the birds that migrate through the interior are young birds and that
very few young birds take the Atlantic route. However, the dates given
by numerous observers in the Mississippi Valley and in Texas would seem
to indicate that they were nearly all referable to young birds, as they
are generally late dates. The main migration route for both adults and
young is evidently the Atlantic route; the species is comparatively
rare in the interior, south of Canada. It is still rarer on its
southward migration along the Pacific coast; the dates are mostly late,
probably for young birds; D. E. Brown has sent me two records from
Washington. October 7, 1917, Gray’s Harbor County, and November 14,
1915, Clallam County. Apparently most of the adults take the Atlantic
route; the young birds are spread out over the whole country, but are
much more inclined to the eastern route.
_Game._--The golden plover has been a famous game bird. It was a most
desirable table bird, as it was usually very fat and its flesh had a
delicious flavor on account of its clean, upland feeding habits. The
uncertainty of its appearance and its enormous numbers at favorable
times made its pursuit most interesting. During the years of its
abundance it was slaughtered in almost incredible numbers. Audubon
(1840) writes:
While at New Orleans, on the 16th of March, 1821, I was
invited by some French gunners to accompany them to the
neighborhood of Lake St. John to witness the passage of
thousands of these birds, which were coming from the
northeast and continuing their course. At the first
appearance of the birds early in the morning, the gunners
had assembled in parties of from 20 to 50 at different
places, where they knew from experience that the plovers
would pass. There stationed, at nearly equal distances from
each other, they were sitting on the ground. When a flock
approached, every individual whistled in imitation of the
plover’s call note, on which the birds descended, wheeled,
and, passing within 40 or 50 yards, ran the gauntlet,
as it were. Every gun went off in succession, and with
such effect that I several times saw a flock of a hundred
or more reduced to a miserable remnant of five or six
individuals. The game was brought up after each volley by
the dogs, while their masters were charging their pieces
anew. This sport was continued all day, and at sunset, when
I left one of these lines of gunners, they seemed as intent
on killing more as they were when I arrived. A man near the
place where I was seated had killed 63 dozens. I calculated
the number in the field at 200, and supposing each to have
shot 20 dozen, 48,000 golden plovers would have fallen that
day.
John C. Cahoon (1888) describes a method of shooting golden plover
employed by old gunners on Cape Cod, as follows:
Several weeks before the time for the flights to occur,
they go to an old field or pasture that they know the birds
usually come into and burn off the old grass and bushes
for quite a space. Then a hole is dug large enough for one
or two persons to sit in comfortably, with only the top of
their heads above the surface. In a few weeks the grass
springs up and the green patch is easily distinguished from
its duller surroundings by the plover flying about, and
they are sure to come to this place. The gunner, with his
decoys out, sits in his pit with only the top of his head
out, which is covered with a green cap. A flock, before
alighting to the decoys, will usually circle about several
times, often flying directly over the gunner’s head only a
few yards away. An experienced gunner will not shoot when
they are so near and scattered, as he could kill but one or
two, but will wait for them to bunch at the right distance,
which they are sure to do while turning, and seize that
opportunity to fire, killing many at one shot.
Mr. Mackay (1891) says: “They are extremely gregarious, and I have had
the same flock return to my decoys as many as four times after some of
their number had been shot each time.” This remark probably refers to
adult birds, which come readily to decoys or in response to skillful
whistling; I have seen a single bird whistled up from so far away
that it was hardly visible. Professor Rowan (1926) says that he has
“found it practically impossible to whistle them within gun range.” He
probably refers to young birds, of which Mr. Mackay (1891) writes:
These young birds invariably appear wild and wary, much
more so than the old ones. They are also very erratic in
their movements and flight when with us. They usually will
not pay so much attention to the decoys or call whistle as
do the old birds; and I have seen them, when very shy and
after being disturbed, mount up into the air and nearly
turn over on their backs while flying with great velocity.
It is a noteworthy fact that when a flock of these young
birds is approaching no dependence can be placed on their
movements. They may sometimes sweep down within a few yards
of the sportsman, passing with great rapidity over his
head, all scattered; or down close to the stand and then
up into the air; or they may turn suddenly. My experience
has taught me not to wait, as is my custom with the older
birds, to get them together before shooting, but fire at
them whenever and wherever I can if they are within range.
The older birds rarely indulge in any similar antics.
