Chapter M: P. Skinner writes: “When they get out on bare ground their speed (1)

is really astonishing. I have had them run along the road ahead of my horse for quite a distance.” In plover fashion and unlike sandpipers, the killdeer in feeding does not keep in a compact flock but spreads out irregularly. John F. Ferry (1908) writes: “A curious sight was that of numbers of these birds scattered about the lawns at Leland Stanford University while the sprinklers were in operation. This recalled the robins on the lawns of the Eastern States.”

Sometimes a number fairly close together may be found crouching on the sand or gravel asleep, or they may sleep standing, often on one foot. One or more are awake, however, watching, all from time to time open their eyes and look about. Notwithstanding their striking coloration, one may walk almost to a flock under these circumstances without noticing them. The “ruptive” marks about the head and neck break the continuity of the surface and the bird is not recognized as such.

The flight of the killdeer is rapid, generally close to the ground when the bird is on the lookout for food, but at other times, especially in courtship, as stated above, the flight may be at a great height. They usually fly about singly in a wavering and erratic manner, but sometimes in considerable flocks. Widely scattered birds when startled usually unite into a compact flock and fly away together. W. L. Dawson (1923) says: “I have seen flocks of 50 killdeers bunch closely and turn in silence and disappear in perfect order.”

Whenever the killdeer is unmolested, as is the case now under protection, it becomes very tame, as is shown above in the account of the birds at Stanford University. N. S. Goss (1891) writes:

“In Coatapec, Mexico, a pair came daily to feed and dress up their feathers beside a little run or gutter in the center of the narrow paved street opposite my room in the hotel, regardless of the people on the sidewalks, only running or dodging to avoid a person crossing or to keep out of the way of a pack of mules, etc.”

_Voice._--The killdeer is at times the noisiest of birds and is hated by the gunner, for its alarm cries disturb every bird within a long range. The “song” has been described under courtship. F. M. Chapman (1912) well characterizes some of its cries as “half-plaintive, half-petulant.” _Kill-deé kill-deé_ is the common cry from which it takes its name, for it omits the _r_ at the end. But it has a great variety of other cries with which it rends the air, and I find in my notes the following: _kee-kee_; _eet-eet-eet_; _kee-ah, kee-ah_; _dee-dee-dee_; _tsee-he, tsee-he_; _tso-he, tso-he_; _ker, ker, ker_, and piercing _tee-ars_. It is, of course difficult to express these cries properly on paper, and a great variety of syllables have been recorded by different writers.

Aretas A. Saunders (1926) gives the following excellent description:

The calls are mainly of three sorts. The first is the
common call heard when one approaches one or more birds, or
the vicinity of a nest: _dee dee dee dee-ee kildee dee-ee_,
etc., the notes usually slurred slightly upward at the end,
at least the longer ones. A second call is the long trilled
_t-rrrrrrrrrrrrrr_, often heard when the nest or young are
threatened, and when the birds are fighting or displaying.
The third call is one from which the bird evidently has
derived its name. It is usually indulged by birds flying
about in the air in loose flocks, particularly early in the
morning or toward evening. A number of observers or writers
on the notes of this species seem not to have separated
this call from the first one. It differs always by the fact
that the notes slur downward, instead of upward, on the
end. I should write it _kildeeah kildeeah kildeeah_, at
least in those forms where the first note is lower in pitch
than the second. It is often rendered, however, when the
first note is highest in pitch, when it sounds more like
_keedeeah keedeeah_.

The name _chewekee_ by which it has long been known on the Carolina coast, according to Arthur T. Wayne, is probably descriptive of its cries.

_Field marks._--The killdeer is a marked bird in the field, both on account of its plumage and on account of its voice. Its plover ways, its long straw-colored legs, its long tail with buff-colored upper coverts and rump and the two black bars on the breast are all good field marks. It can not be mistaken for any other bird if these points are borne in mind.

_Fall._--The fall, for the same reason as the spring migration, is not as marked with the killdeer as with our other shore birds. William Rowan (1926), writing of Alberta, says: “The latest killdeers have been noted in the fall weeks after the freeze-up.” Dr. Arthur P. Chadbourne (1889) recorded a memorable reverse flight of killdeer in fall on the Atlantic coast, due to the great November storm of 1888, which distributed them within a mile or two of the coast as far north as Cape Sable, Nova Scotia.

_Game._--Fortunately the killdeer is now on the protected list from which it should never be removed, for it is too valuable and attractive a bird to be shot for sport. Before this protection occurred, the birds, as we have seen, were almost exterminated in some parts of the country. In other parts, luckily, they seem to have come under the protection of food prejudice. Thus W. L. Dawson (1909), writing of the birds of Washington State, says, “Fortunately for them, the flesh of the killdeer is not esteemed for food by humans, so they are allowed to gather in peace in full companies.”

_Enemies._--Besides man, now happily pacified, the killdeer has little to fear in the way of enemies besides a few of the larger hawks and owls. H. H. Kopman (1905) relates a curious case where he found a killdeer caught by the leg at a crayfish hole, with one toe already eaten off. He released the bird and cared for the wound. The bird was able to stand and to fly away the next morning.

_Winter._--It is a pleasure to have this bird wintering throughout the southern parts of our country. B. W. Williams (1919), writing of these birds wintering in Florida, says: “They mingled freely with other shore birds on the beach, mud flats, and oyster beds.” M. P. Skinner, of the birds observed at Pinehurst, says: “All through the winter, the killdeer seemed to be roughly paired. They might separate two or three hundred feet while feeding, but they always came together again soon, and any intruders were promptly chased off. The first actual mating that I saw was on January 28, 1927.”

With enlightened public opinion, a knowledge of the beneficial character of this fine bird and its perpetual protection, there seems to be every prospect that the killdeer will always remain a joy to nature lovers and an aid to farmers.

DISTRIBUTION

_Range._--North and Central America, casual in South America and the British Isles.

