parts is similar to that of the adult, except that the dark feathers of the back, scapulars, and tertials are tipped with "pinkish buff"; and the greater and median wing coverts are narrowly so tipped.

This plumage is worn through the summer and fall without much change except by extensive fading and some wear. The cinnamon has nearly disappeared in September birds and all the buff edgings have faded or worn away. A body molt takes place in late winter or early spring which produces a first nuptial plumage much like the adult. Young birds can, however, be recognized by the worn primaries and by some of the juvenal scapulars and wing coverts. The first postnuptial molt, the following summer, is complete and produces the adult winter plumage.

Adults have a complete postnuptial molt, beginning in August, and a partial prenuptial molt, beginning in January, which involves the body plumage and some of the scapulars and wing coverts. The "cinnamon" colors of the head and neck are characteristic of the nuptial plumage and are replaced by pale gray in winter adults.

_Food._--The feeding habits of the avocet are rather peculiar, as might be expected of a bird with such a peculiar bill. The bill is not so sharply upturned in life, as it is in some stuffed specimens and in some drawings. Dr. Frank M. Chapman (1891) has explained it very well, as follows:

The use of the avocet's recurved bill is clearly explained by the
manner in which the bird procures its food. In feeding they wade
into the water and drop the bill below the surface until the
convexity of the maxilla probably touches the bottom. In this
position they move forward at a half run and with every step the
bill is swung from side to side sweeping through an arc of about
50° in search of shells and other small aquatic animals. The
mandibles are slightly opened, and at times the birds pause to
swallow their prey. It is evident that birds with a straight or a
downward curved bill could not adopt this method of feeding.

Audubon (1840) describes it, as follows:

They search for food precisely in the manner of the roseate
spoonbill, moving their heads to and fro sideways, while their bill
is passing through the soft mud; and in many instances, when the
water was deeper, they would immerse their whole head and a portion
of the neck, as the spoonbill and red-breasted snipe are wont to
do. When, on the contrary, they pursued aquatic insects, such as
swim on the surface, they ran after them, and on getting up to
them, suddenly seized them by thrusting the lower mandible beneath
them, while the other was raised a good way above the surface, much
in the manner of the black shear water, which, however, performs
this act on wing. They were also expert at catching flying insects,
after which they ran with partially expanded wings.

Doctor Wetmore (1925) found that, in 67 stomachs examined, animal food amounted to 65.1 per cent and vegetable food 34.9 per cent. Among the animal food were found phyllopods, dragonfly nymphs, back swimmers, water boatmen, various beetles and flies and their larvae. The vegetable matter consisted largely of seeds of marsh or aquatic plants. He says further:

Flocks of the birds search for food scattered about in shallow
water, and do not hesitate to swim when necessary in crossing the
deeper channels. Frequently a dozen or more feed in company,
walking slowly along, shoulder to shoulder, as though in drill
formation, at each forward step thrusting the head under water and
sweeping the recurved bill along the bottom with a scythelike swing
that must arouse consternation among water boatmen and other
aquatic denizens of the bays and ponds. At times the writer has
observed as many as 300 of these handsome birds feeding thus in a
single company, a scene at once spirited and striking. As the birds
feed much of the time by immersing the head, anything that may
touch the bill is gathered indiscriminately, as in feeding they
depend upon the sense of touch. From their manner of feeding,
avocets are often scavengers, taking living or recently dead prey
without much choice. The large tapeworms found almost without fail
in the duodenum of the avocet are transmitted from one bird to
another in this manner. The cast-off terminal segments of the worms
(bearing the eggs) are picked up and swallowed by other avocets, a
proceeding which the writer has personally observed. Avocets also
pick up matter floating in the water, on or near the surface, or
take insects and seeds from mud bars. The insects may be those
living in such localities or may be individuals that have been
washed up in drift.

Other observers have reported avocets as feeding on grasshoppers, predaceous diving beetles, crickets, centipedes, weevils, small snails, sea slugs, small crustaceans, and even small fishes.

