north to the Philippine Islands (Mindanao); the Hawaiian Islands
(Laysan, Kauai, and Hawaii); and probably, rarely, Oregon (Cannon
Beach). East to probably, rarely Oregon (Cannon Beach); California
(Santa Cruz Island, and Santa Monica); Lower California (Cedros Island,
Comondu, and San Jose Island); and the Galapagos Islands (Abingdon,
Indefatigable, Chatham, and Hood). South to the Galapagos Island (Hood
and Albemarle); Paumotu Islands; Society Islands (Huaheine); Samoa;
Fiji Islands (Ovalau); New Hebrides (Aneiteum); and northeastern
Australia (Cape York). West to northeastern Australia (Cape York); and
the Philippine Islands (Mindanao).
_Spring migration._--Early dates of spring arrival are: Washington,
Shoalwater Bay, May 1; Alaska, Forrester Island, May 7, Cape Prince of
Wales, May 11, Sanak Island, May 15, Unalaska Island, May 18, and Mount
McKinley, May 18; and Siberia, Copper Island, May 17.
Late dates of spring departure are: Guerrero, Acapulco, April 30; Lower
California, Cedros Island, April 24, Socorro Island, May 10, Guadeloupe
Island, May 18, and Clarion Island, May 20; California, San Nicholas
Island, May 11, and Eureka, May 18; Washington, Neah Bay, May 20, and
Flattery Rock, June 2; and British Columbia, Courtenay, May 23, and
Comox, June 4.
_Fall migration._--Early dates of arrival in the fall, are: British
Columbia, Okanagan, July 26; Washington, Clallam Bay, July 16, and
Quillayute Needles, July 17; Oregon, Seal Rocks, July 22, and Crater
Lake, July 27; California, Farallon Islands, July 13, Monterey Bay,
July 14, and Santa Cruz, August 1; and Lower California, Los Coronados
Islands, August 6, and Cedros Island, August 14.
Late dates of fall departure are: Alaska, St. Paul Island, October 4,
and Unalaska, October 16; British Columbia, Okanagan, September 20; and
Washington, Seattle, September 18, and Clallam Bay, September 19.
_Egg Dates._--Alaska: One record, July 1, 1925.
HETEROSCELUS BREVIPES (Vieillot)
POLYNESIAN TATTLER
HABITS
Three specimens of this Asiatic sandpiper have been taken in the
Pribilof Islands; the first was secured on St. Paul Island, October
4, 1911, by M. C. Marsh; the other two were taken by G. Dallas Hanna,
on the same island, September 2, 1917, and September 17, 1919.
These constitute the only North American records. It is not easily
distinguished in life from the wandering tattler and so may have
occurred much oftener on our extreme western coasts.
Dr. Leonard Stejneger (1885), who took an adult male on Bering Island,
in the Commanders, May 28, 1882, devotes considerable space to showing
that this is a species distinct from _incanus_; but some recent writers
have treated it as a subspecies. The principal differences are that
_brevipes_ is somewhat smaller, has a shorter nasal groove, and has the
tarsus scutellated instead of reticulated at the back; the belly and
under tail coverts are pure white in all plumages, whereas in _incanus_
these parts are barred in the nuptial plumage; and the upper tail
coverts, which are nearly uniform gray in _incanus_; are distinctly
barred with white. The structural differences would seem to warrant
specific rank.
The Polynesian tattler is supposed to breed in eastern Siberia, from
Lake Baikal to Kamchatka, but, so far as I know, its nest has never
been found and nothing is known about its nesting habits, eggs, or
young.
_Plumages._--Except for the specific characters outlined above the
plumages and molts are similar to those of the wandering tattler. In
the juvenal plumage the feathers of the upper parts are notched with
light buff or white; the upper tail coverts are tipped and irregularly
barred with the same colors; the upper breast and flanks are suffused
with light gray, more or less mottled on the chest; the tail feathers
and wing coverts are tipped or notched or barred with pale buff or
white; they are otherwise like winter adults.
This plumage is worn until September, when the body plumage, some of
the tail feathers, and some of the wing coverts are molted, to produce
the first winter plumage, which can be distinguished from the adult
only by the retained tail feathers and wing coverts. In some birds a
partial prenuptial molt produces a plumage which is nearly adult, but
in others this molt is suppressed and a molt into the adult winter
plumage comes later.
