RINGED PLOVER TRACKS 
FHe sandy ocean shore is an open 
( *• book wherein the naturalist may 
ead. The way the dunes are formed 
nd cut, and the ripples in the sand, tell 
f winds and tides and currents. Sea- 
eed, shells and fishes thrown up bv 
I torms are items from the world be- 
eath the waters. The tracks cff snakes 
nd turtles, the footmarks of rats, mice 
nd birds also can he interpreted. 
Some footprints, for instance those of 
ulls, are easy to identify. To tell what 
ind of gull it was is often merely a 
latter of measuring and looking up 
x>t measurements of the various species 
Inch might have been present. There 
re such a lot of smaller birds that to 
icognize their tracks is a good deal of 
* problem. The writer has been work- 
ig on the hypothesis that it would 
{robably be a possibility to find some- 
hifig characteristic in the footmarks of 
r iy species. With this in view, as op- 
artunity offered, he has sketched sample 
acks of various shore birds. Com- 
iratively few people have the leisure 
j!> train eye and hand sufficiently to 
fetch these subtle imprints in a satis- 
ictory manner, but it is easy for any 
le by careful measuring of lengths and 
j igles to obtain diagrams of tracks such 
I’ are shown in the accompanying illus- 
ation in relation to a one-inch scale. 
; In the illustration A is a footmark of 
piping plover ( Aegialitis meloda) 
' om the Rhode Island shore, in August. 
is that of a semipalmated plover 
degialitis semipalmata) from Block- 
land, in August. C is that of a ringed 
over ( Aegialitis hiaticula ) from a 
■ach near Liverpool, in September 
> 22 . 
; The most apparent differences bc- 
een the three marks doubtless have 
I do with the character of the sand on 
i’hich they were 
lateral toes of the semipalmated plover 
spread from the central one. It is doubt¬ 
ful whether that species under any cir¬ 
cumstances would leave a mark wherein 
two toes joined as clearly at the base 
B 
I 
b 
/ inch. 
as here shown for the ringed plover. 
Checking up the actual size of tracks can 
be very useful. The particular ringed 
plover which made this track was a 
young bird which the writer suspected 
of being Aegialitis dubia. On comparing 
its track ’for size with the feet of speci¬ 
mens in the British Museum, he was 
convinced of its having been the com¬ 
mon ringed plover.—J. T. N. 
ade; that in the 
; so of the piping 
i over being wet 
i d loose, and en- 
j'ging the track; 
the case of 
2 semipalmated 
aver, compara¬ 
bly dry and 
ai, so that only 
o end of the toes 
t an impression, 
•vertheless, there 
BIRDFLIES 
[N handling recently killed birds, es- 
1 pecially birds of prey, the raptorial 
species, we are apt to encounter what 
are known as louse-flics or bird-flies. 
Hawks and owls generally harbor a 
number of these insects among their 
feathers and the collector or taxidermist 
is likely to he annoyed by them when 
skinning out specimens for' mounting 
and study. 1 hese blood-sucking flies are 
very quick in flight and leave a dead 
bird as soon as it begins to get cold; 
they will get into the hair or beard of 
the person working with the host and 
will try to hide in any place that seems 
to offer protection. 
This singular family of flies, called 
Hippoboscidac, resemble the lice in 
their parasitic habits and are not very 
well known. C ollectors, hunters and 
ornithologists should place on record 
their observations on the habits and oc¬ 
currence of these remarkable insects 
and send specimens to the entomologists 
of their states or to the U. S. National 
Museum. 
All of the species are parasitic in 
the adult or fly stage and derive their 
nourishment from the blood of birds 
and mammals, living beneath the feath¬ 
ers and hairs. Some bird-flies are 
winged throughout the adult stage, 
others apparently lose their wings soon 
after finding their host. The head and 
body of the fly arc flattened, the ab¬ 
domen is baglike, and the whole of a 
leathery appearance. 1 he six stout legs 
are fitted with strong claws with which 
they cling tightly to the host; the 
mouth is a tubular beak or proboscis 
for sucking blood. 
The method of reproduction in these 
insects is very abnormal and differs in 
the peculiar mode of development from 
all other insects. But one egg is pro¬ 
duced at a time and is hatched within 
the parent’s body 
'ng 
character- 
ic about 
each 
e, by 
which it 
ght it 
mig 
ht be 
cognized. Notice 
| w w 
idely 
and 
1-nly 
the 
two 
' ,'e 241 
Bird-fly, 7/10 inch across the wings 
where the larva or 
maggot is nour¬ 
ished by a milky 
secretion, until it 
has attained its 
full growth. At 
birth the pupal or 
quiescent stage is 
assumed, during 
which it is en¬ 
closed within a 
soft oval case that 
hardens and turns 
dark brown after 
exposure to the 
air. This pupa- 
rium is about one- 
eighth of an inch 
Within this 
(Continued on 
page 281 ) 
long 