_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.

The flight of the avocet is strong, direct and rather swift, much like that of the greater yellow legs, with neck and legs fully extended, fore and aft. It can alight on or rise from the surface of the water with ease. On alighting its long, black and white wings are raised above its back, and slowly folded, as it settles itself with a nodding motion of the head, stands still and looks about it for a moment or two. No bird is better equipped for the amphibious existence that it leads; its long legs and webbed feet enable it to wade through soft muddy shallows of varying depths; and if it suddenly steps beyond its depth it swims as naturally as a duck until it strikes bottom again; the thick plumage of its under parts protects it and marks it as an habitual swimmer. It often feeds while swimming by tipping up like a surface-feeding duck and reaching down into the water with its long neck and bill. It can even dive when necessary.

Dr. Walter P. Taylor (1912) says that avocets "share with most other birds a dislike of owls. Three were seen pursuing a _Speotyto_ over a wild hay meadow."

Dr. T. Gilbert Pearson (1916) noted an interesting flight maneuver:

Only a few weeks ago I was impressed anew with the beauty of these
birds. While passing down the valley of Crane Creek, in
southeastern Oregon, a flock of about 50 avocets arose and indulged
in a series of evolutions which even the most casual observer would
have paused to watch. In a fairly compact company they flew away
for a short distance, then turned, and, after coming back almost to
the starting point, dived toward the earth, arose again perhaps 50
yards in the air, then swung around and came back. These maneuvers
were repeated at least three times. Their white and black plumage,
flashing against the gray sagebrush of the desert mountain side,
and sharply relieved as they skimmed over the alkaline creek, made
a picture long to be remembered.

Charles E. H. Aiken (1914)

witnessed a curious performance of avocets in Utah. In September,
1893, he visited the mouth of Bear River where hundreds of acres of
mud flats and shallow water offer an attractive resort for various
water fowl. In a submerged grove where patches of mud appeared
above the water hundreds of avocets were congregated. One little
mud island that differed from others in that it was quite round
seemed to have a fascination for the birds, and they were packed
together upon it in a mass which covered the island to the water's
edge. As the island was about 12 feet in circumference the number
of birds probably approximated 150. This mass of birds continued to
revolve about from left to right, and being so crowded the movement
was rather slow and their steps short and measured, so that the
impression was that they were all marking time in the marching.
Birds on the rim of the circle avoided walking off in the water and
crowded inward against the mass. Every moment or two birds would
leave the milling body and fly to a neighboring mud island, and as
many from near-by would fly to take their places and join the
dance. Aiken advanced quietly to within 20 yards and viewed them
for half an hour, but they continued undisturbed by his presence
and he left them so. It appeared to be a diversion of the birds.

John G. Tyler contributes the following:

The avocet is evidently possessed of a very keen sense of hearing.
On May 21, 1921, I discovered three or four pairs in an overflowed
pasture not far from Fresno. Driving my car up to within about 100
feet of them I allowed my engine to die and sat perfectly
motionless. In about 15 minutes the birds had become thoroughly
accustomed to my presence and one bird finally took up a position
on a small levee, tucked its bill under the feathers of its back,
closed its eyes, and after raising the right leg and drawing it up
close to the body, stood absolutely motionless and apparently
asleep for several minutes. It was very much awake, however, for
when I whistled softly through my teeth, making a rather squeaking
noise, it immediately straightened up, opened its eyes, and gazed
about in apparent astonishment. As I remained motionless the bird
soon settled down and in the course of the next few moments I
repeated the same experiment always with the same results. So long
as one remains seated in the automobile and makes no noticeable
movement it is possible to make close observation of these and
several other species of shore birds, but the slightest movement or
an attempt to get out of the car sends them away in the wildest
confusion.

_Voice._--The avocet's vocabulary is not so elaborate as it is impressive. The commonest note, heard on the breeding grounds as a note of alarm or protest, is a loud, shrill whistle or yelping scream, which I have recorded in my notes as _wheat, wheat, wheat_. Others have recorded it as _plee-eek, plee-eek_, or _click, click, click_. It is always sharp and vehement, implying anger. I have also heard a softer note, uttered in a conversational tone, like _whick, whick, whick_, or _whuck, whuck, whuck_.