_Breeding range._--The killdeer breeds north to probably Mackenzie (Fort Resolution); Alberta (Fort Chipewyan); Saskatchewan (Buffalo Lake and Churchill River); Manitoba (probably Fort Churchill); Ontario (probably Moose Factory and Ottawa); and Quebec (Montreal, Godbout, and Magdalen Islands). East to Quebec (Magdalen Islands); Maine (Bangor and Saco); New Hampshire (Portsmouth); Massachusetts (Harvard, Cape Cod, and Chatham); Connecticut (West Haven); New York (Plum Island, New York City, and Staten Island); New Jersey (Red Bank and Sea Isle City); Delaware (Lincoln); Maryland (Cambridge); North Carolina (Pea Island and Fort Macon); South Carolina (Ladys Island and formerly Frogmore); Georgia (Savannah and St. Simons Island); eastern Florida (Gainesville, Fruitland Park, Indian River, and Kissimmee); and the northern Bahama Islands (Little Abaco and New Providence). South to the northern Bahama Islands (New Providence); the west coast of Florida (Tarpon Springs, and probably James Island); Alabama (Leighton and Greensboro); Louisiana (State Game Preserve and Mermenton); Texas (Houston, Brownsville, Hidalgo, Eagle Pass, and Fort Hancock); Durango (Sestin); Chihuahua (Pachico and San Diego); and Lower California (Cape San Lucas). West to Lower California (Cape San Lucas, Victoria Mountains, San Quentin Bay, and Volcano Lake); California, (Poway Valley, Escondido, Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, probably Cahto, and Fort Crook); Oregon (Tule Lake, Link River, Fort Klamath, Bandon, Dayton, and Portland); Washington (Yakima, Fort Steilacoom, Tacoma, and probably Lake Chelan); British Columbia (Okanagan Landing and Cariboo District); and probably Mackenzie (Fort Resolution).

There also is a somewhat questionable breeding record for the killdeer in Yucatan (Sisal). The breeding range in the northeastern United States became greatly restricted when this region was extensively developed, but the birds now seem to be increasing in numbers in this area.

_Winter range._--The winter range of the killdeer extends north to British Columbia (Chilliwack and probably Okanagan Lake); Utah (Antelope Island and Provo); Colorado (Mesa County, Boulder, and Denver); rarely Kansas (Harper and Onaga); rarely Iowa (Wall Lake and Grinnell); Illinois (Knoxville, La Grange, and Chicago); rarely Indiana (Vincennes, Bicknell, La Fayette, and Indianapolis); rarely Ohio (Hillsboro, probably Oberlin and Salem); and rarely Massachusetts (Marblehead). East to rarely Massachusetts (Marblehead, Boston, and Monomoy Island); rarely Connecticut (Jewett City, Meriden, and North Haven); rarely New York (Long Island and New York City); New Jersey (Atlantic City and Five-mile Beach); District of Columbia (Washington); Maryland (Cambridge); Virginia (Broadwater, James River, and Back Bay); North Carolina (Pea Island and Ocracoke); South Carolina (Waverly Mills, Mount Pleasant, and Frogmore); Georgia (Savannah, Blackbeard Island, Darien, and St. Marys); Florida (Amelia Island, St. Augustine, Daytona Beach, Titusville, and Upper Matecumbe Key); the Bahama Islands (Nassau, Cat Island, Watling Island, and Acklin Island); Haiti (Monte Christi, Sanchez, Samana, and El Valle); and Porto Rico (San Juan). South to Porto Rico (San Juan, Caguas, and Mayaguez); rarely Panama (Davila); and Costa Rica (mouth of the Diquis, San Jose, and Miravalles). West to Costa Rica (Miravalles); Guatemala (Atitlan and Coban); Jalisco (Ocotlan); Sinaloa (Mazatlan); Lower California (San Jose del Cabo, La Paz, San Quentin, and the Colorado River delta); California (Escondido, Los Angeles, San Fernando, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, and Napa); Oregon (Corvallis, Rickreall, and Netarts Bay); Washington (Camas, Tacoma, Dungeness Spit, and Bellingham Bay); and British Columbia (Chilliwack).

The killdeer winters also in Bermuda, and is of casual occurrence at this season in southern New Hampshire (Isle of Shoals) and in Michigan (Plymouth).

The West Indian killdeer has been described as a distinct subspecies (_Oxyechus vociferus rubidus_), and is resident. The North American form does, however, regularly migrate to those islands, and it may winter there in larger numbers than is now known. Extensive collecting at this season will be necessary to decide this matter.

_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival are: New York, Montauk Point, February 17, New York City, February 20, Branchport, March 1, Albany, March 3, and Rochester, March 5; Connecticut, New Haven, February 24, Jewett City, March 2, Fairfield, March 3 and Carrollton, March 4; Rhode Island, Block Island, February 27, Westerly, February 28, Newport, March 4; Massachusetts, Muskeget Island, February 28, and Amherst, March 10; Vermont, Rutland, March 27; Maine, Waterville, March 11, and Farmington, March 28; Quebec, Montreal, March 25; Michigan, Petersburg, February 4, Ann Arbor, February 14, Vicksburg, February 21, and Kalamazoo, February 28; Ontario, Point Pelee, March 2, London, March 4, Hamilton, March 8, Toronto, March 20, and Ottawa, March 26; Iowa, Bentonsport, February 22, Keokuk, February 28, Iowa City, February 28, Fairfield, March 3, and National, March 5; Wisconsin, Unity, March 1, Camp Douglas, March 2, and Racine, March 3; Minnesota, Heron Lake, March 5, Jackson, March 10, Red Wing, March 12, and Lanesboro, March 13; Kansas, Harper, February 4, Wichita, February 7, Topeka, February 15, Onaga, February 22, and Independence, February 25; Nebraska, Omaha, February 19, Dunbar, February 21, and Falls City, February 23; South Dakota, Yankton, March 10, Huron, March 11, and Rapid City, March 12; North Dakota, Argusville, March 15, Fargo, March 18, and Bismarck, March 23; Manitoba, Margaret, March 23, Aweme, March 23, Pilot Mound, March 25, Treesbank, March 28, and Winnipeg, April 12; Saskatchewan, Indian Head, March 27, Eastend, March 27, Lake Johnston, March 30, April 2, and Carleton House, April 6; Wyoming, Yellowstone Park, March 12, and Laramie, March 16; Idaho, Neeley, February 1, Meridian, February 3, and Rathdrum, February 19; Montana, Wisdom, March 5, and Missoula, March 12; and Alberta, Flagstaff, April 2, Nanton, April 8, Veteran, April 10, Red Deer, April 11, and Edmonton, April 15.

Late dates of spring departure from the southern part of the winter range are not numerous, but killdeers have been observed in spring in Panama, March 3; Costa Rica, San Jose, March 15, and Porto Rico, San Juan, March 26.

