Part 57

The stomachs of five birds taken on the coast of Alabama by Arthur H. Howell (1924) contained “crabs and shrimps, with a few mollusks and flies.” One taken in Porto Rico by Stuart T. Danforth (1926) contained Dytiscid larvae and adults.

Behavior.--Audubon (1840) describes the behavior of this plover very well, as follows:

The flight of this species, is rapid, elegant, and protracted. While traveling from one sand beach or island to another, they fly low over the land or water, emitting a fine, clear, soft note. Now and then, when after the breeding season they form into flocks of 20 or 30, they perform various evolutions in the air, cutting backward and forward, as if inspecting the spot on which they wish to alight, and then suddenly descend, sometimes on the sea beach and sometimes on the more elevated sands at a little distance from it. They do not run so nimbly as the piping plovers nor are they nearly so shy. I have in fact frequently walked up so as to be within 10 yards or so of them. They seldom mix with other species, and they show a decided preference to solitary uninhabited spots.

Voice.--My field notes, written over 20 years ago, refer to Wilson plover flying about their breeding grounds, whistling their musical call notes, somewhat suggestive of the notes of the piping plover, but not so loud nor so rich in tone. Francis M. Weston writes to me that “the note of anxiety, when on the ground, is a sharp wheet, beween a chirp and a whistle. On the wing, it gives a low tut-tut, somewhat like the alarm note of the wood thrush, but pitched lower and never of more than two syllables.” C. J. Pennock says, in his notes, that when they have eggs or young “they fly about close overhead, or run along the sand, calling queet, queet, quit it, quit it, in a high-pitched tone, frequently three or four birds joining in the vocal protest.” John T. Nichols says in his notes: “The commonest note of this species on the ground and on the wing is a ternlike quip, sometimes double qui-pip. Less frequently, on the ground, it has a surprisingly human whistled whip.”

Field marks.--The best field character of the Wilson plover is the long, heavy, wholly black bill, which is very conspicuous in all plumages; it is relatively larger and more prominent than that of the black-bellied plover. The Wilson is decidedly larger than the semipalmated or the piping plover; it is slightly lighter in color than the former and much darker than the latter. I have noticed that in flight it appears quite dark colored above, with no conspicuous white except in the lateral tail feathers.

Winter.--We recorded this species as a winter resident on the west coast of Florida as far north as Tampa Bay, but it was rare in midwinter and did not become common until March. It frequented the sand bars and sandy islands on the Gulf shore, together with other small plovers and sandpipers. It was much tamer than any of the other shore birds and less active; it was the only one of the whole tribe that could be openly approached on the unprotected beaches. It was usually seen singly, apart from the others, and never in flocks.

DISTRIBUTION

Range.--Southern United States, the West Indies, Central and South America.

Breeding range.--The Wilson plover breeds north to probably Lower California (La Paz); Texas (Brownsville, Corpus Christi, probably Rockport, probably Matagorda Island, Houston, and Galveston); Louisiana (probably Cameron Parish and the Breton Island Reservation); Mississippi (Dog Key); probably Alabama (Bayou Labatre and Dauphin Island); western Florida (Milton and probably James Island); and formerly New Jersey (Beach Haven). East to formerly New Jersey (Beach Haven, probably Great Egg Harbor, and Cape May); Virginia (Cobb Island and Cape Charles); North Carolina (Pea Island, Beaufort, and Cape Fear); South Carolina (Bulls Bay, Sullivan Island, and Frogmore); Georgia (Tybee Island, Ossabaw Island, and Blackbeard Island); the east coast of Florida (Fernandina, Amelia Island, Matanzas Inlet, Mosquito Inlet, and Coronado Beach); the Bahama Islands (New Providence, Rum Cay, and Inagua Island); and probably Porto Rico. South to probably Porto Rico; probably Jamaica (Great Salt Pond and Port Henderson); probably Cuba (Trinidad); and British Honduras (Grassy Cay). West to British Honduras (Grassy Cay); Gulf of California; and probably Lower California (La Paz).