Aretas A. Saunders contributes the following notes:

About the nest colony the adults flew closely about my head,
calling a short staccato call that sounded like _pink, pink, pink_.
One bird pretended wounded in a different manner from what I have
seen it done by other species. The bird sat on the water, dropped
its head and neck down to the surface, half spread its wings, also
dropping them on the water, and, lying almost still, called _oo-oo,
oo-oo, oo-oo_, over and over, as though suffering great pain. The
voice was low and not very loud, and not at all like the _pink,
pink_ of the other birds.

_Field marks._--The avocet, in its striking color pattern of black and white, could not be mistaken for anything else. A white tail, a black V on a white back, black wings with white secondaries and blue legs are all distinctive marks; the buff head and neck are nuptial adornments; in fall and winter these parts are grayish white. From the stilt it can be distinguished by its much stockier build, the absence of black on head and neck and by blue instead of pink legs.

_Game._--Although it is a large, plump bird and would help to fill a game bag, there is no excuse for treating it as a game bird. It is so tame and so foolishly inquisitive that it would offer poor sport and would soon be exterminated. Furthermore its flesh is said to be worthless for the table. But above all, it is such a showy, handsome and interesting bird, that it ought to be preserved for future generations to enjoy. The destruction of its breeding grounds will exterminate it soon enough, as it has already been extirpated from its former range in the Eastern States.

DISTRIBUTION

_Range._--North America to northern Central America.

_Breeding range._--The breeding range of the avocet extends north to Washington (Moses Lake and probably Walla Walla); northern Idaho (Pend Oreille); Alberta (Red Deer, Buffalo Lake, and Flagstaff); Saskatchewan (Osler, Quill Lake, and Touchwood Hills); North Dakota (Kenmare and Cando); Minnesota (Brown's Valley, Traverse County); and Wisconsin (Green Bay). East to Wisconsin (Green Bay); western Iowa (Sioux City); central Kansas (Larned and Dodge); and rarely to southern Texas (Corpus Christi and Isabel). South rarely to southern Texas (Isabel and Brownsville); New Mexico (Chloride); northern Utah (Salt Lake City); Nevada (Ruby Valley and probably Cloverdale); and southern California (Little Owens Lake, Kerrville, and Santa Ana). West to California (Santa Ana, Santa Cruz Island, Buena Vista Lake, Tulare Lake, Los Banos, Stockton, Amedee, Tule Lake, and Brownell); Oregon (Adel, Plush, Sumner Lake, and Christmas Lake); and Washington (Moses Lake). It has been recorded in summer north to British Columbia (Okanagan Landing); Manitoba (Brandon); and New York (Ithaca); while there also is an old breeding record for Egg Harbor, New Jersey.

_Winter range._--North to Carolina (Novato and Stockton); and Texas (Houston). East to Texas (Houston, Corpus Christi, and Brownsville); Tamaulipas (Matamoros); and Guatemala (Chiapam). South to Guatemala (Chiapam); and Sinaloa (Escuinapa). West to Sinaloa (Escuinapa and Mazatlan); Lower California (San Jose del Cabo and La Paz); and California (San Diego, Morro Bay, San Francisco, and Novato.)