_Fall migration._--The arrival of these birds in that part of the winter range that is south of the breeding range, likewise has not been carefully recorded. Arrivals at this season have been reported from Porto Rico, Aguadilla, October 7; Guatemala, San Geronimo, October 29, Costa Rica, San Jose, October 15; and Nicaragua, Escondido River, November; and Panama, November 26.

Late dates of fall departure are: Alberta, Veteran, September 15, Innisfree-Mundare, September 17, and Edmonton, September 22; Montana, Missoula, December 25 (possibly winters occasionally); Idaho, Meridian, December 14, and Rupert, December 23; Saskatchewan, Eastend, October 10; Manitoba, Treesbank, October 11, Winnipeg, October 12, Aweme, October 15, and Margaret, October 15; North Dakota, Charlson, October 8, and Fargo, October 15; South Dakota, Forestburg, October 30, Sioux Falls, November 7, and Yankton, November 11; Nebraska, Nebraska City, November 10, Beatrice, November 16, and Lincoln, November 18; Kansas, Hayes, November 3, Onaga, November 8, Lawrence, November 11, and Harper, November 25; Minnesota, Correll, October 23, Hutchinson, October 25, Elk River, October 26, and St. Paul, November 26; Wisconsin, Genoa Junction, November 13, Madison, November 14, and Racine, November 16; Iowa, Emmetsburg, November 13, Grinnell, November 15, Keokuk, November 17, and Coralville, November 20; Ontario, Reaboro, November 4, Port Dover, November 8, Listowel, November 10, and Harrow, November 15; Michigan, Croswell, November 4, Sault Ste. Marie, November 5, Jackson, November 9, Livonia, November 13, and Ann Arbor, November 19; Quebec, Montreal, October 26; Maine, Phillips, October 24, and Cape Elizabeth (exceptional), December 25; New Hampshire, Hampton Beach, December 25; Vermont, Bennington, November 12; Massachusetts, Harvard, December 5, and Chatham, December 17; Connecticut, Meriden, November 22, and Hartford, November 30; and New York, Collins, November 22, Rhinebeck, November 24, Branchport, November 29, and Montauk Point, December 10.

_Casual records._--The killdeer has been taken both north and south of its normal range in the Western Hemisphere, and casually in the British Isles. In Nova Scotia it was reported from Halifax Harbor on December 5, 1876, and at Meaghers Beach, on January 1 (Downs); Macoun (1909) notes it as a rare migrant in Newfoundland without further details; and a specimen in the British Museum was taken in the Hudson’s Bay region. In Alaska, one was reported as seen in August, 1898, on the Kuskokwim River (Hinckley), and a specimen was collected on the Stikine Flats, May 10, 1907 (Willett).

In South America specimens have been reported from several countries but so few in number it does not appear likely that any part of that continent should be included in the regular range. Among these records are: Chile and Paraguay (specimens in the British Museum, date and exact locality of collection unknown); Peru (Tambo Valley, October 25, 1867, Callao [Cassin], Pacasmayo, June, 1877 [Taczanowski], and Arequipa [Sclater and Salvin]); Ecuador (Chaupi, in June [Salvadori and Festa], and Sical, specimen in British Museum); and Colombia (specimen from Medellin in the British Museum).

This species has been taken or observed on a few occasions in England and Scotland (Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, 1867, near Christchurch, Hanto, April, 1857, Kent, April, 1908, Hampshire, April, 1859, and the Scilly Islands, January, 1885), and in Ireland (County Dublin, January 12, 1928).

_Egg dates._--California: 73 records, March 15 to July 2; 37 records, April 3 to May 13. Michigan and Wisconsin: 15 records, April 5 to July 6; 8 records, April 29 to June 13. Pennsylvania and New Jersey: 29 records, April 1 to July 17; 15 records, May 2 to 29. Florida: 11 records, May 3 to June 30; 6 records, May 22 to June 9. Texas: 11 records, March 3 to June 2; 6 records, April 3 to June 1.

CHARADRIUS SEMIPALMATUS Bonaparte

SEMIPALMATED PLOVER

HABITS

_Contributed, by Charles Wendell Townsend_

This charming little wader, familiarly known as ring-necked plover or ringneck, is, during migrations, an abundant frequenter of our seashores as well as of the shores of lakes and rivers. But it was not as abundant in the latter part of the last century and in the beginning of this, for, as William Brewster (1925) says: “Both ringnecks and peeps began to diminish appreciably in numbers soon after 1890, and have since continued to do so, no doubt because of the ever-multiplying gunners.” Fortunately the Federal law for migratory birds, passed in 1913 and extended to Canada in 1916, enforced by the enabling act in 1918, has since protected the ringneck at all times, and he has responded markedly. Flocks of several hundred are now common where flocks of 30 or 40 were becoming rare. Their confiding nature and handsome plumage make them most interesting and attractive.

_Spring._--Like most of the shore birds, the semipalmated plover seems to be in a great hurry to visit the breeding grounds. While, in the region of Massachusetts he leisurely wends his way southward from about July 12 to the end of October, a period of four months, the spring flight rarely lasts little longer than a month, from May 7 to June 14. Wells W. Cooke (1912) says: “At least four-fifths of the dates on the spring migration of this species fall in May. This is true for the entire district between the winter and summer homes, and the dates indicate that the migration in the United States occurs chiefly between May 10 and June 1.”

Migration occurs both by day and by night. Flock after flock may be seen on favorable days flying north along a beach, and the distinctive calls of the bird may be heard at night. I have recognized them clearly on a foggy May night when the birds were passing over the city of Boston. There are also records of the striking of lighthouses by these plover during the night.

It is evident that late migrants flying north in the spring must be late in returning, if they rear families, while those that return early in July must have been the early ones to migrate north. On July 30, 1918, I saw three semipalmated plover flying north along the shore at Ipswich. They were in full cry, and I wondered whether they were very late spring migrants or early autumn migrants temporarily turning back, or sterile birds that had no interest in the breeding grounds.

