Chapter XVIII: Introduction (17)

_Game._--In the old days, before the shooting of small shore birds was prohibited by law, sanderlings ranked as game birds among the beach gunners. They were popular because they were so abundant and so tame that they could be shot in large numbers, especially when flying in large flocks. They are exceedingly fat in the fall and are delicious to eat. A favorite method of shooting them was to dig a hole in the sand of the beach, as near the water as practicable, in which the gunner could hide and shoot into the flocks as they flew by. Dr. Charles W. Townsend (1905) tells of a man who, in 1872, "saw two baskets, each holding half a bushel and rounded full of these birds," shot by one man between tides.

_Winter._--The winter home of the sanderling is extensive. A few birds sometimes spend the winter as far north as Massachusetts. They are common on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from North Carolina southward, as well as on the Pacific coast up to central California at least. From these northern points the winter range extends southward to central Argentina and Chile, and even farther south. On the west coast of Florida, where I spent the winter of 1924-25, sanderlings were common all winter, associating with red-backed sandpipers and other small waders on the extensive sand flats, or with knots and piping plovers on the beaches. It was interesting to note how tame they were on the protected bathing beaches and how wild they were elsewhere.

DISTRIBUTION

_Range._--Cosmopolitan; breeding in Arctic or subarctic regions and wintering mainly south of 40 degrees north latitude.

_Breeding range._--In North America the breeding range of the sanderling extends north to Alaska (Point Barrow); northern Franklin (Price of Wales Strait, Bay of Mercy, and probably Winter Harbor); northern Grant Land (Floeberg Beach); Grinnell Land; northern Greenland (Thank God Harbor, Stormkap, and Shannon Island); and perhaps Iceland (Mickla Island). East to Iceland (Mickla Island); southern Greenland (Glacier Valley and Godthaab); and eastern Franklin (Igloolik and Winter Island). South to Franklin (Winter Island); Keewatin (Cape Fullerton); Mackenzie (Bernard Harbor and Franklin Bay); and Alaska (probably Barter Island and Point Barrow). West to Alaska (Point Barrow).

_Winter range._--In the Western Hemisphere the sanderling ranges in winter north to: Washington (Dungeness Spit and Smith Island); southeastern California (Salton Sea); Texas (Corpus Christi, Aransas River, Refugio County, and Galveston); Louisiana (State Game Preserve); western Florida (probably Pensacola and Bagdad); and rarely Massachusetts (Plymouth County). East to rarely Massachusetts (Harvard, Dennis, Muskeget Island, and Nantucket); rarely New York (Long Beach); rarely New Jersey (Long Beach and Cape May); Virginia (Virginia Beach and Cobb Island); North Carolina (Pea Island, Cape Hatteras, and Fort Macon); Bermuda; South Carolina (Mount Pleasant and Frogmore); Georgia (Savannah and Darien); Florida (Amelia Island, Seabreeze, Mosquito Inlet, and Key West); Bahama Islands (Andros, Watling, and Fortune Islands); Jamaica; Lesser Antilles (probably Barbados); Brazil (Cajetuba Island and Iguape); and Argentina (Misiones, San Vicente, and Tombo Point). South to Argentina (Tombo Point); and Chile (Coquimbo Bay). West to Chile (Coquimbo Bay); Peru (mouth of the Tambo River and Chorillos); Ecuador (Santa Elena); Galapagos Islands (Bindloe and Albemarle Islands); probably Colombia (Carthagena). Vera Cruz (Barra de Santecomapan); Lower California (San Jose del Cabo, Santa Margarita Island, San Cristobal Bay, and Cedros Island); California (San Diego, San Clemente Island, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Bolinas, and Point Reyes); Oregon (Netarts Bay); and Washington (Grays Harbor and Dungeness Spit).

_Spring migration._--Early dates of arrival in the spring are: Maine, Augusta, April 11, and Saco, May 5; Franklin, Bay of Mercy, June 3, Prince of Wales Strait, June 7, Walker Bay, June 9, Winter Island, June 10, and Igloolik, June 16; Greenland, coast at about 72 degrees latitude, May 29, Cape Union, June 5; Kentucky, Bowling Green, May 1; Missouri, Kansas City, April 30; Illinois, Chicago, May 10; Ohio, Oberlin, April 6, Lakeside, April 17, and Columbus, May 10; Michigan, Detroit, May 16; Ontario, London, May 13, and Toronto, May 20; Minnesota, Goodhue, April 20; eastern Nebraska, Alliance, April 6; South Dakota, Vermilion, April 29; North Dakota, Harrisburg, May 20; Manitoba, Oak Lake, May 5; Saskatchewan, Orestwynd, May 23; Mackenzie, Fort Simpson May 29; Colorado, Loveland, May 12, and near Denver, May 16; Wyoming, Lake Como, May 5, and Laramie, May 15; Alberta, Edmonton, April 29, and Fort Chipewyan, June 7; and Alaska, mouth of the Yukon River, May 10.

Late dates of spring departure are: Georgia, Cumberland, April 14; South Carolina, Sea Islands, April 23; North Carolina, Fort Macon, May 17, and Cape Hatteras, May 20; Virginia, Smiths Island, May 22, and Cobb Island, June 6; New Jersey, Cape May, June 13; New York, New York City, May 30, Geneva, June 3, and Sing Sing, June 5; Connecticut, Fairfield, May 31; Massachusetts, Harvard, June 4, Dennis, June 7, and Monomoy Island, June 27; Maine, Scarboro, May 30; Quebec, Quebec City, May 27, and Montreal, June 1; Kentucky, Bowling Green, May 22; Illinois, Waukegan, May 24, and Chicago, May 26; Ohio, Painesville, May 28, and Youngstown, June 2; Michigan, Detroit, May 28; Ontario, Point Pelee, June 1, Toronto, June 2, and Brighton, June 19; Iowa, Emmetsburg, May 25; Wisconsin, Madison, May 23; Minnesota, Walker, June 10; Texas, Point Isabel, May 3, and Corpus Christi, May 22; eastern Nebraska, Lincoln, May 21; South Dakota, Yankton, June 1; Manitoba, Lake Winnipeg, June 8, Shoal Lake, June 8, and Lake Manitoba, June 12; Saskatchewan, Hay Lake, June 9, and Quill Lake, June 10; Colorado, Denver, May 31; California, Santa Barbara, May 26; San Nicholas Island, May 30, Hyperion, May 31, and Redondo, June 4; and Washington, Quillayute Needles, May 30.

