Ootobbh 20, 1581.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



227 



have tried in viiin to circumvent one of these wary creatures 

 — that he hunts Ih m "down uind," and as soon as one rises 

 ou liis wing, hi) (T ) diops close to the ground. The bird's 

 ' ' bump" oi curiosity is developed about <q\ial lo a black 

 duck's, aud not seeing any one tbcre apparently imagines he 

 has bi-en duped, or, as we say, ''fooled"; and not being 

 willing to be laughed at by lus fellows, who are feeding un- 

 disturbed over ihe fields, he approaches the spot from whence 

 came hi? "scare," and as he com»s " qukldling" along 

 trilling his alarm note, when in the right place, tire gun is 

 seized aud in a trice I ha victim falls nearly at the feet of the 

 gunner. He instantly drops again and remains quiescent 

 till ihe birds have, recovered from their fright, when he pro- 

 ceeds as before. On one occasion he discovered seventeen 

 of ihese birds in a pasture of only a few acres on a hill, ana 

 in less limn two hours, in this way, retreating aud working 

 the ground over several times, he killed the entire seventeen! 



Winter yellowlegs appear in moderate quantities. Nest 

 here and further north, and return. Summer yellnwlegs 

 (Totanm Jlavipex, Bon.), also anive early in considerable 

 numbers but push on further North as so su as the season 

 will peimil. Their southern journey is mostly by some other 

 and more easterly route. The red-hacked sandpiper, T. 

 alpina, better known here as "Dunlin," is a regular visitant, 

 though not in large numbers ; breeds further north. The 

 little solitary sandpiper, "Lip up," is common here as in most 

 other partB of the country. Beetle-headed plover, red-breasted 

 Bandpiper, eanderliogS and jack curlew, although occasional 

 visitants in tlvs locality, are not as abundant as Uiey are 

 further east. We are inclined to the opinion that most of 

 these birds that pass down the valley of the Mississippi, being 

 either immature or heavy Myers, as, for instance, s ckle-billed 

 curlew ami the godwi's, spend the winter in the Gulf States, 

 Mexico or Central America 



It must be apparent to the readi r, from the foregoing-, that 

 cenain species of shore birds pass up the Mississippi Valley 

 in Spring, but do not return by that, broad highway. It will 

 moreover be seeu that the species that do not return by that 

 road are abundant on the Atlantic Coast in autumn. If 

 these pmuises hold, the conclusion is inevitable, that they go 

 very far North to breed, swing over to the eastern shores, 

 where they recuperate, aud then proceed on their Southern 

 journey. We propose, howev r , to introduce some testi- 

 mony in support of ihis hypothesis. There is, to the north- 

 ward of the Great Lakes and to the eastward of the Hocky 

 Mountain Range, a vast unexplon d territory within whose 

 boundaries are mountains, valleys, prairies and marshes. 

 Nestling away in the quiet bosom of the mountains or sleep- 

 ing gently in the valleys are many lakes aud ponds, sources 

 of numerous rivers, possible highways for future commerce. 

 Thither for c -unties? ag s the feathered migrants have wan- 

 dered in search of thar solitude, that entire immunity from 

 dangerous contact with nun, not accorded them in later 

 years along our frontiets. Here, too, must be found abund- 

 ance of food suited to the wants of both o'd and young. 

 Possibly this may have something to do with their 'line of 

 flight. If it should be found that this region produced food 

 peculiar y adapted lo (heir tastes they would very likely take 

 the arii rti r route via Mississippi Valley to reach it ra'lier than 

 travel away round the All inlic Coast, Labrador, etc., and 

 moreover it is well known that most of the shore bird} re- 

 sort to fresh water lakes and mat sues to rear their young. 

 That tho y do populate this whole region reaching the Arc- 

 tic shoes in large numbers is attested by the explorers who 

 hive visited thai inhospitable country. For many y. ars nat- 

 uralists have rfecopnfeed these birds as belonging to Arctic 

 fauna. In July, 1771, near the mouth of Coppermine liiver 

 Hearne writes : "In the pools saw swan and geese in a moult- 

 ing state, and on the marshes some curlew and plovers." 

