Part 11

The CURLEW SANDPIPERS (Limicola) have a compact body, short neck, and small head; the beak is longer than the head, and only soft and flexible at its tip, which is broad, and curves slightly downward. The low, stout, bare foot is furnished with four toes. The wings are pointed, and have the first and second quills of equal length, and longer than the rest; the tail is short and pointed towards its centre.

THE PIGMY CURLEW SANDPIPER.

The PIGMY CURLEW SANDPIPER (Limicola pygmæa) has the crown blackish brown, decorated with reddish yellow stripes; the mantle-feathers are black lined with reddish yellow; the upper wing is ash-grey; the feathers on the lower throat, crop, and sides of the breast are reddish yellow, spotted with brown and tipped with white; the under side is white. The eye is brown, the beak reddish grey at its base and black at its extremity, and the foot dark greenish grey. During the autumn the upper parts of the body are dark grey, and the feathers have a somewhat mottled appearance, as their shafts are of a dark and their edges of a light shade. This bird is six inches long and thirteen broad, the wing measures four inches and one-third, and the tail one inch and a half.

The Pigmy Curlew is met with principally in the northern parts of Asia and America, and also, though more rarely, in Europe. In England it has been known to breed occasionally. Moist river-banks or marshy localities are the situations it prefers, and from these it obtains the insects, larvæ, and worms upon which it principally subsists. Unlike the rest of the family, it does not associate with other birds. The Pigmy Curlew flies well and rapidly, walks with short interrupted steps, and, if disturbed, crouches flat to the ground, and allows the enemy to approach quite close before taking wing. The voice resembles that of the Common Sandpiper. Keitel tells us that in its habits this species does not differ from the rest of the family. The eggs found by that gentleman in Lapland were long and pear-shaped, with a dull olive-yellow shell, marked with greyish brown.

THE SANDERLING.

The SANDERLING (Calidris arenaria) has the hinder toe entirely undeveloped. This small bird is only seven inches long and fifteen broad. In spring the upper parts of the body are black, or brownish red, spotted with yellow and white; the blackish brown upper wing is marked with zigzag rust-red spots, and striped with white. The under side, as far as the white breast, is reddish grey, the feathers having dark spots on the shafts and white edges. The five outer tail-feathers are whitish grey, with white roots; the eyes are deep brown; the beak and the foot deep grey. During winter the feathers on the upper portions of the body are light grey tipped with white, darkly spotted on the shafts, and the under side is pure white.

This elegant little bird occupies the coasts of all the northern portions of the globe. During the course of its migrations it visits Southern Europe, keeping near the shores even while journeying from one country to another, and but rarely crossing the mainland. This species is met with on most of the sandy shores of Great Britain and Ireland, and is occasionally found near large pieces of fresh water; it is not supposed to breed in this country, but has been seen in January and February, April, June, August, and October. Like other Sandpipers, it associates in more or less numerous flocks while in winter quarters, but lives in pairs throughout the summer. In disposition it is gentler and more confiding than other members of its family, but closely resembles them in its general habits. Upon the ground it runs with grace and agility, and exhibits the utmost dexterity in its beautiful and rapid movements through the air, during which it frequently joins company with parties of other shore birds. With so little timidity does the Sanderling regard man, that it is not uncommon for it to permit his close approach, and even if shot at it often only moves a few paces from the spot. Naumann mentions that upon one occasion, after watching the proceedings of five of these birds that were standing almost close to him in most evident disregard of his presence, the thought struck him that he would arrange some snares he had in his pocket and take the whole party prisoners. This he accordingly did, the intended victims quietly watching his arrangements, and finally walking amongst, and entangling themselves in the treacherous strings.

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The MUD SANDPIPERS (Pelidna) are comparatively slender birds, with a straight or curved beak, of about the length of the head, and slightly widened at its tip; slender bare feet, furnished with four toes, moderate-sized wings, and a rounded or doubly incised tail. The plumage is moulted twice in the year.

THE MUD SANDPIPER.

