Life histories of North American shore birds, Part 1 (of 2)Bent, Arthur Cleveland
Science
Life histories of North American shore birds, Part 1 (of 2)
Bent, Arthur Cleveland
Birds -- Behavior; Shore birds -- North America
The common call is a low-pitched, hoarse "skeuk," the lowest and
heaviest voice on the flats. It struck me as a dull croak, coming
pretty regularly from the feeding birds, and especially strong when
they took wing. A lone bird in joining the flock would croak his
coming. The sound can be imitated in quality and form but in a
higher pitch. Make the facial contortions necessary to "cluck" to a
horse, but don't "cluck"; make it "skeuk," and locate it in the
wisdom teeth on the side being dislocated. Pitch it low; it will
still be two tones too high. At a distance the sucking or harsh
quality is lost. A softer, more musical rendition is given when the
birds are well bunched and feeding, which came to my ear as
"chook."
John T. Nichols (1920) says: "The flight note of the knot is a
low-pitched whistle, frequently in two parts, with a peculiar lisp or
buzz in it, _tlu tlu_."
Doctor Ekblaw describes the notes heard on the breeding grounds as
follows:
Four distinct calls characterize the mating and nesting season.
Most common are two piercingly shrill calls uttered generally on
the wing, one of them resembling _wah-quoi_ and the other
_wee-a-whit_, easily distinguished, but somewhat alike. The
long-drawn-out _coo-a-hee_, or _coo-hee_, is a soft, flutelike call
also given in flight, but nearly always back among the hills, far
from the shore where the nests are hidden. This flutelike call
appears to be a signal or recognition call. The fourth call is a
sharp, querulous _whit_, _whit_, _whit_, almost like a cluck, often
given singly, but more often many times repeated. When their
nesting haunts are invaded or their feeding grounds disturbed this
call expresses their displeasure.
_Field marks._--In spring plumage the knot is easily recognized by its
reddish breast, which, however, is not as conspicuous as might be
expected. In immature and winter plumage the best character is the
absence of any conspicuous field mark. Even in flight it seems to be a
plain gray bird; the rump and tail appear but little lighter than the
rest of the upper parts and the faint white line in the wings is hardly
noticeable. Its larger size will hardly distinguish it from the smaller
sandpipers except by direct comparison. Its short, greenish yellow legs
and its prominent bill might help one to recognize it under favorable
circumstances.
_Fall._--Doctor Ekblaw says:
As soon as the water begins to grow cold, when insect and other
small life becomes scarce, and when the midnight sun approaches the
horizon, the knots abandon the northland, plump and strong from
their summer stay in the Arctic, and wend their way to the
southland. Not even a belated straggler can be found after August
1.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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