Shore Birds of Cate Cod. 
John 0. Oahoon. 
*Black-bellied Plover, Charadrius squatarola, 
(Linn.) Adults, “Black-breasts” or “Beetle- 
heads;” young, “Beetle-heads” or “Pale-bel- 
lies,” on Cape Cod. A common spring and 
abundant summer and autumn migrant. The 
first ones in the spring arrive as early as April 
loth, but are not generally seen until the last 
week or first in May. They become tolerably 
common May 15th, increasing until the 27th, 
and by this last date they have reached the 
height of their spring migration. They are 
rarely seen after the 10th or loth of June. In 
the summer the first birds flying south, which 
are adults, reach the Cape the latter part of 
July or first of August, although individuals 
are occasionally seen as early as July loth. 
They increase until the middle of August, the 
flights usually occurring from the 1st to the 
15th of the month. The young birds com- 
mence to make their appearance about the mid- 
dle of August, increasing until the middle of 
September, and the largest flights occur be- 
tween this date and October 15th. Most of 
them leave by the first of November, but a few 
small flocks remain as late as the middle of the 
month. This bird is seldom seen on the up- 
lands, but frequents the sand and mud flats at 
low tide, feeding on small shell fish and aquatic 
worms. As soon as the tide flows over the 
flats it resorts to the high beaches, salt mead- 
ows and marshes to wait until the next ebb 
tide. On the marshes it finds an abundance of 
small snails, crickets and grasshoppers. There 
is no shore bird on the Cape so well known to 
gunners, or so eagerly sought after, as the 
“Black-breast.,” or “Beetle-head. No bird, 
however is more wary than the old Black- 
j breast,” and to be successful in shooting them, 
Notes on Certain Water Birds inMaes. 
George H.Mackay. 
Mr. Marcus W. Dunham of Tuckernuck informs me that on 
May 2, 1893, he saw a flock of fifteen ( Charadrius squatarola ) , 
the first birds of the season, which were resting on Gravelly Island 
flats. On May 18 or 20 one hundred or more had collected on 
Tuckernuck Island and vicinity. They remained about one 
week. On April 18, 1894, at the westernmost part of Nantucket 
Island, seven birds were noted flying towards the west. On 
April 29 I saw two at the south head of the Hummuck Pond. One 
of them, a male, which I shot, was pretty evenly black and white 
on the breast ; the other had apparently no black. On April 29, 
1S94, at Billingsgate Lighthouse, Welfleet, Cape Cod, Mass., 
the keeper, Mr. James P. Smith, saw two Black-bellied Plovers. 
These are all very early dates for spring birds in Massachusetts. 
Ank SI. July, 18P4 p. 325-26 
. one must nave good decoys, be well concealed 
behind a stand or blind, and be able to imitate 
their call note correctly. Stands are built on 
the meadows and marshes by cutting bushes of 
about the proper height and sticking them in 
the grass or mud so as to form a circle of con- 
venient size for one or more gunners. If 
bushes cannot be found handily, dry seaweed, 
grass and other materials are sometimes used. 
On the mud flats bunches of sedge grass allbrd 
concealment, but the most successful method 
is to make a bar in the sand flats and sink a 
box, or dig a pit in the sand. It requires con- 
siderable labor to build and keep a bar in order, 
also to sink a box. The bar is laid bare before 
any of the surrounding flats, consequently the 
birds, finding no other feeding place uncovered, 
fly to the bar. One other way in which large 
numbers are sometimes taken is to find out the 
locality on the high beaches where they roost 
during high tide, and digging a hole in the sand 
for a place of concealment. They usually come 
to the same spot to roost each high tide and by 
examining the beach these places can be easily 
found, by the numerous foot prints in the sand. 
The blind should be completed soon after the 
tide begins to flow, as these birds leave the flats 
as soon as the tide commences to cover them. 
For the young, or “Pale-bellies,” all that is 
needed is a pit dug with the sand thrown out 
around the top edge and a few decoys placed 
out the right distance from the pit. For the 
old “Black-breasts” it is necessary to have the 
top covered over with boards and dry sand 
spread on them and have an opening in the 
sides and front, to shoot from. It is best not 
to put out any decoys as the old birds will sel- 
dom alight to decoys on the beaches, even if 
they are made to look very natural. 
O.&o. XIII. Oot. 1888 P.154 