 Alex. F sher, in giving an account of Parry's first voyage, 

 1819-20, saw at Baffin's Bay, "Bed phalarope and ring plo- 

 ver," and at Winter Hatbor, lat. 74 47 Ion. 110.48, "Shoe a 

 golden plover," and July 10, he adds : "A few piarmigan, 

 plover, sanderlings and snow buntings were all the land birds 

 that were seen." Again, at the Melville Islands, June 12, 

 "saw several golden plover." Sir J. Richardson while at 

 Wolloston Laud wrote as follows: "On the first of June, 

 bees, Sandpipers, long^tailed ducks, caccawees, eiders and 

 king ducks and northern divers were seen." .Again, May 15, 

 "The yellow Warblers feed on the alpine arbutus as did 

 likcwi-ethe golden plover, whose stomachs also contained 

 the juicy fruit of the Empetrum nigrum. The Eskimo cur- 

 lew at this lime feed on large ants." McClure, while the 

 "Investigator" was packed in the ice at Prince of Wales 

 Straiis. hit. 70 deg., after making several excursions reported 

 the following: "The plover and phalaropes and buntings 

 here p ar their young untroubled by man around the margins 

 of petty lak' s." Dr. Kaue speaks of seeing snipe at Rensaa- 

 laer B iy, June 16, 1851, also at Cornwallis Island, September 

 4,1850. Dr. Hayes saw the same species at Port Poulke, 

 Juue 8, 18151. Mr. C. B. Cory, author of the charming little 

 volume entitled, "A. Naturalist iu the Magdalen Islands," in- 

 form-! us h ■ has the eggs of the golden plover taken at the 

 Northern extremity of'Hudsons Bay, aud that they are com- 

 mon there. 



The above references will, wo think, be sufficient to satisfy 

 the average mind that the biras do reach very high latitudes 

 in considei able numbers, and that they breed there. The 

 enervating duty of nidifying, hiving, incubating and render- 

 ing unto ibe juvenile specimens such brief care and protec- 

 tion as the mother,-, oi vrteooce* might be expected to bestow, 

 seems to generate a desire Jul a journey to some fashionable 

 watering place. Possibly the food they find so abundant, 

 earher, around the lakes or marshes, now gives out, or their 

 tastes change unci they hanker after marine worms, or the 

 berries of the coast, and they set out upon the journey to 

 Baffin's Bay, Smith's Bound, "or Labrador, where ihey strain 

 regale themselves in the fre-h bracing air of that isolated re- 

 gion. There are hundreds of miles, up and down the coast 

 Of Labrador, of low plain lands, which produce great quan- 

 tities of berry-bearing shrubs. Some of these berries are not, 

 un ike our blue berries, only larger. They arc Called hy the 

 natives "gallou berries," aud the biros that feed on them 

 "gallon birds," probaUy a corruption of curlew. The ber- 

 ries are also called " rotten apples." Upon these berries the 

 Esquimaux curlew and dough-birds feed. Dr. t'oues, in his 

 observations in Labrador, in 1860, says of these birds: 

 "Their food consists almost entirely of the cowbtrry (£m- 

 petrum nigrum.), which grows on the hillsides in a'tonishing 

 profusion. Ii is also called the ' bear bury ' and ' curlew 

 berry.' It is a small berry of a deep purple color, almost 

 black, crowing upon a procumbent-running kind of heath, 

 the foliage of which has a peculiar moss-like appearance. 

 This is their principal and favorite food, and the whole int;.s- 

 tines, the veut, the legs, the hi 1, throat, and even the plum- 

 age, are more or less stained with the deep purple juice. 

 They are also very fond of a 6pecies of small snail that ad- 



heres to the rocks in immense quantities, to procure which 

 they feqnent the land-washes at low tide." Tne birds as far 

 south as Cape Cod, when shot, still have the anal and tibial 

 feathers discolored hy the excrements. We are informed by 

 shipmasters and fishermen, who have often visited the coast 

 of Labrador, that the birds come stringing along down over 

 ihe mountains and bills on to the plains in myriads to feed 

 on these berries. There are no towns away up on tho coast, 

 but a few scattered Esquimaux huts, where the hardy fisher- 

 men go ashore to cure their fis h, and it is during these visits 

 that the observations are made. The old birds, after resting 

 awhile, move on to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Magdalen 

 Islands, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, and thence south- 

 ward, to give place to the young that must soon follow. Mr. 

 Oory reports "young dough-birds are due here, Magdalen 

 Islands, about 8th September ; young goldeu plover come 

 about SOch September. 



