398 GAME BIEVS OF CALIFORNIA 



A bird taken at Los Angeles, June 16, 1875 (Henshaw, 1876, p. 272) 

 is stated to have been a female in worn breeding plumage, and since 

 Cooke (1910, p. 51) records eggs taken as early as April 20, it is not 

 altogether impossible that this was an early southbound migrant. 

 Birds which are probably non-breeders sometimes summer along our 

 coast ; records probably of this nature have been made for Santa 

 Barbara, June 4, 1910 (Torrey, 1910&, p. 204) and June 15, 1911 

 (Bowles and Howell, 1912, p. 9). 



From most of the shore birds the Marbled Godwit can be dis- 

 tinguished by its large size and brownish red or cinnamon coloration ; 

 from the Hudsonian Curlew by its slightly larger size, straight or 

 slightly up-curved bill, and reddish rather than brownish coloration ; 

 and from the Long-billed Curlew by its decidedly smaller size and 

 much shorter and straight or slightly up-curved bill. The call note 

 is also distinctive, ditTering markedly from any of the notes of the 

 Curlews, the latter being much louder and clearer. In mixed flocks 

 the female Godwits can sometimes be distinguished from the males by 

 their larger average size. 



The ordinary call-note of the Godwit, heard while the bird is in 

 California, is a single, or repeated, loud squawking ku-uck, scarcely 

 separated into two syllables ; but on the breeding grounds there is a 

 more varied repertoire of notes. Bent (1907a, pp. 16-1—165) says: 



Its ordinary call-note, when only slightly disturbed, sounds like terwhit, 

 terwhit, terwhit, or pert-wurrit, peri-wurrit, or godwit, godwit, godwit, from which 

 its name is probably derived; these notes are all strongly accented on the last 

 syllable, and are uttered almost constantly while the birds are flying over 

 their breeding grounds. When considerably alarmed these notes are intensified, 

 more rapidly given, and with even more emphasis, kerweck, kerivee-eck, or 

 keerreck, kreck, kreck, kerreck ; sometimes they are prolonged into a loud, long- 

 drawn out scream quack, qua-a-ack, or quoick, quoi-i-ick, somewhat between the 

 loudest quacking of an excited duck and the scream of a Ked-shouldered Hawk. 

 There is also a more musical, whistling note, less often heard, sounding like 

 the syllables kor-koit, ker-kor-koit, korkoit, the accent being on the kor in each 

 case; this note seems to indicate a more satisfied frame of mind and is much 

 more subdued in tone. 



Within our borders Marbled Godwits are birds of the open shore, 

 and are rarely if ever found away from the larger bodies of water. 

 At all times they are exceedingly wary and difficult of approach. 

 They frequently associate with other species such as the Western 

 Willet and Long-billed Curlew, the feeding habits of these three species 

 being similar. Torrey (1913, pp. 45-46) records seeing Marbled God- 

 wits and Western Willets in large numbers "in winter" on San 

 Diego Bay. He says: 



... I have seen godwits and willets together lining the grassy edge of 

 the flats for a long distance, and so densely massed that I mistook them at 



