SURF-BIRDS AND TURNSTONES 



267 



MOUNTAIN PLOVER 

 Podasocys montanus (./. K . ToiK'iiscud) 



A. O. V. Ximihir j8i 



Other Name. — Prairie Plover. 



General Description. — Length, 9 inches. Color 

 above. grayi-sh-bro\vn ; below, white ; bill slender ; tail 

 short, less than half the length of wing: hind toe miss- 

 ing; no web between middle and inner toes. 



Color. — Adults ix Summer: .\hi)ve, uniform 

 grayish-brown, usually pure but in some cases the 

 feathers ed,ged with tawny or ocher ; a sharp black 

 line from bill to eye : a black bar across lore-crown 

 varying in width from a mere line to a band nearly 

 half the length of the crown in width; central tail- 

 leathers, color of back, blackening toward end, outer 

 ones, pale, all white-tipped; hchn<.\ f^urc ichitc without 

 belt or patclir.\- lint breast sometimes shaded with rusty 

 or gray : primaries, blackish, some of the inner ones 



white tiiwanl I)ase: bill, black; le,gs, lead color; iris, 

 brown. Anri.T.s ix Winter: Black crown bar and loral 

 stripe, absent ; plumage, more rusty ; otherwise, as in 

 summer. YouNC : No pure white or black markings, 

 and even more huffy than winter adults. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nkst: On the open prairies; a 

 depression in the ground, lined with leaves and grass. 

 Egi;s : 3 or 4, cream to light olive, finely and thickly 

 dotted with sepia, black, and lavender. 



Distribution. — Western North America ; breeds from 

 northern Montana and western Nebraska south to 

 northern New Mexico and northwestern Texas; winters 

 from northern California and southern Texas to south- 

 ern Lnvver California and central Mexico; accidental 

 in Florida. 



On the central table-land nf the Ruckv .Moun- 

 tains, near Sweetwater, Wyoming, was ca])tiired 

 the first specimen of the Mountain Plover to be 

 described. From the altitude of this point, the 

 bird received its name. In reality, however, its 

 unofficial name of Prairie Plover is more appro- 

 priate. It frequents the barren prairies as well 

 as the well-watered regions of the western 

 United St;ites but not the marshes and beaches. 



It i^ a (luiet bird, attending consistently and 

 constantly to its business of chasing and captur- 

 ing insects. It feeds freely upon locusts, as is 

 sh(j\vn by the fact that sixteen stomachs of the 

 bird which were examined, contained an average 

 of forty-five locusts each. Also included in its 

 diet are various species of harmful grasshoppers 

 and it deserves, therefore, to be considerefl a use- 

 ful bird. 



SURF-BIRDS AND TURNSTONES 



OrdcT Llmicohc; family AphriziJcc 



HE Surf-birds and Turnstones constitute the family A pliyizidcc of the order of 

 Shore Birds. There are but three species, all of which occur in North America. 

 The subfamily of Surf-birds seem to be more closely related to the Sandpipers 

 than to the Plovers, and the only known species is the one which is found 

 on the coasts and islands of the Pacific. The Turnstone subfamily includes 

 two species. Structurally they are related to the Plovers and the Surf- 

 birds. The bill is shorter than the head, and is curved slightly upward, a 

 peculiarity which assists the bird in turning over stones in search of its food, 

 and from which it derives its name. The legs are short and stout, the wings 

 long and pointed, the tail short and slightly rounded, and the plumage parti- 

 colored in summer and neutral in winter. The birds lay four eggs, usually 



on almost barren rocky coasts, and conceal them very cleverly by selecting a nesting site 



with which their varied colors harmonize verv closelv. 