_Fall migration._--Early dates of arrival in the fall are: British Columbia, Okanagan Landing, July 25, and Comox, August 15; Washington, Dungeness Spit, August 18, Clallam Bay, August 22, and Tacoma, August 23; California, Santa Barbara, July 29; Alberta, Strathmore, July 31; Montana, Flathead Lake, August 29; Saskatchewan, Big Stick Lake, July 19; Manitoba, Victoria Beach, July 11, Shoal Lake, August 8, and Oak Lake, August 17; South Dakota, Pine Ridge Reservation, July 12; eastern Nebraska, Lincoln, August 22; Texas, Tivoli, August 3, Brownsville, August 15, and Padre Island, August 21; Ontario, Toronto, July 16, and Ottawa, August 14; Michigan, Charity Island, July 19; Ohio, Lakeside, July 11, Cedar Point, July 21, and Painesville, July 25; Indiana, Millers, August 1; Illinois, Chicago, July 24; Massachusetts, Monomoy Island, July 1, Marthas Vineyard, July 8, and Dennis, July 12; New York, Brooklyn, July 6, Montauk Point, July 20, and Rochester, July 23; New Jersey, Cape May, July 20; Pennsylvania, Erie, July 27; Virginia, Chincoteague, August 1; North Carolina, Church's Island, July 29; South Carolina, Mount Pleasant, July 14; Florida, Bradentown, July 12, Pensacola, July 19, Fernandina, July 21, and Daytona Beach, July 28; Jamaica, Spanishtown, August 20; and Lesser Antilles, St. Croix, September 13.

Late dates of fall departure are: Alaska, Demarcation Point, August 30; Mackenzie, Fort Franklin, September 16; Alberta, Beaverhill Lake, November 8; Colorado, Loveland, September 30, and Pueblo, October 1; Manitoba, Margaret, October 20, and Lake Manitoba, November 7; North Dakota, Grafton, September 14; Nebraska, Lincoln, October 4; Wisconsin, Lake Mills, October 3; Iowa, Burlington, October 15, and National, October 29; Ontario, Kingston, October 15, Point Pelee, October 16, and Ottawa, October 22; Michigan, Ann Arbor, October 26, Portage Lake, November 5, and Forestville, November 24; Ohio, Cedar Point, October 21, Lakeside, October 29, and Columbus, November 7; Illinois, LaGrange, October 29, and Chicago, November 3; Franklin, Bay of Mercy, August 30; Prince Edward Island, North River, October 30; Quebec, Quebec City, November 12; and Maine, Portland, November 25.

_Casual records._--In spite of its wide distribution the sanderling is not frequently detected outside of its normal range. Although but a short distance from the coast, there are only five records for the vicinity of Washington, D. C. (September, 1874, October 24, 1885, September 22, 1894, September 26-30, 1898, and September 27, 1898). It has been taken once in Kansas (Lawrence, October 7, 1874). There also is a record for the Hawaiian Islands (Hauai in October, 1900) and one in Haiti (Gaspar Hernandez, March 4, 1916).

_Egg dates._--Greenland: six records, June 29 to July 7. Grinnell Land: one record, June 24. Arctic Canada: two records, June 18 and 29.

LIMOSA FEDOA (Linnaeus)

MARBLED GODWIT

HABITS

Next to the long-billed curlew and the oyster catchers, this is the largest of our shore birds. For that reason and for other reasons it is rapidly disappearing, and before many years it may join the ranks of those that are gone but not forgotten. Although shy at times, it is often foolishly tame and is then easily slaughtered. It is large enough to appeal to the sportsman as legitimate game and it makes a plump and toothsome morsel for the table. But, worst of all, its breeding grounds on the prairies and meadows of the central plains are becoming more and more restricted by the encroachments of agriculture; the wide-open solitudes will soon be only memories of the past.

In Audubon's (1840) time this was an abundant species and much more widely distributed than it is to-day. He writes:

On the 31st of May, 1832, I saw an immense number of these birds on
an extensive mud bar bordering one of the Keys of Florida, about 6
miles south of Cape Sable. When I landed with my party the whole,
amounting to some
thousands, collected in the manner mentioned above. Four or five
guns were fired at once, and the slaughter was such that I was
quite satisfied with the number obtained, both for specimens and
for food. For this reason we refrained from firing at them again,
although the temptation was at times great, as they flew over and
wheeled round us for awhile, until at length they alighted at some
distance and began to feed.

The marbled godwit is a rare bird in Florida to-day; I saw only one during the five months of my last winter on the west coast. It was formerly abundant as a migrant on the Atlantic coast from New England southward, where now it is merely a straggler. It is still fairly common on the Pacific coast, where probably most of the birds now go. Even in Minnesota, close to its present breeding grounds, it has decreased enormously. Dr. Thomas S. Roberts (1919) writes:

When the writer, in company with Franklin Benner, went to Grant and
Traverse Counties in June, 1879, to study the wild life of that
region, the great marbled godwit was so abundant, so constant and
insistent in its attentions to the traveler on the prairie, and so
noisy that it became at times an actual nuisance. They were
continually hovering about the team, perfectly fearless and nearly
deafening us with their loud, harsh cries--"go-wit, go-wit." On
getting out of the wagon to search for their nests, the birds
became fairly frantic until we were fain to stop our ears to shut
out the din. Now and then the birds would all disappear and peace
would ensue for a brief period, but they had only retired to muster
their forces anew, for shortly a great company would bear down upon
us, flying low over the prairie, and spread out in wide array, all
the birds silent, until, when almost upon us, they swerved suddenly
upward over our heads and broke out again in a wild, discordant
clamor. Once I counted 50 birds in one of these charging companies.
This, to us, novel experience, went on from day to day in various
places and has left a vivid impression that can never be effaced.
Happenings of this sort have long since become things of the past
in Minnesota. The godwits gradually disappeared before conditions
associated with the advance of man into their domain until now it
is doubtful that more than an occasional pair remains to nest in
some remote part of the State.