During the days of spring shooting in the west golden plover were often
shot, without decoys, by making a blind or selecting some natural
hiding place within their regular fly ways, which were generally quite
well established and known. It was always difficult to stalk them on
foot, but where there were no fences they could be stalked successfully
by a hunter on horseback or in a wagon.
_Winter._--The golden plover arrive in their winter home early in
September, or rarely late in August, where they remain until February
or March. W. H. Hudson (1920) writing of the days when these birds were
plentiful, says:
The American golden plover is abundant and well known to
every one by its native name, _Chorlo_, throughout southern
Argentina. Its wild, clear notes are first heard about
the last week in August, and among the first comers many
individuals are seen still wearing the nuptial dress.
After their long journey from the Arctic regions they are
lean and not worth shooting; two months later they become
excessively fat, and are then much appreciated by gourmets.
But although so regular in their arrival, they do not
regularly visit the same localities every season; the bird
may be abundant in a place one year and scarce or absent
altogether the next. During the spring, from September to
December, they prefer open plains with short grass and in
the neighborhood of wet or marshy ground; at the end of
December, when the giant thistle (_Carduus mariana_), which
often covers large areas of country, has been burnt up
by the sun and blown to the ground, they scatter about a
great deal in flocks of from one to four or five hundred.
At noon, however, they all resort to a lagoon or marshy
place containing water, congregating day after day in
such numbers that they blacken the ground over an area of
several acres in extent, and at a distance of a quarter of
a mile the din of their united voices resembles the roar
of a cataract. As population increases on the pampas these
stupendous gatherings are becoming more and more rare.
Twenty-five years ago it was an exceptional thing for a
man to possess a gun, or to use one when he had it; and if
Chorlos were wanted a gaucho boy with a string a yard long
with a ball of lead attached to each end could knock down
as many as he liked. I have killed them in this way myself,
also with the bola perdida--a ball at the end of a long
string thrown at random into a cloud of birds.
Doctor Wetmore (1926) saw golden plover on migration in Paraguay
during September; they “came to the open shores of lagoons with other
sandpipers, but were more often seen in flocks of 30 or 40 scattered
over open savannas where the grass was not too long.” He saw them also
in Argentina during November and December, where they seemed “to be
restricted during the resting period to the better watered grass-grown
eastern pampa.”
Again (1927) he says:
The golden plover in the south has been most common on
open plains, but ranges to some extent on the mud flats of
the coast. It is in this last area that the species may
be expected to survive as the pampas become more closely
occupied by man. These birds are hunted extensively and
so many have been killed both in the north and south that
their numbers have been greatly reduced. Though recorded
in its nesting range as only fairly common at best, the
region where the golden plover is found at this season is
extensive, so that the number of birds in existence is
still considerable. Careful watch should be kept on its
abundance.
DISTRIBUTION
_Range._--North and South America, accidental in Europe.
_Breeding range._--The breeding range of the American golden plover
has not been definitely separated from that of its western relative
(_Pluvialis d. fulva_). It has, however, been found that in Alaska
_fulva_ is more nearly confined to the northwestern coastal regions,
while _dominica_ is in the interior and on the northern coast.
The breeding range may be defined as extending north to Alaska (Point
Barrow, Collinson Point, and Demarcation Point); Baffin Island
(Kangianga, Tikerakdjuak, and Kangidli); and Franklin (Walker Bay, Bay
of Mercy, Winter Harbor, Wellington Channel, and probably Igloolik).
East to Baffin Island; Franklin (probably Igloolik and Winter Island);
and northeastern Keewatin (Whale Point). South to Keewatin (Whale
Point); Mackenzie (Casba River, Lac de Gras, Bernard Harbor, Rendezvous
Lake, Fort Anderson, and Fort McPherson); and Alaska (Gens de Large
Mountains, Beaver Mountains, and probably Nushagak). West to Alaska
(probably Nushagak and Point Barrow).
It also has been detected in summer in Greenland (Jacobshavn and
Godthaab), but there is no evidence of breeding in that region.
_Winter range._--The winter range of the American golden plover extends
north to rarely Chile (Arica); and rarely Brazil (Villa Maria, Matto
Grosso, and Rio de Janeiro). East to rarely Brazil (Rio de Janeiro
and Santa Catarina); Uruguay (Montevideo); and Argentina (La Plata,
Cape San Antonio, and Bahia Blanca). South to Argentina (Bahia Blanca,
Sierra de la Ventana, Carhue, and Mendoza). West to western Argentina
(Mendoza); and rarely Chile (Arica). On rare occasions individuals may
pass the winter season at more northern points as Nauta, Peru (Sharpe),
and Old Harbor, Costa Rica (Carriker). Winter occurrences at other
northern localities probably refer to crippled birds or erroneous
identifications.