Adults have a complete postnuptial molt between July and January, and a
partial prenuptial molt, involving the body plumage, the tail and some
of the wing coverts, scapulars, and tertials.
_Behavior._--The habits, and probably the food, of the Polynesian
tattler are apparently similar to those of our American bird. Doctor
Hanna (1920) says:
I had an opportunity to observe this bird for a while with
two wandering tattlers in view at the time. The actions
of the two species were practically the same. They feed
very close to the sea on rocky shores and when disturbed
fly lazily, rarely more than 100 yards. The wandering
tattlers on this occasion appeared perceptibly larger than
the Polynesian and the notes of the two were different.
The latter uttered an irregular screech not of the same
intensity or pitch, whereas the former gave its usual call,
a series of 6 to 10 individual notes uttered in the same
pitch and rapid succession, but each of shortening duration.
_Winter._--This tattler migrates southward in winter through the Kurile
Islands and Japan to the Malay Archipelago, the Philippines, and
Australia. W. B. Alexander (1926) says of it in North Queensland:
This was the commonest species of sandpiper on the beaches
at Cairns and Yarrabah early in September, feeding in small
parties. The first were noted on September 1. They are
easily recognized by their gray plumage and yellow legs,
though the latter are not so brightly colored as those of
the two species known in America as yellowlegs.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--Eastern Asia, Melanesia, and Australia; casual on the
Pribilof Islands.
The Polynesian tattler breeds in eastern Siberia, from Lake Baikal
to Kamchatka; in migration it passes through China, Japan, and the
Philippine Islands to winter quarters in the Malay Archipelago and
northern Australia (Queensland).
_Casual records._--This species has been detected in North America on
three occasions, all on St. Paul Island, of the Pribilof group, Alaska
(October 4, 1911, September 2, 1917, and September 17, 1919).
PHILOMACHUS PUGNAX (Linnaeus)
RUFF
_Contributed by Francis Charles Robert Jourdain_
HABITS
The claim of the ruff to a place in the American list is a much
stronger one than that of most of the Palaearctic species which figure
in it, as it has occurred three times in Greenland, once in Canada,
on many occasions in the eastern States, in Barbados, Guadeloupe, and
South America.
_Spring._--Apparently the ruff migrates chiefly by night and in this
connection it is noticeable that the period of its greatest activity
in the breeding season is during the twilight of the early morning
hours. Naumann (1887) states that the first birds to arrive are the
young of the preceding year, and that the adult males are the next to
follow while they in turn are succeeded by the old females. Owing to
the enormous development of the feathered ruff from which the species
derives its names, the males are readily distinguished during the
breeding season even in flight and on the ground can be recognized at
almost any distance.
_Courtship._--The breeding habits of the ruff are so remarkable that it
is necessary to treat of them in considerable detail. When the males
reach the breeding ground they are in full breeding plumage, the bare
skin of the face being covered with bright yellow warts, while a disk
of feathers protects the neck and two tufts project from each side of
the head. The extraordinary variation in the coloring of these feather
adornments renders it possible to identify individual birds, as it is
rare to see two with even approximately similar coloring, and this
enabled Mr. Selous (1906) to make the valuable observations which are
referred to below.
Where ruffs are common, as in North Holland, one finds from time
to time bare areas of ground where the grass has been worn away in
patches. They are the playing grounds of the ruffs, and were known in
England technically as “hills.” During the daytime they are resorted to
from time to time by the male birds, which may often be seen sparring
with one another, but the significance of these meetings was little
understood until Edmund Selous (1906) spent a fortnight in the spring
of 1906 in Holland, during which he concealed himself in a hide which
commanded a good view of the “hill” at close quarters, and was often
on the watch before daylight. The diary of his observations was first
published in the _Zoologist_ for 1906 and 1907, and is too lengthy
and discursive to be reproduced here, but in the following condensed
account most of the essential facts have been preserved. The “hill”
under observation was roughly about 10 paces by 6, with 11 distinct
patches where the grass had been worn bare, besides a couple of
others less plainly marked. There were other similar “hills” in the
neighborhood, all much alike, placed on dry ground, in the neighborhood
of marshes. They are resorted to year after year, and bear traces of
excrement from previous seasons, while the grass is much worn away
owing to the presence of the birds. Some of the Dutch “hills” are quite
close to or actually in the way of paths, and the birds when disturbed
by passers-by will return to the ground within a few minutes. Like many
other Dutch birds they show much indifference to the presence of man,
owing to the fact that no shooting is permitted during the breeding
season. On April 14 a single male was disturbed by Selous from the
“hill” at 7 a. m. and did not return, but on the next day a flock of
eight or nine birds arrived and at once began to fight, but not on the
“hill.” It soon became evident that in order to be in place before the
arrival of the birds it was necessary to get into hiding before dawn.
