AMERICAN" GOLDEN PLOVER 187 



favorable times made its pursuit most interesting. During the years 

 of its abundance it was slaughtered in almost incredible numbers. 

 Audubon (1840) writes: 



While at New Orleans, on the 16th of March, 1821, I was invited by some 

 French gunners to accompany them to the neighborhood of Lake St. John to 

 witness the passage of thousands of these birds, which were coming from the 

 northeast and continuing their course. At the first appearance of the birds 

 early in the morning, the gunners had assembled in parties of from 20 to 50 at 

 different places, where they knew from experience that the plovers would pass. 

 There stationed, at nearly equal distances from each other, they were sitting 

 on the ground. When a flock approached, every individual whistled in imita- 

 tion of the plover's call note, on which the birds descended, wheeled, and, 

 passing within 40 or 50 yards, ran the gauntlet, as it were. Every gun went 

 off in succession, and with such effect that I several times saw a flock of a 

 hundred or more reduced to a miserable remnant of five or six individuals. 

 The game was brought up after each volley by the dogs, while their masters 

 were charging their pieces anew. This sport was continued all day, and at 

 sunset, when I left one of these lines of gunners, they seemed as intent on 

 killing more as they were when I arrived. A man near the place where I was 

 seated had killed G3 dozens. I calculated the number in the field at 200, and 

 supposing each to have shot 20 dozen, 48,000 golden plovers would have fallen 

 that day. 



John C. Cahoon (1888) describes a method of shooting golden 

 plover employed by old gunners on Cape Cod, as follows : 



Several weeks before the time for the flights to occur, they go to an old field 

 or pasture that they know the birds usually come into and burn off the old 

 grass and bushes for quite a space. Then a hole is dug large enough for one 

 or two persons to sit in comfortably, with only the top of their heads above 

 the surface. In a few weeks the grass springs up and the green patch is easily 

 distinguished from its duller surroundings by the plover flying about, and they 

 are sure to come to this place. The gunner, with his decoys out, sits in his pit 

 with only the top of his head out, which is covered with a green cap. A flock, 

 before alighting to the decoys, will usually circle about several times, often 

 flying directly over the gunner's head only a few yards away. An experienced 

 gunner will not shoot when they are so near and scattered, as he could kill 

 but one or two, but will wait for them to bunch at the right distance, which 

 they are sure to do while turning, and seize that opportunity to fire, killing 

 many at one shot. 



Mr. Mackay (1891) says: "They are extremely gregarious, and I 

 have had the same flock return to my decoys as many as four times 

 after some of their number had been shot each time." This remark 

 probably refers to adult birds, which come readily to decoys or in 

 response to skillful whistling ; I have seen a single bird whistled up 

 from so far away that it was hardly visible. Professor Eowan (1926) 

 says that he has " found it practically impossible to whistle them 

 within gun range." He probably refers to young birds, of which 

 Mr. Mackay (1891) writes: 



These young birds invariably appear wild and wary, much more so than the 

 old ones. They are also very erratic in their movements and flight when with 



