■ H itffira ill ill mm MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Dr. Arthur W. Gilbert Commissioner BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS AND OTHER NEW ENGLAND STATES BY EDWARD HOWE FORBUSH PART I. WATER BIRDS, MARSH BIRDS AND SHORE BIRDS Elustrated with Colored Plates from Drawings by LOUIS AG-ASSIZ FUERTES AND Figures and Cuts from Drawings and Photographs by THE AUTHOR AND OTHERS ISSUED BY AUTHORITY OF THE LEGISLATURE 1929 Copyright, 1925, BY THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Reprinted October, 1928 Reprinted August, 1929 Norfoooti $«83 J. S. Cushins* Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE The economic value of birds to the people of the Commonwealth has been long con. sidered important. This Commonwealth has recognized its importance by devoting a special division of the Department of Agriculture to the study of birds and their relatione to the activities of its people. But Massachusetts citizens value birds, not merely foz their usefulness in destroying insect pests or in bringing profits or affording sport — we also regard them highly for their esthetic value and the joy they bring into our lives. There is therefore every reason for the State to interest itself in their study and protection. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is fortunate in having the services of one of the country's foremost authorities in economic ornithology, Edward Howe Forbush. Mr. Forbush is known to a wide public through his able and authoritative writings, and his many articles in magazines and newspapers. Two books, Useful Birds and Their Protection, and Game Birds, Wild-Fowl and Shore Birds, both written by him and published by the State, have proven very popular and valuable. The former has run through three editions, the latter through two editions, and both are now out of print. Mr. Forbush inaugurated a new epoch in bird study when he began to issue on behalf of the State his monthly bulletins. These summarized the reports he received every month from numerous correspondents in this and other New England states, as well as Canada and along the North Atlantic seaboard, and gave new knowledge of the effect of storms, cold waves and the like on the distribution and movements of birds. More recently hitherto unknown facts revealed by bird-banding have been reported in these bulletins. The ripe fruits of his life work in the field of ornithology are now being incorporated in The Birds of Massachusetts. This is the first complete and comprehensive work on the birds of this State. It marks notable advances in our knowledge of the local dis- tribution of species and handles the recondite subject of molts and plumages. There is reason to believe that this work when completed in the three volumes with colored plates by Fuertes, the foremost ornithological artist in this country, will con- stitute a notable contribution to the literature of ornithology, and will afford a valuable source of reference to all students of birds as well as bird lovers. Arthur W. Gilbert, Commissioner. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from Boston Public Library http://www.archive.org/details/birdsofmassachus01forb PREFACE The Commonwealth of Massachusetts never has issued any publication containing full descriptions and colored plates of the birds recorded within its boundaries. In 1839 a report was made to the Great and General Court of Massachusetts by Rev. William B. O. Peabody, which contained a list of the birds of Massachusetts with annotations on two hundred and eighty-six species. In 1864 the Massachusetts State Board of Agri- culture published, in connection with the eleventh annual report of its Secretary for the year 1863, an annotated list of two hundred and eighty-seven species, prepared by Mr. Edward A. Samuels. The Commonwealth also assisted Mr. Samuels in publishing the Birds of New England (1870) by purchasing and distributing a considerable number of copies of the work. In 1907 the first edition of Useful Birds and Their Protection containing