ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BIRDS 169 



record a single individual apiece during early September, a 

 " flight" is said to have occurred. While it is probable that a 

 few individuals are noted annually on eastern Long Island, 

 the " flights" of former days are a thing of the past, never 

 to come again. At the western end of Long Island the Golden 

 Plover is now an exceedingly rare bird, and it is casual any- 

 where inland. 



To distinguish the Golden Plover from the Black-bellied 

 by plumage characters is not easy ordinarily, as the former is 

 generally very wild and shy. The Golden Plover lacks the 

 conspicuous black axillars and the conspicuously whitish tail 

 of its relative. The call note, however, is absolutely diagnos- 

 tic, a harsh "queedle" with the accent on the first syllable, 

 utterly lacking the mournful, musical quality so characteristic 

 of the Black-bellied. I well remember collecting a Plover 

 one October evening which I knew had to be a Golden Plover 

 by its call as it came in, though I had never heard it before, 

 and it was so dark that I had to strike a match to find the 

 bird on the mud-flat where it had fallen. 



Long Island. Formerly regular in spring, numerous in fall. 

 Now a rare bird, a few scattering individuals noted annually. 

 April 7, 1882 and May 10, 1885 are the last spring records. In the 

 fall from August 1 to November 12. 



ORIENT. Rare and irregular in autumn; August 23, 1903 

 to November 1, 1906. 



MASTIC. Rare and irregular in fall. 



LONG BEACH. Two birds September 22, 1919, one found 

 dead (R. Friedmann); also August 12, 1917; September 27, 

 1917; October 26, 1916 (all Bicknell). 



New York State. No record, old or recent, in our area. 



New Jersey. Reported by Thurber as a rare transient at Mor- 

 ristown in 1886. Mr. Urner informs me that "during the middle 

 and late 90's Golden-backs were by no means rare on the local salt 

 meadows [Newark Bay marshes]. . . They were taken more fre- 

 quently than "Bull-heads," and usually were secured most readily 

 over decoys set on freshly burned meadow. The last birds I saw 

 taken were about 1904 in the fall." On November 6, 1921 Mr. W. 



