Chapter IX: Introduction (8)

_Food._--Preble and McAtee (1923) give the following report on the contents of two stomachs of long-billed dowitchers:

Two stomachs, of the two specimens last mentioned from St. Paul
Island, have been examined and their contents were almost
exclusively the larvae of midges (Chironomidae), of which there
were more than 75 in one gizzard and more than 100 in the other.
Vegetable débris, amounting to 3 per cent by bulk of the stomach
contents, also was present, and it probably was picked up
incidentally with the midge larvae. Included in the vegetable
matter were seeds of bottle brush (_Hippuris vulgaris_), sedge
(_Carex_ sp.), and water chick-weed (_Montia fontana_).

_Behavior._--I have never been able to discover any differences in behavior between the two forms of the dowitcher; their habits are doubtless similar. Some gunners think that they can distinguish the two forms by their notes, but the differences in notes are probably due to individual variations in a somewhat varied vocabulary. John T. Nichols (1920) one of the closest students and best authorities on shore birds' notes, says "the chances are there is no significant difference in the calls of the two races."

_Fall._--S. F. Rathbun has sent me the following notes on the habits of this bird on its migrations through the State of Washington:

The long-billed dowitcher will be found in the company of almost
any of the shore birds, in flocks of varying numbers, and even as
single individuals, but appears to show somewhat of a partiality
for the company of the black-bellied plover and the red-backed
sandpiper. On this coast both its spring and autumnal migrations
seem to be somewhat prolonged, for in the case of the former we
have records from April 11 until late in May; and for the latter
from early August until into November. It will be found alike on
the sandy beaches and the muddy flats, seemingly showing no
particular preference for either. When the tide is at its ebb on
the flats the birds oftimes become widely scattered and single ones
may be found in unexpected places. On one occasion as we were
walking across a grassy marsh the head and neck of a long-billed
dowitcher was seen exposed above the growth along the edge of one
of the little channels running through the marsh. As we approached
the bird it could be seen making attempts to rise, but this it was
unable to do on account of being impeded by the length of the
grass, and we drove the bird ahead until an open spot was reached
when it then took wing, at this time being but a few feet away.

On various occasions while we were watching flocks of the small
sandpipers about some bit of water, dowitchers would fly past and,
being attracted by the calls of other birds, they then after
circling for a moment or two would alight at the pool to feed.
When thus engaged they give the impression of being somewhat
deliberate in their actions and as they moved about some would
frequently wade up to their breasts into the shallow water, often
so remaining until by some action they seemed to lose a footing
and when this occurred a retreat would be made into a more shallow
part. Oftentimes one or more birds would suddenly cease feeding
and assume a posture of repose and when this took place it was a
common occurrence to see some standing on but one leg, thus to
remain motionless for a time.

Dowitchers do not appear to be very shy when found in the flocks
of the smaller sandpipers, but are the first birds to retreat as
one approaches the flock; and on such occasions it is generally
the case that one or more of them will suddenly take wing and put
the entire flock in motion. They are swift-flying birds and when
on the wing have a somewhat harsh note that is given from time to
time. In their spring dress they are attractive, as at this time
their under parts are a rich buff color, and a flock of dowitchers
seen at this season with the light striking full on their breasts
is indeed a handsome sight.

_Winter._--Dowitchers occur in winter as far south as Ecuador and Peru. Dr. Frank M. Chapman (1926) referred the birds collected in Ecuador to _scolopaceus_. Nonbreeding birds, or immatures, remain there all summer, as they do in other parts of their winter range. I have taken both forms of dowitchers in Florida, where they winter regularly in small numbers.

DISTRIBUTION

_Range._--North America, Central America, Cuba, and northwestern South America. Casual in Japan.

_Breeding range._--North to probably eastern Siberia (Cape Wankarem); Alaska (Kuparuk River and Point Barrow); probably Yukon (Herschel Island); and Mackenzie (Franklin Bay). East to Mackenzie (Franklin Bay). South to Mackenzie (Fort Anderson); Yukon (Lapierre House); and Alaska (Point Dall). West to Alaska (Point Dall, Pastolik, St. Michael, and Kowak River); and probably eastern Siberia (Cape Wankarem).

_Winter range._--North to California (Los Banos and Santa Ana); Texas (Corpus Christi); Louisiana (State Game Preserve); Florida (East Goose Creek, Kissimmee, and Cape Canaveral); and probably Cuba (Santiago de Vegas and San Fernando). East to probably Cuba (Santiago de Vegas); Costa Rica (Alajuela); and probably Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador. South to Ecuador. West to Guatemala; Tehuantepec (San Mateo); Jalisco (La Barca); Lower California (La Paz, San Jose Mission and San Quentin); and California (San Diego and Los Banos).

_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival are: South Carolina, near Charleston, April 30; New York, Long Island, March 20; Illinois, Cary's Station, April 24, and Chicago, April 28; Minnesota, Heron Lake, May 1; Kansas, Manhattan, April 21, and Wichita, April 28; Nebraska, Callaway, April 8, and Omaha, April 28; Iowa, Wall Lake, May 9; South Dakota, Brown County, April 14, and Harrison, April 15; North Dakota, Menoken, May 7; Manitoba, Shoal Lake, April 24, Pilot Mound, May 1, and Margaret, May 18; Colorado, Loveland, April 6, Denver, April 26, and Durango, April 30; Wyoming, Cheyenne, May 2, and Lake Como, May 5; central and northern California, Alameda, March 15, Palo Alto, April 17, Ballona, April 19, and Stockton, April 20; Oregon, Malheur Lake, April 20; Washington, Menlo, May 1, and Fort Steilacoom, May 5; British Columbia, Courtenay, April 28, and Chilliwack, May 8; and Alaska, Craig, May 2, Kuiu Island, May 3, Fort Kenai, May 4, and St. Michael, May 20.