_Migration._--The main migration route of the American golden plover is
of an elliptical nature. In late summer, after the breeding season, the
birds move southeast across northern Canada to the coasts of Labrador
and Nova Scotia, from which points they fly, apparently without
stopping, to the northeast coast of South America, passing thence
through the interior to the pampas region of Argentina. The northward
flight in spring is made farther west, through Central America, up the
Mississippi Valley to the prairie Provinces of Canada.
Individuals and small flocks are, of course, noted more or less
regularly in both spring and fall, both on the Atlantic coast and
in the interior, but the main route should be borne in mind when
considering the following dates of arrival and departure.
_Spring migration._--Early dates of arrival in the spring are: Porto
Rico, Mameyes, February 16; Bermuda, March 9, 1852 (only spring
record); New York, Long Island City, April 17, and Fair Haven Light,
May 3; Massachusetts, Revere, March 6, and Somerville, March 20; Nova
Scotia, Pictou, May 17; Quebec, Godbout, May 31; Franklin, Igloolik,
June 14; Louisiana, New Orleans, March 16, Avery Island, March 28;
and West Baton Rouge, April 2; Arkansas, Fayetteville, March 20;
Missouri, St. Louis, March 23, Kansas City, April 11, and Kings Lake,
April 12; Illinois, Mount Carmel, March 12, Lebanon, March 17, and
Chicago, March 22; Indiana, Terre Haute, March 22, Greencastle, March
28, and Muncie, March 30; Ohio, Sandusky, March 26, West Liberty,
April 2, and Columbus, April 4; Michigan, Pittsfield, April 20; Iowa,
Scranton, March 25, Newton, March 27, and Keokuk, April 14; Wisconsin,
Clinton, April 9, and Racine, April 14; Minnesota, Heron Lake, April
12, Waseca, April 21, and Wilder, April 24; Texas, Gainesville, March
7, Mont Belvieu, March 8, Boerne, March 9, and Indianola, March 15;
Oklahoma, Caddo, March 11; Kansas, Richmond, March 22, Lawrence, March
29, Manhattan, April 4, and Emporia, April 18; Nebraska, Kearney, April
8; South Dakota, Fort Sisseton, April 13, Huron, April 25, and White,
April 26; North Dakota, Larimore, May 2, and Grafton, May 3; Manitoba,
Aweme, April 23, Treesbank, May 1, Portage la Prairie, May 8, and
Margaret, May 8; Saskatchewan, Osler, May 8, and Indian Head, May 9;
Mackenzie, Fort Simpson, May 15, and Fort Resolution, May 23; Alberta,
Alliance, May 5, Mundare, May 12, Camrose, May 7, and Red Deer, May 9;
and Alaska, Beaver Mountains, April 29, Sitka, May 5, Flat, May 11,
Fort Reliance, May 13, Fairbanks, May 17, and Point Barrow, May 21.
Late dates of spring departure are: Argentina, Rio Negro, February 18,
Mendoza, March 23, and Tucuman, April 5; Guatemala, Duenas, April 12;
Louisiana, Avery Island, May 3, and Breton Island, May 13; Kentucky,
Crab Orchard, May 10; Missouri, Hunnewell, May 18, and Boonville, May
31; Illinois, Addison, May 10, Rantoul, May 12, and Chicago, May 17;
Indiana, Lebanon, May 23; and Michigan City, June 2; Ohio, Sandusky,
May 19, Bay Point, May 23, and Wauseon, May 27; Iowa, Gilbert Station,
May 16, Cedar Rapids, May 17, and Clear Lake, May 20; Wisconsin,
Racine, May 4, and Madison, May 30; Minnesota, Hallock, May 20, Wilder,
May 22, and Twin Valley, May 30; Texas, Corpus Christi, April 28,
Gainesville, May 12, and Point Isabel, May 15; Kansas, Manhattan, May
4, Paola, May 7, and Lawrence, May 8; Nebraska, Valentine, May 25;
South Dakota, Sioux Falls, May 23, White, May 25, and Harrison, May 27;
North Dakota, Devils Lake, May 23, Jerusalem, June 1, and Larimore,
June 7; Manitoba, Aweme, May 29, Margaret, June 3, and Shoal Lake, June
6; Saskatchewan, Indian Head, May 22, Winston, May 29, and Churchill
River, June 2; Colorado, Denver, May 17; Alberta, Mundare, May 26,
Sedgewick, May 30, and Fort Chipewyan, June 1; and British Columbia,
between Shusicap Falls and Mabel Lake, May 29 (only spring record).