_Courtship._--In the latter part of May and early in June on the southern Labrador coast I have seen this bird flying about in circles uttering its loud and rapidly repeated courtship song. The song, which is entirely unlike the call note, may be heard, and the courtship performance watched, not only in the spring but in the autumn migrations, for there is a recrudescence of the amatory instinct at this season in most birds. The song, if such it may be called, is then generally given from the ground and may be likened to a whinny or to the sound of a bouncing ball. The notes are at first slowly repeated, but the speed increases until the notes follow one another so rapidly that they nearly run together. The birds that utter this song crouch low with tails spread and slightly cocked, wings partly open, and feathers, particularly of the breast and flanks, puffed out. Sometimes one walks in this way around another, sometimes two face each other, crouched motionless and then spring at each other and up into the air like fighting cocks. Sometimes one runs after another which, on taking flight is followed by the first, but the most amusing form of this courtship is where two, thus flattened, spread, and puffed, walk slowly side by side as if they were doing a cakewalk, all the time uttering their clucking song.

H. S. Swarth communicates the following notes regarding courtship seen in northwestern British Columbia: “On as late a date as June 25 a male bird was seen going through with the mating antics, following the female about with head lowered and breast puffed out to an absurd degree, uttering frequently a low call note.”

_Nesting._--A mere depression in the sand without lining or with only a few bits of shells or grass generally constitutes the nest of this species. P. B. Philipp (1925), writing of his experience in the Magdalens, says: “A nest as such is not constructed. A shallow hollow is scratched in the sand, and this is lined with bits of dead eel-grass, or a hollow is scratched in a bunch of dead seaweed.” H. S. Swarth sends the following notes of his experience with the nesting of this bird in the Atlin region of northwestern British Columbia:

A pair or two are pretty sure to be found where favorable
conditions exist, but as the species requires an expanse
of sandy or gravelly beach and as such beaches are not
the rule about the lakes of the region, there are long
stretches of shore line where the plovers are not found.
They avoid rocky or stony beaches that are so favored by
the spotted sandpipers.

He found his first nest, an unusual one, on the shore of Lake Atlin on June 10, and thus describes it:

The “nest” was in hard-packed gravel in a hole about 1 inch
deep and with practically vertical sides. This depression
was nearly filled with small chips and a very few straws.
The eggs were nearly perpendicular in the nest, points
down. It must have been some little labor for the bird to
make this excavation, for the gravel was hard enough to
retain the shape of the hole throughout the rest of the
summer. I returned to the spot in September and found the
cavity still sharply defined.

Audubon (1840) says of his experience in Labrador that this plover forms no nest, but makes a “cavity in the moss, in a place sheltered from the north winds and exposed to the full rays of the sun, usually near the margins of small ponds formed by the melting of the snow, and surrounded by short grass.”

_Eggs._--[AUTHOR’S NOTE: The semipalmated plover lays four eggs, often only three. They are ovate pyriform to subpyriform in shape, with little or no gloss. The ground colors vary from “buckthorn brown” or “clay color” to “cartridge buff,” “olive buff” or “pale olive buff.” They are boldly and irregularly marked with small or large spots or blotches of black, brownish black or very dark browns; some eggs are heavily blotched with “warm sepia” or “chestnut brown”; there are usually a few small underlying spots of “pale drab gray.” The measurements of 100 eggs average 33 by 23.5 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure =36.2= by 24.3, 35.5 by =25.5= and =29.5= by =22= millimeters.]

_Young._--The duration of incubation is not known. In the allied ringed plover of Europe the period of incubation is stated by Dr. W. H. Bergtold (1917) to be 22 and 23 days.

In the past it has generally been assumed that, with the exception in the case of the phalaropes, the female among the shore birds incubates the eggs and takes charge of the young. Joseph Dixon (1927) says: “After several seasons’ experience with breeding shore birds in the north the writer has come to believe that in more of our Limicolae than is generally known it is a common practice for the males to take a leading part in domestic duties not only in incubation but also in the care and training of the downy young.” With specimens in hand during the breeding season, he found incubating patches in the male semipalmated plover, and he says that “the males did a large part of the incubation and that it was the males that were the most fearless in the face of danger when caring for their young.”

P. B. Philipp (1925), on the other hand, studying the nesting bird in the Magdalens, writes: “I judge that the female does most of the incubating, three birds shot off the nest being of this sex.” H. S. Swarth also sustains the side of the female, for he writes: “With binoculars it is often possible to distinguish the sexes of the plovers, and it could be seen that it was the male who tired first in such efforts [shamming injury] to deflect danger from the nest. Even when he withdrew entirely, the female continued her protests until we were well out of her territory.” Dr. L. B. Bishop (1900), however, reconciles both points of view, for he says: “Bare pectoral spaces showed that both sexes assisted in incubation.”

The young leave the nest and run after the parents almost as soon as they are hatched. Bishop (1900) in the Yukon River region found an egg that was already pipped. He says: “I removed the young bird from the shell, and within half an hour the down was almost dry, the eyes were open, and it could hop about on its ‘knees.’”

Dr. W. H. Osgood (1909) reports the following observation by N. Hollister on a downy young of this species: “Although it was perfectly able to run about as fast as the adults, it at once lay flat to the ground when approached, with head extended forward in the sand, making it very difficult to see, so closely did it match the ground in color.”

The actions of the parent incubating the eggs when a human intruder appears is well told by H. S. Swarth in a communication, as follows:

The breeding bird skulked from the nest at the first
appearance of an intruder, and, after performing an
unobtrusive retreat to a distant point, launched out in
conspicuous protest at the trespass. The call notes served
to summon the mate, and sometimes even another pair of
birds, all hovering about overhead or racing close by
over the sand. A liquid call note, not particularly loud,
was uttered constantly, and both birds of a pair would go
through the form of pretended injury, dragging themselves
over the sand with drooping wings and spread tail.

In another case--

A bird was flushed, as it had been many times before, at
a point 300 yards or more above the water line, and I sat
down quietly to watch her from the shelter of a scrubby
willow. She flew to a distance, but returned in a few
minutes, to run aimlessly about over the gravel nearby.
Gradually she drew away, running over and between logs and
other drift, her manner changing from one of noisy protest
to furtive withdrawal behind any available cover. Finally,
about 20 minutes after I began to watch, she settled down
on the gravel, as it developed, upon the eggs.

At Seal Island, off the southern point of Nova Scotia, I found several breeding pairs of semipalmated plover, here, probably, at its most southern breeding place. On one occasion I came upon a bird that performed the usual wounded bird act, falling on its side and fluttering its wings as if badly injured. Presently it made off, fluttering and dragging its spread tail on the ground, keeping up this method of progression for over a hundred yards, although I had stood still. I then walked in the opposite direction and found a downy young running off in company with the other parent.

