Part 48

While admiring the perfect blending of its brown shades with the surroundings I saw in its white rings one of the commonest objects of the seashore--the empty half of a bivalve shell. The white about the base of the bill was the “hinge,” the collar the outer rim, and the top of the head the cavity of the shell filled--as they usually are--with sand.

Gerald H. Thayer (1909), writing of the very similar ringed plover of Europe, speaks of the “eye-masking and ‘obliterative’ shadow-and-hole-picturing pattern.”

Although this bird migrates and feeds both by day and night, it often happens that a flock is discovered at sunset out of reach of the tide, clustered together as if they had settled down for the night. That they spend the night there in some cases at least is shown by William Brewster (1925), who says: “I have repeatedly observed them standing motionless, singly or in clustering groups, on some mud bar to which they had thus returned, keeping them in view until it was too dark to see them longer and finding them all there the next morning.”

During high tide, when their best feeding grounds are covered, these birds, like many other shore birds, are very apt to be found sleeping on the upper beach above the reach of the waves. The flock is generally huddled closely together, some standing but many squatting with their breasts resting on the sand, often in the lee of bunches of seaweed. While some sleep with heads turned to one side and bills thrust into the feathers of the back in the usual manner of birds, others sleep with heads sunk down between the shoulders. Generally some of the flock are awake and on the lookout, while the others open their eyes from time to time.

In flight the flocks are often compact, twisting and turning as if animated by a single thought, but they also fly in loose order. On alighting they at once spread out on the sand in true plover fashion, and do not, like sandpipers, keep together and move along close to the wave line. Another plover habit which at once distinguishes them from sanderlings or other sandpipers of a similar size, is that of running about with heads up and dabbing suddenly at the ground from time to time instead of moving along with heads down diligently probing the sand. With erect figures they run about in various directions, often pausing and standing still as if in thought, occasionally jerking or bobbing their heads and necks and ever and again swiftly dabbing at some morsel of food.

The semipalmated plover associates most frequently with the least and semipalmated sandpipers, but it also flies with sanderlings and other larger waders. Sometimes these birds fly in mixed flocks, but as a rule the ringnecks keep by themselves in flight, but readily join other species on the ground.

On the seacoast the ringneck frequents the outer beaches, the shores and mud flats of estuaries and tidal pools, and the sloughs in the salt marshes. Inland it visits similar regions on the shores of lakes and rivers as well as upland fields in search of food. As I have said elsewhere (C. W. Townsend, 1905):

Like all shore birds also, the ringneck is often exceedingly fat in the autumn, and I have known the fat of the breast to split open when the bird struck the ground after being shot when flying at a height. The fat is not only everywhere under the skin, but it develops all the viscera, and the liver is often pale from fatty infiltration. How birds under these circumstances are able to fly so vigorously on their long migrations, or even to fly at all, is certainly a mystery.

Voice.--The courtship song has already been described. The common call note is a clear, rather plaintive, whistle of two notes, very distinctive and frequently emitted while the birds are on the wing. It is expressed by Hoffmann (1904) by the syllables chee-wee; Nichols (1920) writes it tyoo-eep. It is cheerful and businesslike compared with the sweet and mournful whistle of the piping plover. When calling to others as they alight, or when standing on the sand, they often emit a single note, sweet and clear, but at times harsh and rasping.

Field marks.--The semipalmated plover is easily distinguished in the field from the killdeer by its smaller size, its single neck ring, and by the absence of the rufous color on the rump. Its darker colors distinguish it from the piping plover. From the sandpipers, even at a distance on the sand, it is distinguished most readily by its plover behavior, as already described. In flying they show a faint white line on the wings which contrasts with the general brown of the upper parts. The neck ring is noticeable both in the flying and walking bird, and the orange yellow of the tarsi and base of the bill can be made out with glasses. In the young, which arrive on the Massachusetts coast about a month behind their elders in the autumn migration, the ring is gray instead of glossy black, and the tarsi are pale yellow. It may be distinguished from the Wilson’s plover by the fact that that bird has a much longer bill, wholly black.

Game.--Although this little plover was formerly shot as game in the same manner as is described under the least and semipalmated sandpipers, it is now protected at all seasons. Besides its value as a destroyer of harmful insects, its greatest value is aesthetic. On the beaches of the sea and lakes its graceful flight, handsome plumage, and confiding ways are a source of great pleasure, and on this account alone it is worthy of protection for all time.

Fall.--The fall migration, as stated above, is a long and leisurely one, differing markedly in this respect from the spring migration. When a favorable spot is found, abounding in food and free from disturbances, these birds are apt to tarry there for some time. Here they grow fat and here they indulge in courtship performances as if it were the spring of the year. On beaches and marshes, where in former times gunners, hidden in blinds, were lurking to destroy them, all is now peace and quiet for these little birds, and their journey southward is undisturbed.