_Spring migration._--Early dates of arrival are: Nebraska, Whitman, April 13, Long Pine, April 27, Alda, May 2, and Lincoln, May 5; South Dakota, Pitrodie, April 28, Huron, May 6, and Aberdeen, May 15; North Dakota, Marstonmoor, April 28; Manitoba, Margaret, May 5; Saskatchewan, Fort Carlston, May 4, and Dinsmore, May 9; Arizona, Ehrenburg, February 12, and Tucson, April 21; New Mexico, Albuquerque, April 14; Colorado, Loveland, April 9; and Denver, April 25; Utah, Salt Lake City, April 27; Wyoming, Huttons Lake, April 21, Lake Como, April 22, and Cheyenne, April 24; Idaho, Deer Flat, February 15, and Rupert, April 26; Montana, Great Falls, April 18, Fort Custer, April 26, Terry, May 1, Billings, May 3, and Big Sandy, May 18; Alberta, Beaverhill Lake, April 28, and Flagstaff, May 14; Nevada, Ash Meadows, March 15; Oregon, Klamath Falls, March 26, Narrows, April 11, Malheur Lake, April 17, and Lawen, April 19. Avocets have been noted at Lake Palomas, Chihuahua, on April 7, and at Gardner's Laguna, Lower California, on April 22.

_Fall migration._--Late dates of departure are: Oregon, Forest Grove, September 28, Malheur Lake, October 26, and Klamath Lake, November 6; Alberta, Veteran, September 8; Montana, Fort Custer, September 9, and Great Falls, October 2; Idaho, Rupert, October 21; Wyoming, Fort Bridger, October 10; Utah, Provo, November 26; Colorado, Denver, October 3, and Mosca, October 20; New Mexico, Glenrio, October 11, Las Palomas, October 12, and Mesilla Park, November 9; Manitoba, Margaret, September 15; South Dakota, Harrison, October 28; Wisconsin, Waupaca County, October 21; Nebraska, Gresham, September 10, Long Pine, October 9, and Lincoln, October 27; and Kansas, Emporia, August 25. The arrival of avocets in the fall has been noted in the Valley of Mexico in August and September.

_Casual records._--The avocet has on a number of occasions been reported or taken at points far outside of its normal range. Some of these records are: Cuba, once in the market at Havana and at Cardenas in August; Jamaica, reported in winter; Barbados, one in the fall of 1880 and again on October 1, 1888; Florida, one killed at Palm Beach Inlet in 1916; Georgia, St. Marys, October 8, 1903; North Carolina, six noted at Fort Macon on September 12, 1870; Virginia, two taken at Wallops Island in September, 1925; New Jersey, Barnegat, May 30, 1880; New York, Ponquoque, one in 1844, Carnarsie Bay, one in 1847, Long Beach, May 20, 1877, near Tuckerton, last of August, 1886, Renwick, September 16, 1909, and Ithaca, September 16, 1909; Connecticut, near Saybrook, 1871; Massachusetts, three at Ipswich Neck, September 13, 1896, Lake Cochituate, October 19, 1880, Natick, October 29, 1880, and Salisbury, May 23, 1887; Vermont, St. Albans, fall of 1875; Maine, Cape Elizabeth, November 5, 1878, and Calais, spring of 1862; New Brunswick, Quaco, in 1880; Louisiana, New Orleans, November 12, 1889, and November 7, 1819, Derniere Island, April 16, 1837, and Johnsons Bayou, November 26, 1882; Arkansas, a specimen was taken some time previous to 1847; Missouri, St. Louis, October 28, 1878, and Stotesbury, April 8, 1894; Illinois, St. Clair County, October 28, 1878, and two at Chicago, May 5, 1889; Indiana, one was taken at Calumet Lake; Ohio, St. Marys Reservoir, November 10, 1882, Oberlin, November 4, 1907, and March 16 to 21, 1907, Sandusky, May 24, 1914, and near Columbus, November 10, 1882; Michigan, St. Clair Flats, in 1874; Ontario, Toronto, last of May, 1881 and September 19, 1901; Mackenzie, Birch Lake, July 15, 1910, and Fort Rae; British Columbia, Okanagan, April 28, 1908, and mouth of the Fraser River, October 20, 1915. Avocets also have been reported from Greenland, but the records lack confirmation.

_Egg dates._--Saskatchewan: 27 records, May 18 to June 16; 14 records, May 29 to June 14. Utah: 52 records, April 10 to June 15; 26 records, May 6 to 16. California: 35 records, April 22 to June 25; 18 records, May 5 to 29.

