146 



SOME FACTS ABOUT THE WESTERN WILLET. 



[Symphcmia sonipalmata inornata. 



The Western Willet is one of _ the 

 largest of the Limicolae or Shore Birds. 

 The body is about the size of a common 

 pigeon, the long neck, legs and extent 

 of wings making it appear much larger. 

 The feet are only about one-half webbed 

 and only when great danger makes it 

 necessary will it go into -the water be- 

 yond its depth. The bill is straight and 

 in summer the color of the bird is gray 

 above, with m.any small but rather dis- 

 tinct black marks. On the sides and 

 breast these marks are arrow-shaped. 

 In the plumage of winter and of the 

 young these markings are absent. 



I am inclined to believe that this spe- 

 cies has a more extended range than any 

 other of the order. It has become quite 

 abundant of late years in the Calumet Re- 

 gion in Northern Indiana, near Chicago. 

 Mr. E. W. Nelson, ih the Natural His- 

 tory Survey of Illinois, says, that in the 

 seventies this species was a.rare summer 

 resident on the wet prairies of North- 

 western Illinois, although I can find no 

 .authentic record of the taking of the nest 

 .and eggs. Captain Charles Bendire found 

 lit abundant and resident in Southeastern 

 Oregon when he procured several sets of 

 its eggs. It is said to breed from the 

 •coast of Texas to Manitoba. Straggling 

 flocks of from five to fifty may be found 

 along the shores of our larger fresh water 

 Hakes, particularly Lake Michigan, dur- 

 ing the fall migration, which takes place 

 from about the fifteenth of August to the 

 last of September. 



This bird might well be called the 

 clown of the Limicolae. I have often 

 been amused by the antics of a flock of 

 Willets on the shore of Lake Michigan. 

 They would droop their necks and wings 

 in an absurd fashion, taking short runs 

 and jumps as the waves rolled in upon 



them. I have never seen a bird which at 

 times could be so wary and hard to ap- 

 proach, and again, if a number are shot 

 from a flock, the remaining birds will 

 seem to lose their senses, and I have fre- 

 quently walked within a few feet of the 

 survivors before they would take flight. 

 This trait is noticeable among a large 

 number of shore birds and the terns, but 

 more especially so with the Willet. 



On the plains bordering the Brazos 

 river, near the Gulf coast of Texas, dur- 

 ing the months of April and May, I have 

 found the Willet proper (Symphemia 

 semipalmata), a smaller and darker form, 

 breeding in abundance. The Willets us- 

 ually select for a nesting site a thick tus- 

 sock of salt marsh grass on the borders 

 of a small pond, where they can com- 

 mand a good view of the vicinity. In the 

 center of this they hollow out a space of 

 about six or eight inches in diameter, and 

 simply line it with the grass they have 

 matted down. In this nest are laid four 

 pyriform eggs of a greenish white, or a 

 light olive brown ground color, marked 

 with large, irregular blotches or brown- 

 ish black and faint purple; the eggs are 

 immense for the size of the bird, being 

 about two inches in length by one and 

 one-half in width. 



The illustration faithfully portrays 

 three birds taken at Miller's, Indiana, on 

 the beach of Lake Michigan. The color 

 of the legs, which are obscured by the 

 shadow of the body, is a pale, slaty blue. 



Though the Willets are restless and 

 noisy birds, they are much less so, and, 

 indeed, quite unconscious of their sur- 

 roundings when nesting. Regarding 

 their habits at this time, Dr. Coues has 

 told us that if they "become thoroughly 

 alarmed by too open approach, particu- 

 larly if the setting bird be driven from 



