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 adults begin to arrive on Cape Cod about the middle of July; the
height of their abundance comes about the first week in August and most
of them disappear during that month, although Mr. Mackay (1893) has
recorded them in October, December, and February. The young birds begin
to arrive there about August 20, but the main flight of "graybacks," as
the young are called on this coast, comes along in September and early
October, stragglers sometimes lingering into November. When with us,
knots frequent the beaches; although they are found on both sandy and
stony beaches, I have sometimes thought that they preferred the pebbly
beaches, feeding close to the water line, where they are often
surprisingly invisible among the variously colored stones. They are not
shy, as a rule, and generally allow a close approach before they fly off
swiftly, uttering their characteristic notes. At high tide, when their
feeding grounds are covered, they resort to the high beaches to rest,
preen their plumage, and sleep.
By July 20 the first birds have reached South Carolina, where some
remain until October 15. We saw what was probably the last of the
migration on the west coast of Florida in 1924. The knots were there
when we arrived on November 11. During a northerly gale and after a
heavy rain on the 21st I saw several small flocks on the high and dry
sand of an exposed beach, huddled together in compact bunches and
reluctant to move. The last birds were seen on the 26th.
In the interior the knot seems to be even rarer in the fall than in the
spring, but on the Pacific coast the reverse seems to be the case. It is
regarded as rather rare in Alaska, but F. S. Hersey collected a small
series for me at St. Michael on August 4 and 8, 1915, and H. B. Conover
took two at Golovin Bay on August 14, 1924. D. E. Brown's notes record
them at Grays Harbor, Washington, from August 21 to November 2, 1917.
_Game._--Although no longer on the game-bird list, the knot is a good
game bird. It flies in compact flocks, comes well to the decoys when
attracted by the whistle of an experienced caller, flies rather swiftly,
and makes a good table bird, for it is of good size and usually fat. It
was always included in the list of what we used to call "big birds." On
Cape Cod knots in all plumages are called "redbreasts" by the gunners,
though the name "grayback" is often applied to the young birds. Mr.
Mackay (1893) says:
When shy and coming to decoys to alight, they barely touch their
feet to the sand before they discover their mistake and are off in
an instant. They fly quickly and closely together and, when coming
to decoys, usually pass by them down wind, most of the flock
whistling, then suddenly wheeling with heads to the wind, and up to
the decoys. At such times many are killed at one discharge.
Dr. L. C. Sanford (1903) writes:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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