Of the fall migration Wells W. Cooke (1912) writes:

At one of the most southern breeding places near York Factory, Keewatin, in 1900, the most advanced young were still in the downy stage July 10 (Preble), and yet by this time the species is already in full fall migration, and the earliest individuals have appeared several hundred miles south of the breeding range. * * * Though most semipalmated plover migrate early, a few stay until freezing weather.

The adults migrate first, while the young rarely arrive on the Massachusetts coast before August 15.

Winter.--Although the majority of the species winter south of the United States, as is shown under “winter range,” some are to be found at this season on the shores of the Southern and Gulf States earning their living in pursuit of their small prey.

DISTRIBUTION

Range.--North and South America.

Breeding range.--The breeding range of the semipalmated plover extends north to Alaska (Morzhovia Bay, Hooper Bay, and the Colville delta); northern Mackenzie (Mackenzie delta, Lower Anderson River, Franklin Bay, Horton River, and Bernard Harbor); Keewatin (Whale Point); Franklin (Annanostook and Kingnite Fjord); Victoria Land; Baffin Island; and western Greenland (Disco). East to western Greenland (Disco); Labrador (Port Burwell, Okak, and Tessiujaksoak); Newfoundland (Straits of Belle Isle); eastern Quebec (Upper Hamilton River, Wapitagun Island, Magdalen Islands, and Mingan Islands); and Nova Scotia (Sable Island). South to Nova Scotia (Sable Island and Yarmouth County); probably rarely New Brunswick (Grand Manan); northern Ontario (Moose Factory); Manitoba (Hayes River and Fort Churchill); southern Mackenzie (Artillery Lake); Yukon (Lake Marsh); and British Columbia (Graham Island). West to British Columbia (Graham Island); and Alaska (Berg Bay, Glacier Bay, and Morzhovia Bay).

In common with several other shore birds, nonbreeders remain throughout the summer in southern latitudes. At this season they have been taken or observed south to Venezuela (Margarita Island), Galapagos Islands, Costa Rica, the West Indies, and Jalisco (Ocotlan), while they frequently are fairly common on the coasts of the United States and at points in the interior, Ohio (Lakeside and Oberlin), and Michigan (Detroit).

Kumlien and Hollister report obtaining young not yet able to fly at Lake Koshkonong, Wis., but if their identification was correct, this record must be considered accidental. The species also has been reported in summer from eastern Siberia (East Cape), where it may breed.

Winter range.--The winter range extends north to California (rarely Palo Alto); Texas (Brownsville and Corpus Christi); Louisiana (State Game Preserve); Mississippi (Biloxi); probably Alabama (Coffee Island); South Carolina (Dewees Island); and Bermuda (Somerset). East to Bermuda (Somerset); South Carolina (Port Royal); Georgia (Savannah, Blackbeard Island, and Darien); Florida (Amelia Island, Mayport, Daytona, Mosquito Inlet, Upper Metacumbe Key, and Key West); the Bahama Islands (Abaco, New Providence, Watling Island, and Great Inagua); Haiti (Monte Cristi, and Samana); Porto Rico; the Lesser Antilles (Anegada, Sombrero Key, St. Bartholomew, Carriacou, and Trinidad); Guiana (Abary River and Cayenne); Brazil (Island of Mixiana, Cajetuba Island, Pernambuco, Bahia, Abrolhos Island, Peranagua, and Santa Catarina); and Argentina (Puerto Deseado). South to Argentina (Puerto Deseado and Jujuy); and Chile (Calbuco). West to Chile (Calbuco, Coquimbo, and Moreno Bay); Peru (Chorillos, Ancon, Trujillo, and Payta); Ecuador (Puna Island, Guayaquil, and Santa Elena); Galapagos Islands (Albemarle and Narboro); Costa Rica; Honduras (Manatee Lagoon); Guatemala (Chiapam); Oaxaca (San Mateo); Sinaloa (Mazatlan); Lower California (La Paz); and California (San Diego, San Pedro, Saticoy, Pacific Grove, and rarely Palo Alto).