The godwits have always been favorites with me and in my early days I had always longed to see them. The opportunity came at last when I visited North Dakota in 1901. We had been collecting for several days in some extensive sloughs bordering a large lake in Steele County, which we found exceedingly rich in bird life, when on June 12 I first made the acquaintance of this magnificent wader. The beautiful Wilson's phalaropes were flitting about among the tussocks, and it was while hunting for their nests that we noticed, among the numerous noisy killdeers and western willets flying over us, a strange hoarse note, strikingly different from either, as a large brown bird flew past, which we recognized as a godwit. All doubts were soon dispelled by collecting my first specimen of a species I had often longed to see, and I could not help pausing to examine and admire the beautiful markings of its richly colored wings. We saw only four of these birds that day, but on the following day they became more abundant. There were about 20 of them flying about over the meadows, showing considerable concern at our presence, constantly uttering their peculiar cries, and showing so little regard for their own safety that we were led to infer that they were breeding or intending to breed in that vicinity. We spent some time looking for their nests, but as we knew practically nothing about their nesting habits at that time, we were not successful in locating any nests.

_Spring._--I can not find that the marbled godwit was ever common on the Atlantic coast north of Florida in the spring. It still migrates northward along the Pacific coast, mainly in April; D. E. Brown has seen it at Gray's Harbor, Washington, as early as April 9. The main migration route seems to be up the Mississippi Valley, mainly in April; it has been recorded in southern Saskatchewan as early as April 16.

_Nesting._--In southwestern Saskatchewan, in 1905 and 1906, I became better acquainted with the marbled godwit on its breeding grounds. Along the lower courses of the streams, near the lakes, but sometimes extending for a mile or more back from the lake, are usually found broad, flat, alluvial plains, low enough to be flooded during periods of high water. These plains are more or less moist at all times, are exceedingly level, and are covered with short, thick grass only a few inches high. Such spots are the chosen breeding grounds of the marbled godwit, and, so far as our experience goes, the nests of this species are invariably placed on these grassy plains or meadows.

The godwit makes no attempt at concealment, the eggs being deposited in plain sight in a slight hollow in the short grass. We found, in all, four nests of this species with eggs, had two sets of eggs brought to us by ranchmen, and found two broods of young. The first nest was discovered on May 29, 1905. We had been hunting the shores of a large alkaline lake, where a colony of avocets were breeding on the mud flats near the outlet of a deep, sluggish stream, and it was while following along the banks of this stream, as it wound its devious course down through a series of broad, flat meadows, that I flushed a godwit out of the short grass only a few yards from the stream and about 100 yards from the lake. On investigation I found that she had flown from her nest, merely a slight hollow in the grass lined with dry grass, which had, apparently, been simply trodden down where it grew, without the addition of any new material brought in by the birds. Only two eggs had been laid, so we marked the spot for future reference and retired. On June 5 this nest was photographed, and the four eggs which it then contained were collected.

While driving across a low, wet meadow, toward a reedy lake, on June 8, 1905, and when about 200 yards from the lake, we were surprised to see a marbled godwit flutter out from directly under the horse, which was trotting along at a leisurely pace. We stopped as soon as possible and found that we had driven directly over its nest, which barely escaped destruction, for it lay between the wheel ruts and the horse's footprints, one of which was within a few inches of it. The nest was in every way similar to the first one, the bird having beaten down the short grass to form a slight hollow in which the four handsome eggs had been laid in plain sight.

On June 9, 1906, we visited the locality where the first nest was found, and I enjoyed a most interesting experience with an unusually tame individual of this normally shy species. While walking across the flat meadow near the creek, I happened to see a marbled godwit crouching on her nest beside a pile of horse droppings. She was conspicuous enough in spite of her protective coloration, for the nest was entirely devoid of concealment in the short grass. Though we stood within 10 feet of her, she showed no signs of flying away, which suggested the possibility of photographing her. My camera was half a mile away in our wagon, but I soon returned with it and began operations at a distance of 15 feet, setting up the camera on the tripod and focussing carefully. I moved up cautiously to within 10 feet and took another picture, repeating the performance again within 5 feet. She still sat like a rock, and I made bold to move still closer, spreading the legs of the tripod on either side of her and placing the camera within 3 feet of her; I hardly dared to breathe, moving very slowly as I used the focussing cloth, and changed my plate holders most cautiously; but she never offered to move and showed not the slightest signs of fear, while I exposed all the plates I had with me, photographing her from both sides and placing the lens within 2 feet of her. She sat there patiently, panting in the hot sun, apparently distressed by the heat, perhaps partially dazed by it, and much annoyed by the ants which were constantly crawling into her eyes and half open bill, causing her to wink or shake her head occasionally. I reached down carefully and stroked her on the back, but still she did not stir, and I was finally obliged to lift her off the nest in order to photograph the eggs.

