Oct. 1888.] 



AKD OOLOGIST. 



155 



by the absence of its hind toes. Its habits find 

 food are the same as the Esliiino Curlew, with 

 wlioiu it associates. It is very fat in tlie au- 

 tumn ami, like otiier birds that feed on insects, 

 berries and grains, it is in niudi demand for 

 the table on account of its flue flavor. The 

 most successful gunners get these birds in the 

 following manner : 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 liurn oil' the old giass and bushes 

 for (juite a space. Then a hole is dug large 

 enough for one or two persons to sit in comfor- 

 tably, with only the top of their heads aliove 

 the surface. In a few weeks the grass springs 

 up and the green patch is easily distinguished 

 from its duller surroundings by the Plover fly- 

 ing 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 tliey 

 are sure to do while turning, and seize that 

 opportunity to fire, killing many at one shot. 

 .\ rrl<'nd of mine, "Dr. T.," is considered a fine 

 marksman and has shot Plover for many years, 

 and tills last season, in the manner I have de- 

 scribed, he killed fourteen Plover out of a Hock 

 of nineteen at one discharge of his gun. 



Killdeer, ^■Eijiaiitis vucifera, (Linn.) A rare 

 spring and autumn migrant. It is the first of 

 the shore birds to arrive in the spring, some- 

 times reaching the Cape as early as March 1st. 

 In the autumn, migrants remain as late as the 

 last of November. This bird was common on 

 the Cape in former years and bred in some lo- 

 calities. They frequent ploughed fields and 

 pastures, marshes and the muddy edges of 

 ponds and rivers. Their shrill notes of "kill- 

 deer," are incessantly reiterated while on the 

 wingV)r ruTiuing along on the ground. 



Semlpalmated Plover, yEi/ialitix si'mipalmata, 

 (Boiiai).) "l!iiig-neck," on Cape Cod. A com- 

 mon spring and abundant sunnner migrant. 

 Arrives from the south in the spring the last of 

 April or the first of May, becoming common 

 about the 21st of May. nearly liave ])assed by 

 June 1st. First comers arrive in the summer 

 about the 12th of July, becoming connnon 

 by the last of the inontli, and are most numer- 

 ous through the month of August. They be- 



gin to decrease about the first of September, 

 and by the 2Sth nearly all have taken their 

 departure. The spring arrivals and the adults 

 in the summer and autumn are usually in jiairs, 

 but when the young commence to put in an 

 appeal ance they are seen in small flocks by 

 themselves, or in company with the .Sandpipers. 

 They go on to the nmd and sand flats, sand bars 

 and low beaches, where they feed on small 

 shell fish and marine animals. As soon as the 

 tide begins to flow over the flats, they fly to 

 the high beaches to roost, in company with 

 othei- Plover and Sandiilpers. In the spring 

 they are often seen on the salt marshes near the 

 shore. There is no doubt but that it bred in 

 former years on Monomoy Island In cnuiiiaNv 

 with its paler relative, the Piping Plover, and 

 Mr. Samuels, in his Birds nf Xi-ir KikjUiikI, 

 speaks of a pair that he found uitb llicir nest 

 in lSG(i on Muskeget, an island olV ihr .Massa- 

 chusetts coast. 



Piping Plover, ^Ei/ialitis mchnUa, (Ord.) Pale 

 King-necU, "Clam bird,"' or in(U-e commonly 

 "Mourning Bird" on Cape Cod. .\ common 

 summer resident. The first ones in the spring 

 arrive at Monomoy Island from the Sth to the 

 10th of April, increasing until May Isi at which 

 date the migration is at its height. They are 

 usually in pairs when they arrive, and on Mon- 

 omoy they commence to nest about the last of 

 May or first of June. I have instances of their 

 nesting as early as May 10th and as late as 

 .July 20th. Wherever I have found their eggs 

 on Monomoy and other islands ott" the Cape, 

 they have been laid on the bare sand on the 

 high beaches above high water mark. I'he 

 nest is usually a slight depression In the sand, 

 but it is sometimes lined with small pieces of 

 shells and sea weed. The eggs .ire usually four 

 in number and the ground color Is so near like 

 that of the sand upon which they are deposited 

 that it requires a sharp eye to discein them. 

 Whenever a person approaches the vicinity of 

 their nesting site, they resmt to various de- 

 vices to entice tlieni away. They make a feint 

 of being wounded by droiiping one of their 

 wings as if it was broken and llultering along 

 as if in great pain, and a person who has not 

 seen this habit performed by other liirds would 

 be certain to be deceived. .Anotliei' devise is to 

 alight on the beach a slun-t distance from a per- 

 son, then run along a few yards and crouch 

 down, fluttering their wings and acting as if on 

 their nest. They will reinain in this ixisition 

 until the person approaches quite near them, 

 when they jump up and run along and repeat 

 the performance. The young, as soon as they 