By April 16 the “hill” was in regular use, each male resorting to the
same stand and sitting there, from time to time rising and making a
slight demonstration with erected tufts and ruff, sometimes followed
by a slight sparring match with one of the other males, but when not
engaged in fighting spending the time quite amicably side by side, in
some cases almost touching. In the afternoon a similar state of things
prevailed, but the proceedings were quieter and more subdued. When
sparring the birds “would rush and leap high into the air against each
other, rushing away and not leaping again as they came down,” and this
activity was generally more pronounced when a reeve appeared on the
ground. The other birds on occasions of this kind also rushed about in
wild excitement, suddenly pulling themselves up with the head extended
forward and remaining in this position motionless, perhaps then rushing
in another direction and then gradually sinking down quickly. When a
reeve arrived at the “hill,” where perhaps a dozen males were present,
after the first wave of excitement had passed she would thread her way
among the ruffs, which as she approached sank down to the ground by
her side with bowed head. Her preference for one particular male was
shown by halting at his side and gently nibbling with her bill the
feathers at the back of his neck. If copulation followed, there was no
interference on the part of the other males present, except perhaps
occasionally by accident in the course of excited running to and fro.
After persistent watching it became evident that the attentions of the
reeves were very unevenly distributed among the regular habitues of
the “hill.” There were two conspicuously handsome males--one a bird
with a golden-brown ruff and the other with a blue-black one--and these
two seemed to be selected far more frequently than the other ruffs.
The few attempts made by males to force the compliance of the female
were quite unsuccessful. Perhaps it is due to this that attempts to
pair between two male birds frequently took place and, strange to
relate, even between two reeves also. Selection on the part of the
hen birds apparently bore no relation to the fighting powers of the
male, although one serious fight, which lasted some three or four
minutes, took place, during which the two birds concerned fought like
demons, but finally ceased by mutual consent. The two selected birds
were, however, certainly among the finest and handsomest birds on the
ground. While the stations were usually occupied by the same birds day
after day, there were times when over 20 birds were present, so it
is probable that males from other “hills” call in at times. While it
was clear that one ruff paired with several reeves, it was much more
difficult to prove that the reeves paired with more than one male,
owing to their general similarity of appearance, though it is probable
that this was the case. The following extract from Selous (1906) gives
a good description of the characteristic sparring:
Each ruff has certainly a place of its own, and the most
envenomed fights appear to me to result from one bird
pitching down in another’s place when he flies in. The
aggrieved bird instantly rushes at the intruder and there
is a fight which may last for a longer or shorter time.
The birds have then a perfectly frantic appearance. They
kick, strike with their wings, and especially endeavor to
bite or peck each other. This biting is very noticeable,
the mandibles seeming to snap with rage. They leap commonly
before they close and then continue to do so as a matter of
course, the object seeming to be, as with other birds, to
get above the adversary and strike down upon him with wings
and feet and bill. Of course, when one bird is displaced
by another, others are displaced also, leading to general
commotion and, moreover, the mere anticipation of any fresh
arrival is matter for excitement for every ruff on the
ground.
Summarizing the results of Mr. Selous’ observations, it becomes
evident that the “hills” are the pairing grounds to which both males
and females resort, but the period of the greatest activity is
during the early morning from about 3.30 a. m. onward. Each male has
a definite place and the choice of a mate rests entirely with the
female, the males adopting an attitude of supplication, crouching low
with partially spread wings, tail and beak pointing to the ground.
The hen marks her preference by nibbling the back of the neck of the
prostrate male with her bill, and soon afterwards coition takes place,
the surrounding males remaining usually quiescent. One reeve was seen
to pair with two ruffs in succession and it is probable that she is
polyandrous as the ruff is certainly polygamous. There seemed to be no
connection between the fighting power of the males and the preference
exercised so strikingly by the females, but, on the other hand, the
favored ruffs were apparently always handsome and strikingly colored
birds.
