TURNSTONE 289 



up to iy2 inches in length; insects, including Coleoptera, Diptera {Tipulidae 

 and larvae of Chironomidae) , Lepidoptera {Argynnis charidea and Dasijchvra 

 groenlandica recorded by H. C. Hart and Hymcnoptera. Also Arachnida 

 and Acaridea (Feilden). Also some vegetable matter (seeds of Draba alpina, 

 pieces of seaweed, etc.). 



Behavior. — ^When migrating turnstone^ fly in large flocks by them- 

 selves or with black-bellied plovers, often in immense flocks; at such 

 times they usually fly high. But, while sojourning on the way, they 

 are usually in small numbers and very often seen singly. One or two 

 birds are often associated with mixed flocks or scattered gatherings 

 of ^emipalmated plover, sanderlings, or other small waders. Their 

 flight is strong, swift, and steady, usually direct, but sometimes in a 

 semicircle, out from the shore and back again; when not traveling 

 the}'- generally fly low. There is something peculiar about their flight 

 which can be recognized at a long distance, but I can not describe it 

 satisfactorily. They are essentially shore birds, frequenting the stony, 

 rocky, or sandy beaches of the seashore or the larger lakes. They 

 are not particularly shy, and sometimes very tame. When they first 

 alight they stand and survey the landscape until sure that they are 

 safe. They then mingle freely with the other small waders, feeding 

 unconcernedly, and treating their companions with indifference until 

 one comes too near. Then the turnstone shows its jealous and pug- 

 nacious disposition; it will allow no competition, in the spot where 

 it is feeding, from another bird, even of its own species, but with 

 lowered head, drooping wings, and hunched up back it rushes at the 

 intruder in a threatening attitude and perhaps gives him a few jabs 

 with its sharp bill. Many a miniature cockfight or sham battle is 

 enacted and the turnstone is generally the aggressor, though once I 

 saw a ^anderling drive away a turnstone. It appears like a big bully 

 that is attracted to the feast that others have found and then is 

 unwilling to share it with them. 



Turnstones can swim well and probably alight on the water to 

 rest while making long flights over the ocean. Dr. Donald B. Mac- 

 Millan (1918) saw " a large flock alight upon the water in Kennedy 

 Channel." They love to bathe in shallow water, squatting down and 

 fluttering their wings, sometimes partly rolling over ; then they spend 

 ^uch time preening and dressing their pretty plumage. N. B. 

 Moore ^ays in his notes that " this species alights on the dead branches 

 of mangroves, stumps, and stakes that stand in the water near the 

 shore from 2 to 6 feet above it and sits in the manner of a Carolina 

 dove." 



Voice. — John T, Nichols has contributed the following on the 

 ordinary notes of the turnstone : 



The common flight note of this species is an unloud polysyllabic one, some- 

 thing like a cackle, vphich does not carry far. It is usualljy given by birds that 