Late dates of spring departure are: Louisiana, New Orleans, March 20; Texas, Corpus Christi, April 20; Chihuahua, Lake Palomas, April 9; Lower California, Gardner's Lagoon, April 19; and southern California, Santa Barbara, May 2.

_Fall migration._--Early dates of fall arrival are: British Columbia, Courtenay, July 7, and Okanagan Landing, July 19; California, Balboa Bay, July 6, Santa Barbara, July 18, and Fresno, August 6; Lower California, San Quentin, August 10, and San Jose del Cabo, August 28; Tehuantepec, San Mateo, August 12; Montana, Billings, July 31; Utah, Provo River, July 24; Saskatchewan, Hay Creek, July 3; Colorado, Barr, July 5, and Denver, July 24; North Dakota, Devil's Lake, July 20, and Mouse River, August 10; Texas, Brownsville, July 11; New York, Long Island, July 16; North Carolina, Pea and Brodie Islands, July 7; and South Carolina, near Charleston, July 20.

Late dates of fall departure are: British Columbia, Chilliwack, October 29; Washington, Seattle, October 9, and Point Chehalis, October 19; northern and central California, Easton, October 18, Alameda, October 29, and Stockton, November 5; Wyoming, Hutton's Lakes, October 14; Colorado, Denver, October 3; Manitoba, Margaret, October 10; South Dakota, Harrison, November 2; Nebraska, Valentine, October 28; Kansas, Lawrence, October 3; Minnesota, St. Vincent, October 9; Missouri, St. Louis, October 28; New York, Long Island, November 2; and South Carolina, September 10.

_Casual records._--Occurrences of the long-billed dowitcher outside of its normal range must, of necessity be based upon the evidence of specimens, as it is frequently confused with the more common dowitcher of the Atlantic coast, from Maine to Florida. Seven were collected in the District of Columbia in April, 1884; one at North Haven, Connecticut, August 5, 1886; Hamilton, Ontario, August 21, 1891; Leighton, Alabama, May 15, 1891; Dauphin Island, Alabama (2), July 5, 1913; Detroit, Michigan, August 26, 1905; Yokohama, Japan, March 13; and Yezo, Japan, October 13.

_Egg dates._--Arctic Canada: 18 records, June 6 to July 5; 9 records, June 21 to July 3. Alaska: 17 records, May 29 to July 1; 9 records, June 3 to 19.

MICROPALAMA HIMANTOPUS (Bonaparte)

STILT SANDPIPER

HABITS

Strangely enough I have never seen, or rather recognized, a stilt sandpiper in life. As it is often associated with the lesser yellow-legs and so easily mistaken for it, I may have overlooked it. It is a rare bird in the localities where most of my work on shorebirds has been done and it does not seem to be very common anywhere. It is more common on migrations in the Mississippi Valley than elsewhere, on its way to and from its restricted breeding range on the barren grounds and Arctic coast of Canada.

_Spring._--The spring migration is almost directly north from the Gulf of Mexico to Great Slave Lake and then down the Mackenzie Valley and other valleys to the Arctic coast. It is rare in spring on the Atlantic coast. R. J. Longstreet writes to me that he saw three on May 4 and 5, and four on May 8, 1925, in Volusia County, Florida. C. G. Harrold tells me that it is a common spring migrant in Manitoba, "even abundant at times, a flock of nearly 300 being seen in May, 1924, at Whitewater Lake." A. G. Lawrence records it, at the same lake, as early as May 5 and as late as June 2; he calls it "uncommon to fairly common." At Beaver Lake, in northern Alberta, William Rowan saw flocks of from 20 to 25 birds every day from May 20 to 28, 1924. P. L. Hatch (1892) says that, in Minnesota, "they come in small flocks, and keep mostly about shallow ponds, and along the smaller streams flowing through the marshes," but he has "found them on the sandy beaches of some of the larger lakes on several occasions." He says "they are shy and exceedingly vigilant, making it no easy matter to get them."

_Nesting._--Comparatively little is known about the nesting habits of the stilt sandpiper. Roderick MacFarlane (1891) found it "fairly abundant on the shores of Franklin Bay, where a number of nests with eggs and young were discovered. It is, however, very rare in the interior, only one nest having been taken at Rendezvous Lake on the borders of the wooded country east of Fort Anderson." A nest with three eggs, found on June 22, 1863, is described in his notes as "near a small lake and composed of a few decayed leaves placed in a depression in the ground, partly concealed by a tuft of grass;" the female was flushed off the nest and shot. The nest found at Rendezvous Lake is not described, but one found at Franklin Bay, on July 6 or 8, 1865, containing four fresh eggs, was "a mere depression in the ground, lined with a few withered leaves and grasses."

_Eggs._--Four eggs is probably the usual number laid by the stilt sandpiper. They are ovate pyriform in shape. The only eggs I have been able to locate are the three sets in the United States National Museum, collected by MacFarlane. J. H. Riley has kindly sent me descriptions and measurements of these. In the set of four eggs the ground color is "ivory yellow" with large irregular blotches and spots of two shades of "mummy brown," and a few rather large shell markings of "hair brown," the latter mostly towards the larger end. The spots and blotches are a little heavier towards the larger end, also, but in no sense do they form a ring. Another set of two eggs is similar, but the spots and blotches are much smaller, more numerous, and more evenly distributed over the surface; some of the "mummy brown" spots are even becoming scrawls. The third set of two eggs are like the set of four, except that the ground color is "pale olive buff" and the "mummy brown" blotches are on the average smaller. The measurements of these 7 eggs average 35.5 by 25.1 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes =36= by 25, 35 by =26=, =35= by 25 and 36 by =24.5= millimeters.

_Young._--Mr. McFarlane (1891) says: "On one occasion we could not help admiring the courage and ingenuity displayed by both parents in defense of their young, which resulted in saving two of the latter from capture."