Spring migration.--Early dates of spring arrival are: Virginia, Arlington Beach, April 30; District of Columbia, Washington, May 3; Pennsylvania, Wayne, May 5, and Erie, May 8; New Jersey, Cape May, April 24, Camden, May 5, and Long Beach, May 10; New York, Long Island, April 19, Orient, May 2, Geneva, May 5, and Rochester, May 16; Connecticut, New Haven, May 1, and Fairfield, May 4; Rhode Island, Newport, April 15; Massachusetts, Rehoboth, April 21, Monomoy Island, April 28, and Dennis, May 5; Maine, Saco, May 5; Quebec, Quebec City, May 6, Montreal, May 19, Godbout, May 28, Eskimo Point, June 3, and Fort Chimo, June 11; Nova Scotia, Pictou, May 9, and Antigonish, May 15; Franklin, Winter Island, May 31; Missouri, St. Louis, April 2, and Kahoka, April 4; Illinois, Rantoul, April 9, near Chicago, April 25, and Cantine, April 26; Indiana, Denver, May 1, Terre Haute, May 5, and Bloomington, May 9; Ohio, Sandusky, April 20, Cleveland, April 21, and Oberlin, April 24; Michigan, Ann Arbor, May 5, Jackson, May 8, and Grand Rapids, May 9; Ontario, Toronto, April 21, Hamilton, April 24, Ottawa, May 9, and Guelph, May 15; Iowa, Sioux City, April 22, Ogden, April 24, and Emmetsburg, April 27; Wisconsin, Madison, May 5; Minnesota, Heron Lake, May 8, and Minneapolis, May 11; Kansas, Lawrence, April 22, Emporia, April 25, and McPherson, May 3; Nebraska, Lincoln, April 27; South Dakota, Vermilion, April 20, and Brookings, May 8; Manitoba, Brandon, April 28, and Reaburn, May 9; Saskatchewan, Lake Johnston, May 10; Mackenzie, Fort Simpson, May 16, and Fort Resolution, May 23; Alberta, Veteran, April 24, Camrose, May 6, Tofield, May 12, Peace River, May 20, and Fort Chipewyan, May 23; northern California, Eureka, April 17; Nevada, Smoky Creek, May 4; Washington, Destruction Island, April 24, and Grays Harbor, April 30; British Columbia, Ucluelet, April 28, and Comox, May 3; Yukon, Forty-mile, May 23; and Alaska, Admiralty Island, May 8, Bethel, May 10, Bristol Bay, May 15, Coronation Island, May 15, and Hooper Bay, May 19.

Late dates of spring departure are: Brazil, Cajetuba Island, April 18; Colombia, Sabanilla, March 27; Porto Rico, Luquillo, March 5, and Vieques Island, March 30; Haiti, Samana, April 13; Bahamas, Abaco, April 28, and Green Cay, April 29; Florida, Daytona Beach, May 25, Punta Rassa, May 25, and Pensacola, May 30; Georgia, Savannah, May 13; South Carolina, Kiawah Island, June 2, and Bulls Bay, June 7; North Carolina, Pea and Bodie Islands, May 17; Cape Hatteras, May 20, and Raleigh, May 22; Virginia, Cape Charles, May 24, Smiths Island, May 25, and Wallops Island, May 30; District of Columbia, Alexander Island, May 22, and Washington, May 25; Maryland, Patapsco Marsh, May 29; Pennsylvania, State College, May 30, Wayne, June 1, and Erie, June 2; New Jersey, Cape May County, May 23, Elizabeth, May 30, and Camden, June 1; New York, Canandaigua, June 7, Geneva, June 9, Orient, June 10, and New York City, June 14; Connecticut, New Haven, June 1, and Fairfield, June 8; Massachusetts, Lynn, June 5, Harvard, June 9; and Dennis, June 10; Maine, Portland, June 3; Louisiana, Lobdell, May 18; Missouri, St. Joseph, May 13, and Corning, May 18; Illinois, Chicago, May 29, Morgan Park, May 30, and Rantoul, June 2; Indiana, Lake County, May 27; Ohio, Columbus, May 28, Oberlin, May 29, and Lakeside, June 2; Michigan, Detroit, May 30, Sault Ste. Marie, May 31; Ontario, Ottawa, May 31, Hamilton, June 3, and Toronto, June 6; Iowa, Emmetsburg, May 20, and Sioux City, May 30; Wisconsin, Shiocton, May 28, and Madison, May 30; Minnesota, Lanesboro, May 23, Hallock, May 29, and Minneapolis, June 4; Texas, Corpus Christi, May 18; Kansas, Lawrence, May 18; Nebraska, Lincoln, May 20; South Dakota, Vermilion, May 19, Dell Rapids, May 22; and Forestburg, May 27; Manitoba, Lake Winnipeg, June 7, and Shoal Lake, June 12; Lower California, San Geronimo Island, April 13, Cerros Island, April 17, and Gardeners Lagoon, April 24; California, San Diego, April 23, Alameda, May 14, Fresno, May 15, and Santa Barbara, May 22; Washington, Tacoma, May 18; and British Columbia, Indian Cove, May 29.

