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
In southwestern Saskatchewan in 1905 and 1906, we found some half dozen
or more nests of this species, between June 8 and July 13. The nests
were on the wet or moist meadows about the lakes and sloughs or on
marshy islands; some of the nests were in practically plain sight in
short grass; others were more or less well concealed in longer grass,
which was sometimes arched over them; they were always difficult to find
unless the incubating male was flushed. The nests were merely hollows in
the damp ground, three or four inches in diameter, either scantily or
well lined with dry grass.
Doctor Nelson (1877) gives a very good description of the behavior of
these birds on their nesting grounds, as follows:
Incubation is attended to by the male alone. The female, however,
keeps near, and is quick to give the alarm upon the approach of
danger. The females are frequently found at this time in small
parties of six or eight; and should their breeding ground be
approached, exhibit great anxiety, coming from every part of the
marsh to meet the intruder, and, hovering over his head, utter a
weak nasal note, which can be heard to only a short distance.
The movements of the birds usually render it an easy matter to
decide whether or not they have nests in the immediate vicinity.
After the first alarm, those having nests at a distance disperse,
while the others take their course in the form of an ellipse,
sometimes several hundred yards in length, with the object of their
suspicion in the center; and, with long strokes of their wings,
much like the flight of a killdeer, they move back and forth. As
their nests are approached the length of their flight is gradually
lessened, until at last they are joined by the males, when the
whole party hover low over the intruder's head, uttering their
peculiar note of alarm. At this time they have an ingenious mode of
misleading the novice, by flying off to a short distance and
hovering anxiously over a particular spot in the marsh, as though
there were concealed the objects of their solicitation. Should they
be followed, however, and a search be there made, the maneuver is
repeated in another place still farther from the real location of
the nest. But should this ruse prove unavailing, they return and
seem to become fairly desperate, flying about one's head almost
within reach, manifesting great distress.
Aretas A. Saunders writes to me that, in Teton County, Mont., they nest
in small colonies in grassy marshes, where alkaline soil prevents the
grass, mainly species of _Carex_ and _Juncus_, from growing tall.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account