The MUD SANDPIPER (Pelidna subarquata) is about seven inches long and ten broad. The wing measures five inches, and the tail one inch and two-thirds. In spring the entire under side is rust-red of various shades; the feathers on the crown of the head are blackish, with reddish grey edges; the nape rust-red streaked with white; and the rest of the upper parts of the body covered with deep black feathers, spotted with light rust-red, and edged with light grey or rust-yellow. The tail-feathers are ash-grey, those in the centre being the darkest; all have white shafts and edges. The eye is brown, the beak black, and the foot blackish brown. In autumn the feathers on the head and nape are blackish grey, varied with white and dark edges; those on the back and upper wings are deep blackish grey with black shafts; and the feathers on the under side whitish grey, shaded, spotted, and shafted with a deeper tint; the bridles are brown; a whitish line passes above the eye. In young birds the feathers of the head are greyish brown with rusty grey edges; those of the back and shoulders of a blackish shade with reddish yellow edges; the under side and rump are white, gullet and crop reddish grey. The sexes are almost alike in colour.

These birds are met with in all the northern portions of our globe, and during the course of their winter migrations appear with great regularity in North Africa, where they are very common; they also visit the shores of the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, Atlantic, and the Dead Sea, and have been seen about the Cape of Good Hope. In Europe they especially resort to the coasts of France and Holland, where they arrive about the middle of April, and leave again from the end of July to October; their migrations are always carried on at night. Flat muddy shores are the localities they principally frequent, and over these they disport themselves with great activity, moving lightly about in pursuit of food throughout the entire day, only pausing to indulge in a short sleep at noon. If disturbed they at once rise rapidly into the air, and after darting to some little distance, return immediately to the spot whence they were driven. In disposition they are social and naturally fearless, but frequently learn to imitate the timidity exhibited by most of their companions on the sea-shore. According to our own observations, they are often seen associated with other birds, and apparently under the guidance of one of the largest members of the party, whose movements and example they obey in a manner most amusingly resembling a game at follow-my-leader, running wherever he runs, and flying where he flies, as though actuated by one spirit; these gambols usually terminate by all the males uttering a warning cry, and the whole flock swooping in a compact mass for some few hundred paces over the water, and then returning to the shore, there to resume their animated sport. It is improbable that this species breeds in the southern parts of our globe; such nests as we have found in northern regions were nothing more than a slight hollow in the ground, and contained four pear-shaped eggs, having a greenish shell shaded with dark grey, and spotted with deep brown.

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The DWARF SANDPIPERS (Actodroma) are small birds, with short beaks, either quite straight or curving gently towards the tip; the moderate-sized feet are slender and bare, with the toes almost entirely unconnected.

THE DWARF SANDPIPER.

The DWARF SANDPIPER (Actodroma minuta), the smallest of all the tribe, is only five inches and a half long and eleven inches and a half broad; the wing measures three inches and a half, and the tail one inch and a half. During spring the feathers on the crown of the head are black, edged with rust-red, those on the nape grey marked with a darker shade, and those on the sides of the neck and upper breast light rust-red spotted with brown; a whitish stripe passes over the eyes, and between the latter and the beak a dark brown line. The eye is brown, the beak black, and the foot greenish black. In autumn all the feathers on the upper portions of the body are deep grey, with brown lines on the shafts; the gullet, sides of the head, and lower breast are reddish grey, the rest of the under side is white.

This species principally inhabits the northern portions of the globe, but during the course of its extensive wanderings is met with at certain seasons on almost every coast. In England it usually occupies the shores of the eastern and southern counties. During its migrations, which are carried on by night and in large flocks, it visits Egypt in vast numbers, and is frequently to be seen associated with a great variety of other species. Moist muddy coasts and shores are the situations it prefers, though it by no means avoids sandy localities. In disposition the Dwarf Sandpipers are lively and active, graceful and easy in all their movements. With their own kind they live in the utmost harmony, and exhibit but little fear towards man; in other respects they resemble the members of the family already described. It is probable that the Dwarf Sandpipers breed in the extreme north of Europe, but as yet their nests have only been found in Greenland and the most northern parts of the American continent. The four smooth glossy eggs are placed in a slight depression in the earth, and have a dull, greyish yellow shell, clouded with grey, and spotted and dotted with brown of various shades at the broad end.

THE RUFF.

