I 204 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
October, 1913 j 
A turnstone and one of the small varieties of sandpiper feeding along 
the beach. The turnstone, which is at the right, derives its name 
from the habit of turning over stones in search of food 
The shorebirds’ habit of feeding and flying in compact flocks has had 
much to do with their destruction by gunners. Some flocks, when 
flying along the beach, turn and twist as a single bird 
A young oystercatcher on a 
sandy beach 
ally classified as 
"water fowl’’ and 
"shore birds.” Some 
are coastwise in their 
distribution, although 
many are found about 
the lakes and along 
the river courses of 
the interior. 
Around these two 
groups of birds, much 
human interest has 
centered. Millions of 
dollars in this coun¬ 
try alone have been 
invested i n marsh 
lands, clubhouses, boats and accessories by gunning clubs whose 
members wish to shoot birds. On the other hand, enormous sums 
are annually expended by State governments in 
efforts to enforce legislative restrictions which it 
has been necessary to enact to safeguard the 
future supply. 
With few exceptions our North American water fowl are 
found in summer only north of the fortieth degree of latitude; 
in fact, the great 
bulk of them nest 
from our north¬ 
ern tier of States 
northward 
through Canada 
and Alaska. . 
About the reedy 
margins of the 
lakes and sloughs 
The great bulk of 
canvas backs and 
others of the more de¬ 
sirable food ducks in¬ 
habit chiefly a region 
which may be includ¬ 
ed in a wide elipse ex¬ 
tending from the 
Great Lakes west¬ 
ward to the foot of 
the Rocky Mountains. 
Black ducks were for¬ 
merly c o m m 0 n in 
-p, . . 1 ’ . • l 11 summer throughout 
1 he oystercatcher s nest is a mere hollow , T , 0 
our Northeastern: 
States, and even to¬ 
day many are found here. They appear to be increasing the last 
few years since the passage of anti-spring shooting laws. Espe¬ 
cially is this true of Long Island. Several hundred black ducks 
are now nesting there every summer in places where for many 
years previously they had been strangers. 
P 
found in such 
profusion 
throughout that 
vast territory, the 
ducks and geese 
collect in great 
numbers. Their 
nests are hidden 
in the grass at in¬ 
tervals about the shores, and by the latter part of June the 
waters become well dotted with families of little ducklings. 
During pleasant weather the clucks are prone to settle in large flocks in the open water, whence 
they rise, when alarmed, with a roar of wings audible at a long distance 
v> 
Upon the ap¬ 
proach of autumn 
the wild fowl 
start southward. 
Frequently many 
families unite un¬ 
til flocks number¬ 
ing a hundred or 
more individuals 
may be seen 
winging their way 
overhead. They 
migrate both by 
day and by night. 
While at this sea¬ 
son they may be 
seen at almost any 
favorable spot in the United States there are certain well-defined 
migratory routes over which the bulk of them pass. Birds which 