On another occasion at Great Caribou Island, Labrador, one of these birds appeared greatly excited at my presence, alighting near me, bobbing nervously, and protesting in conversational tones. Then it flew away, but immediately returned and flew by several times within a few yards, apparently in great fury, but not daring to hit me.

_Plumages._--[AUTHOR’S NOTE: In natal down the young semipalmated plover is darkly colored above. The entire upper parts, from forehead to rump, are mottled with “deep olive buff” and black. The auriculars and a broad band encircling the back of the head are velvety black; there is a distinct black stripe from the bill to the eye and from the lores to the auriculars. A spot under the eye, a ring around the neck, and the entire underparts are pure white.

In fresh juvenal plumage the crown, back, rump, scapulars, and wing coverts are “buffy brown,” narrowly edged with creamy or buffy white, the edgings broadest on the wing coverts; the lores, cheeks, and a broad band across the chest are “buffy brown” to “sepia”; the forehead, throat, a ring around the neck, and the entire underparts are white; the tail is like the adult, but tipped with “pinkish buff.” The buffy edgings mostly wear away before the partial postjuvenal molt, which occurs in late fall. The first winter plumage is like the adult winter plumage, except that some of the juvenal wing coverts are retained and the head is as in the juvenal. At the next molt, a partial prenuptial, the plumage becomes practically adult; only a few old wing coverts remain.

Adults have a partial prenuptial molt in the spring involving the body plumage, some scapulars and wing coverts, and a complete postnuptial molt from July to December; I have seen the wings molted as early as July 30 and as late as December 10. The sexes are alike in immature and winter plumage and not very different in spring, when the black markings of the female are duller or mixed with grayish brown. In both sexes in winter the black markings are replaced by grayish brown.]

_Food._--The semipalmated plover is an active feeder and in this way is sometimes beneficial to man. In the stomachs of 12 birds shot on beaches I have found worms, small mollusks (_Litorina_, _Mytelis_), various crustaceans (_Orchestia_, _Gammarus_, _Limnoria_), and insects.

W. L. McAtee (1911) says that this bird eats the larvae of the salt marsh mosquito (_Ædes sollicitans_). Samuel Aughey (1878) investigated the relation of birds to insects in Nebraska during the great invasion of Rocky Mountain migratory locusts on the western prairies and plains of the United States from 1873 to 1876. Of 11 stomachs of this species examined, he found the average number of locusts in each was 38; of other insects, 19. Junius Henderson (1927) states that this plover “on coast, feeds largely on crustaceans, mollusks, eggs of marine animals, and insects; interior, feeds on locusts and other Orthoptera, and many other insects.” Audubon (1840) says: “At this period (September) they are now and then observed on plowed lands, where they appear to procure different species of seeds and insects.”

_Behavior._--The behavior of this bird during courtship and in the care of the eggs and young has already been described. On beaches and mud flats it is sometimes difficult to see, notwithstanding its strikingly marked plumage. As the piping plover matches the dry sand, so the semipalmated plover matches the wet sand, its favorite feeding grounds. Here one may walk almost onto them without seeing them if they stand motionless, as they often do. While sleeping on the dry sand, even with the black and white markings in plain sight, they are also difficult to see. W. V. Praeger (1891) writes as follows of a wounded bird he observed hiding in a hollow in the sand:

While admiring the perfect blending of its brown shades
with the surroundings I saw in its white rings one of the
commonest objects of the seashore--the empty half of a
bivalve shell. The white about the base of the bill was the
“hinge,” the collar the outer rim, and the top of the head
the cavity of the shell filled--as they usually are--with
sand.

Gerald H. Thayer (1909), writing of the very similar ringed plover of Europe, speaks of the “eye-masking and ‘obliterative’ shadow-and-hole-picturing pattern.”

Although this bird migrates and feeds both by day and night, it often happens that a flock is discovered at sunset out of reach of the tide, clustered together as if they had settled down for the night. That they spend the night there in some cases at least is shown by William Brewster (1925), who says: “I have repeatedly observed them standing motionless, singly or in clustering groups, on some mud bar to which they had thus returned, keeping them in view until it was too dark to see them longer and finding them all there the next morning.”

During high tide, when their best feeding grounds are covered, these birds, like many other shore birds, are very apt to be found sleeping on the upper beach above the reach of the waves. The flock is generally huddled closely together, some standing but many squatting with their breasts resting on the sand, often in the lee of bunches of seaweed. While some sleep with heads turned to one side and bills thrust into the feathers of the back in the usual manner of birds, others sleep with heads sunk down between the shoulders. Generally some of the flock are awake and on the lookout, while the others open their eyes from time to time.

In flight the flocks are often compact, twisting and turning as if animated by a single thought, but they also fly in loose order. On alighting they at once spread out on the sand in true plover fashion, and do not, like sandpipers, keep together and move along close to the wave line. Another plover habit which at once distinguishes them from sanderlings or other sandpipers of a similar size, is that of running about with heads up and dabbing suddenly at the ground from time to time instead of moving along with heads down diligently probing the sand. With erect figures they run about in various directions, often pausing and standing still as if in thought, occasionally jerking or bobbing their heads and necks and ever and again swiftly dabbing at some morsel of food.

The semipalmated plover associates most frequently with the least and semipalmated sandpipers, but it also flies with sanderlings and other larger waders. Sometimes these birds fly in mixed flocks, but as a rule the ringnecks keep by themselves in flight, but readily join other species on the ground.

On the seacoast the ringneck frequents the outer beaches, the shores and mud flats of estuaries and tidal pools, and the sloughs in the salt marshes. Inland it visits similar regions on the shores of lakes and rivers as well as upland fields in search of food. As I have said elsewhere (C. W. Townsend, 1905):

Like all shore birds also, the ringneck is often
exceedingly fat in the autumn, and I have known the fat
of the breast to split open when the bird struck the
ground after being shot when flying at a height. The fat
is not only everywhere under the skin, but it develops
all the viscera, and the liver is often pale from fatty
infiltration. How birds under these circumstances are able
to fly so vigorously on their long migrations, or even to
fly at all, is certainly a mystery.