_Nesting._--The reeve makes her nest within a reasonable distance of
the “hill,” but not very close to it. Naumann (1887) says that it is
never less than a hundred paces distant, and most of those which I have
seen were within a quarter of a mile. In the Dutch water meadows the
usual nesting site is among fine, thickly growing grass, where it is
difficult to see unless one’s eye is caught by a glimpse of the nest
hollow. In the marshes of Lapland, where vegetation is more backward,
it may be found among clumps of sedge and rushes. It is built entirely
of fine grasses, and would frequently be overlooked if it were not for
the sight of the bird when flushed.
_Eggs._--Normally four; sets of three are quite exceptional and are
probably second or third layings. They are pyriform in shape, thin
shelled, and, as is frequently the case with the eggs of waders, large
for the size of the bird. The ground color varies from brownish yellow
to pale olive brown as a rule, but occasionally has a greenish tinge,
while varieties with a clear pale blue ground are not very scarce. The
markings consist of spots and blotches of brown ranging from umber to
dark sepia and ashy grey shellmarks, more numerous at the large end.
White eggs have been recorded. The measurements of 143 eggs, chiefly
by the writer, average 43.97 by 30.7 millimeters; the eggs showing the
four extremes measure =47.5= by 30.5, 43.2 by =32.1=, =39.2= by 31.6,
and 42.9 by =28= millimeters.
They are usually laid in central Europe during the latter half of May
and early in June, occasionally in the second week of May. In northern
Europe most eggs are found during the latter half of June. Only one
brood is reared in the season.
_Young._--Incubation is performed by the female alone. Naumann (1887)
gives the incubation period as 17 to 19 days, but this is probably
too low an estimate and recently Heinroth has recorded 27 days.
From observations made by Mr. W. H. St. Quinten on young hatched in
captivity they leave the nest very soon after hatching, apparently
directly the down is dry. The reeve is a good mother, and I have seen
one when flushed from eggs on the point of hatching run from the nest,
flapping her wings in a helpless way as if unable to fly. Another
bird was also seen trying to distract attention by running with every
feather erect, looking more like some small mammal than a bird.
_Plumages._--The plumages and moults are fully described in A Practical
Handbook of British Birds, edited by H. F. Witherby.
_Food._--The ruff is mainly insectivorous, feeding largely on beetles
(Coleoptera), chiefly the smaller species. Jäckel records specimens of
the following genera: _Agonum_, _Bembidium_, _Parnus_, _Cyclonotum_,
_Sitones_, _Pisodes_, _Rhinoncus_, _Philhydrus_. Weevils are also
mentioned by Florence. Among the Orthoptera remains of grasshoppers
were found by Slater. Neuroptera met with include caddis worms
and cases (Phryganeidae) and larvae of _Ephemera_, Trichoptera
(_Limnophilus_ by Jäckel) who also records _Naucoris_ (Hemiptera). It
will be noted that most of the above are aquatic forms. Diptera are
a staple food in the north, including larvae of Tipulidae and many
small species. Of Mollusca, Slater records small fresh water bivalves,
Collett worms (_Lumbrici_). In winter the food is more largely
vegetable in character, though fresh water algae and seeds of _Rumex_
have been recorded in summer. Rice is frequently found in birds killed
in India and Mellor also found in seven cases nothing but durra grains
(Sorghum) from 19 to 228 in number.
_Voice._--The ruff is an extremely silent bird. One may live among them
in the Dutch polders for weeks together in the spring, and never hear
a sound from them, except a very low guttural or quacking note from a
reeve when disturbed from a family of young. Naumann (1887) however
describes a note _kack_, _kack_, _kick_, _kack_, which is probably the
same as that which Slater writes as _wick_, repeated rapidly several
times. Unless much persecuted it is confiding in its habits and pays
little attention to the presence of men.
_Enemies._--In England its extermination was primarily due to the
reckless way in which the breeding stock was netted not only in autumn
but also on arrival in spring on the “hilling” grounds, in order to be
fattened for the table. Montagu’s account of the state of things in
his day has been quoted at length in many books on British birds, so
that it is not necessary to repeat it here. As Pennant spoke of 40 or
50 dozen birds being taken by a single fowler in a season it is not
surprising that the stock was rapidly reduced to so low a level that in
spite of belated efforts to protect the birds and their eggs, it has
now practically disappeared. On the continent where it is still locally
common it has to contend against other avian enemies, more especially
the harriers (_Circus_), but also the goshawk, peregrine, and to some
extent gulls and crows.
