116 BIRDS OF ALABAMA 



harsher than those of the other small plovers and are heard 

 constantly as one approaches the bird's chosen haunts. The 

 birds are found in small, loose flocks, rambling over the 

 sand beaches and mud flats in search of their food. They are 

 not at all shy, and when pressed too hard, fly but a short dis- 

 tance along the beach before again taking to their legs. The 

 nest has not been found in Alabama, but, like those of the 

 other plovers, it is reported to be merely a hollow scratched 

 in the sand, sometimes lined with a few pieces of shell. 



Food habits. — Examination of the stomachs of 5 birds taken 

 on the Alabama coast showed their food to consist of crabs and 

 shrimps with a few moUusks and flies. 



SURF- BIRDS AND TURNSTONES: Family Aphrizidae. 



RUDDY TURNSTONE: Arenaria interpres morinella 



(Linnaeus), 



State records. — The turnstone, one of the larger shorebirds, 

 occurs along the coast as an irregular migrant, chiefly in sum- 

 mer. Outsell observed 3 or 4 birds August 13, 1911, at Bayou 

 Labatre, and on Dauphin and Petit Bois Islands, August 18 

 and 29, respectively, the species was fairly common. One 

 was collected from a flock of 4 on Dauphin Island, July 5, 

 1913 ; and Peters saw several there, June 1 to 4, 1914. 



General habits. — This bird gets it name from its habit of 

 turning over small stones in search of the marine insects and 

 worms on which it feeds. Outsell says it turns not only 

 stones, but shells, sticks, and great rolls of seaweed. In some 

 localities it is called "brant bird" or "calico-back," and in Wil- 

 son's time on the New Jersey coast it was known as "horse- 

 foot snipe," an allusion to its habit of feeding on the spawn 

 of the horse-foot crab. Chiefly a maritime species, it is rare- 

 ly found in the interior. It occurs singly or in small flocks, 

 frequenting mainly sandy or gravelly beaches. 



Food habits. — As already stated, the turnstone feeds on the 

 spawn of the horsef oot crab, and in addition on insects, worms, 

 and small crustaceans.^ Wayne says of it in South Carolina : 



tForbBsh, E. H., Game birds, wild-fowl, and shore birds, p. 361, 1912. 