_Plumages._--In natal down the stilt sandpiper closely resembles several of the other species of tundra-nesting sandpipers. It can generally be recognized by its relatively longer legs and by its longer bill, with a broader tip. The head markings are also a little different. The forehead, cheeks, and throat are dirty white, with a broad, black, median stripe from bill to crown, another (loral) from bill to eye, and a short one (malar) below it. The crown, back, wings, thighs, and rump are variegated or marbled with black (predominating) and dull browns, "tawny" to "ochraceous tawny," and profusely dotted with dull white terminal down tufts; these dots form a distinct circle around the crown patch, below which the whitish sides of the head are marked with "ochraceous tawny." The lower throat is washed with pale buff, and the rest of the under parts are white.

In the juvenal plumage in August the head and neck are streaked with gray and whitish; the crown is dusky, with buffy edgings; the mantle is brownish black and dusky, with "tawny" edgings on the blackest feathers in the back and scapulars, and with pale buff or whitish edgings on the rest of the mantle and tertials; the under parts are white, suffused with pale buff on the throat, breast, and flanks; the wing coverts are edged with pale buff or whitish; the upper tail coverts are white and but little marked; the central tail feathers are dusky, edged with white, and the others are white, margined with dusky. This plumage is not worn long, for the postjuvenal molt of the body plumage begins late in August and lasts through September, producing a first-winter plumage. This is similar to the winter plumage of adults, but can be recognized by the juvenal wing coverts, some scapulars, and tertials.

I have been unable to trace the first prenuptial molt of young birds, which is probably accomplished in South America, nor have I been able to recognize a first nuptial plumage. Possibly young birds may not come north during their first spring.

Adults have a partial prenuptial molt in April and May, involving the body plumage, most of the scapulars, and some of the wing coverts and tertials. The complete postnuptial molt begins sometimes during the first week in July and sometimes not until the last of that month, and is completed in about two months, including the wings. A specimen taken in Argentina on September 21 had renewed the wings and practically all of the body plumage. In winter plumage the upper parts are brownish gray, with narrow, light edgings; the sides of the head and the under parts are white, with little or no barring; there is a dark streak through the eye, but no rusty on the head.

_Food._--Audubon (1840) watched a flock of about 30 stilt sandpipers feeding, of which he writes:

I saw a flock of about 30 long-legged sandpipers alight within 10
steps of me, near the water. They immediately scattered, following
the margin of the retiring and advancing waves, in search of food,
which I could see them procure by probing the wet sand in the
manner of curlews, that is, to the full length of their bill,
holding it for a short time in the sand, as if engaging in sucking
up what they found. In this way they continued feeding on an
extended line of shore of about 30 yards, and it was pleasing to
see the alacrity with which they simultaneously advanced and
retreated, according to the motions of the water. In about
three-quarters of an hour, during all which time I had watched them
with attention, they removed a few yards beyond the highest wash of
the waves, huddled close together, and began to plume and cleanse
themselves. In the stomachs of several individuals I found small
worms, minute shellfish, and vegetable substances, among which were
the hard seeds of plants unknown to me.

N.B. Moore watched a stilt sandpiper feeding in Florida and says in his notes:

It alighted within 20 feet of me and commenced feeding at once, in
water that nearly covered the tarsi. I was surprised to see it
slowly step along, carrying its bill immersed nearly up to the
base, and sweeping it slowly from side to side, much in the manner
of the roseate spoonbills, which were at the same moment feeding
near by. I noticed no action like that of swallowing at any time,
its motions being continuous--as described--until I shot it to make
sure of the species.

Stuart T. Danforth (1925) says of the food of this species in Porto Rico:

Seven stomachs (five collected on August 20 and two on September
17) were available for examination. Animal matter composed 70.1 per
cent of the food, and vegetable matter of 29.9 per cent. Bloodworms
(Chironomid larvae) were the largest food item, forming 72.8 per
cent of the animal food. From 150 to 600 bloodworms were found in
all but two of the stomachs. Dytiscid larvae formed 15.5 per cent,
small Planorbis snails 7.1 per cent, and mosquito larvae 0.8 per
cent of the animal matter. The vegetable matter was composed of
seeds. Seeds of _Persicaria_ formed 80 per cent of the vegetable
matter; seeds of _Sesban emerus_ 7 per cent; seeds of Compositae
10.2 per cent, and rubbish 2.8 per cent.

Prof. William Rowan writes to me:

In very dirty weather, particularly if a gale is blowing, stilt
sandpipers have been noted hunting for food high and dry on rough
pasture. This is probably an exceptional performance correlated
with this type of weather, for it has never been observed at other
times.

John T. Nichols says in his notes:

Just how this species makes use of its somewhat peculiar bill is
not very clear. I have seen it alighted on flooded dead marsh,
wading in the puddles and picking at the projecting dead stubble
about on its own level. Again I find in my journal reference to
three birds which alighted in water to their thighs, and
immediately began to feed, moving about close together, immersing
the bill to the eyes for an instant or two.

Verdi Burtch (1925), referring to a bird he saw at Branchport, N.Y., says:

I saw it catch and with much effort swallow a small frog, after
which it lost all interest in fishing. It walked off a few steps
and stood on one foot, all humped up and with eyes closed; quite a
contrast to the usual alert sandpiper pose.

_Behavior._--Audubon (1840) writes:

The flight of these sandpipers is rapid and regular. They move
compactly, and often when about to alight, or after being
disturbed, incline their bodies to either side, showing alternately
the upper and lower parts. On foot they move more like curlews than
tringas, they being as it were more sedate in their deportment. At
times, on the approach of a person, they squat on the ground, very
much in the manner of the Esquimaux curlew, _Numenius borealis_;
and their flesh is as delicate as that of the species just named.

