68 



BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER— FLORIDA GALLINULE— OYSTER-CATCHER. 



Iowa, and Kansas, they have not been accustomed to the neigh- 

 borhood of men, and at first they are shy. . . . On some days 

 the flock will be much on the wing, flying from one field to another, 

 and all going in one direction, as wild Pigeons do. At such times, 

 the shooter may take a stand in the line of flight and get fair shoot- 

 ing all day, as the flocks go over. It is not necessary to hide 

 altogether ; in fact, in these localities — the burnt prairies and great 

 pastures — there is seldom the means to do so, but it is often desirable 

 to lie down. . . . The Golden Plovers are low-flying birds ; 

 the shooter may sometimes get a side shot at a large, close flock, and 

 kill eight or ten with his two barrels. Sometimes the birds skim 

 on not above four or five feet from the ground, at other times they 

 fly pretty high. . . . When they fly low and present side shots, 

 is the most favorable time to pepper them." Though they continue 

 associated in numbers for common safety during the day, they dis- 

 perse in the evening, and repose apart from each other. At day- 

 break, however, the feeling of solitude again returns, and the early 

 sentinel no sooner gives the shrill and well-known call — a wild, 

 shrill, and whistling note — than they assemble in their usual com- 

 pany. In this, and most other countries, their flesh is esteemed as 

 a delicacy. The length of this species is about ten inches, and 

 twenty inches broad. 



The Black-bellied Plover, Beetle-headed Plover, Whistling Field Plover 

 Bull-head, op Ox-eye. (Squatarola helvetica.} 



Fig. 4 . 



This species, known by a diversity of names, is common through- 

 out North America, during the migrations, and is spread over most 

 parts of the world. Around Hudson's Bay, Greenland, Iceland, 

 and in all the inclement parts of Siberia, they are a common bird. 

 It can be recognized at once by the presence of a small hind toe ; 

 the same does not appear with any of our other species of Plovers. 

 When in full plumage, this species resembles very closely the 

 Golden Plover. According to Wilson, they generally begin to 

 visit the inland parts of Pennsylvania in the latter end of April, 

 and, less timid than the Golden Plover, it often selects the plowed 

 field for the site of its nest, where the ordinary fare of earth-worms, 

 larvae, beetles, and winged insects now abound. " They travel 

 chiefly," says Audubon, " by night, and rest for a great part of the 

 day along the margins of the sea, either reposing on the sands in 

 the sunshine or searching the beaches for food. After dark their 

 well-known cries give note of their passage, but by day they remain 

 silent, even when forced to betake themselves to flight. On such 

 occasions, they generally wheel over the waters, and not un- 

 frequently return to the spot which they had at first selected." At 

 times, this species is extremely shy and watchful, and during their 

 love-season they utter a loud and whistling note. The length of 

 this species is eleven and a half inches, and twenty-four in clear 

 extent. 



PLATE XLII. 



The Florida Gallinule. (Gallinula galeata.) 



This species, which is represented on the upper part of the plate, 

 is mostly found in the South Atlantic and Gulf States, and is 

 occasionally met with in Canada and the Northern and Middle 

 States. They prefer to live in families, and have a whole pond 

 to themselves, and it is only on extensive pieces of water that 

 several pairs are to be met with, and even in this case each pair 

 strives jealously to keep possession of its own territory. Slow 

 waters, the margins of which are thickly covered with sedge and 

 coarse grasses, or at least with reeds and brushwood, and par- 



tially overgrown with floating herbage, afford the requisite con- 

 ditions for their residence. According to Audubon, this Gallinule 

 seldom resorts to salt water, but at times is met with on the banks 

 of bayous in which the water is brackish. This, however, hap- 

 pens only during winter. On land, it walks somewhat like a 

 chicken, and thirty, forty, or more individuals may be seen search- 

 ing for worms and insects among the grass, which they also nip 

 in the manner of the domestic fowl. On such occasions, the con- 

 stantly repeated movements of their tail are rendered conspicuous 

 by the pure white of the feathers beneath it, which, along with 

 the white stripes on the flanks, and, in spring, the vivid red of the 

 frontal plate, renders their general appearance quite interesting. 

 In cases of danger, they run with great speed, and easily conceal 

 themselves. On the water, they sit very lightly, and swim with 

 activity, the movements of their head and neck keeping pace with 

 those of their feet. They pick up their food from either side, con- 

 tinually jerk their tail, and not unfrequently touch the water with 

 it. These birds generally travel by night, and probably on foot, 

 at least some of them have been captured under circumstances that 

 lead to such a supposition. In early spring they usually arrive in 

 pairs in the vicinity of their breeding-places, but occasionally they 

 come singly. Its voice is loud and powerful, sounding like "terr, 

 terr;" its warning cry resembles " kerr, tett, tett" or like "gorr, 

 gorr" and at times its call is like " kurg, kurg," expressive of 

 fear. When on its wanderings its cry is " keg, keg, keg" This 

 species is fourteen inches long and twenty-two broad. 



The Oyster-catcher. (Hcematofius falliatus?) 



On the lower part of Plate XLII. , we give a representation of this 

 species, which is generally to be met with on the Atlantic coast, 

 from Maine to Florida, and California, but is never seen in the 

 interior. 



" The Oyster-catcher," says Wilson, in describing its habits, 

 "frequents the sandy sea-beach of New Jersey and other parts 

 of our Atlantic coast, in summer, in small parties of two or 

 three pairs together. They are extremely shy ; and, except about 

 the season of breeding, will seldom permit a person to approach 

 within gunshot. They walk along the shore, in a watchful, stately 

 manner, at times probing it with their long, wedge-like bills, in 

 search of small shell-fish. This appears evident on examining the 

 hard sands where they usually resort, which are found thickly 

 perforated with oblong holes, two or three inches in depth. The 

 small crabs, called fiddlers, that burrow in the mud at the bottom 

 of inlets, are frequently the prey of the Oyster-catcher, as are 

 muscles, spout-fish, and a variety of other shell-fish and sea 

 insects, with which those shores abound." 



Audubon, in describing the characteristics of this species, says: 



" Our Oyster-catcher has a very extensive range. It spends 

 the winter along the coast, from Maryland to the Gulf of 

 Mexico, and being then abundant on the shores of the Floridas, 

 may be considered a constant resident in the United States. 

 At the approach of spring, it removes toward the Middle States, 

 where, as well as in North Carolina, it breeds. It seems 

 scarcer between Long Island and Portland, Maine, when you 

 again see it, and whence it occurs all the way to Labrador. 

 It is never found inland, nor even far up our largest rivers, but is 

 fond of remaining at all times on the sandy beaches and rocky 

 shores of our salt-water bays or marshes. 



"Shy, vigilant, and ever on the alert, the Oyster-catcher walks 

 with a certain appearance of dignity, greatly enhanced by its 

 handsome plumage and remarkable bill. If you stop to watch it, 

 that instant it sounds a loud shrill note of alarm, and should you 

 advance further toward it, when it has neither nest nor young, 

 off it flies quite out of sight. Few birds, indeed, are more difficult 

 to be approached, and the only means of studying its habits I found 

 lo be the use of an excellent telescope, with which I could trace 



