Jan., 1912 
THE SHORE BIRDS OF SANTA BARBARA 
11 
individuals was seen, which would allow no closer an approach than two hundred 
yards, even by the most careful stalking. This flock remained a couple of weeks, 
dwindling slightly in numbers and becoming very much tamer. A male taken 
September 16 was still in almost complete nuptial plumage. By the first of Octo- 
ber they had become so tame that one could readily walk on the open beach to 
within thirty yards of them. 
Oxyechus vociferus. Killdeer. An abundant, noisy, and suspicious resident, 
serving as an alarm for all the feathered folk within hearing. A flock of these 
birds spent the nights on the lawn in front of the Potter Hotel during the first part 
of September, and always maintained an intermittent outcry until past midnight. 
There are occasionally heavy migrations, one of which occurred on October 10, 
1911, when Mr. Bowles counted sixty-seven in a small pool on the mud flat, with 
many others in the vicinity. 
..®gialitis semipalmata. Semipalmated Plover. Regular and fairly common 
spring and fall migrant. Spring: April 18 to May 16, 1910. Fall: July 12, 1910, to 
November 1, 1911. These immaculate little gentlemen were usually to be found in 
pairs and quartets in the vicinity of the sandpipers, but were considerably less in- 
clined towards human company. 
.®gialitis nivosa. Snowy Plover. Common resident, but much more abundant 
in winter than in summer. Appears in large nnmbers about the middle of Decem- 
ber, at which times flocks of fifty or more individuals may be seen. The nesting 
season is a long one, as heavily incubated eggs were found from April 18 to July 28. 
They colonize to a very considerable extent, sometimes as many as six or eight 
pairs nesting within a small area of sandy beach. In the number of sets laid 
during the season it is probable that these birds are largely governed by the num- 
ber destroyed. Owing to the small tidal waves that frequently sweep across the 
beaches, as well as sand drifted by the wind and eggs destroyed by animals, it 
seems a wonder that the poor creatures are able to bring up any families at all. 
Aphriza virgata. Surf-bird. Mr. Howell took one male and one female on 
September 16, 1911, and Mr. W. Leon Dawson secured another. These were part 
of a flock of five that was feeding with two marbled Godwits. The remaining birds 
were remarkably tame and unsuspicious, allowing a close approach. At a distance 
we mistook them for Black Turnstones, being unable to see their brea.sts clearly 
because of the glare of the sun and sand. They seemed too large, however, and 
for the same reason, as well as because they were too stocky, they did not resemble 
Knots. This comparison of size is really the only way they can be identified at 
a distance, except when on the wing. 
Arenaria interpres morinella. Ruddy Turnstone. Rare, as a rule, but not 
uncommon during the fall of 1911. Mr. Howell took the first specimen on August 
28, 1911, and about a dozen more were seen in the next three weeks, the largest 
number noted at one time being a flock of five on September 12. This is unusual 
for Santa Barbara, as in 1910 none at all were observ’ed, and it seems to be unusual 
for the rest of the state as well. 
Arenaria melanocephala. Black Turnstone. Regular, but never common, 
fall migrant. None noted in spring. The earliest seen was one on July 29, 1910; 
the latest a flock of seven on October 15, 1910, in company with fifteen Hudsonian 
Curlew and two Marbled Godwits. Only two birds were seen in 1911; in fact the 
Ruddy Turnstones seemed to have almost entirely replaced melanocephala ihis fall. 