A friend at Newfoundland writes, "Snipe, sanderlings and 

 yellowlegs are plenty — the latter breed " Thinks the Es- 

 quimaux curlew breed at Labrador. They are so plenty the 

 fishermen kill them aud salt them up in barrels. They arrive 

 at Labrador before they reach Newfoundland in millions, 

 so that they darken the sky as they rise. Large flocks of 

 sanderlings and grass-birds arrive late in the fall. He be- 

 lieves the birds go to Prince Edward's Island, and thence to 

 South America. 



Anotht r good authority remarks as follows : "At the Mag- 

 dalen Islands millions of golden plover and dough-birds 

 come every year, in August and September. They feed on 

 Ihe uplands, and go on to the high beach at night to roost. 

 So plenty are they that on a dark night one with a lantern 

 and stick may kill bushels of them." The same party re- 

 ports seeing, in 1864, as late as October, on the coast from 

 Chediac to Dalhousie, immense numbers of these birds. Mr. 

 E., an intelligent merchant of Boston, informs us he has 

 visited Prince Edward's Island for nine consecutive years, 

 and has failed but twice to get good shooting. They have a 

 "flight" of birds there on an east wind just the same as at 

 Gape Cod. Is of the opinion that birds feeding in a certain 

 field this year, unmolested, will return the next year to the 

 same field. In one day he shot green plover, Esquimaux 

 curlew and summer yellowlegs in a field where, as he 

 alleges, they came to feed on herds-grass seed. Many of the 

 birds reach the Bay of Pundy by crossing the narrow belt 

 of land from Straits of Northumberland. 



It the birds strike boldly out to sea from Nova Scotia in a 

 southerly direction, as it is very clear they do, it would carry 

 them to the Lesser Autilles. Now, it is settled beyond a 

 perad venture, that they do have a " flight" there just the same 

 as at Newfoundland and Cape Cod. Prom the Barbadoes, 

 the most windward of the Windward Islands, we have the 

 most positive assurance of a "tight." One of the memor- 

 able events recorded in the almanac of the island is "Sept. 

 12th, 1846, great flight of plovers." The U. S. Consul 

 at that place writes us in reference to this matter, October 

 29ih, 1878 : "By all accounts the island was covered with 

 tbem. They were killed in the streets with sticks." The 

 following from a reliable source is so clear and pertinent we 

 venture to quote entire: "I have seen none of ihe birds 

 myself only what we call grassbirds, but by all accounts 

 they come here the last of August and first of Sept-uibi-r 

 till October, a few, but at no other lime of the pear. Mv 

 idea is that they take a due south course from Newfound- 

 land and Nova Scotia. When they go back in the spring 

 ihe trade winds are strong from N. E., and they are blown 

 more to the westward, and strike Georgia and the Carol inas 

 aud so make their way North lo go over it again." Fur- 

 ther on he remarks : " I have seen some black-breasted 

 plover and yellowlegs. They are very tired when they 

 arrive here ; so tir< d sometimes, ihey can't stand up." 

 Again, he writes, as if to corroborate his previous sta'ement 

 that they take a "'bee-line' for the West Indies. I 

 was coming home (to Boston) from Europe one voyage and 

 passed large flocks three hundred miles from land, going 

 South, in September." 



(Japt. * * * * informs our friend E. that one autumn he 

 saw thousands of plover in the Gulf Stream nairly five 

 hundred miles from land, skipping about and lighting in the 

 water and on accumulated seaweed and other vegetable 

 matter. He is quite sure the birds go by this route to 

 South America. Other shipmasters have made similar 

 statements. It rcust, however, be understood that when 

 these people who are not naturalists speak of "plover," 

 they are liable to refer to any of the marsh or shore birds. 

 In order to make it more clear that most of the shore birds 

 do visit the Barnadoes, we insert the following extract from 

 the History of the Islaud, kindly furnished us by Capt. P., 

 the Consul at that place. " The number of indgenous 

 species (uf birds) do not amount to fifteen. About forty 

 species and varieties arrive toward the end of August, and 

 merely alight on their passage to some more distant land. 

 . ... If during this period a southerly wind and rain 

 prevails, they alight, whereas fine weather tempts them to 



continue their progress The greater pirt are 



then seen to fly very high, and to keep their course direct to 



the east The black-breasted plover (C. VirginU 



out) is the most numerous. The male appears about the 25th 

 of August, and the female (young?) which is called in 

 Barbadoes the 'white-breast plover,' after the flight of the 

 males has ceased, about the middle of September." Here 

 is a partial list of the migrants that, come to the islands: 

 •' Squatarola helvetica, Linn.; O. Virginicus, Borck. ; C. 

 semipaimatm, Kaup. ; BtrepniltM interpret, Linn. ; Nume- 

 iiiu-i /ludfionicii-i, Lath. ,- A r umeniua koreali.i, Gml. ; Totnnus 

 flamipea, Gml; lotan.ua chloropygiw, Vieill. ; Tringoirlen 

 ma.cn larivx, Gray ; Tringa bartramia, Wils. ; Tringa cani/.- 

 tus, Linn.,- Tringa ptcUiralis, Say; Tringa pmilla, Wils. ; 

 Mucrorhamphus griseus, Leach; G-nttiwigo Wifconi, Bon." 