_Voice._--The courtship song has already been described. The common call note is a clear, rather plaintive, whistle of two notes, very distinctive and frequently emitted while the birds are on the wing. It is expressed by Hoffmann (1904) by the syllables _chee-wee_; Nichols (1920) writes it _tyoo-eep_. It is cheerful and businesslike compared with the sweet and mournful whistle of the piping plover. When calling to others as they alight, or when standing on the sand, they often emit a single note, sweet and clear, but at times harsh and rasping.

_Field marks._--The semipalmated plover is easily distinguished in the field from the killdeer by its smaller size, its single neck ring, and by the absence of the rufous color on the rump. Its darker colors distinguish it from the piping plover. From the sandpipers, even at a distance on the sand, it is distinguished most readily by its plover behavior, as already described. In flying they show a faint white line on the wings which contrasts with the general brown of the upper parts. The neck ring is noticeable both in the flying and walking bird, and the orange yellow of the tarsi and base of the bill can be made out with glasses. In the young, which arrive on the Massachusetts coast about a month behind their elders in the autumn migration, the ring is gray instead of glossy black, and the tarsi are pale yellow. It may be distinguished from the Wilson’s plover by the fact that that bird has a much longer bill, wholly black.

_Game._--Although this little plover was formerly shot as game in the same manner as is described under the least and semipalmated sandpipers, it is now protected at all seasons. Besides its value as a destroyer of harmful insects, its greatest value is aesthetic. On the beaches of the sea and lakes its graceful flight, handsome plumage, and confiding ways are a source of great pleasure, and on this account alone it is worthy of protection for all time.

_Fall._--The fall migration, as stated above, is a long and leisurely one, differing markedly in this respect from the spring migration. When a favorable spot is found, abounding in food and free from disturbances, these birds are apt to tarry there for some time. Here they grow fat and here they indulge in courtship performances as if it were the spring of the year. On beaches and marshes, where in former times gunners, hidden in blinds, were lurking to destroy them, all is now peace and quiet for these little birds, and their journey southward is undisturbed.

Of the fall migration Wells W. Cooke (1912) writes:

At one of the most southern breeding places near York
Factory, Keewatin, in 1900, the most advanced young were
still in the downy stage July 10 (Preble), and yet by this
time the species is already in full fall migration, and the
earliest individuals have appeared several hundred miles
south of the breeding range. * * * Though most semipalmated
plover migrate early, a few stay until freezing weather.

The adults migrate first, while the young rarely arrive on the Massachusetts coast before August 15.

_Winter._--Although the majority of the species winter south of the United States, as is shown under “winter range,” some are to be found at this season on the shores of the Southern and Gulf States earning their living in pursuit of their small prey.

DISTRIBUTION

_Range._--North and South America.

_Breeding range._--The breeding range of the semipalmated plover extends north to Alaska (Morzhovia Bay, Hooper Bay, and the Colville delta); northern Mackenzie (Mackenzie delta, Lower Anderson River, Franklin Bay, Horton River, and Bernard Harbor); Keewatin (Whale Point); Franklin (Annanostook and Kingnite Fjord); Victoria Land; Baffin Island; and western Greenland (Disco). East to western Greenland (Disco); Labrador (Port Burwell, Okak, and Tessiujaksoak); Newfoundland (Straits of Belle Isle); eastern Quebec (Upper Hamilton River, Wapitagun Island, Magdalen Islands, and Mingan Islands); and Nova Scotia (Sable Island). South to Nova Scotia (Sable Island and Yarmouth County); probably rarely New Brunswick (Grand Manan); northern Ontario (Moose Factory); Manitoba (Hayes River and Fort Churchill); southern Mackenzie (Artillery Lake); Yukon (Lake Marsh); and British Columbia (Graham Island). West to British Columbia (Graham Island); and Alaska (Berg Bay, Glacier Bay, and Morzhovia Bay).

In common with several other shore birds, nonbreeders remain throughout the summer in southern latitudes. At this season they have been taken or observed south to Venezuela (Margarita Island), Galapagos Islands, Costa Rica, the West Indies, and Jalisco (Ocotlan), while they frequently are fairly common on the coasts of the United States and at points in the interior, Ohio (Lakeside and Oberlin), and Michigan (Detroit).

Kumlien and Hollister report obtaining young not yet able to fly at Lake Koshkonong, Wis., but if their identification was correct, this record must be considered accidental. The species also has been reported in summer from eastern Siberia (East Cape), where it may breed.

_Winter range._--The winter range extends north to California (rarely Palo Alto); Texas (Brownsville and Corpus Christi); Louisiana (State Game Preserve); Mississippi (Biloxi); probably Alabama (Coffee Island); South Carolina (Dewees Island); and Bermuda (Somerset). East to Bermuda (Somerset); South Carolina (Port Royal); Georgia (Savannah, Blackbeard Island, and Darien); Florida (Amelia Island, Mayport, Daytona, Mosquito Inlet, Upper Metacumbe Key, and Key West); the Bahama Islands (Abaco, New Providence, Watling Island, and Great Inagua); Haiti (Monte Cristi, and Samana); Porto Rico; the Lesser Antilles (Anegada, Sombrero Key, St. Bartholomew, Carriacou, and Trinidad); Guiana (Abary River and Cayenne); Brazil (Island of Mixiana, Cajetuba Island, Pernambuco, Bahia, Abrolhos Island, Peranagua, and Santa Catarina); and Argentina (Puerto Deseado). South to Argentina (Puerto Deseado and Jujuy); and Chile (Calbuco). West to Chile (Calbuco, Coquimbo, and Moreno Bay); Peru (Chorillos, Ancon, Trujillo, and Payta); Ecuador (Puna Island, Guayaquil, and Santa Elena); Galapagos Islands (Albemarle and Narboro); Costa Rica; Honduras (Manatee Lagoon); Guatemala (Chiapam); Oaxaca (San Mateo); Sinaloa (Mazatlan); Lower California (La Paz); and California (San Diego, San Pedro, Saticoy, Pacific Grove, and rarely Palo Alto).

