THE AUK: 



A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF 

 ORNITHOLOGY. 



Vol. xxxvii. October, 1920. No. 4 



LIMICOLINE VOICES. 

 By John Treadwell Nichols. 



The Limicolse or Shore Birds appeal to the imagation as do few 

 other groups. Their wide migrations, flocking habits, and the 

 uncertainty which attends their movements at all times contribute 

 to the charm of their pursuit. Their calls, usually short, are 

 often ringing and musical, and express well the temper of their 

 haunts, marsh and shore, and so forth. These notes are generally 

 diagnostic and stick well in the memory. 



With these few introductory words I will say that the voices of 

 these birds have been studied from several different view-points. 

 The first has been to learn the difference between those of different 

 species, as an aid primarily in identifying the species by ear; en- 

 tailing a more or less careful study of the range of calls of each 

 kind. The investigation with the greatest philosophic possibilities 

 has perhaps been to determine, so far as possible, the significance 

 of each note of a given species, the circumstances under which 

 used, what it meant to the individual using it, and more especially 

 to other individuals; in short, to get some idea of the "language" 

 of the species. These two lines of study have led imperceptibly 

 to a comparison of the notes of one species with those of another, 

 and speculation on homologies (identification of the note of one 

 species with the note of like derivation in a related species) and 



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