brief de- scriptions of a part of the birds of the State was issued by the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture. In 1912 the first edition of A History of the Game Birds, Wild- fowl and Shore Birds of Massachusetts and Adjacent States was issued by the same agency of the Commonwealth. Both of these works, however, were chiefly economic and treated only a part of the birds of the Commonwealth, stressing their utility and the means of conserving them. Many papers on the birds of Massachusetts have been published within the last fifty years, notably the Birds of Massachusetts, by Messrs. Reginald Heber Howe Jr., and Glover M. Allen, but most of them are mere local lists with annotations, and not one of them contains adequate descriptions or colored plates of the species. The de- mand for such information as plates and descriptions alone can furnish has grown in- sistent with the years. Not only do people of rural communities seek such knowledge ; the great and increasing army of bird students also requires it. Birds may be ranked among the noblest forms of life. Experience has shown that without special protection at the hands of man many species are likely to become extinct. Some of those that are hunted as game now need special care. Licenses to hunt certain birds within the borders of the Commonwealth are issued to citizens annually, and the number of such hunters now approximates one hundred thousand. Probably most of these hunters would be unable to recognize all the birds that they are privileged to shoot under their licenses, to say nothing of the large number of species that are protected by law. Many people who hunt birds desire such information concerning them as it is purposed to include in the present volume. The book is intended, therefore, to fill a long-felt want. VJ PREFACE The objects of the work are : (1) to interest the general public of Massachusetts and New England in birds and their rational conservation, (2) to provide our citizens with a means of identifying birds in the field or in the hand, (3) to furnish such other information regarding birds as the people desire and need. Long experience as State Ornithologist in answering their questions has perhaps qualified the author in some degree for the latter service. The author is under great obligation to Mr. John A. Farley for editing the volume and for constant assistance and advice ; to Messrs. Samuel Henshaw and Outram Bangs for the privilege of examining specimens in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College ; to Mr. James Peters at the Museum for assistance there, and to Drs. Harry C. Oberholser and C. W. Richmond for extending similar privileges at the National Museum at Washington ; also to Dr. Wilfred H. Osgood, of the Field Museum, Chicago, and Drs. Frank M. Chapman and Jonathan D wight, of the American Museum, New York, all of whom have freely offered the privileges of the collections under their charge. Mr. W. Sprague Brooks, of the Boston Society of Natural History, also granted the privilege of examining his collection, as did Messrs. Frederic H. Kennard and A. Cleveland Bent. Mr. Kennard also furnished many notes, including the field notes of the late Mr. F. B. McKechnie, and Mr. Bent has been extremely kind and helpful in many ways. Col. John E. Thayer tendered the use of his great collection of North American birds and their nests and eggs. Dr. B. H. Warren of Pennsylvania contributed many notes and much useful information, including weights of many game-birds. Mr. W. L. McAtee sent proof sheets of his "Local Names of Migratory Game Birds." The following persons from various New England states have given valuable aid in various ways : Messrs. Arthur H. Norton of Maine ; Karl A. Pember and George L. Kirk of Vermont ; Herbert Parker, Aaron C. Bagg, Winthrop Packard, Albert A. Cross, Charles L. Whittle, Laurence B. Fletcher, Joseph A. Hagar and F. H. Scott of Massachusetts ; Harry S. Hathaway of Rhode Island ; C. W. Vibert, Wilbur Smith, Aretas A. Saunders, Lester W. Smith and E. W. Schmidt