_Fall._--The distinctive plumes of the male are shed in June and in
July the autumn plumage is assumed even in the extreme north. The males
begin to disappear from their breeding haunts in central Europe in late
July and early August, while the females are said to leave in September.
_Winter._--In their winter quarters ruffs are generally sociable and
are to be met with in small flocks, which show a preference to fresh
water marshes rather than the sea coast. In India and the Sudan the
flooded fields are a great attraction and the staple food consists of
grain.
DISTRIBUTION
_Breeding range._--Formerly at many places in England from
Northumberland southward, lingering until recently in Norfolk. Belgium,
locally in North France, Holland, Denmark, North Germany, and Bavaria
(Jäckel). Hungary, Czechoslovakia, the Baltic Republics, Norway,
Sweden, Finland, Russia north to Kolguev, Waigatz, and Dolgoi and
south to Bessarabia and Orenburg. In Asia, Siberia north to 72° on
the Yenisei and east to the Lena and Kolyma valleys, south to Dauria,
Turgai and Uralsk.
_Winter range._--From Europe through Africa south to Cape Province, but
scarce on passage in the Atlantic Islands. Asia, south to India, Ceylon
(scarce), Burma, also recorded from China and Japan, Borneo (Labuan),
etc.
_Spring migration._--At the Straits of Gibraltar the northward movement
begins in January and does not cease till May, but it is at its height
in April. Some birds winter in the Mediterranean region and these have
usually gone by the middle of April. In the eastern Mediterranean the
passage begins in the Ionian Isles about March 15 and in Corfu in March.
_Fall migration._--The return passage through southern Spain takes
place in August and September, while in Greece, where it is less
noticeable, it appears to take place toward the end of September.
_Casual records._--The species has been rather frequently detected
on the Atlantic coast of North America and (rarely) in the interior
eastern States. Among these occurrences are: Ontario, Toronto Island,
spring of 1882; Nova Scotia, near Halifax, May 27, 1892; New Brunswick,
Grand Manan; Maine, Scarboro, April 10, 1870, Upton, September 8, 1874,
and Camden, September 14, 1900; New Hampshire, Seabrook, September 23,
1907; Massachusetts, Newburyport, May 20, 1871, Chatham, September 11,
1880, and Nantucket, July, 1901; Rhode Island, Seaconnet Point, July
30, 1900, and Point Judith, August 31, 1903; New York, two on Long
Island, one of which was taken May 18, 1868, and Freeport, September
27, 1914; New Jersey, Barnegat (Elliott collection); Virginia,
Four-mile Run, September 3, 1894; North Carolina, Raleigh, May 6, 1892;
Ohio, Licking Reservoir, November 11, 1872, and Columbus, April 23,
1878; and Indiana, English Lake, April 12, 1905.
It also has been taken in the Lesser Antilles, Barbados, previous to
1848; Colombia, probably between the Rio Negro and the Orinoco or
adjacent regions; and Alaska, St. Paul Island, September 7, 1910. It is
of rare occurrence in Japan (Yezo). There is one record from Iceland
(Reykjavik, September, 1820).
_Egg dates._--In Holland, 4 dates between May 7 and 14; 18 dates
between May 15 and 31, 8 dates between June 1 and 22. In Lapland and
North Russia, 16 dates between June 8 and 27.
BARTRAMIA LONGICAUDA (Bechstein)
UPLAND PLOVER
HABITS
Let us be thankful that this gentle and lovely bird is no longer
called Bartramian sandpiper. It is a sandpiper truly enough, but one
that has adopted the haunts and many of the habits of the plovers. To
those who love the rolling or hilly pasture lands of the east or the
broad flat prairies of the middle west, it will always be known as the
upland or “field plover” or “prairie dove,” or, more affectionately, as
“quailie.” It is a characteristic bird of the prairies and wide open
grassy fields, where it once abounded in enormous numbers. Excessive
shooting for the market, where it was much in demand, reduced its
numbers to an alarmingly low ebb. Dr. Thomas S. Roberts (1919) says
that, in Minnesota,
Fifty years ago it was present all through the summer,
everywhere in open country, in countless thousands. Now
it is nearing extinction. Here and there an occasional
breeding pair may yet be found, but they are lonely
occupants of the places where their ancestors dwelt in vast
numbers.