On depart ing trom I he Windward Islands the birds take an 

 easterly direction, which would, if persisted in, carry them 

 to the coast of Africa — in fact it is a prevailing opinion 

 among the inhabitants that the birds do go to that, continent, 

 nor do we presume the distance would be an insurmountable 

 barrier. Other considerations oppose the conjecture. They 

 would be likely there to meet allied European species aud 

 fraternize with them, and either be carried there or bring 

 back those they met, and in course of time lose their iden- 

 tity ; nor iB any such return flight ever witnessed. The 

 reason of their taking an easterly course in setting out upon 

 the long voyage is, probably, to overcome drift of the "trade 

 winds." If they are to n ach Guiana, or even pass Cape St. 

 Rogue, a distauce of two thousand miles, with a quartering 

 current of fifteen knots on setting out, they must start up 

 into the wind or they will impinge the continent far to the 

 westward of their objective point. Any one who has ever 

 seen a skillful oarsman cross a rapid stream must have ob- 

 served that he always heads his boat up stream in starting, 



or he would reach the opposite shore far below the phice in- 

 tended. But the birds, in their migrations, are not circum- 

 scribed in such narrow limits as the Le-ser Aotilh s. Their 

 range embraces nearly the whole of the West India islands. 

 A letter froia C. W. H., of Turk's Island, is of such general 

 interest that we make from it averyliberilextract : "Golden 

 plover, sometimes in lartte numbers, a few upland plover and 

 cut lew also arrive here from the North regularly about the 

 end of August or 1st of September, and remain witb us gen- 

 erally from four to six weeks, although a few stragglers stop 

 a little longer. If these latter happen to be golden plover, 

 after a short time they lose their yellow and pretty marked 

 dark-mottled plumage, and don a gray suit of f. at hers, look- 

 ing like quite a different bird from v, hat they did when they 

 first arrived here, aud are then sometimes called 'gray plo- 

 ver.' These birds go South from us and tbey evid ntly 

 pursue some other route going North, as we never see them 

 taking flight in that direction. I have often hea-d old sea 

 ctpains remark that they saw flocks of ihe-se birds in Ihe 

 au'umn going South, but never in a single instance have ihey 

 met them going North at any time of year." 



Mr. C. B. Cory, in "Birds of the Bahama Islands," gives 

 a similar list to that of the Barbadoes, but under somewhat 

 different synonyms. He does not, however, recognize the 

 godwils, curlew. Tringa, birtramiu. or Tringa amutvs, as 

 visitmts of the Bahamas, n r are the former found in the 

 Barbadoes catalogue. The godwi's and sickle-billed curlew 

 are rather clumsy flying birds, and it 's possible ve y few 

 reach these remote islands, but Tringa bartrami.i. (Wils.) T. 

 eanulus and Numeniua burf alii are among I he migrants whose 

 "range" is the widest of all ihe shore birds and we cinn >t 

 account for their non-observance ou any other ground ihan 

 by supposing that at the time of his arrival, lat« in Decem- 

 ber, these birds had moBtly departed Soti'h. He had to rely 

 on the autlv rity of Dr. Bryant, Air. Moore and Oth rs, for 

 information of these birds during their migrating season, 

 September and Octoher. His wint-r observations lead him 

 to believe that a few of several species each pass the winter 

 on those lovely islands. He does not, however, seem to find 

 any of them abundant at that seison, except, the two least 

 sandpipers, nor do they, to any extent, remain on the islands 

 to breed in summer. As a rule ihey all go North to breed, 

 and they also go further South to pass tho winter. A strag- 

 gler may be rccasionally found in winti r, even as far north 

 as New England, but this is an exception to ihe general 

 rule. Their return trip in spring is very far to the westward 

 of these islands, and of course would not be observed at that 

 season. 