of Connecticut. Dr. Arthur A. Allen of Cornell University has contrib- uted photographs and notes. Mr. Arthur Stubbs and many others have submitted field notes or migration data, and about 400 correspondents, many of them official observers in ornithology for the Massa- chusetts Department of Agriculture, have contributed notes on the migrations and habits of birds. The author is greatly indebted to Mr. Louis Agassiz Fuertes, the artist, who has illustrated this volume, for cordial cooperation and assistance and the use of field notes in respect to the colors of the soft parts of water birds. The J. Horace McFarland Co. and D. Appleton and Co. have kindly furnished some electrotypes and permitted their use. Permission to quote from the Practical Handbook of British Birds should be acknowl- edged. Ornithologists everywhere are indebted to Messrs. H. F. and G. Witherby, who have produced this excellent handbook which contains much original work by specialists. Acknowledgment should also be given to the following persons and publishing firms for PREFACE Vli authority to quote from or refer to the publications set against their names : Dr. Joseph Grinnell, The Game Birds of California ; Mr. Ralph Hoffmann, A Guide to the Birds of New England and Eastern New York ; Dr. Charles W. Townsend, Audubon's Labrador and other publications; The Marshall Jones Co., Dr. Townsend's Beach Grass; Dr. Frank M. Chapman, Camps and Cruises of an Ornithologist, and Bird- Lore ; L. C. Page and Co., Key to North American Birds ; Dr. Glover M. Allen and Mr. Reginald Heber Howe Jr., The Birds of Massachusetts; Mr. Howe and Mr. Edward Sturtevant, The Birds of Rhode Island ; The University Society, Birds of America. The Editor of The Nation and The Athenaeum gives permission to quote from an article by Mr. J. B. Mas- singham. Mr. J. H. Fleming, of Toronto, has placed the author under great obligation by revis- ing the geographical distribution of the species. It remains to acknowledge the services of those who have given advice and informa- tion on technical subjects: Dr. Witmer Stone, of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and Drs. H. C. Oberholser and T. S. Palmer, of the Biological Survey, have been especially kind in this regard. From the inception of the undertaking, the members of the Department of Agriculture have consistently supported the project. Dr. Arthur W. Gilbert, Commissioner of Agriculture, has strongly advocated the necessary appropriations before legislative committees, and has given the author that constant and cordial support without which the publication would have been impossible. CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION xix Class AVES. Birds 1 Subclass CARINAT.E : Keel-breasted, Toothless Birds 1 Order PYGOPODES. Diving Birds 2 Suborder COLYMBI. Grebes 2 Family COLYMBID.E. Grebes 2 Colymbus holbcelli. Holbcell's Grebe .4 Colymbus auritus. Horned Grebe . 8 Podilymbus podiceps. Pied-billed Grebe . . 11 Suborder CEPPHI. Loons and Auks , 16 Family GAVIID.E. Loons 16 Gavia immer. Loon 17 Gavia arctica. Black-throated Loon ......... 25 Gavia pacifica. Pacific Loon ........... 26 Gavia stellata. Red-throated Loon 28 Family ALCID^E. Auks, Murres and Puffins 30 Subfamily FRATERCULINtE. Puffins 30 Fratercula arctica arctica. Puffin . . . . 31 Subfamily ^ETHIIN^]. Auklets, Murrelets, Guillemots .35 Cepphus grylle. Black Guillemot .......... 35 Subfamily ALCIN^E. Auks and Murres 38 Uria troille troille. Murre 38 Uria lomvia lomvia. Briinnich's Murre 40 Alca torda. Razor-billed Auk 43 Subfamily ALLIN.E. Dovekies . ■ 46 Alle alle. Dovekie 46 Order LONGIPENNES. Long-winged Swimmers 49 Family STERCORARIID.E. Skuas and Jaegers 50 Catharacta skua. Skua . . . . . . . • . . . .50 Stercorarius pomarinus. Pomarine Jaeger 52 Stercorarius parasiticus. Parasitic Jaeger , 55 Stercorarius longicaudus. Long-tailed Jaeger ........ 58 Family LARIDiE. Gulls and Terns 59 Subfamily LARIN.E. Gulls 59 Pagophila alba. Ivory Gull 60 Rissa tridactyla tridactyla. Kittiwake 62 Larus hyperboreus. Glaucous Gull • . .64 Larus leucopterus. Iceland Gull 66 Larus kumlieni. Kumlien's Gull .......... 