The RUFF (Philomachus pugnax) has a straight beak of about the same length as the head, or a little longer, and slightly depressed at its tip; the high slender feet are bare, and furnished with four toes: of these the three placed in front are connected by a skin; the hind toe is short and much raised. The moderate-sized pointed wing has the first quill longer than the rest, and the short tail is slightly rounded; the plumage is soft and thick. The male bird is about a third larger than his mate, and has during the spring his face covered with warts, and his neck adorned with a strange and beautiful collar; both these peculiarities, however, disappear towards autumn. So varied and changeful is the coloration of the plumage, that a detailed description is almost impossible. The collar above alluded to is composed of harsh feathers, about three inches long, and so wonderfully different in their hues that scarcely two males are exactly like each other; black and brown, and white feathers of various shades, spotted, striped, and marked in every conceivable way, appear indifferently on this part of the plumage. The upper wing is deep brownish grey, and the blackish grey tail is spotted with black; the belly is white, and the rest of the body very variously coloured and marked. It has, we believe, been ascertained that each male exhibits the same hues and markings every succeeding year. The eye is brown, the beak generally greenish or greenish yellow, and the foot reddish yellow. This species is from eleven inches to twelve inches and a half long, and from twenty-three inches and a half to twenty-four inches across; the wing measures from seven inches to seven inches and a half, and the tail about three inches. The plumage of the female, which does not vary as does that of her mate, is principally reddish grey, darkly spotted upon the upper portions of the body. The face and brow are light grey, the crown is grey, striped with brownish black; the nape-feathers are grey, those on the back and shoulders blackish brown, edged with rust-red. The throat and gullet are grey, and the belly-feathers of a whitish hue. The female is ten inches long, and twenty-one inches and a half broad.

The Ruffs were originally natives of the northern portion of the Eastern Hemisphere, but are now occasionally met with in North America. During their migrations they not only visit every country of Europe and Asia, but the entire African continent, usually taking up their abode on extensive bogs or marshy plains, and frequently appearing in the immediate neighbourhood of the sea, where they often mingle with the busy hosts that are ever ready to seize upon the rich and varied store of food left behind by the receding tide. Naumann asserts, however, that this species never remains near or ventures into the water, but after joining in the busy scene for a short time, always returns to its usual haunts. Unlike other Sandpipers, these birds are met with far inland, where they not only dwell upon the banks of rivers, but wander into the plains and cultivated districts. In Central Europe they usually arrive in flocks, about May, and begin to leave about July and August, travelling by night, and pursuing their course in long lines that sometimes assume a wedge-like arrangement, the males journeying apart from the females. The extensive parties seen by us in the Soudan consisted almost exclusively of females, from which fact we concluded that the males do not often migrate so far south as Africa. The females are the first to seek and the last to leave the winter quarters, and yet strange to say, they generally return to their last summer's abode in company with their former mates. Before and after the breeding season, male and female are scarcely distinguishable, either in appearance or demeanour; but during that period the former exhibit an excitement that is quite without a parallel. Water insects, beetles, and worms, with seeds of many kinds, afford them the means of subsistence, and for these they seek principally at early morning or evening, visiting certain spots with great regularity, and keeping strictly within a limited hunting ground. Whilst thus engaged they move leisurely, and with conscious dignity, keeping steadily and quietly at work, and only betraying their presence by a weak hoarse cry, as they rise with light and hovering wing into the air. At the approach of night they become somewhat more lively, and indulge in sportive flights in company with their feathered brethren. No sooner, however, has the period of incubation set in than the pacific disposition of these birds appears to undergo a complete change, and the males commence a series of fierce encounters, arising not merely from a feeling of rivalry or jealousy, but respecting such trifles as the possession of a worm or the choice of a resting-place. Whether in their native haunts or confined in a cage, and whether females be concerned in the matter or not, the same restless desire to attack and injure each other takes possession of the male birds, who, in their wild state, carry on their battles in regular fighting-grounds, employed year after year for the same purpose. Moist and rather elevated spots are usually preferred, and to these a certain number of combatants resort daily, each as a rule having his own peculiar place, whereon to take his stand till an enemy appears. Naumann states that until the collar of the males has attained its full beauty they are not privileged to appear in the lists. No sooner has a willing adversary come forward, than the excited couple rush upon each other, and struggle on till one or both are exhausted, when they pause and return to their former standing-places, to recover strength and breath for a second encounter. These strange battles are strictly duels, although from the fact of two or three couples engaging at the same time, and that often in such a limited space as to compel them to attack across each other, an ordinary spectator would often imagine that he was witnessing a general mêlée, instead of the entirely distinct settlement of individual wrongs and grievances. A more ridiculous sight could scarcely be imagined than the appearance of the furious combatants, as they stand ruffling and swelling out their plumage, with collar and breast feathers erect, literally trembling with rage, and darting backwards and forwards towards their adversary; rapidly ducking their wart-covered heads, and keeping the hinder part of the body much raised, as they snap and probe the enemy in a very ecstasy of blind fury. At the conclusion of the fray, the combatants again stand trembling before each other, shaking themselves, and tossing up their heads in defiance; after which demonstration, if not too much fatigued, they resume their standing-places, and again look out for a willing and equally excited foe. Owing to the soft construction of the bill, serious injuries never result from these encounters; the loss of a few feathers, or the chance of being caught and pulled about by the collar, being the worst evils to which the apparently bloodthirsty duellists are exposed. Naumann is of opinion that the knobs and excrescences often seen on the beaks of the birds are attributable to blows or twists received in these violent affrays. Occasionally a female appears and takes up her post in the fighting-ground, but never does more than indulge her curiosity, by mingling with the combatants, and watching their proceedings for a short space; after which she retires, sometimes accompanied by one of the males, who, however, almost immediately returns to the field of action, without further reference to her proceedings. When the period for depositing the eggs arrives, the males separate, each in company with two females, or vice versâ, and make their nest of dry grass and stubble on some high point in a marshy locality. The eggs, four, or occasionally only three, in number, are of unusual size, with a greenish or brownish shell, more or less faintly spotted with reddish brown or pale black. The mother, who alone broods and hatches her young in from seventeen to nineteen days, is much attached to her charge, and in every respect conducts herself like a female Snipe; whilst her spouse does not concern himself in the least about the rising generation, but fights incessantly throughout the whole breeding season, after which he flies about regardless of his family, until the time comes for seeking his winter quarters. These birds are only summer visitors to England, appearing in April and taking leave in autumn; formerly, however, many Ruffs remained throughout the warm season, to breed in the fenny districts, and were caught in considerable numbers in Lincolnshire. Since the draining of the fens they have become comparatively scarce. Some years ago they were regularly procured and fattened for the table. Montagu tells us that he visited the room at Spalding where the captives were kept, and that his entrance drove them from their stands, compelling some to trespass on the premises of others, and thus producing many battles. "It is," he says, "a remarkable character of these birds that they feed most greedily the moment they are taken. No sooner is a basin of bread and milk put before them than it is instantly contended for; and so pugnacious is their disposition, that they would starve in the midst of plenty if several dishes of food were not placed among them at a distance from one another." The capture of these birds was formerly effected by means of clap-nets, with stuffed birds as decoys, placed around the hills where they assembled in the spring previous to incubation, and placed in such a manner as to be movable by means of a long string, thus producing a jerk resembling the jump so common among the Ruffs (who, at the sight of a wanderer flying by, will leap or flit a yard off the ground), and by that means induce those on the wing to alight.