_Fall migration._--Early dates of arrival in the fall are: British
Columbia, Graham Island, July 27, Sumas Lake, August 19, and
Chilliwack, August 26; Keewatin, Cape Eskimo, August 4; Manitoba,
Aweme, August 6, Shoal Lake, August 21, and Margaret, August 27; North
Dakota, Fort Berthold, September 16; South Dakota, White, September 12,
great bend of the Missouri River, September 18, and Harrison, September
20; Nebraska, Nebraska City, August 3, and Ames, August 22; Minnesota,
St. Vincent, August 29, and Hibbing, September 13; Ontario, Toronto,
August 25, and Brighton, August 28; Michigan, Houghton, September 5,
Charity Island, September 9, and Detroit, September 10; Ohio, Columbus,
August 23, New Bremen, September 1, Youngstown, September 2, and
Cleveland, September 8; Indiana, Waterloo, August 25, and Lebanon,
September 29; Illinois, Rantoul, August 6, Glen Ellyn, September 10,
and Chicago, September 13; Louisiana, mouth of Mermentau River, August
11; Mississippi, Bay St. Louis, September 26; Newfoundland, St. George
Bay, August 17; Quebec, Gaspe Peninsula, August 29, and Montreal,
August 31; Prince Edward Island, Malpeque, August 23; New Brunswick,
Scotch Lake, August 21; Nova Scotia, Sable Island, August 20; Maine,
Portland, August 12; Massachusetts, Ipswich, July 18, Plymouth,
August 7, Nantucket, August 12, Cape Cod, August 15, and Monomoy
Island, August 18; Rhode Island, Newport, August 12, and Kingston,
August 19; Connecticut, Bridgeport, August 14, and Guilford, August
27; Rhode Island, Point Judith, August 21; New York, Montauk Light
Station, August 9, Long Island City, August 12, Syracuse, August 22,
and Shinnecock Bay, August 29; New Jersey, Great Bay, July 19; Cuba,
Guantanamo, September 30; Lesser Antilles, Barbados, July 24, Grenada,
August 24, St. Croix, August 31, and Sombrero, September 2; British
Guiana, Auni, August 30; and Paraguay, Puerto Pinasco, September 6.
Specimens also have been detected at Bermuda as early as July 25
(Hamilton).
Late dates of departure in the autumn are: Alaska, Nome, September 14,
Baranof Island, September 18, Kenai River, October 7, and St. George
Island, October 18 (there is a strong possibility that all of these
Alaskan records refer to the Pacific form, _Pluvialis d. fulva_);
British Columbia, East Kootenay, October 13, Chilliwack, October 14,
and Comox, November 4; Alberta, Edmonton, September 23, delta of the
Athabaska River, October 10, and Beaverhill Lake, October 22; Montana,
Terry, September 23, and St. Marys Lake, October 1; Wyoming, Rock
Creek, October 25; Colorado, Newcastle, October 5; Mackenzie, Manito
Islands, September 14, Lower Slave River, September 29, and Fort Liard,
October 5; Saskatchewan, Indian Head, October 2, and Quill Lake,
October 11; Manitoba, Aweme, October 16; South Dakota, Fort Pierre,
October 21, and Fort Sisseton, October 26; Nebraska, Lincoln, November
14; Kansas, Emporia, October 22, and Lawrence, October 23; Minnesota,
Madison, October 22, St. Vincent, October 26, and Lanesboro, November
2; Iowa, Bronson, November 9, and Keokuk, November 9; Ontario, Toronto,
October 23, Brighton, November 3, and Ottawa, November 4; Michigan,
Gibraltar, October 12, Mainstee, October 17, and Detroit, November 4;
Ohio, New Bremen, October 23, Painesville, October 31, and Youngstown,
November 11; Indiana, English Lake, November 15; Illinois, Morgan Park,
October 28, Hinsdale, November 4, and Urbana, November 8; Arkansas,
Crocketts Bluff, October 22; Greenland, August 7; Franklin, Baffin
Bay, September 3; Quebec, Koksoak River, September 19, Kamouraska,
October 19, Montreal, November 8, and Quebec City, November 10; Nova
Scotia, Sable Island, October 22, and St. Marys Bay, October 23; Maine,
Lewiston, October 16, and Portland, November 15; Vermont, Wells River,
October 14; Massachusetts, Monomoy Island, October 13, Plymouth,
October 24, and Provincetown, November 19; Rhode Island, South Auburn,
October 12, and Newport, October 24; Connecticut, West Haven, October
25, and Hartford, October 24; New York, Ithaca, October 29, Rockaway,
October 30, Orient Point, November 5, and Auburn, November 8; Bahamas,
Cay Lobos, October 25; Porto Rico, Anegada Lagoon, November 4; West
Indies, Barbados, December 7; and Costa Rica, San Jose, December 15.