HIMANTOPUS MEXICANUS (Müller)

BLACK-NECKED STILT

HABITS

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.

_Nesting._--My first glimpse of a black-necked stilt was a complete surprise, and my first nest was in an unexpected situation. On May 8, 1903, we landed on Lake Key, in the Florida Keys, a low flat, open island with sandy shores and a lake in the middle of it. We walked across the beach, through a narrow strip of low red mangrove bushes and came to a little muddy pond, very shallow and dotted with little mangrove seedlings. Here we were delighted to see about half a dozen black-necked stilts, long slender birds, very striking in appearance and actions, the jet black wings contrasting finely with the pure white under parts and the long pink legs trailing behind. They seemed so much concerned, so unwilling to leave, and kept up such an incessant racket, that we felt sure that they were nesting there. A short search soon revealed two of their nests, both very conspicuously placed. The first nest, containing four quite heavily incubated eggs, was very prettily located under a little red mangrove root, just as it entered the ground; a hollow had been scraped in the sand and profusely lined with small bits of shell and pieces of dry sticks. The second nest was in plain sight on the open beach of finely broken shell in a small colony of least terns' nests, the three dark-colored eggs showing up very conspicuously on the white sand. The nest cavity measured six inches outside and four inches inside and was lined with pieces of shell, sticks, and fish bones, an odd and uncomfortable bed for the young. Besides the least terns, Wilson plovers were nesting close by, rather an unusual association for the marsh-loving stilts.

Gilbert R. Rossignol writes to me of a colony of some 23 nests that he found in a somewhat similar location on an island in Lake Kissimmee, Florida, on April 14, 1908. "The nests were all built high upon the gravelly beach and were lined with bits of fresh-water snails." This colony was wiped out later by a rise of water in the lake.

Herbert W. Brandt has sent me some notes on this species as he found it breeding in Kleberg County, Texas, on May 28, 1919. He found seven nests in a colony of about ten pairs on "a watery, marshy meadow covering about a square mile, the water being 6 to 12 inches deep." He describes one of the nests as "composed of sticks made up into a floating platform, about four inches high and well made. The lining was small sticks and the top basin shallow and nicely made. The water, exceedingly high from recent rains, was up to the eggs, so that the nest was wet." I saw a similar colony near Brownsville, Tex.

Near Los Banos, California, stilts were nesting all over the flooded meadows, on little hummocks, on the muddy islands, and along the margins of ponds. On the drier shores and banks the nests were very simple structures, hollows in the ground, lined with small twigs, weed stems, and grasses; but in the wet places, where they were liable to be flooded, they were quite elaborately elevated to considerable heights. Mr. Dawson (1923) writes:

It is when the water rises that the birds rise to the occasion, and
get busy with nest building. Sedges, sticks, water plants with
clinging soil, anything movable, is seized and forced under the
threatened eggs. Indeed, so apprehensive is the bird of the growing
necessity, that as often as she leaves the nest she will seize
loose material and fling it over her shoulder for future use. The
eggs themselves, protectively colored in bister and black, are
mauled about and soiled in the mud; but the day is saved. I have
seen a stilt, painfully conscious no doubt, squatted on a truncated
cone of vegetation 8 inches in height and as broad across the top,
a veritable Noah's ark of safety.

John G. Tyler (1913) says:

Nesting colonies of these waders in the Fresno district are never
very large, consisting of from 6 to 20 pairs, as a rule, the most
extensive one of which I have any knowledge containing an average
of about 30 pairs each season. Possibly the numerous small ponds
will not support a great many birds, and as suitable pastures
abound in certain sections it is not a difficult matter for all the
birds to be accommodated without any crowding. As these nesting
colonies of stilts are invariably in pastures with cattle tramping
everywhere over the fields, it seems almost a miracle that any of
the eggs escape being destroyed; and yet I have not one iota of
positive proof of such a disaster ever overtaking a stilt's nest,
while in many instances I have known the eggs to hatch safely
almost under the feet of stock. It is known that few animals will
purposely step on any living object of a size large enough to be
noticed, and the writer is convinced that a stilt simply remains on
her nest and by her vociferousness and possibly even with a few
vigorous thrusts of her long bill causes a grazing cow to direct
her course away from the nest. A lack of judgment causes many nests
to be abandoned each year, and a colony of stilts that are not able
to distinguish between a permanent pond and one that has been
caused by irrigation is liable to find that by the time sets of
eggs are complete the water has disappeared and a new nesting site
must be chosen. Fortunately the larger colonies always seem to be
located near the permanent ponds, but there are numerous scattering
pairs that are deceived each summer.