Dr. Arthur A. Allen (1913), after referring to the companionship and resemblance between stilt sandpipers and lesser yellow-legs, says:

In their habits, however, the two species were quite different. The
yellow-legs were always rangy birds and covered a great deal of
ground while feeding. Even when resting they were conspicuous by
the nervous jerking of the head and neck. In flight they usually
formed fairly compact flocks but scattered upon alighting. The
stilt sandpipers, on the other hand, were quiet birds and went
about their search for food very systematically, gleaning
everything in their way. They frequently fed in a space a few yards
square for over an hour at a time. When at rest they showed none of
the nervous traits of the yellow-legs, being much more sedate,
neither jerking the head nor tilting the tail. In flight they were
quite similar to the yellow-legs, but as soon as they alighted they
bunched and frequently the whole flock fed with their bodies nearly
touching. Like the yellow-legs, the stilt sandpipers were seldom
seen upon the exposed mud but preferred wading where the water was
from 1 to 3 inches in depth, so that the entire head and neck
frequently disappeared beneath the surface of the water while
feeding. The notes of the two birds, though similar in form, were
wholly unlike in quality, that of the stilt sandpiper being
mellower and lower in pitch.

Coues (1878) at first mistook birds of this species for dowitchers and did not recognize them until he had them in his hands. He says:

They gathered in the same compact groups, waded about in the same
sedate, preoccupied manner, fed with the same motion of the head,
probing obliquely in shallow water with the head submerged, were
equally oblivious of my approach, and when wounded swam with equal
facility. The close structural resemblances of the two species are
evidently reflected in their general economy.

Mr. Nichols says in his notes:

On alighting the stilt sandpiper sometimes lifts its wings halfway
for an instant, a mannerism characteristic of the tattler group,
which it would seem to have acquired from its associate, the
yellow-legs.

_Voice._--Following are Mr. Nichols's notes on this subject:

The common flight note of the stilt sandpiper is very like the
single whistled _whu_ of the lesser yellow-legs, but recognizably
lower pitched and hoarser, at times with a quaver, _whr-r-u_, and
varying down to a shorter, less loud _whrug_. An unloud, reedy
_sher_ has been heard from two birds when flushing.

Though with different feeding habits, stilt sandpiper, dowitcher,
and lesser yellow-legs frequent the same grounds, associate very
freely on the wing, and all three have a very similar flight note,
though sufficiently different for identification. Perhaps the very
lack of close relationship in these birds has facilitated
convergence of their habits and calls, and it is not unreasonable
to suppose that close association, even imitation, has played some
part in bringing about the likeness of their voices. The greater
yellow-legs differs more from the lesser, both in flight note and
flight habits, than do these other two unrelated species.

_Field marks._--I quote again from Mr. Nichols's notes on field characters, as follows:

On the wing the stilt sandpiper resembles the lesser yellow-legs
closely. Its smaller size is scarcely appreciable, even in a flock
of yellow-legs, the members of which will usually be at slightly
varying distances from the observer. Adults have appreciably darker
(barred) lower parts, and young birds, particularly, are greyer
above than yellow-legs at the same season in this latitude. The
somewhat shorter legs do not project so far beyond the tail, but
the proportionately longer bill (with slight apparent drop at its
tip) is the stilt sandpiper's best field mark. Its bill is
proportionately longer even than that of the greater yellow-legs,
with which this species is unlikely to be confused, varying as it
does away from the lesser yellow-legs in an opposite direction, both
as regards size and in other subtle characters. The head and neck
of a yellow-legs are more "shapely," differing in this respect
somewhat as a black duck differs from sea ducks.

On the ground the stilt sandpiper stands lower than a yellow-legs,
having decidedly shorter legs, and correspondingly higher than our
other shore birds of the same size. The color of its legs, dull
olive green, is usually diagnostic. The legs are sometimes
yellowish, and very rarely yellow, only one such having come under
the writer's personal notice, a young bird in southward migration.
The name "greenleg" is often used for it by Long Island baymen,
who also suspect it of being a cross between yellow-legs and
dowitcher. At sufficiently close range the margination of the
feathers of the upper parts is quite unlike the spotting of the
yellow-legs' plumage.

The broad white stripe over the eye is conspicuous in any plumage and the whitish tail shows in flight, as different from the whitish triangle on the rump and back of the dowitcher or the white rump of the yellow-legs. Most of these field marks, however, are too subtle for easy recognition, unless seen under favorable circumstances.

Prof. William Rowan has sent me the following notes:

Identification marks of the stilt are excellent and it is quite an
easy bird to spot in almost any circumstances. It has a rump
pattern all to itself and is therefore readily detected in flight.
The end of the tail is darker than that of a yellow-legs, but the
white of the rump end, instead of forming a straight line across
the back, is horseshoe shaped. Although the turnstone and
semipalmated plovers are reminiscent, they are quite distinct and
not to be confused. When wading--the birds prefer to be belly
deep--the carriage of the head makes the species unmistakable. The
bill is always held and thrust beneath the surface perpendicularly.
This necessitates a straight neck. In profile the feeding
individual can be mistaken for no other sandpiper, is quite
distinct from the yellow-legs, and can really only be confused with
a phalarope. The Wilson phalarope habitually wades in this part of
the world, swimming only occasionally, but its markings are
distinctive. A flock of stilts is the most characteristic sight and
the species can be identified at a great distance. The curious
position of the head just referred to and the crowding of the
individuals into each other make a quite unmistakable combination.
They feed practically shoulder to shoulder, seldom scattering. The
yellow-legs of a flock are always scattered, and the general aspect
of the individuals is entirely different. Stilts never bob their
heads after the manner of yellow-legs.

_Fall._--The fall migration of adults begins very early, coming along with the dowitchers and first summer yellow-legs. I have an adult female in my collection, taken on July 5, 1885, on Monomoy Island, Massachusetts. The main flight of adults comes along during the latter half of July and first half of August, in this State, and the young birds come through in August and September; but this is a rare bird here, and the flight generally lasts for only a few days.