_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival are: Virginia, Arlington Beach, April 30; District of Columbia, Washington, May 3; Pennsylvania, Wayne, May 5, and Erie, May 8; New Jersey, Cape May, April 24, Camden, May 5, and Long Beach, May 10; New York, Long Island, April 19, Orient, May 2, Geneva, May 5, and Rochester, May 16; Connecticut, New Haven, May 1, and Fairfield, May 4; Rhode Island, Newport, April 15; Massachusetts, Rehoboth, April 21, Monomoy Island, April 28, and Dennis, May 5; Maine, Saco, May 5; Quebec, Quebec City, May 6, Montreal, May 19, Godbout, May 28, Eskimo Point, June 3, and Fort Chimo, June 11; Nova Scotia, Pictou, May 9, and Antigonish, May 15; Franklin, Winter Island, May 31; Missouri, St. Louis, April 2, and Kahoka, April 4; Illinois, Rantoul, April 9, near Chicago, April 25, and Cantine, April 26; Indiana, Denver, May 1, Terre Haute, May 5, and Bloomington, May 9; Ohio, Sandusky, April 20, Cleveland, April 21, and Oberlin, April 24; Michigan, Ann Arbor, May 5, Jackson, May 8, and Grand Rapids, May 9; Ontario, Toronto, April 21, Hamilton, April 24, Ottawa, May 9, and Guelph, May 15; Iowa, Sioux City, April 22, Ogden, April 24, and Emmetsburg, April 27; Wisconsin, Madison, May 5; Minnesota, Heron Lake, May 8, and Minneapolis, May 11; Kansas, Lawrence, April 22, Emporia, April 25, and McPherson, May 3; Nebraska, Lincoln, April 27; South Dakota, Vermilion, April 20, and Brookings, May 8; Manitoba, Brandon, April 28, and Reaburn, May 9; Saskatchewan, Lake Johnston, May 10; Mackenzie, Fort Simpson, May 16, and Fort Resolution, May 23; Alberta, Veteran, April 24, Camrose, May 6, Tofield, May 12, Peace River, May 20, and Fort Chipewyan, May 23; northern California, Eureka, April 17; Nevada, Smoky Creek, May 4; Washington, Destruction Island, April 24, and Grays Harbor, April 30; British Columbia, Ucluelet, April 28, and Comox, May 3; Yukon, Forty-mile, May 23; and Alaska, Admiralty Island, May 8, Bethel, May 10, Bristol Bay, May 15, Coronation Island, May 15, and Hooper Bay, May 19.

Late dates of spring departure are: Brazil, Cajetuba Island, April 18; Colombia, Sabanilla, March 27; Porto Rico, Luquillo, March 5, and Vieques Island, March 30; Haiti, Samana, April 13; Bahamas, Abaco, April 28, and Green Cay, April 29; Florida, Daytona Beach, May 25, Punta Rassa, May 25, and Pensacola, May 30; Georgia, Savannah, May 13; South Carolina, Kiawah Island, June 2, and Bulls Bay, June 7; North Carolina, Pea and Bodie Islands, May 17; Cape Hatteras, May 20, and Raleigh, May 22; Virginia, Cape Charles, May 24, Smiths Island, May 25, and Wallops Island, May 30; District of Columbia, Alexander Island, May 22, and Washington, May 25; Maryland, Patapsco Marsh, May 29; Pennsylvania, State College, May 30, Wayne, June 1, and Erie, June 2; New Jersey, Cape May County, May 23, Elizabeth, May 30, and Camden, June 1; New York, Canandaigua, June 7, Geneva, June 9, Orient, June 10, and New York City, June 14; Connecticut, New Haven, June 1, and Fairfield, June 8; Massachusetts, Lynn, June 5, Harvard, June 9; and Dennis, June 10; Maine, Portland, June 3; Louisiana, Lobdell, May 18; Missouri, St. Joseph, May 13, and Corning, May 18; Illinois, Chicago, May 29, Morgan Park, May 30, and Rantoul, June 2; Indiana, Lake County, May 27; Ohio, Columbus, May 28, Oberlin, May 29, and Lakeside, June 2; Michigan, Detroit, May 30, Sault Ste. Marie, May 31; Ontario, Ottawa, May 31, Hamilton, June 3, and Toronto, June 6; Iowa, Emmetsburg, May 20, and Sioux City, May 30; Wisconsin, Shiocton, May 28, and Madison, May 30; Minnesota, Lanesboro, May 23, Hallock, May 29, and Minneapolis, June 4; Texas, Corpus Christi, May 18; Kansas, Lawrence, May 18; Nebraska, Lincoln, May 20; South Dakota, Vermilion, May 19, Dell Rapids, May 22; and Forestburg, May 27; Manitoba, Lake Winnipeg, June 7, and Shoal Lake, June 12; Lower California, San Geronimo Island, April 13, Cerros Island, April 17, and Gardeners Lagoon, April 24; California, San Diego, April 23, Alameda, May 14, Fresno, May 15, and Santa Barbara, May 22; Washington, Tacoma, May 18; and British Columbia, Indian Cove, May 29.

_Fall migration._--Early dates of arrival in the fall are; British Columbia, Nootka Sound, July 23, Tahsis Canal, July 26, and Okanagan Landing, July 28; Washington, The Olympiades, July 16; California, Alameda, July 8, and Santa Barbara, July 12; Lower California, Santa Rosalia Bay, August 16, and San Jose del Cabo, August 23; Saskatchewan, Big Stick Lake, July 19, and Cochrane River, July 23; Manitoba, Red Deer River, July 22, Lake Winnipegosis, July 22, and Oak Lake, July 28; North Dakota, Kenmare, July 18; South Dakota, Forestburg, July 27, Nebraska, Lincoln, August 9; Texas, Tivoli, September 2; Minnesota, Minneapolis, July 17; Iowa, Sioux City, August 5, and Marshalltown, August 10; Ontario, Toronto, July 22, Coldstream, July 29, and Brighton, July 31; Michigan, Charity Island, July 25, Jackson, July 25, and Detroit, July 31; Ohio, Bay Point, July 3, Oberlin, July 6, Cedar Point, July 8, and Lakeside, July 17; Indiana, Bass Lake, August 1; Illinois, Chicago, July 22, and La Grange, August 7; Missouri, St. Louis, August 20; Mississippi, Beauvoir, July 22; Louisiana, Bayou Chene, August 29; Maine, Portland, July 18, and Squirrel Island, July 31; Massachusetts, Lynn, July 18; Marthas Vineyard, July 20, and Harvard, July 26; Rhode Island, South Auburn, July 23, and Block Island, July 25; Connecticut, New Haven, July 30; New York, Long Beach, July 3, Orient, July 6, and Brockport, July 28; New Jersey, Long Beach, July 19, Brigantine Beach, July 25, and Elizabeth, July 31; North Carolina, Myrtle Sound, July 10; South Carolina, Frogmore, July 20, and Charleston, July 21; Florida, Palma Sola, July 10, Daytona Beach, July 19, and Pensacola, July 26; Bermuda, August 12; the Bahama Islands, Long Island, July 17; Cuba, Batabono, August 26; Lesser Antilles, Grenada, August 24, and Dominica, August 29; Panama, Toro Point, July 23; Brazil, Santa Catarina, August 4; and Colombia, Santa Marta region, September 13.