Two nests found by Gerard A. Abbott (1919) in Benson County, North Dakota, were evidently better concealed than the nests we found. He writes:

I was certainly surprised to discover my first godwit's nest with
the parent crouching beneath a little screen of woven grass blades
on four heavily blotched eggs. Her general contour and the
situation and design of the nest was suggestive of many king rails
whose nests I have found, after noticing how the grass blades were
woven together canopy like to shield the bird and her treasures.
About a mile from this nest and screened on one side by willow
sprouts sat another tame godwit. This time the grassy hollow held
five boldly marked eggs. Incubation was one-half completed and the
date was June 8. These five eggs bear a general resemblance to each
other and I believe they are all the product of the same bird.

_Eggs._--The marbled godwit lays four eggs regularly, very rarely three and still more rarely five. The eggs are ovate or ovate pyriform in shape, with a slight gloss. The ground colors usually run from "pale olive buff" to "deep olive buff," in the greener types from "dark olive buff" to "ecru olive," and in the brownest types to "Isabella color." They are more or less sparingly and irregularly marked with small rounded spots, and with irregular, rarely elongated blotches; these are often thicker at the larger end, but seldom confluent. The markings are usually much more conspicuous than in other godwit's eggs, but they are in dull browns, such as "Saccardo's umber," "warm sepia," and "bister." The underlying spots and blotches range in color from "pallid brownish drab" to "deep brownish drab." Some of the greenish types are only faintly spotted with "light brownish olive." One very handsome egg has a "pale olive buff" ground color, conspicuously splashed and blotched with "pale Quaker drab," overlaid with a few small blotches and scrawls of "Saccardo's umber." The measurements of 64 eggs average 57 by 39.6 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure =61= by 40.5, 59.5 by =42.5=, =51= by 38.5, and 53.7 by =37.7= millimeters.

_Young._--I have no data on the period of incubation and do not know whether both sexes incubate or not. The only incubating bird I collected was a female. Though we looked diligently for the young we did not succeed in finding any until June 27, 1906. We were driving across some extensive wet meadows, ideal breeding grounds for marbled godwits, when we saw a godwit, about a hundred yards ahead of us, leading two of its young across a shallow grassy pool; we drove toward them as fast as we could, but as we drew near the old bird took wing and the young separated, moving off into the grass in opposite directions. They had evidently been well schooled in the art of hiding and were well fitted by their protective coloring to escape notice, for, though we secured one of them readily enough while it was still running, the other disappeared entirely right before our eyes and within 10 yards of us. Its disappearance seemed almost miraculous, for there was practically nothing there to conceal it, as the grass was quite short, and there were no shrubs or herbaceous plants of any kind in the vicinity. We searched the whole locality carefully and thoroughly, but in vain. The youngster may have been crouching flat on the ground, relying on its resemblance to its surroundings, or it may have taken advantage of some slight inequalities in the ground and skulked away farther than we realized. Later in the day we found another pair of godwits, in a similar locality, with two young, one of which we secured. The young were in the downy stage, and apparently not over a week old. They showed unmistakable godwit characters, particularly in the shape of the head and bill, and the long legs and neck.

_Plumages._--The downy young marbled godwit is in dull colors. The upper parts, including the posterior half of the crown, back rump, and wings are "bone brown" or "light seal brown," variegated on the back and rump with pale buff or grayish-white. The under parts, including the forehead, sides of the head, and neck, are "pinkish-buff," deepest on the neck and flanks, almost white on the belly and head and pure white on the chin and cheeks. There is a narrow loral stripe, extending not quite to the eye, a spot behind the ear, and a short stripe in the middle of the lower forehead of blackish-brown. The shape of the head and bill is characteristic of the species.

The cinnamon juvenal plumage begins to appear on the flanks at an early stage and its development is rapid. Before the end of July the young bird is fully fledged and able to fly. The fresh juvenal plumage is much like that of the adult in winter; but the throat and the sides of the head and neck are plain cinnamon without dusky streaks; the feathers of the back and scapulars are more broadly edged or notched, with brighter cinnamon; the greater and median wing coverts are much more broadly bordered with or more extensively cinnamon; the greater coverts are almost clear cinnamon, with very few dusky markings; and the tail is more broadly barred with dusky.

Apparently only a very limited amount of molt takes place during the first year. I have seen birds in juvenal or first winter plumage in November, January, and May, though the last two may be exceptional cases. Perhaps some young birds assume the adult plumage at the first prenuptial molt, but certainly not later than the first postnuptial. More material is necessary to settle this point.

Adults have a complete postnuptial molt beginning in July and lasting well into the fall. This produces the winter plumage in which the breast is immaculate cinnamon and there is little, if any, barring on the flanks. At the prenuptial molt in February and March the body plumage, or most of it, and the tail are molted.

_Food._--Doctor Roberts (1919) says of the feeding habits of the marbled godwit:

With their long, up-curved bills they probe the shallow water of
sloughs and lake shores for aquatic insects and mollusks and also
spend much of their time on meadows and low-lying prairies, where
they devour grasshoppers and other insects of many kinds. These big
birds, when they were as abundant as they once were, must have been
an important factor in keeping in check the dangerous insect hordes
of our State. But they, with others of their kind, are gone and man
is left to fight conditions as he must with agencies of his own
devising, less efficient, perhaps, than those provided by nature.

Audubon (1840) says: "While feeding on the banks, it appears to search for food between and under the oysters with singular care, at times pushing the bill sidewise into the soft mud beneath the shells." The sand beaches of California are favorite feeding grounds, where I have seen it associated with the long-billed curlew. I was interested to see with what dexterity these long-billed birds could pick up a small mollusk and swallow it; I could plainly see the small object gradually travel up the long bill and into the mouth of the bird. Other observers have recorded in the food of this godwit snails, crustaceans, insects and their larvae, worms, and leeches.

