-^i 



HE % OOLOGIST, 



VOL. VII. 



ALBION N. Y., JUNE, 1890. 



No. 6 



Notes on the Nesting Habits of the American 

 Oystercatcher. 



Mj' opportunities for observing tliis 

 Ijird have been somewhat limited, but 

 >so little seems to have been recorded 

 eoneerniug the niditication of tliis 

 .species that I write the following in the 

 hope of inducing others having greater 

 experience to supply more complete 

 information. 



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



and myself made a collecting trip of 



about two weeks to Cobb's Ishmd, Va. 



and it Avas during this time that the 



' following notes were taken. 



From wliat we liad heard and read 

 before starting, we had hardly expected 

 to find Hcematojjus breeding on the 

 island, for, although once an abundant 

 species, they have beccmio comparatively 

 rare and I do not think that over a 

 dozen pairs can be counted in a season. 

 This diminution lias resulted from 

 several causes, chief among which is 

 the continued persecution to which the 

 birds are subjected during tlie nesting 

 season by the islanders, the eggs being- 

 taken on all occasions, as they are said 

 to possess a more delicate flavor than 

 those of any other species, but it is 

 needless to say we did not attempt to 

 contirm this statement Ijy eating any. 

 Besides tliis, many eggs must have been 

 destroyed by the cattle which roam 

 over the island, although the Willets 

 and Clapper Rails are the greatest suf- 

 ferers in this case, as they nest in the 

 grass Avhere the animals feed and we 

 found many crushed and liroken eggs. 

 Inquiries on the island merely cou- 

 tlrmed what we had heard before, i. e. — 

 that the Sea Crow (as the bird is called 

 by the natives) was rapidly becoming a 

 thing of the past and, up to the third 

 daj' of our stay, we had not so much as 

 seen a specimen, although we had col- 



lected skins and eggs of nearly every 

 other species breeding in the vicinity. 

 That day (the 18th) however, as we 

 Avere walking through the thick grass 

 just above high-water mark, collecting 

 eggs of the Willets and Rails, which are 

 breeding abundantly, we suddenly 

 cauglit 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; but now he sees us 

 too and, with a few shrill pipes to his 

 mate, who has been hidden from view 

 by a clump of grass, the two make off 

 with short, rapid strokes of their black 

 and white Avings. Marking the spot 

 from which they rise, we hurry forward, 

 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 disappointing, but we deter- 

 mine to be revenged on the birds any- 

 way.. They have alighted on tlie beach 

 near by and now stand Avatching us 

 and bobbing their heads in a comical 

 fashion, evidently not quite decided 

 whether to fly on farther or not, liut 

 Ave quickly settle the matter by coming 

 within range and knocking over tlie 

 nearest one with a charge of fives. 



A fcAv hou.rs later, hoAvever, Ave are 

 more fortunate. While exph)ring a. 

 large colony of Black Skimmers, Ave 

 are pleased to see some half dozen 

 Oystercatchers in a sociable little clump 

 and a fcAV minutes later, accidently 

 discover a nest Avith two fresh <^g^:^. 

 They are dropped in a slight hoUoAv in 

 the dry Avhite sand, no lining Avhatever 

 being used, a hollow, in fact, similar iu 

 every respect to those made by the 

 Skimmers Avhich surround us on every 

 side. 