The status of the species in the southern part of its summer range has not yet been definitely settled, and some alleged races have been described, whose breeding ranges are undoubtedly included in the summary given above.

Winter range.--The species has been detected in winter north to Lower California (San Jose Island); Sonora (Guaymas); Texas (probably rarely Brownsville and Matagorda County); probably Louisiana (Vermilion Bay); Mississippi (Hancock County); and Florida (mouth of the St. Johns River). East to Florida (mouth of the St. Johns River, St. Augustine, New Smyrna, and Key West); the Bahama Islands (Andros Islands and Watling Island); probably Santo Domingo (Samana); probably Porto Rico (Culebra Island and Vieques Island); the Lesser Antilles (Anegada); French Guiana (Cayenne and Rio Oyapok); and Brazil (Cajetuba, Bahia, and Camamu). South to Brazil (Camamu); and Peru (Tumbez). West to Peru (Tumbez); Ecuador (Puna Island); Colombia (Cartagena and Sabanilla); Honduras (Swan Islands); Guatemala (Chiapam); and Lower California (La Paz and San Jose Island).

Spring migration.--Early dates of spring arrival are Georgia, Cumberland, March 18, and Darien, March 19; South Carolina, Bulls Point, March 10, Frogmore, March 20, and Mount Pleasant, March 26; North Carolina, Fort Macon, April 15, and Pea and Bodie Islands, April 24; and Virginia, Toms Brook, April 8.

Fall migration.--Almost nothing is known about the fall migration of this plover but Wayne (1910) says that it remains on the beaches of South Carolina “until September 22, or perhaps until October.”

Casual records.--Wilson plovers have been noted or collected on several occasions outside of their normal range. Most of these have naturally been in New York and on the coast of New England. Among them are: New York, three at Far Rockaway, May 17, 1879, one at Shinnecock Bay, May 16, 1884, one at Good Ground, May 28, 1879, Orient, July 3, 1915, and Long Beach, July 1, 1872; Connecticut, taken once at Stratford, and seen at Bridgeport on July 28, 1888; Massachusetts, Gurnet Point, August 22, 1877, one at Ipswich, May 8, 1904, and about 25 reported as seen at Dennis, September 4, 1920; Nova Scotia, one at Brier Island, April 28, 1880; and one from Halifax that is preserved in the British Museum; and California, one taken at Pacific Beach, June 27, 1894, and another seen at Imperial Beach, May 11, 1918.

Egg dates.--Virginia: 22 records, May 4 to June 20; 11 records, May 27 to June 6. South Carolina and Georgia: 50 records, April 14 to June 21; 25 records, May 17 to June 10. Florida: 26 records, April 2 to July 10; 13 records, May 12 to June 11. Texas: 11 records, April 7 to June 18; 6 records, April 20 to May 19.

PODASOCYS MONTANUS (J. K. Townsend)

MOUNTAIN PLOVER

HABITS

The above name is not especially appropriate for this species. The name, Rocky Mountain plover, would have been better, for its breeding range is mainly in the Rocky Mountain plateau. It frequents elevated ground but it is not a bird of the mountains but of the dry plains. Coues (1874) says:

While most other plovers haunt the vicinity of water, to which some are almost confined, the present species is not in the least degree of aquatic habits, but, on the contrary, resorts to plains as dry and sterile as any of our country--sometimes the grassy prairies, with shore larks and titlarks, various ground sparrows, and the burrowing owl; sometimes sandy deserts, where the sage brush and the “chamizo,” the prickly pear and the Spanish bayonet, grow in full luxuriance. It approaches the Pacific, but will never be found on the beach itself, with maritime birds, nor even on the adjoining mud-flats or marshes, preferring the firm, grassy fields further back from the water.