Mr. Nichols tells me that:

On Long Island the stilt sandpiper is usually uncommon, occurring
in small numbers often closely associated with lesser yellow-legs or
dowitcher. Rarely it occurs in great waves or flights as on August
12, 1912. This flight was made up exclusively of adult birds, so
far as the writer's observations went. For the remainder of that
season the species was unusually common. If, in ordinary years,
some 200 stilt sandpipers are present on Long Island in southward
migration, there were probably 3,000 in 1912. The earliest I have
seen this species south on Long Island is July 10, 1921, two or
three or more individuals associated with 40 or 50 lesser
yellow-legs.

In the interior this species is commoner than it is on the Atlantic coast. Mr. Harrold says that in Manitoba it is fairly common in the fall, adults being noted as early as July 5; the young birds are usually with the lesser yellow-legs in the fall. Mr. Hersey collected a series for me in Manitoba between July 18 and 29, 1913. Stilt sandpipers were formerly sold in the markets, mixed with bunches of summer yellow-legs, but their sale is now prohibited, and they are too small to be considered as game birds.

_Winter._--The winter home of the stilt sandpiper seems to be in southern South America, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Chile, but actual records substantiated by specimens are not numerous. Ernest Gibson (1920) shot some "out of a flock of over 100" which "might easily have been 200, so closely were they massed." They "were feeding on marshy ground; and as the flock rose at" his "approach, circled and passed away, the white under surfaces were quite dazzling in the sunlight." This was near Cape San Antonio, Buenos Aires, on December 27, 1913.

Dr. Alexander Wetmore (1926) writes:

The stilt sandpiper was encountered only in the Chaco, west of
Puerto Pinasco, Paraguay, though it has been said that it is common
in some parts of the Province of Buenos Aires in winter. At
kilometer 80, on September 20, 1920, the first arrivals, a flock of
a dozen, were recorded at the border of a lagoon; as I watched they
rose suddenly to whirl rapidly away to the southward. On the
following day about 20 were seen, and an adult female was taken. At
Kilometer 170, on September 24, a small flock passed down the
nearly dry channel of an alkaline stream known as the Riacho
Salado, while at Laguna Wall (kilometer 200) about 30 were seen
September 24, and 40 on the day following. The birds were found in
little flocks, often mingled with other waders that walked or waded
through shallow water on muddy shores where they probed with their
bills for food.

DISTRIBUTION

_Range._--North America, south to southern South America. The stilt sandpiper is one of the rarer shore birds and but little is known of its range and migrations.

_Breeding range._--North to probably northeastern Alaska (Demarcation Point); probably Yukon (Herschel Island); Mackenzie (Fort Anderson, Rendezvous Lake, Franklin Bay, and probably Kogaryuak River); and probably Keewatin (Cape Eskimo). East to probably Keewatin (Cape Eskimo); and probably Manitoba (Fort Churchill and York Factory). South to probably Manitoba (York Factory); and Mackenzie (Artillery Lake). West to Mackenzie (Artillery Lake); and probably Alaska (Demarcation Point). Eggs have been taken only in northern Mackenzie.

_Winter range._--Imperfectly known, but probably north to Tepic (Acaponeta River); Zacatecas; Tamaulipas (Matamoros); rarely Texas (Corpus Christi); rarely Louisiana (State Game Preserve); and Cuba. East probably to Cuba; and Brazil (Ilha Grande). South probably to Brazil (Ilha Grande); Uruguay (Colonia); and Chile. West to Chile; Bolivia (Falls of the Madeira); central Peru (Chorillos and Yquitos); Ecuador (Babahoyo); Colombia (Cienaga); Nicaragua (_=Momotombo=_); Guatemala (Duenas); Oaxaca (Tehuantepec); Jalisco (Manzanillo and La Barca); and Tepic (Ocaponeta River).

_Spring migration._--Early dates of arrival in the spring are: Florida, Banana Creek, March 10, Smyrna, March 26, and Pensacola, April 5; North Carolina, Cape Hatteras, May 19; New York, Long Island, May 18; Connecticut, Westport, May 28, and West Haven, May 30; Rhode Island, Sakonnet, May 9; Maine, Saco, May 5; Missouri, Kansas City, April 30; Illinois, Chicago, May 26; Iowa, Sioux City, May 7, Emmetsburg, May 10, and Wall Lake, May 23; Wisconsin, Racine, April 10; Minnesota, Wilder, May 1, and Waseca, May 14; Texas, Bonham, March 29; Kansas, McPherson, May 7; Nebraska, Kearney, May 6, and Neligh, May 10; South Dakota, Harrison, May 5, Vermilion, May 9, and Sioux Falls, May 14; North Dakota, Harrisburg, May 1, and Sweetwater, May 5; Manitoba, Whitewater Lake, May 12; Colorado, Barr, April 27, Fort Lyon, May 2, Colorado Springs, May 14, and Loveland, May 20; Wyoming, Cheyenne, May 25; Alberta, Fort Chipewyan, June 6; Mackenzie, Fort Resolution, May 19, and Athabaska delta, June 4; and Alaska, Demarcation Point, May 23.

Stilt sandpipers also have been detected as late as April in Cuba and Jamaica while a late date for their departure from Lake Palomas, Mexico, is April 7, from Dummetts, Florida, April 14 and Port Orange, Florida, May 5.

_Fall migration._--Early dates of arrival for the species on its return from the North are: Colorado, Barr, July 5; North Dakota, Benson County, July 1, and Nelson's Lake, July 14; South Dakota, Forestburg, July 7; Nebraska, Lincoln, July 19; Iowa, Sioux City, July 12; Texas Corpus Christi, July 3; Ontario, Toronto, July 18; Maine, Chebeague Island, July 19, and Scarboro, July 30; New Hampshire, Rye, July 31; Massachusetts, Cape Cod, July 4, and Needham, July 24; Rhode Island, Newport, July 6, and Block Island, July 15; New York, East Hampton, July 11; North Carolina, Churches Island, July 29; Bahama Islands, Fortune Island, August 5; Barbados, July; St. Batholomew, September; and Paraguay, Kilometer 80, September 20.

