PLOVERS, ETC.: BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER 
255 
suggestive (A. M. Bailey, 1926, p. 84). In the non-committal winter 
plumage of the Black-bellied, the black axillars may well help migrating 
flocks to keep together, for, as Grinnell, Bryant, and Storer note, in 
flight its wing beats “seem to cover an arc of almost 180 degrees so that 
the black axillars are prominently displayed at each up-stroke.” As 
Ernest Thompson Seton says, “all bird students will recall the pretty 
way in which most of the plovers let the world know who they are. 
As soon as they alight, they stand for a moment with both wings raised 
straight up to display the beautiful pattern on the wing linings; a 
pattern that is quite different in each kind and that is like the national 
flag of the species, for it lets friend and foe alike know what species is 
displaying it” (1901, p. 187). 
Feeding at low tide on the mud flats and sandy beaches, at high tide 
it usually retires to the higher drier portions of the shoals and marshes. 
On Hoonah Sound, in southeastern Alaska, Mr. Alfred M. Bailey was 
fortunate enough to have several of the interesting birds close at hand 
on the bar in front of his camp during his entire stay, from May 7-24. 
“They were very tame and rarely flew any distance when they were 
flushed” (1927, p. 195). 
On their autumnal migrations, Mr. Brewster said, their “far-reach¬ 
ing, musically-plaintive calls” may be heard in the early morning or late 
evening, if not also in the night (1924-1925, pp. 268-269). “Coming 
singly or in couples as a rule, and rarely if ever more than three or four 
together or in the same neighborhood . . . some tarry for but a single 
day, before passing farther southward; others remain over several suc¬ 
cessive days and nights, if not molested by gunners.” 
Additional Literature.—Nichols, J. T., and F. Harper, Auk, XXXIII, 
251-252, 1916. 
SNIPES, SANDPIPERS, etc.: Family Scolopacidae 
The Snipes and Sandpipers form one of the largest families of shore- 
birds. They are of medium size, the bill is generally long, and char¬ 
acteristically slender, grooved and in some, sensitive, serving as both 
probe and forceps in the soft mud where they secure their food. They 
have long legs, short toes, long pointed wings, and short tails. The 
sexes and young are generally similar, but seasonal plumages differ to 
correspond with differences in habit, for many of the birds that resort 
to the beaches in winter retire to the protection of weeds and grasses 
during the nesting season and accordingly have a more grass-like pattern 
in summer. Their patterns are simple, highly generalized, and varying 
little among the species. Many of the beach birds have faint picture 
patterns—delicate and linear and wavy (Thayer, 1909). They live 
mainly along shores, mud flats, or open marshes, feeding principally on 
mollusks, crustaceans, and insects. They are the most important bird 