67 Larus marinus. Great Black-backed Gull . . . • • • .69 Larus argentatus. Herring Gull . .72 ix x CONTENTS PAGE Larus delawarensis. Ring-billed Gull 80 Larus atricilla. Laughing Gull 82 Larus franklini. Franklin's Gull 87 Larus Philadelphia. Bonaparte's Gull 89 Larus minutus. Little Gull . . .91 Xema sabini. Sabine's Gull . 93 Subfamily STERNINjE. Terns 95 Gelochelidon nilotica aranea. American Gull-billed Tern 95 Sterna caspia imperator. Coues' Caspian Tern 97 Sterna maxima. Royal Tern .... 99 Sterna sandvicensis acuflavida. Cabot's Tern 101 Sterna forsteri. Forster's Tern 103 Sterna hirundo. Common Tern 105 Sterna paradissea. Arctic Tern 115 Sterna dougalli. Roseate Tern „ . . . .118 Sterna antillarum. Least Tern 122 Sterna fuscata. Sooty Tern 126 Chlidonias nigra surinamensis. Black Tern 128 Family RYNCHOPID.E. Skimmers 129 Rynchops nigra. Black Skimmer 130 Order TUBINARES. Tube-Nosed Swimmers 134 Family HYDROBATID.E. Fulmars, Shearwaters and Petrels 134 Subfamily FULMARINtE. Fulmars 135 Fulmarus glacialis glacialis. Fulmar 135 Daption capense. Pintado Petrel . 138 Subfamily PUFFININ.E. Shearwaters and Petrels 139 Puffinus borealis. Cory's Shearwater 139 Puffinus gravis. Greater Shearwater 140 Puffinus griseus. Sooty Shearwater 142 Pterodroma hasitata. Black-capped Petrel 144 Subfamily PROCELLARIINtE. Storm Petrels 144 Oceanodroma leucorhoa leucorhoa. Leach's Petrel 145 Subfamily OCEANITIN^E. Long-legged Storm Petrels 149 Oceanites oceanicus. Wilson's Petrel ......... 149 Order STEGANOPODES. Totipalmate Swimmers 153 Family SULID^E. Gannets 153 Sula leucogastra. Booby . 154 Moris bassana. Gannet 155 Family PHALACROCORACID^. Cormorants 158 Phalacrocorax carbo. Cormorant . . . . . . . . .158 Phalacrocorax auritus auritus. Double-crested Cormorant 160 Family PELECANID^E. Pelicans 163 Pelecanus erythrorhynchos. White Pelican 164 Pelecanus occidentalis. Brown Pelican ......... 166 Family FREGATID.E. Man-o'-war-birds 170 Fregata aquila. Man-o '-war-bird 171 Order ANSERES. Lamellirostral Swimmers 173 Family ANATID^E. Ducks, Geese and Swans 174 CONTENTS XI PAGE Subfamily MERGING. Mergansers 175 Mergus americanus. Merganser ........... 176 Mergus serrator. Red-breasted Merganser 181 Lophodytes cucullatus. Hooded Merganser . 187 Subfamily ANATIN.E. River Ducks 190 Anas platyrhyncha. Mallard 190 Anas rubripes rubripes. Red-legged Black Duck . 194 Anas rubripes tristis. Black Duck 195 Chaulelasmus streperus. Gadwall 199 Mareca penelope. European Widgeon . 202 Mareca americana. Baldpate 205 Nettion crecca. European Teal 209 Nettion carolinense. Green-winged Teal . 211 Querquedula discors. Blue-winged Teal 214 Tadorna tadorna. Sheld-duck 217 Spatula clypeata. Shoveller 218 Dafila acuta tzitzihoa. American Pintail 222 Aix sponsa. Wood Duck 225 Subfamily FULIGULIN^. Sea Ducks 231 Marila americana. Redhead . 231 Marila valisineria. Canvas-back 234 Marila marila. Scaup Duck . 237 Marila affinis. Lesser Scaup Duck .......... 241 Marila collaris. Ring-necked Duck 243 Glaucionetta clangula americana. Golden-eye 246 Glaucionetta islandica. Barrow's Golden-eye . 250 Charitonetta albeola. Buffle-head 252 Clangula hyemalis. Old-squaw 255 Histrionicus histrionicus histrionicus. Harlequin Duck . . . . . . 259 Somateria mollissima borealis. Northern Eider ....... 263 Somateria mollissima dresseri. Eider 264 Somateria spectabilis. King Eider 268 Oidemia americana. Scoter 271 Oidemia deglandi deglandi. White-winged Scoter ....... 274 Oidemia perspicillata. Surf Scoter 277 Erismatura jamaicensis. Ruddy Duck . . . . . . . . . 280 Nomonyx dominicus. Masked Duck 283 Subfamily ANSERINE. Geese 284 Chen hyperboreus hyperboreus. Snow Goose 285 Chen hyperboreus nivalis. Greater Snow Goose ....... 286 Chen cserulescens. Blue Goose 288 Anser albifrons gambeli. White-fronted Goose . . . . . . . 290 Anser brachyrhynchus. Pink-footed Goose . . . . . . . . 292 Branta canadensis canadensis. Canada Goose . 292 Branta canadensis hutchinsi. Hutchins' Goose ....... 