Late dates of fall departure are: British Columbia, Sumas Lake, September 19; Colorado, Fort Lyon, September 8, Larimer County, September 9, and Barr, October 5; Mackenzie, Fort Simpson, August 19, and Lower Slave River, August 27; Manitoba, Carberry, August 29, and Qu'Appelle, September 16; Nebraska, Lincoln, November 11; Kansas, Lawrence, September 19; Wisconsin, Kelley Brook, September 13; Iowa, Burlington, September 28; Ontario, Toronto, September 26; Ohio, Columbus, October 4; Illinois, Chicago, September 1, Grand Crossing, September 23, and Cantine Lake, September 28; Missouri, St. Louis, September 12, and Kansas City, September 28; Maine, Scarboro, September 16; Massachusetts, Chatham, September 20, and Cape Cod, September 29; Rhode Island, Newport, September 9; New York, Buffalo, September 16, Bronx, September 19, Cayuga, October 10, and Jamaica, November 28; New Jersey, Morristown, October 16; Maryland, Pawtuxent River, September 8; District of Columbia, Anacostia River, October 26; North Carolina, Churches Island, September 23; and Florida, Fernandina, October 10, and Key West, November 1.

_Casual records._--The rarity of the stilt sandpiper makes it difficult to determine whether some occurrences should be listed as regular migrants or as accidentals. Some of the following cases may be on the regular migration route of the species: Bermuda, two early in August, 1848 and one in early September, 1875; Newfoundland, Cow Head, September, 1867; Nova Scotia, Sable Island, August 18, 1902; New Brunswick, Courtenay Bay, September 8, 1881; and Montana, Chief Mountain, August, 1874.

_Egg dates._--Arctic Canada: 3 records, June 22 and 27 and July 8.

CALIDRIS CANUTUS RUFUS (Wilson)

AMERICAN KNOT

HABITS

This cosmopolitan species, with a circumpolar breeding range, has been split into two generally recognized forms occupying the two hemispheres, with a doubtful third form, _rodgersi_, said to occupy eastern Asia. Our American bird is well named _rufus_ on account of its color.

The knot, or redbreast, as it is called on Cape Cod, was a very abundant migrant all along the Atlantic coast of North America during the past century. George H. Mackay (1893) writes:

On the Dennis marshes and flats, at Chatham, the Nauset, Wellfleet,
and Billingsgate, Cape Cod, and on the flats around Tuckernuck and
Muskeget Islands, Mass., they used to be more numerous than in all
the rest of New England combined, and being very gregarious they
would collect in those places in exceedingly large numbers,
estimates of which were useless. This was previous to 1850 and when
the Cape Cod Railroad was completed only to Sandwich. Often, when
riding on the top of the stage coach on the cape beyond this point,
immense numbers of these birds could be seen, as they rose up in
clouds, during the period that they sojourned there. It was at this
time that the vicious practice of "fire-lighting" them prevailed,
and a very great number of them were thus killed on the flats at
night in the vicinity of Billingsgate (near Wellfleet). The mode of
procedure was for two men to start out after dark at half tide, one
of them to carry a lighted lantern, the other to reach and seize
the birds, bite their necks, and put them in a bag slung over the
shoulder. When near a flock they would approach them on their hands
and knees, the birds being almost invariably taken on the flats.
This practice continued several years before it was finally
prohibited by law. I have it directly from an excellent authority
that he has seen in the spring, six barrels of these birds (all of
which had been taken in this manner) at one time, on the deck of
the Cape Cod packet for Boston. He has also seen barrels of them,
which had spoiled during the voyage, thrown overboard in Boston
Harbor on arrival of the packet. The price of these birds at that
time was 10 cents per dozen; mixed with them would be turnstones
and black-bellied plover. Not one of these birds had been shot, all
having been taken with the aid of a "fire-light."

Arthur T. Wayne (1910) says:

On May 18, 1895, I saw, on Long Island beach, a flock of these
birds which I estimated to contain fully fifteen hundred
individuals, while on May 21 of the same year, I observed a flock
that had alighted on the beach, and that comprised without a doubt
more than 3,000 birds.

Excessive shooting, both in spring and fall, reduced this species to a pitiful remnant of its former numbers; but spring shooting was stopped before it was too late and afterwards this bird was wisely taken off the list of game birds; it has increased slowly since then, but it is far from abundant now and makes only a short stay on Cape Cod.

_Spring._--The main migration route of the knot in spring is northward along the Atlantic coast. The first birds usually reach the United States from South America early in April. On the west coast of Florida, in 1925, I took my first birds on April 2, and they were commonest about the middle of April. I have found them very common on the coast of South Carolina as late as May 23. Mr. Mackay (1893) writes:

They are still found in greater or less numbers along the Atlantic
coast south of Chesapeake Bay. Near Charleston, S. C., Mr. William
Brewster noted about 150 knots on May 6 and 8, 1885, and saw a
number of flocks on May 13. They were flying by, or were alighted,
on Sullivan Island beach. On May 17, 1883, he noted about 100 of
these birds in the same locality. In the spring they pass Charlotte
Harbor, Florida, so I am informed, in large numbers, coming up the
coast from the south (a flight on May 26, 1890), at which time they
are very tame. They are also more or less numerous near Morehead
City, North Carolina (where they are known as "beach robins"), from
May 15 to 30, their flight being along the beach, just over the
surf, at early morning, coming from the east in the neighborhood of
Point Lookout, 10 or 12 miles away, where they probably resorted to
roost. This indicates that these birds were living in that
locality.

