CHAPTER XXIV 



THE ORDER OF SHORE-BIRDS 



LIMICOLAE. 



There are many genera and species of birds in 

 this Order, but for certain reasons it is difficult 

 to form an acquaintance with more than a very 

 few of them. The majority of them reach us 

 only as birds of passage, on the way to or from 

 their breeding grounds farther north, and during 

 the year are with us only a few weeks. Others 

 are so few in number, and live in such remote 

 localities that they, also, are beyond our ac- 

 quaintance. As usual, therefore, we will in- 

 troduce only those species that are sufficiently 

 abundant, long-tarrying and generally interest- 

 ing to make them worth knowing. 



As the name of the Order indicates, these 

 birds live on the ocean and lake beaches, and 

 the banks of rivers, ponds and pools, where they 

 find many kinds of queer things to feed upon. 

 On the boundary line betwixt sea and land they 

 find many insects, shell-fish, crustaceans and 

 worms. The Turnstones make a business of 

 turning over pebbles and small stones, in order 

 to capture the worms and insects that take 

 shelter under them. 



The Kill-Deer Plover 1 makes an excellent 

 representative of a large section of this Order. 

 It is of average size, and handsome appearance, 

 and is such a loud and frequent caller its 

 presence is always well advertised. It is so 

 widely distributed that millions of people may 

 know it if they will. It is a bird of the inland 

 ponds and pools, not of the sea-shore, and it is 

 found throughout the whole temperate portion of 

 North America, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 

 It is not a bird of heavily timbered regions, how- 

 ever, and is most abundant in the lake regions 

 of the Mississippi valley. On the prairies of the 

 Middle West, wherever there are small, shallow 

 ponds, or even pools in wet meadows, all through 

 the season of mild weather you will hear its 

 clear and rather strident cry of " Kill-d-e-e-r ! 



1 0x-y-e'chue vo-cif'er-a. Length, 10} inches. 



KiU-d-e-e-r ! " And it is always a pleasing 

 sight to see this immaculate bird in snow-white, 

 brown and black plumage standing at the edge 

 of a bit of water — a stroke of living high-light 

 in the landscape. I always liked the Kill Deer, 

 and, although I have seen hundreds, and heard 

 its cry a thousand times, I never wearied of its 

 companionship. In my opinion it is our most 

 beautiful shore-bird. 



The American Golden Plover, 2 also called 

 Green and Field Plover, is (or, at least ivas 

 until recently) the Plover most frequently seen 

 in the Atlantic states, and in the markets. It 

 frequents the banks of marshes and tide pools 

 along the sea-shore, but it is equally fond of the 

 pools and ponds of the uplands, particularly in 



KILL-DEER PLOVER. 



old meadows. They are seldom seen during the 

 spring migration; they do not remain with us 

 during the summer, and it is only during the 

 months of their fall migration, from August 15, 



Average length, 10 



2 Char-a-dri'us do-min'i-cus 

 inches. 



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