_Casual records._--South of New Jersey on the Atlantic coast, this
species has been recorded on a few occasions, among which are: District
of Columbia, Washington, one about 1860; Virginia, Smiths Island,
September 28, 1897, and Wallops Island, several occurrences between
August 12 and October 3 (Warren); North Carolina, several records in
spring between April 15 (Waterlily), and May 10 (Currituck), and in
fall between August 29 (Martins Point), and September 29 (Churchs
Island); South Carolina, Chester County, September 19, 1877, Christ
Church Parish, November 27, 1912, and Charleston, November 4, 1911, and
December, 1880; and Florida, Miakka, November 19, 1901, and December,
1900.
On the Pacific coast of the United States it is only casual:
Washington, several records in the fall between September 9 (Port
Townsend), and November 14 (Dungeness); Oregon, Netarts Bay, September
7, 1912; and California, Playa del Rey Lagoon, October 4, 1923, Santa
Cruz, October 22, 1888, and possible at Coronado, January 12–20, 1908
(Torrey). Suckley reported it from the vicinity of San Francisco,
and Kobbe from Menlo Park and Vallejo, but both of these records are
indefinite.
The American golden plover has been obtained a few times in Great
Britain, Essex, August, 1896, Perthshire, August, 1883, Leadenhall
Market, fall of 1882, and Mayo County, September, 1894; while a single
specimen was taken on Heligoland, December 20, 1847.
_Egg Dates._--Arctic coasts of Alaska and Canada: 176 records, June 1
to July 15; 88 records, June 25 to July 2.
PLUVIALIS DOMINICA FULVA (Gmelin)
PACIFIC GOLDEN PLOVER
HABITS
The Pacific golden plover is a smaller and more brightly colored
subspecies of the American golden plover. It breeds on the Arctic coast
of Siberia from the Yenesei River to Bering Strait and on the Bering
Sea coast of Alaska. On the coast of Alaska north of Bering Strait
it intergrades with the American form, and there is some evidence
that it intergrades or hybridizes with the European golden plover at
the western end of its range. It is known as the Asiatic or eastern
golden plover by European writers. It winters from India and China to
Australia, New Zealand, the Hawaiian Islands, and many other islands in
the southern Pacific Ocean.
_Spring._--This plover makes even more wonderful migratory flights than
its American relative, for between its winter and its summer homes it
travels twice each year over thousands of miles of trackless ocean;
many individuals may become lost or perish, but the majority of them
seem to find their way by some marvelous sense of direction. The reader
is referred to an excellent paper on the migration of this plover to
and from the Hawaiian Islands by Dr. Henry W. Henshaw (1910). Of the
spring migration he writes:
During the last two months of their stay in the Islands
both the migrating plover and turnstones get very fat,
and it is probable that individuals that are not in good
condition do not attempt the flight, or if they do do not
survive the attempt. Toward April most plover seem to be
in full breeding plumage, and I feel sure that none of the
birds assuming the breeding dress remain behind unless sick
or wounded. There is, however, a small contingent, both
of plover and turnstones, that summer in the islands, and
these appear to consist wholly of immature individuals,
which, as a rule, are thin and not in good trim.
When the time to migrate comes, small parties, from a dozen
or even less to flocks of 200 or more, strike boldly out
to the northward, apparently without hesitancy or doubt of
the result. Mr. Haswell, of Papaikou, which is on the coast
about 15 miles north of Hilo, soon after daybreak during
the early days of April, 1900, saw several flocks rise
to a great height and, after widely circling about a few
times as if to orient themselves, finally disappear in a
northerly direction.
It is probable, however, that day migration is not the rule
with plover and other shore birds. Apparently it is more
usual for the flocks to feed by day and leave just before
nightfall, as do many other birds in different parts of the
world. Mr. R. C. L. Perkins states that several times he
“witnessed these departures always late in the afternoon or
just before dark.”