>«THE * OOLOGIS 



^^ 



VOL. VII. 



ALBION N. Y., JUNE, 1890. 



No. 6 



Notes on the Nesting Habits of the American 

 Oystercatcher. 



Mj' opporluiiitics for o'ust'rviiig tliis 

 Ijird have Ijeen sonu'what limited, but 

 .so little .seems to have been recorded 

 eoiiceruiiig the nidilicatiou of thi.s 

 species that I write the following in the 

 hope of inducing others having greater 

 experience to siipplj' more complete 

 information. 



In June, '88 my friend, E. B. Cones, 

 and myself made a collecting trip of 

 about two weeks to Cobb's Island, Va. 

 and it was during this time that the 

 following notes were taken. 



From what we had heard and read 

 before starting, we had hardly expected 

 to tind Ba'uintopx.s Ijreeding on the 

 island, for, although once an abundant 

 species, they have become comparatively 

 rare and I do not think that over a 

 dozen pairs can be counted in a season. 

 This diminntion lias resulted from 

 several causes, chief among Avhich is 

 the continued persecution to which the 

 l)irds are suljjected during the nesting 

 season by the islantlers, the eggs being 

 taken on all occasions, as they are said 

 to possess a more delicate flavor than 

 those of an^- other species, but it is 

 needless to .say wv did not attempt to 

 conlirm this statement by eating any. 

 Besides this, many eggs must have been 

 destro3ed l)y the 'cattle which roam 

 over the island, although the Willets 

 and Clapper Rails are the greatest suf- 

 ferers in this case, as tliey nest in the 

 grass where the animals feed and we 

 found many crushed aiul broken eggs. 

 Inquiries on tlie island merely con- 

 firmed what we li.id heard Ijefore. i. e. — 

 that the Sea Crow (as the bird is called 

 l)y the natives) was rapidly becoming a 

 tiling of the past and, up to the third 

 day of our stay, we had not so nuich as 

 seen a specimen, although we had col- 



lected skins and eggs of nearlj- every 

 other species breeding in the vicinity, 

 'i'hat day (the 18tli) however, as we 

 were Avalking through the thick grass 

 just above higli-water mark, collecting 

 eggs of the Willets and Rails, Avhich are 

 breeding abundantly, we suddenly 

 caught sight of a large dark bird run- 

 ning out on the wet sand after each 

 receding wave and the red bill and thick, 

 plover-like form quickly dispel all doubt 

 as to his identity; bnt now he sees us 

 too and, with a few shrill pipes to his 

 mate, who has been hidden from view 

 I by a clump of grass, the two make ott' 

 ' with short, rapid strokes of their black 

 and white wings. Marking the spot 

 fi-om which they rise,wp hurry foi-ward, 

 but alas! an empty hollow scratched in 

 the sand is all that rewards our patient 

 search, while a man's footprints close 

 to the nest tell the rest of the fatal 

 story. 



This is disa])pointing, Init Ave deter- 

 mine to be revenged on the birds any- 

 way. They have alighted on the beach 

 near by and now stand Avaiching us 

 and bobbing their' heads in a comical 

 fashion, evidently not quite decided 

 whether to fly on farther or not, but 

 we quickly settle the matter by coming 

 within range and kno(:king over the 

 nearest one with a charge of flves. 



A few hours later, however, we are 

 more fortunate. While exploring .i 

 large colony of Black Skimmers, we 

 are pleased to see some half dozen 

 Oystercatchers in a sociable little clump 

 and a few minutes later, accidently 

 di.scover a nest with two fresh eggs. 

 They are dropped in a slight hoHow in 

 the di-y white sand, no lining wliatever 

 l)eing used, a hollow, in fact, siniilai- in 

 every respect to those made by the 

 Skimmers Avhich surround us on every 

 side. 