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The PHALAROPES (Phalaropi) possess a moderate-sized, delicate beak, which is slightly curved at its tip. In some species the bill is not broader than it is high, in others it is somewhat flattened in front. The weak low feet are bare, and furnished with four toes, of which the three anterior are united at the base, and more or less lobed on the sides as far as the tips; the hind toe is short, elevated, and margined slightly by a narrow membrane. The wing is long and pointed, with its first quill longer than the rest; the short rounded tail is composed of twelve feathers. In their mode of life these birds differ from all other members of the feathered creation. Their plumage is thick and closely set; and the toes being united at the base by a web, besides being bordered by a continuation of that membrane, make the feet efficient as paddles, although they are equally adapted for progression on dry land. The accomplishments of the Phalarope are, therefore, very varied--they fly rapidly, like the Snipes; run, after the fashion of the Sandpipers; and swim, not only with all the facility of Ducks, but venture out upon the surface of the ocean even in the midst of the roughest waves. During the breeding season they repair to the coast, where they build a neat nest, composed of grass and weeds, upon the sea-shore, or in some slight hollow on the ground. The eggs are four in number. The usual habitat of the Phalaropes is in the Arctic and Northern Seas, from whence they but rarely wander far, their migrations usually being confined to the surface of the ocean.

THE HYPERBOREAN PHALAROPE.

