Ornithological biography, Vol. 4 (of 5) : $b An account of the habits of the birds of the United States of AmericaAudubon, John James
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Ornithological biography, Vol. 4 (of 5) : $b An account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America
Audubon, John James
Birds -- North America
The Tell-tale Godwit has a great range in the United States, where,
indeed, I have found it in almost every district, and at all seasons.
It spends the winter along the shores of our estuaries, rivers, and
ponds, and in the rice-fields, from Maryland to Mexico. It is abundant
then in South Carolina, the Floridas, and along the shores of the Gulf
of Mexico, as far as Texas, where I found it in considerable numbers
and paired, in the months of April and May, along with the Yellow-shank
Snipe, _Totanus flavipes_. It is also met with in spring and autumn
over the whole interior of the country, and I have found it quite
abundant at those seasons along the entire length of the Mississippi,
Ohio, and Missouri rivers, as well as on the Arkansas. They congregate
in great numbers in the inland marshes of Florida, and along its
rivers, during the winter. I found them near Eastport, in the State of
Maine, on the 11th of May 1833; and on the coast of Labrador, on the
18th of June of the same year. In Newfoundland, on the 11th of August,
the young were equal in size to their parents, and being extremely
fat, tender, and juicy, afforded excellent eating. In general, however,
these birds are thin and have a fishy taste.
In the State of Maine and the province of New Brunswick, the Tell-tale
is known by the name of “Humility,” which, however, is an appellation
that ill accords with its vociferous habits. The Creoles of New Orleans
call it “Clou-clou;” and were these syllables rapidly enunciated from
two to five times in succession, the sounds would have some resemblance
to the usual notes of the species.
When these Godwits arrive in the vicinity of New Orleans about the
middle of March, they appear in considerable flocks. They retire,
however, in the beginning of May, and return about the first of July,
from which time they continue there until the end of autumn, some
indeed remaining all winter. It seems, that at the period of their
disappearance at New Orleans, they retire to the vast marshes near
the sea-shore, and there breed, for I have found them abundant near
the passes or mouths of the Mississippi in pairs, on the first of
April, when the air is warmer than in the interior. They are said to
breed in the marshes along the coast of New Jersey, where, according
to Wilson, they arrive early in April, and continue until November.
It is a curious fact that the Tell-tale Godwit, as well as some other
birds of similar habits, is of very rare occurrence along the shores
of Massachusetts and Maine. This, however, seems to be accounted for by
the absence there of the large spongy marshes, to which these birds are
fond of resorting.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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