I have often been surprised at the great diversity of nesting
sites, even in the same colony, it being not an unusual occurrence
to find nests entirely surrounded by water--little islands of mud
and sticks often built up out of water several inches deep. Not
less common are the platforms of dried grass placed just at the
water's edge, or the slight excavations that, killdeerlike, are
placed on the bare ground a hundred yards or more from the nearest
water. In one colony the majority of the nests were built on a
levee that extended through the pond and were so near the waters
edge that, although most of the nests were quite elaborate
platforms of dry grass and twigs, the lower parts of the eggs were
wet. Undoubtedly a high wind would have caused the wavelets to
break over the levee. At this same place there were several nests
far out on the open dry ground without even a spear of grass for
concealment or protection, and with hardly a vestige of nesting
material under the eggs. At one pond where two pairs had taken up
summer quarters there was one nest on the bare black ground where
the white breast of the sitting female was the most conspicuous
object imaginable and could be seen at a glance from a distance of
three or four hundred feet. In direct contrast was the other nest;
for it was artfully hidden among rather rank salt grass some
distance from the pond, and when the sitting bird flattened
herself upon it, as is the custom of this species when endeavoring
to escape observation, she might have readily been overlooked from
any near-by point.

The actions of different pairs of stilts when their nesting
colonies are invaded are also variable. Sometimes a flock of noisy
screeching birds will press close about the intruder, some hanging
in the air on rapidly beating wings, others bouncing along the
ground by leaps and bounds, raising and lowering their wings
continually; while others go through every conceivable motion both
on the ground and in the air. It seems that the larger the colony
the more demonstrative the birds are; for in several instances
where only one or two pairs were breeding the female would sneak
from the nest in a guilty manner and quietly join her mate on the
opposite side of the pond, where they would remain almost
motionless or feed nervously along the margin of the pond.

_Eggs._--Four eggs are usually laid by the black-necked stilt, sometimes five, rarely seven, and occasionally only three. The shape is ovate, often somewhat pointed, and there is little, if any, gloss. The ground color is dull "honey yellow," with an olivaceous tinge, or "cream buff." The eggs are irregularly spotted or covered with small blotches of brownish black or black. Sometimes there are a few blackish scrawls and usually a few underlying small spots of drab. They are often stained with mud. The measurements of 75 eggs, in the United States National Museum, average 44 by 30.5 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure =48= by 30, 47 by =32=, =40.5= by 30, and 46 by =28= millimeters.

_Young._--Incubation is shared by both sexes, but we have no accurate information as to its duration. Mr. Dawson (1923) says:

The infant can make shift to shuffle away from the nest and into
cover within the hour, if need be, but he can not negotiate his
stilts until several hours have elapsed after hatching; and he
feels decidedly pale and tottery, like a young colt, until the day
after.

Dr. Frank M. Chapman (1908) writes:

On May 23, their eggs were hatching, and in June the snipelike
young were widely distributed over the marsh. They invariably
attempted to escape observation by squatting with neck
outstretched, but the parents, whether one approached their eggs or
young, expressed their solicitude by a surprising extravagance of
motion, all apparently designed to draw attention to themselves. I
was at times surrounded by hopping, fluttering stilts, all calling
loudly, waving their wings, bounding into the air to hang there
with dangling legs and beating pinions, and executing other feats
which would have done credit to acrobatic marionettes.