396 The Water-fowl Family 



wan, and British Columbia east of the Cascades, and probably 

 Hudson Bay and Alaska, as a young bird has been taken at Point 

 Barrow in August. Winters from southern California, Lower 

 California, Louisiana, Florida, and the West Indies, to Central 

 America, and recorded in Ecuador, Peru, and Argentina. Rare 

 migrant through eastern North America, chiefly in fall, but re- 

 corded from Newfoundland to Florida. 



Formerly common and well known through 

 temperate North America, the great marbled god- 

 wit and the long-billed curlew probably show the 

 evidence of a relentless persecution more than any 

 others of our shore-birds. In places where flocks 

 of thousands were no uncommon sight, now these 

 birds are rare. Along the coasts of our South- 

 ern states, especially Florida, the great marbled 

 godwit wintered in vast numbers, frequenting the 

 marshes and flats, gathering on the sandy islands 

 offshore to rest. Like the long-billed curlew, the 

 birds show a peculiar devotion to their wounded, 

 circling around them, uttering cries of distress, 

 and exposing their ranks to shot after shot. The 

 note is a clear whistle and the godwit readily 

 answers the call, though when feeding on the open 

 marshes it is wild and shy. On the New Eng- 

 land coast and Long Island this species has never 

 been common, and is at the present time only a 

 straggler. During the past summer (1902) three 

 were taken on Cape Cod. I have known of a few 

 shot on Long Island in the past two years. In 

 the Western states, particularly on the plains, this 