On the Massachusetts coast the spring flight comes in May. Mr. Mackay (1893) says:

The most favorable time to expect them at this season is during
fine, soft, south to southwest weather, and formerly they could be
expected to pass in numbers between May 20 and June 5. In former
times, when such conditions prevailed, thousands collected on Cape
Cod, when they would remain for a few days to a week before
resuming migration.

The knot is less common in the interior, but Prof. William Rowan evidently regards it as a regular migrant in Alberta during the latter part of May; his notes record a flock of about 200 on May 21 and one of over 150 on May 23.

It seems to be a comparatively rare migrant on the coast of California, where it never was abundant. But it still occurs in large numbers on the coast of Washington. In some notes from Gray's Harbor, sent to me by D. E. Brown, he mentions a flock of over 500 birds seen on May 14, 1920. And S. F. Rathbun has sent me the following notes:

Late on the afternoon of May 16, 1921, we were on the south side of
Gray's Harbor, Washington, on a marsh meadow bordered by the tide
flats. At this hour the tide was nearly at its full, and the many
shore birds that had been feeding on the flats were forced to
retreat before the incoming waters and in consequence were driven
close to the edge of the meadow. Not far from where we lay
concealed a very large number of these had assembled on a somewhat
elevated stretch of ground near the meadows border, among them
being several hundred of the knots, these in two or three compact
flocks all the individuals of which were facing the wind. The knots
were resting quietly although there was much movement going on
among the shore birds. We could easily by the aid of our glasses,
see many turnstones, a few greater yellow-legs, these keeping by
themselves, and in the shallow water at the edge of the flats a
very large number of red-backed sandpipers and long-billed
dowitchers, flanked by an immense flock of the smaller sandpipers.
At this time the sun was low in the west and its almost horizontal
rays fell full on the breasts of the knots, for in facing the wind
they happened to be turned toward the sun, whose light intensified
the pale cinnamon of their breasts, this making a beautiful sight.

Without any warning nearly all of this mass of birds suddenly took
wing. As they rose, the knots keeping by themselves separated into
three compact flocks and rising high in the air then flew directly
towards the north giving their calls as they did so, and this
appears to be a habit of the species when taking wing. Again, the
knot does not appear to fly aimlessly about as do many other of
the shore birds, and is generally to be seen in flocks, the
individuals of which are closely associated, although at times
scattering birds will be observed; and in flight by the seeming
course a flock will pursue, we always receive an impression that
it has some objective point in view.

Dr. W. E. Ekblaw has sent me some very full notes on the habits of the knot in northwestern Greenland in which he says:

The knot is one of the commoner shore birds of northwest Greenland,
but even so, not numerous anywhere. It arrives in the land as early
as the end of May, for early in the spring of 1915 when my two
Eskimos, Esayoo and Etukashoo, and I were encamped at Fort Conger
on Discovery Harbor in latitude 81° 45´ N., we heard the keen call
of the knots flying over our camp the afternoon of May 30. The
first knots that come are generally in small flocks, but they soon
mate and scatter to their nesting places, only a few coming
together from time to time near the favorite feeding places. If the
weather of early June be inclement the flocks do not scatter so
soon, but remain together until the conditions become favorable for
mating and nesting. It is quite likely that some of the pairs are
already mated when they arrive, for the sex organs are fully
developed and ready to function upon their arrival.

In northeastern Greenland the time of arrival is about the same, for A. L. Manniche (1910) writes:

The knots arrived at the Stormkap territory in couples at exactly
the same time as did the other waders; in two summers,
respectively, on June 2 and May 28. While the sanderlings, dunlins,
turnstones, and ringed plovers immediately took to the sparsely
occurring spots free from snow, the knots would prefer to go to the
still snow-covered hollows in the marshes and moors, where I saw
them running on the snow eagerly occupied in picking up the seed of
_Carex_-and _Luzula_-tufts the ends of which here and there
appeared over the snow. This sandpiper more than its relatives,
feeds on plants at certain seasons. In the first days I also
observed now and then a couple of knots on snowless spots on
elevated table-lands and even on the top of the high gravel banks
at Stormkap. These may, however, have settled there in order to
rest after the voyage and not to search food. As soon as ponds of
melting snow and fresh-water beaches free from ice were to be
found, the knots would resort to these, and here the birds wading
or swimming looked for animal diet. In this season the knot did not
appear on the salt-water shore like other waders. Gradually as more
extensive stretches of low-lying table-land became free from snow,
the knots occurred more frequently here in their real nesting
quarters; they would, however, still for a while often visit moors
and marshes with a rich vegetation of _Cyperaceae_.

_Courtship._--Doctor Ekblaw describes this as follows:

The courtship is brief but ardent. Whether it is the females that
woo the males, as among the phalaropes, or as normally the males
that woo the females, it is difficult to determine, for the
breeding plumages of the two sexes are quite indistinguishable. On
June 3, 1916, I observed closely the courtship of three knots high
up on one of the plateaus of Numataksuah, back of North Star Bay.
Two males (?) were evidently pursuing one female (?), she leading,
they winging rapidly in her wake, contending as they flew;
apparently all uttered the shrill piercing call to which the knots
so frequently give voice during the mating and nesting season of
early summer, and which one rarely, if ever, hears after the young
are hatched. In great circles they flew, now and then stooping to a
zigzag pirouetting and dodging, again rising in wide circles until
they disappeared from sight in the bright sky, though their shrill
calls came to earth as sharp and clear as ever.

In the ecstasy of the mating season a single bird may indulge
himself (?) in a kind of dance flight alone. He rises high above
the hills, sweeping the sky in great graceful circles not unlike
the stately flight of the sparrow hawk, so smooth and calm it
seems. From time to time he utters the shrill, clarion call of the
mating season, or the soft _coo-yee_ that is most common about the
nesting grounds. Then suddenly he drops wildly, tumbling and
tossing like a night jar at sunset, as suddenly to break his fall
and soar for miles on still, outstretched wings, not a movement
noticeable.