Fall migration.--Early dates of arrival in the fall are; British Columbia, Nootka Sound, July 23, Tahsis Canal, July 26, and Okanagan Landing, July 28; Washington, The Olympiades, July 16; California, Alameda, July 8, and Santa Barbara, July 12; Lower California, Santa Rosalia Bay, August 16, and San Jose del Cabo, August 23; Saskatchewan, Big Stick Lake, July 19, and Cochrane River, July 23; Manitoba, Red Deer River, July 22, Lake Winnipegosis, July 22, and Oak Lake, July 28; North Dakota, Kenmare, July 18; South Dakota, Forestburg, July 27, Nebraska, Lincoln, August 9; Texas, Tivoli, September 2; Minnesota, Minneapolis, July 17; Iowa, Sioux City, August 5, and Marshalltown, August 10; Ontario, Toronto, July 22, Coldstream, July 29, and Brighton, July 31; Michigan, Charity Island, July 25, Jackson, July 25, and Detroit, July 31; Ohio, Bay Point, July 3, Oberlin, July 6, Cedar Point, July 8, and Lakeside, July 17; Indiana, Bass Lake, August 1; Illinois, Chicago, July 22, and La Grange, August 7; Missouri, St. Louis, August 20; Mississippi, Beauvoir, July 22; Louisiana, Bayou Chene, August 29; Maine, Portland, July 18, and Squirrel Island, July 31; Massachusetts, Lynn, July 18; Marthas Vineyard, July 20, and Harvard, July 26; Rhode Island, South Auburn, July 23, and Block Island, July 25; Connecticut, New Haven, July 30; New York, Long Beach, July 3, Orient, July 6, and Brockport, July 28; New Jersey, Long Beach, July 19, Brigantine Beach, July 25, and Elizabeth, July 31; North Carolina, Myrtle Sound, July 10; South Carolina, Frogmore, July 20, and Charleston, July 21; Florida, Palma Sola, July 10, Daytona Beach, July 19, and Pensacola, July 26; Bermuda, August 12; the Bahama Islands, Long Island, July 17; Cuba, Batabono, August 26; Lesser Antilles, Grenada, August 24, and Dominica, August 29; Panama, Toro Point, July 23; Brazil, Santa Catarina, August 4; and Colombia, Santa Marta region, September 13.

Late dates of fall departure are: British Columbia, Chilliwack, August 23, Atlin, August 24, and Okanagan Landing, September 3; Mackenzie, Fort Simpson, September 1, and Fort Resolution, September 1; Saskatchewan, Indian Head, September 2; Manitoba, Shoal Lake, September 14, Aweme, September 14, and Oak Lake, September 20; Nebraska, Lincoln, October 14; Minnesota, Lanesboro, September 15; Iowa, Emmetsburg, September 24, and Grinnell, October 22; Ontario, Toronto, October 26, and Point Pelee, October 29; Michigan, Portage Lake, October 25, and Detroit, October 29; Ohio, Oberlin, October 21, and Youngstown, November 2; Indiana, Hobart, September 24, and Peru, October 2; Illinois, Rantoul, October 15, and Chicago, October 28; Kentucky, Lexington, September 17; Missouri, St. Louis, September 25; Prince Edward Island, North River, October 27; Nova Scotia, Wolfville, October 22; New Brunswick, Scotch Lake, September 23; Quebec, Montreal, October 20; Maine, Lewiston, October 13; Massachusetts, Lynn, October 12, Cambridge, October 26, and Dennis, October 27; Connecticut, Fairfield, October 22, Norwalk, October 26, and New Haven, October 31; New York, East Hampton, October 22, Port Chester, October 25, and Long Beach, October 28; New Jersey, Sandy Hook, October 25; and Pennsylvania, Erie, November 2.

Casual records.--The semipalmated plover is more or less rare in the southern Rocky Mountain region where records are so few that it can be considered only as casual. Among these records are: Utah, Salt Lake City (reported by Nelson); Colorado, Denver, April 27, 1907, Loveland, May 6, 1890, and Grand Lake, Middle Park (Carter Collection); and Arizona, Fort Verde, September 8, 1884, Colorado River, September and October, 1865 (Coues), and Tucson, April, 1883 (Scott).

Egg dates.--Labrador and Ungava: 42 records, June 7 to July 7; 21 records, June 18 to July 1. Quebec to Nova Scotia: 33 records, June 5 to 29; 17 records, June 15 to 23. Arctic coast of Canada: 18 records, June 16 to July 20; 9 records, June 23 to July 4. Alaska and British Columbia; 19 records, May 27 to July 6; 10 records, June 1 to 9.