_Behavior._--The flight of the marbled godwit is strong, rather swift and direct; the head is usually drawn in somewhat, the bill pointed straight forward, and the feet stretched out behind. Audubon (1840) says: "When flying to a considerable distance, or migrating, they usually proceed in extended lines, presenting an irregular front, which rarely preserves its continuity for any length of time, but undulates and breaks as the birds advance." Mrs. Florence M. Bailey (1916) writes:

In flight they often made a close flock, calling _queep, queep,
queep, queep, queep_, affording a beautiful sight as the light
struck them and warmed up the cinnamon wings that make such a good
recognition mark. They soared down handsomely, showing the
cinnamon, and as they alighted held their wings straight over their
backs for a moment, the black shoulder straps showing in strong
contrast to the warm cinnamon.

Though the flocks were generally most amicable, occasionally one
or two of their number would get to scrapping. Two got hold of
each other's bills one day and held on, one or both crying
lustily. In a group another day two came to blows, first just
opening their bills at each other and talking argumentatively.
Later one of them made passes at the other till the harried bird
lifted his wings as if meditating escape, and finally when a pass
was made at his long unprotected legs, flew away. When one was
teased by a companion it often cried complainingly, _go-way,
go-way, go-way, go-way_.

It was amusing to watch the birds feed. As a wave rolled up,
combed over and broke, the white foam would chase them in, and as
they ran before it, if it came on too fast, they would pick
themselves up, open their wings till the cinnamon showed, and
scoot in like excited children. But the instant the water began to
recede they would right about face and trot back with it,
splashing it up so that you could see it glisten. As they went
their long bills--in the low afternoon sun strikingly coral red
except for the black tip--were shoved ahead of them, feeding along
through the wet sand, the light glinting from them; and if
anything good was discovered deeper, the hunters would stop to
probe, sometimes plunging the bill in up to the hilt, on rare
occasions when the tidbit proved out of reach, actually crowding
their heads down into the sand.

Like all of the shore birds, the marbled godwit is exceedingly demonstrative on its breeding grounds, flying out to meet the intruder as soon as he appears, making fully as much fuss at a distance from its nest as near it, and giving no clue as to its exact location. The cries of one pair of birds often attract others, and I have seen as many as eighteen birds flying about at one time in an especially favorable locality. It shows no signs of fear at such times, often alighting on the ground within ten or fifteen yards, standing for an instant with its beautifully marbled wings poised above it, a perfect picture of parental solicitude. Even while they were feeding on the shores of the lakes we could frequently walk up to within a few yards of them.

Hamilton M. Laing (1913), after describing how a snipe escaped from a duck hawk by diving into some rushes along a creek, tells of a similar trick played by a godwit, as follows:

In the second chase, the victim marked for death was a marbled
godwit. Having often seen these birds swirling about at a dizzy
pace and listened to the roar of their long knife wings as they
smote the air in a playful descent, I felt assured that when the
hawk started after them he would be very much outclassed. Yet in
less than half a mile he was among them, had singled a victim and
was stooping wickedly. Each time the godwit dodged, he emitted an
angry or terrified cry, but the silent pursuer, with never a sign
of fatigue, swooped and swooped and wore him down. Each time now
the hawk overshot his mark a little less in the turnings. The last
resort of the godwit was exactly that of the other snipe, but the
former being over the big slough, dropped into the water. I saw the
hairbreadth escape and the splash, but whether or not the godwit
dived to get away, I could not tell. Some of the sandpipers can
dive well, and probably the godwit escaped thus.

_Voice._--The marbled godwit has a great variety of striking and characteristic notes. Its ordinary call note, when only slightly disturbed, sounds like _terwhit, terwhit, terwhit_, or _pert-wurrit, pert-wurrit_, or _godwit, godwit, godwit_, from which its name is probably derived; these notes are all strongly accented on the last syllable, and are uttered almost constantly while the birds are flying about over their breeding grounds. When considerably alarmed these notes are intensified, more rapidly given, and with even more emphasis, _kerweek, kerwee-eek_, or _kerreck, kreck, kreck, kerreck_; sometimes they are prolonged into a loud, long-drawn-out scream _quack, qua-a-ack_, or _quoick, quoi-i-ick_, somewhat between the loudest quacking of an excited duck and the scream of a red-shouldered hawk. There is also a more musical, whistling note, less often heard, sounding like the syllables _kor-koit_ or _ker-kor-koit, kor-koit_, the accent being on the _kor_ in each case; this note seems to indicate a more satisfied frame of mind and is much more subdued in tone. All of these notes are subject to great individual variation, and, as the godwits are very noisy birds, we were given ample opportunities to study them, but to write them down in a satisfactory manner is not so easy.

P. A. Tayerner (1926) writes: "Their loud exasperating _eradica-radica-radica-radica_ varied with _Your-crazy-crazy-crazy_ and confirmed by _Korect-korect_ sets all the prairie on the alert."

John T. Nichols says in his notes:

A bird flying toward decoys gave a single unwhistled note, _hank_,
likely the flight note of the species in migration. Alighted, it
had a short, unloud note, a goose-like _honk_, especially when
other shore birds flew past (Long Island, August). The few godwits
of any species that I have seen in migration have mostly been
silent.

_Field marks._--The marbled godwit is so large and so well marked as a big brown bird that it is likely to be confused with only one other bird, the long-billed curlew. It nearly equals the curlew in size, and the rich cinnamon color in the wings is conspicuous in both species, but the long, curved bill of the curlew serves to distinguish it, even at a considerable distance, and the notes of the two birds are quite different. At short range the shape of the head, the long, slightly upturned bill, pinkish buff on its basal third, and the bluish-gray legs are distinctive marks.

_Fall._--As soon as the breeding season is over, or even before all the broods are fledged, the marbled godwits begin to gather into flocks and become much more wary. Even as early as June 27, 1906, we saw as many as 36 birds in one flock, but as we did not see any young birds among them we inferred that these must have been birds whose eggs or young had been destroyed. As I have always had to leave for the East before the southward migration began I am unable to give any information on this subject from personal observation, but Dr. Louis B. Bishop has kindly placed at my disposal his notes relating to this movement.

