SURF-BIRDS AND TURNSTONES 



269 



Shore birds as a class are foremost among the 

 earth's greatest travelers. The typical species of 

 this class breed on the Arctic tundra, and, when 

 winter approaches, migrate nearly to the further 

 end of the South American continent. Such a 

 wanderer is the Turnstone, a beautiful species, 

 richly colored, and possessed of great powers of 

 flight. The month of May finds it rapidly pass- 

 ing across the United States, following both 

 the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and also through 

 the interior. In the latter it is found along the 

 larger bodies of water, Init also on the sloughs of 

 the prairies, especially where alkaline conditions 

 produce open muddy shores. Some flocks are 

 seen as late as the first week of Tune. Returning 



one exceptional chance to watch. It was in late 

 afternoon toward the middle of September, on 

 a sandy shore, slightly muddy, where shells and 

 debris had been washed up. The select com- 

 pany was " one little Turnstone and I," the latter 

 armed with binoculars, the former too busy to 

 notice intruders. He was a fine gentleman, 

 dressed in the gaudiest "calico" possible for the 

 fall fashions, yet not too proud to work for his 

 supper. His method was urn unlike that of 

 the proverbial hull in the china shop, for he 

 trotted about, "tossing'' nearly everything that 

 came in bis way. Inserting the " wedge '' under 

 a ])ebble, a shell, or what not, he would give a 

 real toss of his imperious head, and flop over it 



Courtesy uf Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 

 TURNSTONE (§ nat. size) 

 His method was not unlike that of the proverbial bull in the china-shop 



bands begin to appear as soon as the last of July, 

 and during August the main southbound tide 

 is on. 



Their prevailing habit is to keeji in compact 

 flocks, more often about a dozen, when often they 

 fly in lines, as well as bunched up. None the 

 less they are also found scattering, two or three, 

 or even a lone one. Thev fly very fast, usually 

 with a sort of trilling, rapidly reiterated series of 

 notes. They are well known to hunters, fre- 

 quently by the names of Chicken Plover, Calico- 

 bird, and others. 



Their favorite haunts are stony beaches on the 

 open coast and also inlets with gravelly or partly 

 muddy shores. For feeding purposes thev carry- 

 no knife, like the Oyster-catcher, but have an 

 arrangement no less effective for their purpose 

 — a wedge-shaped bill. How they u.se this I had 



would g(i. Presently he tackled a shingle, and 

 had a hard time to Inidge it. He tried it on all 

 sides, and then again, until at last he lifted and 

 threw it over. His efforts seemed to be well 

 rewarded, for he fed there some little time, as 

 though many slugs and worms had taken refuge 

 beneath it. It is in search of such preA' that the 

 turner of stones operates, a cog in the wheel of 

 the system of nature, which decrees that every 

 possible corner and crevice of the great system 

 shall have its guardian, even the tiny spot of 

 ground beneath the pebble on the beach. 



Heri!i:kt K. Job. 



The Turnstone's diet is not confined to the ani- 

 mal food mentioned, but includes grasshoppers of 

 species which often menace seriously various 

 crops. Its service in keeping down these pests is 



