which are being ploughed, and at this time they are always very tame,
following each furrow as soon as it is turned over in order to secure
the worms which are exposed.” I have watched a killdeer in a ploughed
field swallowing a large earthworm. Several strenuous gulps were needed
before the act was accomplished.
_Behavior._--The interesting behavior of this bird during courtship and
in the care of the eggs and young has already been detailed under the
appropriate headings. In general it may be said that the killdeer has
the usual plover habits when feeding of alternately running and then of
standing still, as if to listen or look, always with head up, and of
dabbing suddenly at the ground for its food. Like some other species
of plover, it occasionally bobs or “teeters” in a nervous manner. This
varies from a slight bob of the head, which is first hitched up and
then brought down, to a bob combined with a tilting up and down of the
whole body on the hips. In swift running they excel, and this serves
them to good purpose in the pursuit of insects.
M. P. Skinner writes: “When they get out on bare ground their speed
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.