At Stump Lake, North Dakota, in 1902, he noted on July 28 a flock of about 100 marbled godwits, chiefly adults, all that were taken being old birds; and on July 30 he saw a flock of about 50, which he assumed to be composed chiefly of young birds, all that were taken being in juvenile plumage. At the same locality in 1905 he saw on July 26 a flock of about 40, both adults and young, all that were collected being young birds; on August 2, _all_ of these birds had disappeared. This exact locality, a sandy point at the western end of the lake, was visited only on the above dates. These birds were undoubtedly migrants, as they were not known to have bred in that vicinity.

After I had left Saskatchewan, Doctor Bishop visited the breeding grounds of the marbled godwits, and on July 3, 1906, found adult birds tolerably common, but they had all departed two days later. At Big Stick Lake, from July 18 to 21, 1906, he saw large flocks of adult godwits containing hundreds of birds, but on July 22 very few were left. He also writes that adults reach the North Carolina coast in the middle of July, as he has in his collection adults taken on July 11 and 27, 1904, and that young birds appear about a month later, as he has specimens taken August 10 and 19, 1904.

Evidently the godwits move off their breeding grounds as soon as the young are able to fly, those birds which have been unsuccessful in rearing their young being the first to leave, and forming the vanguard of the early migration in July. Probably most of the adults start on their southward migration before the end of July, and well in advance of the young, the later flight being composed almost entirely of young birds, and moving more deliberately.

The fall migration is or was very well marked and rather unique; many individuals formerly migrated almost due east from their breeding grounds in the interior to the Atlantic coast of New England. Others still continue to migrate westward to the Pacific coast and southward to the Gulf coast. All of the earlier writers indicate that this was an abundant migrant on the Atlantic coast from New England southward about the middle of the last century. The immense flocks which passed along our shores have been gradually disappearing until now only a few straggling birds are ever seen. Probably what comparatively few birds are left migrate to the Atlantic coast farther south or to the Gulf or Pacific coasts. Probably excessive shooting has driven them from their former haunts. They have always been popular with sportsmen and have been slaughtered unmercifully. They share with some other species the fatal habit, prompted by sympathy or curiosity, of circling back again and again over their fallen companions after a flock has been shot into, so that it is an easy matter for the gunners to kill them in large numbers.

Although it breeds and lives on the grassy meadows of the interior, the marbled godwit seems to prefer the seacoast on its migrations, frequenting more rarely the shores of large lakes. It is common as a migrant on the Pacific coast even as late as December, but it seems to be absent from California in January and February. Bradford Torrey (1913) says:

I have seen godwits and willets together lining the grassy edge of
the flats for a long distance, and so densely massed that I mistook
them at first for a border of some kind of herbage. Thousands there
must have been; and when they rose at my approach, they made
something like a cloud; gray birds and brown birds so contrasted in
color as to be discriminated beyond risk of error, even when too
far away for the staring white wing patches of the willets to be
longer discernible.

As a flock there was no getting near them; I proved the fact to my
dissatisfaction more than once; but sitting quietly on the same
bay shore I have repeatedly known a single godwit or willet to
feed carelessly past me within the distance of a rod or two.

_Winter._--It is a comparatively short journey for this godwit to its winter home in the Gulf States and Central America. I have seen and collected a few godwits in Florida, but it is now impossible to see them in anything like the numbers mentioned by Audubon (1840) and Maynard (1896). The former says:

This fine bird is found during winter on all the large muddy flats
of the coast of Florida that are intermixed with beds of racoon
oysters. As the tide rises it approaches the shores, and betakes
itself to the wet savannahs. At this season it is generally seen in
flocks of five or six, searching for food in company with the
telltale, the yellow shanks, the long-billed curlew, and the white
ibis.

The latter writes:

The marbled godwits are very common in the South in winter, but
they are particularly abundant in Florida. Back of Amelia Island,
just south of St. Marys River, thus lying just on the extreme
northern confines of the State, are extensive flats on which are
pools that become partly dry during winter. These were the familiar
resorts of the godwits, and flocks of hundreds would gather around
them. They were quite wild while here, rising with deafening clamor
when approached, but they had become so attached to the locality
that they would merely circle about and alight on the borders of
some neighboring pool. From this point, southward along the eastern
coast as far as Merritts Island they were very numerous but were
not common at Miami, and I did not see them on the Keys. On the
west coast, however, they occurred in large numbers, especially on
the muddy flats about Cedar Keys. On Indian River I found the
godwits very unsuspicious, in so much so that I have frequently
killed them with dust shot.

DISTRIBUTION

_Range._--North and Central America. The range of the marbled godwit is now greatly restricted, the breeding areas being principally in North Dakota and central Saskatchewan and it is now extremely rare in winter anywhere on the Atlantic coast.

_Breeding range._--North to Alberta (probably Edmonton); Saskatchewan (Osler and Crescent Lake); Manitoba (Winnipeg); and Wisconsin (Iron County). East to Wisconsin (Iron County, Stoughton, and Lake Koshkonong); and Iowa (Newton). South to Iowa (Newton and probably Sioux City); South Dakota (Miner County and probably Huron); and Montana (Billings). West to Montana (Billings and Strater); and Alberta (Medicine Hat and probably Edmonton). It also has been detected in summer at Okanagan, British Columbia, Pelican Narrows, Saskatchewan, Moose Lake, Manitoba, and York Factory, Manitoba.