Mr. F- A. Ober, in bis admirable work entitled "Camps in 

 the Caribees," enumerates seventeen sneeie? of these waders 

 as " birds of the Lesser Antilles," all of which come from the 

 United States. He does not s em to havu met either of the 

 godwi's, Tringa canut-ux, M. griieus, or JYum*nius borealis. 

 Why he did not meet with them is a marvel, esper-ially the 

 last named, which elsewhere travels in company with O. 

 Virginicus, and is recognized by other au'horities as a visit- 

 ant to adjacent islands. Possibly at the. period of their piss- 

 age he was in the mountains securingsomerarerspecime.ua 

 of that region, But mo-t of the Limicolat do reach these 

 islands, a part, of them coming in a "bee-line" from New- 

 foundland, and a part coasting along down to the Carolina?, 

 dropping off on the road as incl nation or strength might 

 dlciate, and striking out southeast till they reach the Wind- 

 ward Islands, where again they join the columns from the 

 north. It would not be at var ance with the facts her.-iu 

 collated to suppose that the biids that set out upon the lonely 

 journey from Newfoundland or Nova Scotia would pa-s to 

 the eastward of the Bermudas while those th<t pursue the 

 coast line, if caught out in a westerly gale, would be b'owu 

 onto that group. A letter from a reliable gentleman (W. 

 W. D.) residing on one of the Bermudas, informs us "the 

 plover and curlew, before the country was so br ken up for 

 agricultural purposes, were quite plenty in large fl icks about 

 the mirshes and valleys, but now they are quite scarce. 

 Generally make their appearance about September and Octo- 

 ber. They always show themselves aft- r a strong we-terly 

 gale." He also incloses Lieut. Dennisou's list of one hun- 

 dred and seventy-nine spech s of birds that tftsit the island-*. 

 The list is very complete and covers about all the migntory 

 waders that visit the east coast of North America and W-st 

 Indies, except winter yellowlegs, sickle-hilled curl«w and great 

 marbled g dwits. We would like now to take the reader 

 back to Cape Cod; if he has not already had Cape Ceal ad 

 nauxeam, and see whit effect an easterly storm has on the 

 birds there. If for three or four days during the flight 

 period there happens to be a strong northeast wind, attended 

 by considerable rainfall or fog, we are almost sure to get a 

 " flight" of birds. Possibly we could not better illustrate 

 this than by the recital of tin iuslmce that occurred under 

 our own observation. On the 2!Kh of August, 1853. wa 

 made a trip to Chatham, Cape Cod, for the pu po e of enjoy- 

 ing several days' plover shooting, The weather was tins 

 with a westerly wind, and birds very Scarce— la fact, the 

 outlook for shooting was gloomy in the extreme. In a couple 

 of days, however, the >\ bid hauled to the eastward a id blew 

 fresh, attended by a dense thick fog and considerable rain. 

 Toward evening of the third of September, the deflected line 

 of golden plover and Esquimaux curlew struck the shore aud 

 were at once driven to the fields or pastures, A few gun- 

 ners happened to be there, and seventy-seven of the birds 

 were bagged. All night long the birds could be heard cry- 

 ing and calling to each other for help. There were some 

 eight or ten gunners stopping at the same house, and of 

 course there was a great deal of excitement and o aifusion 

 setting ready for the morrow's slaughter. L-.ing before the 

 golden light had tinged the eastern horizon the next morn- 

 ing, breakfast was dispatched, lunch baskets packe I, ammu- 

 nition snugly bestowed — there were no hreech-1 aiders then — 

 teams were at tho door rea r ly to take aud d stribute ins pie- 

 ties in the various fields from one to four miles distant. 

 Quite early the b T rds came rushing along in the wildest 

 confusion, but paid very Ii t'e attention to the decoys or 

 call notes. Those that did alight seemed perfectly 

 bewildered and stared about as much as to sy, 

 "Where are we?" "What has happened?'' Flock 

 after flock went rushing along, pellmell, as bcai they c mid 

 in a gale of wind, till night fortunately overtook the weary 

 birds and their pursuers. The parlies drove hack fr> the 

 house one after the other, and spread out the c mtents of 

 their "bags" upon the floor — iwo hundred and eighty-One 

 golden plover and Esqucniaux curlew together with a few 

 beetle-heads ! It was a grand s'mbt : Of course there wis 

 some pretty tall talking done on that memorable night. We 

 would not vouch for the truth of all the stories that were 

 told. A slight deviation, a little— just a little— exaggeration 

 upon such an occasion is pardonable. There was about, as 

 little sleeping done in that house that night, as was ever done 