The HYPERBOREAN PHALAROPE (Lobipes hyperboreus, or Phalaropus hyperboreus) resembles the Sandpipers in some respects, but differs from them in the comparative shortness of its tail and slenderness of its beak. Upon the upper portions of the body the feathers are blackish grey, and on the lower back and shoulders black edged with reddish yellow; the sides of the nape are rust-red, the throat and under parts grey, shading into white on the sides and crop. The eye is brown, the beak black, and the foot lead-grey, with the web and projecting edges yellowish and grey. The male is from six inches and three-quarters to seven inches long, and from twelve inches and two-thirds to twelve inches and three-quarters broad; the wing measures four, and the tail two inches. The female is about a line longer, and one inch broader than her mate.

These birds inhabit the north-eastern portions of Europe and Northern Asia, and are numerous upon the extensive lakes and rivers of Siberia and North America; their range, however, probably does not extend far south, even during the course of their migrations. With us they frequent the Orkney Islands, where they arrive about July, and depart again as winter approaches. In its habits this species is essentially aquatic. It swims with the utmost buoyancy and ease, though it is not known to dive even when hard pressed; and, according to Audubon, indulges in the remarkable habit of alighting whilst at sea, even at a distance of one hundred miles from shore, on beds of floating seaweed, over which its lobed feet enable it to run with great lightness and rapidity. Its flight is strong and swift, but when on the ground its movements are inferior in agility to those of the Tringas. Insects, worms, and minute mollusca form its principal means of subsistence, these it obtains from among tangled beds of floating seaweed, or as it moves lightly over the surface of the water. The call is a sharp clear "tweet, tweet." Audubon mentions having seen little parties of these birds living in pairs upon the small fresh-water lakes in Labrador, near which they also breed. The nest, which is usually made in a hollow in marshes, or on the islands of fresh-water lakes, is formed principally of grass, and covered with a few bits of hay or moss. The eggs, from one to four in number, have usually a dark olive-coloured shell, thickly spotted with black. The young grow rapidly, and are anxiously tended by their parents, who employ a variety of artifices to lure strangers from the nest.

THE RED PHALAROPE.

The RED PHALAROPE (Phalaropus rufus) represents a group of the above birds recognisable by their superior length of tail and the construction of the beak, which is as long as the head, and flat and curved at its extremity. This species is larger than the Phalaropus hyperboreus, being fully eight inches long, and nearly fourteen broad; the wings measure five inches, and the tail two inches and three-quarters. Upon the crown, back, and shoulders, the feathers are black, edged with rust-red; the lower back, upper wing-covers, and sides of the tail are dark grey; and the under side is of a beautiful brownish red. The female is jet-black upon the crown and nape, and exhibits two greyish black stripes which pass down the sides of the head, the back and shoulder feathers are blueish grey, darkly shafted, and those on the under parts of the body white, edged with grey at the sides.

The native haunts of these birds, according to Gould, are the regions within the Arctic Circle, where they live during summer, migrating as winter approaches to more temperate climes, and dispersing singly or in pairs throughout most of the countries of Europe, being especially numerous in the British Isles. This species is abundant in many parts of Asia and America. "Although its powers of wing are very great," says the above writer, "we cannot look for its periodical visits with any certainty; and the places, moreover, which it selects are sometimes very extraordinary. For instance, it will continue for weeks, if unmolested, about a puddle in a farmyard, manifesting a familiar and unsuspecting disposition, and allowing itself to be approached with freedom. It does not, however, confine itself to one spot, but after remaining at a certain place from three to four weeks, suddenly departs; if on the approach of spring, towards the north, and in autumn towards the south. Every European country is visited, though at uncertain and often long intervals." The Red Phalarope swims well, and takes its food in the surface of the water with the utmost agility and address; indeed it seeks its nourishment there alone, and whilst thus engaged displays a great variety of graceful attitudes and manœuvres. Even if closely approached it exhibits no fear, but quietly continues its search for the aquatic insects and small thin-skinned crustaceans on which it subsists. Audubon gives the following account of a large flock of these birds that he met with on the shores of the Ohio. "They swam beautifully and played lightly about as they picked up substances floating in the water, dispersed again and again, until at length coming opposite to a small sand-bar, stretching out from the shore to the distance of a few yards, they directed their course towards it, and waded out. When just landing they were so close to each other that I could not withstand the temptation, and so levelled my gun, pulled both triggers, and saw that I had made considerable havoc among them. Those which had not been hit flew in a compact body, while the birds that had been but slightly wounded made for the water and swam away so fast that they seemed to be running on the surface." The four eggs laid by this species have a stone-coloured shell, spotted and speckled with dark brown.