_Winter range._--North to Lower California (Magdalena Bay and La Paz); Sinaloa (Mazatlan); Oaxaca (Tehuantepec); western Yucatan; probably Texas (Corpus Christi); probably Louisiana; and Georgia (Savannah). East to Georgia (Savannah and Darien); Florida (Amelia Island, Tarpon Springs, Fort Myers, and Miami); eastern Yucatan (Cozumel Island); and British Honduras (Belize). South to British Honduras (Belize); and Guatemala (Chiapam). West to Guatemala (Chiapam); probably Colima (Manzanillo); and Lower California (Magdalena Bay). Marbled godwits formerly wintered north to southeastern South Carolina (Frogmore) and they are casual at this season in southern California (San Diego, Lake Elsinore, La Jolla, and Humboldt Bay).

_Spring migration._--Early dates of arrival are: Missouri, St. Louis, April 13, Boonville, April 16, and Corning, April 18; Illinois, Warsaw, April 2, Calumet, April 4, and Rockford, April 8; Ohio, Lakeside, April 20, and Columbus, April 21; Michigan, Ann Arbor, May 5; Iowa, Emmetsburg, April 21, and Gilbert Station, April 23; Minnesota, Heron Lake, April 8, Wilder, April 19, and Goodhue, April 20; Nebraska, Lincoln, April 18; North Dakota, Bismarck, April 30, Jamestown, May 1, and Harrisburg, May 5; Manitoba, Oak Lake, April 25, Reaburn, May 2, Margaret, May 7, and Winnipeg, May 11; Saskatchewan, Indian Head, April 16, McLean, April 16, South Qu'Appelle, April 20, and Wiseton, April 24; Colorado, Loveland, April 20, Larimer County, April 26; Wyoming, Cheyenne, May 1, and Douglas, May 15; Montana, Milk River, May 18; Alberta, Flagstaff, May 10, and Alliance, May 11; California, Santa Barbara, April 27, San Buenaventura, April 28; and Washington, Grays Harbor, April 9.

Late dates of spring departure are: Florida, Amelia Island, May 15; Georgia, Wolf Island, April 30; South Carolina, Hilton Head, April 24; Missouri, Warrensburg, May 4, and Boonville, May 31; Illinois, Chicago, May 26; Nebraska, Valentine, May 16; Colorado, Durango, May 28, and Barr, May 30; Lower California, San Martin Island, April 10, and Turtle Bay, April 14; and California, Sandyland, June 9, Santa Barbara, June 15, and Los Angeles, June 16.

_Fall migration._--Early dates of arrival in the fall are: California, Los Angeles, July 7; Lower California, San Quentin, August 6, and Cape San Lucas, September 9; Wyoming, Douglas, July 31; Colorado, Barr, June 24; Illinois, Chicago, July 22; Ohio, Pelee Island, July 24; Maine, near Portland, August 8; New Hampshire, Seabrook, August 17, and Rye Beach, August 27; Massachusetts, Eastham, August 10; Connecticut, West Haven, August 26; New York, Lawrence, July 21; North Carolina, Pea and Brodie Islands, July 11; South Carolina, Ladys Island, August 21, and Bay Point, August 24; and Florida, St. Marks, September 11.

Late dates of fall departure are: California, Nigger Slough, November 15, Humboldt Bay, December 7, and San Diego, December 12; Colorado, Denver, September 5, Boulder, September 18, and San Luis Lake, October 1; Saskatchewan, Ravine Bank, August 25, and Defoe-Guernsey Camp, August 26; Manitoba, Margaret, September 22; North Dakota, Charlson, September 16, and Westhope, September 24; Nebraska, Lincoln, October 16; Michigan, Newberry, September 23; Ohio, Sandusky Bay, October 12; Illinois, northeastern part, October 20; Quebec, Montreal, September 3; Maine, Popham Beach, September 13; Massachusetts, Newburyport, September 7; New York, Shinnecock Bay, September 15; New Jersey, Cape May, September 14; North Carolina, Beaufort, November 17; and South Carolina, Mount Pleasant, November 3.

_Casual records._--The marbled godwit has on several occasions been recorded outside of its normal range principally to the south and east of its winter quarters. Among these are: Ecuador (Santa Rosa, 1877); Lesser Antilles (Grenada, August 29, 1881, and also from the islands of Carriacou and Trinidad); Porto Rico (recorded from Boqueron by Gundlach); and Cuba (recorded from Cardenas in September by Gundlach). It also has been noted from Alabama (near Greensboro, in 1880, and Dauphin Island, August 21, 1911); Ontario (Toronto, May 30, 1895, and June 7, 1890); Arizona (San Pedro River, January 27, 1886); and Alaska (Ugashik, July 16 and 18, 1881, Nelson Island, July 5, 1910, and Point Barrow, August 26, 1897).

_Egg dates._--Saskatchewan: 38 records, May 15 to June 27; 19 records, May 30 to June 9. Minnesota and Dakotas: 16 records, May 10 to June 14; 8 records, May 25 to June 8.

LIMOSA LAPPONICA BAUERI Naumann

PACIFIC GODWIT

HABITS

The bar-tailed godwit of Europe is represented in eastern Siberia and western Alaska by this larger race, with a more spotted rump. From the above breeding grounds it migrates to a winter range in Australia, New Zealand, and many oceanic islands. South of Alaska it is a mere straggler in North America.