Late dates of fall departure are: British Columbia, Chilliwack, August 23, Atlin, August 24, and Okanagan Landing, September 3; Mackenzie, Fort Simpson, September 1, and Fort Resolution, September 1; Saskatchewan, Indian Head, September 2; Manitoba, Shoal Lake, September 14, Aweme, September 14, and Oak Lake, September 20; Nebraska, Lincoln, October 14; Minnesota, Lanesboro, September 15; Iowa, Emmetsburg, September 24, and Grinnell, October 22; Ontario, Toronto, October 26, and Point Pelee, October 29; Michigan, Portage Lake, October 25, and Detroit, October 29; Ohio, Oberlin, October 21, and Youngstown, November 2; Indiana, Hobart, September 24, and Peru, October 2; Illinois, Rantoul, October 15, and Chicago, October 28; Kentucky, Lexington, September 17; Missouri, St. Louis, September 25; Prince Edward Island, North River, October 27; Nova Scotia, Wolfville, October 22; New Brunswick, Scotch Lake, September 23; Quebec, Montreal, October 20; Maine, Lewiston, October 13; Massachusetts, Lynn, October 12, Cambridge, October 26, and Dennis, October 27; Connecticut, Fairfield, October 22, Norwalk, October 26, and New Haven, October 31; New York, East Hampton, October 22, Port Chester, October 25, and Long Beach, October 28; New Jersey, Sandy Hook, October 25; and Pennsylvania, Erie, November 2.

_Casual records._--The semipalmated plover is more or less rare in the southern Rocky Mountain region where records are so few that it can be considered only as casual. Among these records are: Utah, Salt Lake City (reported by Nelson); Colorado, Denver, April 27, 1907, Loveland, May 6, 1890, and Grand Lake, Middle Park (Carter Collection); and Arizona, Fort Verde, September 8, 1884, Colorado River, September and October, 1865 (Coues), and Tucson, April, 1883 (Scott).

_Egg dates._--Labrador and Ungava: 42 records, June 7 to July 7; 21 records, June 18 to July 1. Quebec to Nova Scotia: 33 records, June 5 to 29; 17 records, June 15 to 23. Arctic coast of Canada: 18 records, June 16 to July 20; 9 records, June 23 to July 4. Alaska and British Columbia; 19 records, May 27 to July 6; 10 records, June 1 to 9.

CHARADRIUS HIATICULA Linnaeus

RINGED PLOVER

_Contributed by Francis Charles Robert Jourdain_

HABITS

The ringed plover breeds both on the east and west coasts of Greenland, ranging north to Sabine and Clavering Islands and Denmark Harbor on the east side and to Inglefield Gulf on the west. It is also said to breed near Cumberland Sound in Baffin Land, but this may refer to the semipalmated plover, _Charadrius semipalmatus_, and it has occurred casually in Barbados, Chile, and southern Alaska.

The subdivision of the ringed plover into geographical races is attended with considerable difficulties owing to the presence of passing migrants on many of its breeding grounds. The Siberian form, _Charadrius hiaticula tundrae_ is generally recognized, but is only distinguishable with certainty in summer plumage. Probably the Alaskan specimen belongs to this race. E. Lehn Schiöler, with fine series of carefully sexed birds before him, separates the Greenland breeding birds from the typical race under the name of _Ch. hiaticula septentrionalis_, but material with accurate data is too scarce in other collections to enable us to hazard an opinion.

_Spring._--In northeast Greenland, where Manniche found this species breeding plentifully, the birds arrived about the end of May or the beginning of June, at the same time as the other waders. Icelandic birds arrive early: April 22 to 28 (Faber).

Dr. W. Elmer Ekblaw says in his notes:

The ringed plover is one of the most noticeable birds of
the shorelands of northwest Greenland. Few beaches are
unoccupied by these noisy little birds, and rarely is one
out of sound of their shrill piping. They are quite as
common about the streams and pools of the interior and
along the seepage swales of the ground moraines. They come
to the land as early as May 29 and stay until the last week
in July. Almost invariably they are mated when they arrive
and only rarely does one see more than a pair together,
except where they congregate about swales or shallow pools
to feed. They are sociably inclined and do not hesitate to
make their nests near the Eskimo villages, probably feeling
more secure from Arctic foxes when near dogs and human
habitation.

_Courtship._--The courtship of this species has been well described by Farren, Selous, and Stanford. The former (1910) says:

Ringed plovers may be seen in pairs skimming low over the
ground, circling to a far height and descending again
like a flash, almost touching the ground as they do so.
They do not follow each other, but each describes similar
evolutions, overlapping and crossing the other’s line of
flight. Their long pointed wings, showing much white, give
a fictitious impression of size and as they alight on the
ground after skimming a short distance with curved drooping
wings they seem suddenly to vanish from sight as they touch
ground; in place of the long-winged graceful flyer is a
little plump-shaped gray bird, very difficult to see as it
runs with short quick steps over the sand.

Edmund Selous (1901) also describes a male as advancing toward the hen a few steps at a time, and moving his legs with a rapid vibratory motion during the pauses. Stanford (1927) remarks that the courtship is by no means easy to observe even with the aid of a powerful glass.

In one party on the beach on March 20, where at least
two males were contending for one female, the males ran
backward and forward with short, quick steps, and when
another male was near the feathers of the back and the tips
of the closed wings were elevated, the tall depressed and
spread out to its full extent to show the white tips of the
feathers, and the whole body arched with the head and neck
drawn in, the black gorget being puffed out to nearly twice
its normal size. In this crouching attitude the males ran
aimlessly to and fro for half an hour at a time, but making
no real attempt to attack each other.

Another male--