Mr. Manniche (1910) refers to it as follows:

The male suddenly gets up from the snow-clad ground, and producing
the most beautiful flutelike notes, following an oblique line with
rapid wing strokes, mounts to an enormous height often so high that
he can not be followed with the naked eye. Up here in the clear
frosty air he flies around in large circles on quivering wings and
his melodious far-sounding notes are heard far and wide over the
country, bringing joy to other birds of his own kin. The song
sounds now more distant, now nearer, when three or four males are
singing at the same time. Now and then the bird slides slowly
downwards on stiff wings with the tail feathers spread; then again
he makes himself invisible in the higher regions of the air,
mounting on wings quivering even faster than before. Only now and
then the observer--guided by the continuing song--succeeds for a
moment in discerning the bird at a certain attitude of flight, when
the strong sunlight falls upon his golden-colored breast or light
wings. Gradually, as in increasing excitement he executes the
convulsive vibrations of his wings, his song changes to single
deeper notes--following quickly after each other--at last to die
out while the bird at the same time drops to the earth on stiff
wings strongly bent upward. This fine pairing song may be heard for
more than a month everywhere at the breeding places, and it
wonderfully enlivens this generally so desolate and silent nature.
The song will at certain stages remind of the fluting call note of
the curlew (_Numenius arquatus_), but it varies so much with the
temper of the bird that it can hardly be expressed or compared with
anything else.

_Nesting._--The nesting habits of the knot long remained unknown; Arctic explorers were baffled in their attempts to find the nest; and the eggs were among the greatest desiderata of collectors. This is not to be wondered at, however, when we consider the remoteness of its far northern breeding grounds, its choice of its nesting sites on high inland plains, its widely scattered nests, and its habit of sitting very closely on its eggs and not returning to them after flushing. Col. H. W. Feilden (1879) writes:

Night after night I passed out on the hills trying to find the nest
of the knot. Not a day passed without my seeing them feeding in
small flocks; but they were very wild, rising with shrill cries
when one approached within a quarter of a mile of the mud flats on
which they were feeding. It is very extraordinary, considering the
hundreds of miles traversed by myself and my companions--all of us
on the lookout for this bird's eggs, and several of us experienced
bird's-nesters--that we found no trace of its breeding until the
young in down were discovered.

Some of the earlier records of knot's nests are open to doubt, but there can be no doubt about the two nests found by Peary in 1909. Referring to his own failure and Peary's success, Colonel Feilden (1920) says:

The nests and eggs of the knot were obtained by Peary in the
vicinity of Floeberg Beach where the "Nares" expedition of 1875-76
wintered on the exposed coast of Grinnell Land north of 82° N.
lat., and where Peary, on the _Roosevelt_, wintered in 1908 and
1909 at Cape Sheridan some 3 or 4 miles farther north, and which
was the base for his ever-memorable adventure to the North Pole.
Probably the reason why we failed in 1876 to obtain the eggs was
due to our ignorance of the localities selected by the birds for
nesting. We saw the birds circling over and feeding around the
small pools of water left by the melted snow, which here and there
were surrounded by sparse tufts of vegetation, and we gave too much
of our scanty time to the searching of the marshy spots. Peary's
photographs show that in Grinnell Land the knot has its nests on
the more elevated slopes and surfaces covered by frost-riven rocks
and shales. The finding of a knot's nest in Grinnell Land is not an
easy task, and it is highly commendable that Peary on his return
from the North Pole to Cape Sheridan, and in the midst of his
engrossing and more important duties found occasions to take the
unique photographs here reproduced.

Two nests with eggs were found by the Crockerland expedition in northwestern Greenland, of which Doctor Ekblaw has sent me the following account:

Though level lands along the shores and the river valleys, or about
the pools constitute the feeding grounds of the knots, the high
plateaus far back among the hills, covered with glacial gravel or
frost-riven rubble, furnish their nesting sites. By this rather
anomalous choice of nesting site, the knot was long able to keep
its nest and eggs a secret, and it was not until the members of the
Crockerland Arctic Expedition persistently ran down every clue that
two full clutches of eggs in the nests were discovered in June,
1916, on a high flat-topped ridge back of North Star Bay, at least
3 miles from shore.

The nests are placed in shallow depressions among the brown clumps
of _Dryas integrifolia_ and _Elyna bellardi_ which grow among the
rubbles and gravel of the high ridges. The nest is merely a small
hollow, apparently rudely shaped by the nesting bird. The bird in
the nest is so like the terrane about her, that she is well-nigh
indistinguishable from it, even to one who knows exactly where she
is sitting. Trusting to her effective concealment, the mother bird
does not flush from the nest until almost pushed from it. When I
placed a camera only a foot from the sitting bird she did not
leave it. Though frightened so sorely that she panted and her
heart beat visibly, she stuck to her precious eggs. Her head
turned to the wind, she crouched flat upon the eggs, her feathers
ruffled wide to hide them. When finally I placed my hand upon her,
she broke away, trying by the well-known shore-bird device of
feigning injury and inability to fly to draw the intruders away.
The bird did not appear at all shy and when she failed to draw us
away, remained near us, evidently anxious, but trying to appear
unconcerned. Now and then she uttered a soft, but sharply pleading
call, more plaint than protest. One nesting bird did not leave her
eggs until Doctor Hunt pushed her, protesting plaintively quite
away from the nest, with the stock of his rifle.

A set of four eggs in Edward Arnold's collection was taken by Capt. Joseph Bernard, July 1, 1918, on Taylor Island, Victoria Land. The nest was in a dry spot in a wet marsh; there was a snow bank 50 yards from the nest and a pond on the south side of the nest 100 yards away. He watched the nest for three or four hours, from a hill 500 yards away, but did not see the bird again.