Nesting.--W. C. Bradbury (1918) has given us a very good account of the nesting habits of the mountain plover in Colorado. Of the nesting site and nest he says:

The ground is an open, rolling prairie, above the line of irrigation, and is devoted to cattle range. It is several miles from natural surface water and streams, and is covered with short-cropped buffalo or gramma grass, 2 or 3 inches high, with frequent bunches of dwarfed prickly pear, and an occasional cluster of stunted shrub or weed, rarely more than a foot in height. With the six sets secured, in no instance had the parent bird taken advantage of the slight protection offered from sight or the elements by the nearby cactus, shrubs or uneven spots of ground. In each case, she had avoided such shelter, locating in the open, generally between the small grass hummocks and not on or in them; there was no evidence of the parent birds having given more thought to nest preparation or concealment, than does any other plover. In two of the sets the eggs were all individually embedded in the baked earth to a depth of one-eighth to one-fourth of an inch, evidently having settled when the surface of the ground was reduced to soft mud by rain-water collecting in the slight depressions. As the ground dried up the eggs were fixed in a perfect mould or matrix, from which they could not roll. In fact they could hardly be disturbed at all by the sitting birds. The only nesting material was a small quantity of fine, dry rootlets and “crowns” of gramma grass, the eggs in some instances being slightly embedded in this lining. As it is also present in all other depressions on the prairie it is highly probable that here as elsewhere it was deposited about the eggs by the wind and not through the agency of the birds themselves. The protective coloration of the nest and eggs, as well as of the rear view of the birds themselves, even when in motion, is unsurpassed. In no instance, except one hereinafter noted, was the bird seen to leave the nest, nor was any nest found except in the immediate vicinity of moving birds.

H. G. Hoskin (1893) writes:

The mountain plover builds its nest on open prairie. The first egg is laid on bare ground, and as the set is finished and incubation advances the bird gradually makes a nest of dirt, pieces of hard grass, roots, etc. It takes five or six days to complete set of three eggs. I have never found more nor less than three eggs in a nest that I thought complete. Old birds will fly off the nest while a person on foot is 80 rods away, but will sit closely for man on horseback or in a buggy.

William G. Smith (1888) found three nests while traveling by wagon across the Laramie Plains in Wyoming. “They were all placed within 50 yards of the much-frequented roadway, and each time I saw the female sitting on the eggs. The old birds are very white which contrasts with the dark ground and causes them to be easily seen.” The art of feigning lameness or injury, to entice the intruder away from eggs or young, seems to be very highly developed in this species. Mr. Smith speaks of one that seemed to be in a fit, as it lay on its side, within 6 feet of him, “apparently in strong convulsions.” Mr. Bradbury (1918) tells of one that, “spreading her wings horizontally to their extreme width while standing, then falling flat with her neck and wings extended their full length on the ground, at times with beak open, she retreated as he approached, or followed closely as he returned toward the nest.”

Eggs.--The mountain plover lays almost invariably three eggs, occasionally only two, and four eggs have been recorded. They are ovate to short ovate in shape, with no gloss. The prevailing ground colors are “deep olive buff” or “dark olive buff”; some few are “chamois” and one pink set has a “light pinkish cinnamon” ground color. They are irregularly marked, but chiefly near the larger end, with small spots and scrawls of black, which sometimes form a ring near the larger end. The measurments of 58 eggs average 37.3 by 28.3 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure =40= by 28.5, 37.5 by =29.2=, =34.3= by 28.4, and 38.5 by =27= millimeters.

Young.--Apparently both sexes incubate; an incubating male has been taken. William G. Smith says in his notes:

The young are very nimble when only a few days old, and it is quite a task to catch them. They do not attempt to hide. A peculiarity of these birds is, though three eggs are generally laid, I never saw but two young with the old birds. I lived on the prairies for six years, a mile from any other habitation; I had every opportunity to observe the traits of these birds. When they are well able to run each of the old birds takes one to raise, and that method seems the rule.