UPLAND PLOVER 429 



Tlie Upland Plover, Field Plover, or Bartraniiaii Sandpiper, as 

 this bird is variously called in the East, is as its common names 

 indicate, an inhabitant chiefly of the upland fields and meadows 

 ratiier than of the seashore, as are so many others of its kin. In 

 various portions of its range it is well known to prefer the drier 

 ground of meadows and prairies. Eaton (1910, p. 333) says of these 

 birds in New York state : ' ' Their carriage is light and graceful, they 

 run with great swiftness through the rows of stubble to escape from 

 intrusion, or ciouch motionless in the grass until the enemy is 

 dangerously near, when they spring into the air and fl}' swiftly away, 

 often passing entirely out of sight before alighting, but uttering a 

 mellow whistle as they go. . . ." That the birds are extremely wary 

 as indicated in the account just quoted, is the concensus of opinion 

 among recent writers generally. It would seem that this weariness has 

 been acquired by the species since man first began to hunt it, for its 

 range lies almost altogether in territory that has come under close 

 settlement and cultivation by man. In earlier days it was not difficult 

 to get within gun-shot range of them. On the more open prairie land 

 of the middle West a favorite method of hunting nowadays is from 

 a Avagon or on horseback; the birds are accustomed to farm vehicles 

 and do not apprehend any danger when the huntsman approaches in 

 this manner. 



Florence Merriam Bailey (1915, p. 177) writes of her experiences 

 in North Dakota as follows : 



Another characteristic bird of the prairies of which I saw all too little 

 was the Upland Plover. One parent whom we passed when driving stood 

 high in the prairie grass looking at us while just the head of its young one 

 showed above the grass. Another plover surprised me, standing not on the 

 ground but on top of a telephone pole, its round head and trim body mounted 

 high on its long legs — true wader of meadows! On another day a guarding 

 parent appeared in the blue sky ahead of us as we drove slowly up a long 

 slope. Down it came toward us, its long wings on the down stroke giving it a 

 curious wishbone figure. Down it came, though not concerned with us as it 

 proved, for, passing by, it took a wide sky circle on fluttering wings — while 

 a Marsh Hawk heedless of its secret went serenely on its way looking for 

 meadow mice. When the plover's liquid note is heard, or the big birds come 

 out of the sky to drop to earth, they give a rare thrill of pleasure. . . . Lovely 

 birds! They go well with the big clean prairie — dividing their time between 

 earth and skj^ 



The Bartramian Sandpiper in its eastern range, conceals its nest 

 in the thick grass of a meadow, or under a tussock in a pasture or 

 waste field. The bird is rarely or never seen on the ground in the 

 vicinity of the nest, and will not leave it until almost trodden upon 

 (Eaton, 1910, p. 333). Barrows (1912, p. 196) states that in Michi- 

 gan it often nests in the drier parts of wet, boggy, snipe-inhabited 



