96 YOSEMITE NATURE NOTES 



AMERICAN COOT 





../y 13-16 



KILLDEER 



9-1 



SPOTTED SANDPIPER 



PLOVER-LIKE BIRDS: 

 Order Charadriiformes 



PLOVERS: Family Charadriidae 



KILLDEER (Oxyechus vociferus): 

 9-11 in. Above brown; rump and base 

 of tail feathers rusty; below white; two 

 black bands on chest; white band 

 around neck; white thumb-marks on 

 tail feathers diminishing in size toward 

 center. Runs along the ground as 

 though balancing a package on its 

 head. Immature: Generally duller with 

 more rust above. Voice a shrill, high- 

 pitched kill-dee, kill-dee, accent on last 

 syllable; may be heard calling late at 

 night. Eggs often laid on bare ground 

 in gravelly or sandy place where diffi- 

 cult to see because of their resemblance 

 to the background. 



Frequents meadows, cultivated lands, 

 and shores of lakes, ponds, and streams. 

 Widespread, abundant R., withdraw- 

 ing from higher elevations and more 

 northerly areas in winter. S. V. to wet 

 meadows in Yosemite region such as 

 Tuolumne Meadows and parts of Yo- 

 semite Valley. 



SNIPE, SANDPIPERS, ETC.: 



Family Scolopacidae 



SPOTTED SANDPIPER (Actitis 

 macularia): 7-8 in. Above brown; faint 

 ■white line over eye; line of white spots 

 in wing when extended; tail short, 

 brown, outer feathers barred with 

 brown and white; below white with 

 round dusky spots; spots absent in im- 

 mature birds and in adults in winter; 

 bill orange-yellow, slightly curved 

 downward. Bobs and teeters. In flight 

 wings curve downward in shallow arc 

 and wingtips vibrate. Voice peet weet, 

 the first note the higher. Eggs often 

 laid on bare gravelly or sandy ground. 



Frequents rocky ocean shores in win- 

 ter. Summers in mountains, frequenting 

 sand- and gravelbars along streams and 

 lake shores. S. V. to Yosemite region. 

 Seen along the Merced River in Yo- 

 semite Valley (where it nests) or in 

 Tuolumne Meadows. 