_Spring._--On its spring migration the Pacific godwit passes through the Aleutian Islands and the Pribilof Islands on its way to its breeding grounds in northwestern Alaska. I saw two birds on Atka Island on June 13, 1911, probably belated migrants; it has been said to breed near Unalaska, but this seems hardly likely. William Palmer (1899) reported it as a migrant in the Pribilof Islands from early in May until June 13. Probably the main northward flight passes through the Kurile and Commander Islands to northeastern Siberia. Dr. E. W. Nelson (1887) says of its arrival in Alaska:

On May 26, 1877, while I was at Unalaska, a native brought in a
half dozen of these birds, and on June 3 I obtained three others
from the sandy beach of a small inner bay. They were very
unsuspicious and easily killed. Although these birds appeared to be
migrating, yet the following years I found them arriving at Saint
Michael in flocks of from 25 to 200 from the 13th to 20th of May.
These flocks were shy and kept in continual motion, wheeling and
circling in rapid flight over the lowland, now alighting for a
moment, then skimming away again in a close body. Their movements
and habits at this season are similar to those of other godwits. By
the last of May the flocks are broken up, and the birds are
distributed in small parties over their breeding ground.
Herbert W. Brandt says in his notes:

For a large shore bird the dinful Pacific godwit is of common
occurrence on the vast mossy upland tundra about Hooper Bay and is
even more numerous in similar areas in the Igiak Bay region,
including the lower slopes of the mountain sides. The vociferous
guardian parents, however, make themselves so conspicuous by their
clamorous agitation that they seem more plentiful than they are in
reality. The first bird to arrive from afar, a beautiful ruddy
specimen, was captured May 15, and by May 20 occasional bands of 20
or more birds were feeding along the overflow river margins. These
flocks remained for some days and were apparently transients, for
they passed elsewhere. One flock of 21 highly colored birds stayed
with us until June. In the meanwhile the happy mated pairs had
already taken charge of their respective upland domains, for on May
25 a nest with two eggs was found, which on May 28 held four eggs.

_Courtship._--Doctor Nelson (1887) gives a brief account of this, as follows:

Their courtship begins by the 18th or 20th of May and is carried on
in such a loud-voiced manner that every creature in the
neighborhood knows all about it. The males continually utter a loud
ringing _ku-wew, ku-wew, ku-wew_, which is repeated with great
emphasis upon the last syllable, and the note may be heard for
several hundred yards.

_Nesting._--We are indebted to Mr. Brandt for practically all we know about the nesting habits of this rare species. I quote from his notes, as follows:

The Pacific godwit chooses an elevated dry site for its domicile,
preferring the ridges on the rolling tundra and nests even occur on
the lower mountain slopes. The nest is well concealed, for it is
usually placed between clumps of bunch grass and is thus well
screened from view by the standing vegetation. The structure is
usually a simple depression in the moss and lichens and lined
haphazardly with fragments of the surrounding reindeer moss, but
occasionally a real nest is carefully fashioned with considerable
grass woven in a circular manner and is thus rather substantially
constructed. In one instance the bird added to the nesting material
while the eggs were being laid. The range of measurements of 12
nests is: Inside diameter, 6 to 7 inches; inside depth, 3 to 4
inches; and total depth, 3 to 5 inches. I observed the female
Pacific godwit alone to incubate, but the male was always near by.
She is perhaps the closest brooder of any incubating shore bird we
encountered, so much so that she often literally had to be almost
stepped on before she arose. The alert male lookout meets the
intruder at a considerable distance from the nest and with a loud
tongue acts as an escort to the discomfort of the interloper. Thus
but little clue can be had from the bird's actions as to the
whereabouts of the brooding female, and in consequence, in spite of
the number of nests in the region, relatively few are found, and
those mostly by chance. The peculiar contents of one nest were
originally five eggs of the willow ptarmigan, on top of which four
eggs of the Pacific godwit had been laid. Evidently the latter bird
had driven the ptarmigan away from its nest, as there were but
three godwit's eggs in it when first observed, the fourth egg
having been deposited on the following day. The entire nestful was
left to hatch in order to ascertain whether or not the ptarmigan
would be reared by the incubating godwit, but this composite set
was later deserted and then despoiled by jaegers.

_Eggs._--Mr. Brandt was fortunate enough to collect 20 sets of eggs of this rare species, which he describes in his notes as follows:

The egg of the Pacific godwit is subpyriform to ovate pyriform in
outline with the majority following the latter shape although one
set is elongate ovate. The shell is strong, smooth, slightly
granular with somewhat of a luster, yet an occasional surface is
almost dull. There are two general types of ground color--the
greenish, that is the rule, and the brownish type that we but
rarely encountered. "Serpentine green," dull "citrine" to
"yellowish glaucous" cover the range of greenish ground colors,
while "snuff brown" matches the other type. The surface markings
are not as numerous as on most shorebirds' eggs, and in consequence
they are more scattered than usual. These spots are small in most
instances, but in a few beautiful sets they are large and, more
rarely, even convergent on the larger end so as to form a rich
blotch. In a few rare instances there were no surface markings at
all, the paler underlying spots being the only decoration. The
primary markings are irregular to elongated without a spiral
tendency. In color they are "cinnamon brown," "snuff brown," and
"mummy brown" or "brownish olive," usually the latter if the ground
color is decidedly greenish. The underlying spots are not very
bold, although they are numerous and occasionally of considerable
size. These neutral spots range from "light mouse gray" or "Quaker
drab" to "deep olive gray" in color. Additional markings of grayish
black slightly fleck some eggs while they are wanting on others. In
a few cases these markings assume the form of pen scratches which
usually encircle the larger end. The eggs, which were the rarest
that we took on the trip, were always four in number, except for
one set of three and one nest of five eggs, the only abnormally
large set that I met with among the Alaska species of the entire
shore-bird group.

The measurement of his 80 eggs average 55.3 by 38.2 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure =60.5= by 37.7, 52.6 by =40.7=, =50.5= by 38.2, and 54.8 by =36.1= millimeters.

_Young._--The same observer says:

Both birds share in the duties of incubation and are very zealous
in defense of their treasures, especially when their pretty tawny
brown chicks are first bursting forth. We saw the first downy young
on June 18 when we came upon two and one hatching egg at an
altitude of about 300 feet on the side of the Askinuk Mountains.
These sturdy babies have little to fear from their marine enemies
for their parents dominate the chosen domain with a vigor that no
feathered creature can withstand. It is very interesting to watch
the agitated father or mother running rapidly about, scolding, or
wading in a pool of snow water, every now and then raising its long
wings to a vertical position above its back, thus exhibiting the
delicate tints of the underside, and then deliberately folding them
one at a time.