88 
BIENNAL REPORT 
tions in the vicinity of Minneapolis. There are no records known for Minnesota 
for the last twenty years and it is probably now of only very rare occurrence. 
It passed north during the month of May—April 30 to May 25—and returned 
in September. Cantwell encountered a flock at Madison, Lac qui Parle County, on 
May 13, 1889, and Peabody reports “large flocks” in May, 1895, on the prairies 
in the Heron Lake region. The last Survey record is of a flock of about twenty at 
Duluth in the spring of 1899. Forbush states that the Black-breast still appears 
occasionally on the Atlantic coast in considerable numbers and thinks that it shows 
an increase since the stopping of spring shooting and the generally better protec¬ 
tion afforded of late years. 
Dr. Hatch’s statement (Notes on Minnesota Birds) that a nest with eggs of 
this species was obtained in 1875 on upper Lake Minnetonka, and that other nests 
were found later is undoubtedly an error. It breeds on the coasts of the Arctic seas 
and winters from the southern United States to Peru and Brazil. L'nlike the 
Golden Plover the lines of migration are to and fro over the same route. 
The fall young of this bird and the next are easily confused. In the hand 
the small hind toe of the Black-bellied—absent in the Golden—readily identifies it. 
In the field the whitish upper tail coverts and tail and a white band in the wing 
seen in flight distinguish this species from the next. 
GOLDEN PLOVER; AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER; PRAIRIE PIGEON. 
Reference has already been made to the former great abundance of this bird in 
Minnesota during its migrations. They entered the southern part of the state in the 
spring early in May (May 8, 1898, Heron Lake, “saw about twenty today. They 
are about four or five days late.” Miller) and continued passing in successive 
flocks until the last of that month. The first returning birds arrived about Sep¬ 
tember first (August 25, 1875, Minneapolis, Roberts) and became increasingly 
numerous until late October, the last stragglers remaining sometimes into early 
November (November 1 and 5, 1875, Minneapolis, Roberts). They were often 
more abundant in the fall than in the spring, contrary to the usual statement that 
the spring flight was northward through the Mississippi Valley and the fall move¬ 
ment eastward across British America to Labrador and Newfoundland and thence 
to South America by a long ocean flight. The explanation is probably that 
these fall flocks were taking a short cut to the Atlantic sea coast. 
They continued to be numerous in the eastern part of the state as late as 
1889, as shown by the following note from Dr. J. C. Hvoslef of Lanesboro, Fill¬ 
more County: “September 28, 1889, many; October 22, 1889, a great many; 
November 2, 1889, small flocks. Abundant this fall.” From that date they rapidly 
decreased. Two were seen at Minneapolis, May 30, 1892, by Wm. de la Barre, Jr., 
and two flocks passed over Lanesboro, September, 1897 (Hvoslef). The last report 
is of one taken in McLeod County, September 27, 1914 (J. W. Franzen), 
Farther west they continued to occur in numbers to a somewhat later period. 
Miller reported them as plentiful at Heron Lake in the fall of 1897—“more so than 
I ever saw them before in the fall migration. Quite a number were killed by 
gunners as the birds flew across the lake.” There was a small flight at Heron 
Lake, May 12, 1912, when several specimens were taken, two of which are in the 
Survey Collection through the courtesy of Wm. Kilgore, Jr. 
