MABBLED GOVWIT 397 



Voice — Terwhit' terwMt', or godwit' godwit' j when disturbed, sounds more 

 like herweok', Tcerwee-eck' , or even Tcer-Tcor'-Tcoit (Bent, 1907o, pp. 164, 165). 



Nest — In grassy meadows or marshes usually in the vicinity of water; a 

 depression formed by treading down the grass, without the use of any addi- 

 tional material; measures about six by seven inches in diameter by two in 

 depth (152 to 177 by 51 mm.) (Bent, 1907a, pp. 162-164). 



Eggs — 3 to 4, pear-shaped, measuring in inches, 2.14 to 2.37 by 1.50 to 1.61 

 .(in millimeters, 54.3 to 60.2 by 38.1 to 40.8), and averaging 2.26 by 1.56 (57.4 

 by 39.6) (eleven eggs, three sets, from southwestern Saskatchewan) ; ground- 

 color of varying tones of buff, with superficial spots of deep brown and under- 

 lying ones of drab or lilac (Bent, loc. cit.). 



General distribution — North America. Breeds chiefly from northern North 

 Dakota to the valley of the Saskatchewan, formerly south to northern Nebraska, 

 northern Iowa, and Wisconsin. Winters from Georgia, Florida, Louisiana and 

 southern California south to Guatemala and central British Honduras. Formerly 

 occurred in migration on Atlantic coast north to maritime provinces of Canada, 

 but now rare or unknown north of Florida. On Pacific coast occurs in migra- 

 tion from Alaska to Lower California (Cooke, 1910, pp. 50-51). 



Distribution in California — Common fall and spring migrant along the sea- 

 coast, and about the larger bodies of water in the Saoramento-San Joaquin 

 Valley; less abundant now than formerly. In fall and early winter occurs 

 from late July to December (Willett, 1912o, p. 37), and in the spring from 

 late March to the last of April. A few have been found up to December, even 

 as far north as Humboldt Bay (Cooke, 1910, p. 51), and stragglers have been 

 observed in June, as at Santa Barbara (Torrey, 1910&, p. 204; Dawson, 1915, 

 p. 207). 



The Marbled Godwit, Marlin, or Straight-billed Curlew, is a rather 

 common fall and spring migrant along the coast of California and also 

 occurs sparingly in the interior. "While in more northern latitudes 

 during the breeding season the species is found on meadow land, it 

 here seems to prefer the seacoast and, interiorly, the vicinity of large 

 bodies of water. 



Marbled Godwits appear on our coast early in July and remain 

 until December, but the birds are present in numbers chiefly during 

 September and October. The earliest record of arrivals from the 

 north is for Hyperion Beach, Los Angeles County, July 13, 1910 

 (Willett coll.). The latest fall or early winter records known to the 

 authors are: Humboldt Bay, December 7, 1885 (Coote, 1910, p. 51), 

 Los Baiios, Merced County, December 4, 1911 (Beck, MS), and San 

 Diego Bay, December 12, 1861 (Mus. Vert. Zool.). Judging from 

 the paucity of records and from the accounts of various observers 

 this species is not so abundant in the spring migration as in the fall. 

 Nordhoff (1902, p. 214) records finding the remains of a bird of this 

 species at Lake Elsinore, Riverside County, in February, 1902. The 

 earliest bona fide spring record is for Los Barios, Merced County, 

 March 30, 1912 (Beck, MS), and a late spring one is Alamitos Bay, 

 Los Angeles County, May 20, 1905 (specimen in Richardson coll.). 