295 Branta bernicla glaucogastra. Brant . . . . . . . . . 296 Branta nigricans. Black Brant . . . . .... . . . 300 Branta leucopsis. Barnacle Goose . . . . . . . . . .301 xij CONTENTS PAGE Subfamily CYGNIN^E. Swans 302 Cygnus columbianus. Whistling Swan 302 Cygnus buccinator. Trumpeter Swan 304 Order HERODIONES. Herons, Storks, Ibises, etc. . . 307 Suborder IBIDES. Spoonbills and Ibises . . . 307 Family THRESKIORNITHIDjE. Ibises 307 Guaraalba. White Ibis 307 Plegadis falcinellus. Glossy Ibis 309 Suborder CICONLE. Storks, etc 312 Family CICONIIDiE. Storks and Wood Ibises 312 Subfamily MYCTERIINyE. Wood Ibises .312 Mycteria americana. Wood Ibis .......... 312 Suborder HERODII. Herons, Egrets, Bitterns, etc. 314 Family ARDEIDyE. Herons, Bitterns, etc 314 Subfamily BOTAURIN^. Bitterns 315 Botaurus lentiginosus. Bittern .......... 315 Ixobrychus exilis. Least Bittern .......... 321 Ixobrychus neoxenus. Cory's Least Bittern ........ 323 Subfamily ARDEINjE. Herons and Egrets 323 Ardea herodias herodias. Great Blue Heron . . . . . . . . 324 Casmerodius egretta. Egret ........... 328 Egretta candidissima candidissima. Snowy Egret ....... 330 Florida caerulea. Little Blue Heron .......... 332 Butorides virescens virescens. Green Heron ........ 334 Nycticorax nycticorax nsevius. Black-crowned Night Heron . . . ... 336 Nyctanassa violacea. Yellow-crowned Night Heron ...... 342 Order PALUDICOL.E. Cranes, Rails, etc . 344 Suborder GRUES. Cranes, Courlans, etc 344 Family GRUID^. Cranes 344 Grus americana. Whooping Crane .......... 345 Grus canadensis. Little Brown Crane 347 Grus mexicana. Sandhill Crane . 348 Suborder RALLI. Rails, Gallinules, Coots, etc 351 Family RALLID^E. Rails, Gallinules and Coots 351 Subfamily RALLIN^E. Rails 351 Rallus elegans. King Rail 352 Rallus crepitans crepitans. Clapper Rail 354 Rallus virginianus. Virginia Rail 355 Porzana Carolina. Sora ............. 357 Coturnicops noveboracensis. Yellow Rail ........ 360 Creciscus jamaicensis. Black Rail 361 Crex crex. Corn Crake 363 Subfamily GALLINULIN.E. Gallinules 364 Ionornis martinicus. Purple Gallinule 364 Gallinula chloropus cachinnans. Florida Gallinule . . . . . . . 366 Subfamily FULICIN^. Coots . 369 Fulica americana. Coot 369 Order LIMICOL^E. Shore Birds . 371 CONTENTS xiii PAGE Family PHALAROPODID^E. Phalaropes ......... 372 Phalaropus fulicarius. Red Phalarope 372 Lobipes lobatus. Northern Phalarope . . . . . . . . . 375 Steganopus tricolor. Wilson's Phalarope 377 Family RECURVIROSTRIDiE. Avocets and Stilts 379 Recurvirostra americana. Avocet 380 Himantopus mexicanus. Black-necked Stilt ........ 382 Family SCOLOPACIDiE. Snipes, Sandpipers, etc. . . 385 Subfamily SCOLOPACIN^E. Woodcocks and Snipes 385 Scolopax rusticola. European Woodcock ........ 385 Rubicola minor. Woodcock ........... 385 Gallinago delicata. Wilson's Snipe 391 Subfamily CANUTINyE. Sandpipers and Godwits 395 Limnodromus griseus griseus. Dowitcher ........ 396 Limnodromus griseus scolopaceus. Long-billed Dowitcher 398 Micropalama himantopus. Stilt Sandpiper 400 Calidris canutus. Knot 402 Arquatella maritima maritima. Purple Sandpiper - . 404 Pisobia maculata. Pectoral Sandpiper . 406 Pisobia fuscicollis. White-rumped Sandpiper ........ 408 Pisobia bairdi. Baird's Sandpiper 410 Pisobia minutilla. Least Sandpiper 412 Pelidna alpina alpina. Dunlin 414 Pelidna alpina sakhalina. Red-backed Sandpiper . 416 Erolia ferruginea. Curlew Sandpiper . . 417 Ereunetes pusillus. Semipalmated Sandpiper 419 Ereunetes mauri. Western Sandpiper 422 Crocethia alba. Sanderling 423 Limosa fedoa. Marbled Godwit . 427 Limosa hsemastica. Hudsonian Godwit ......... 429 Philomachus pugnax. Ruff . . . . . . . . . . .431 Tryngites subruficollis. Buff-breasted Sandpiper 433 Subfamily NUMENIIN.E. Tattlers and Curlews 435 Totanus melanoleucus. Greater Yellow-legs 435 Totanus flavipes. Yellow-legs . . . . . . . . . . 438 Tringa solitaria solitaria. Solitary Sandpiper . . . ... . . . 440 Catoptrophorus semipalmatus semipalmatus. Willet 443 Catoptrophorus semipalmatus inornatus. Western Willet 445 Bartramia longicauda. Upland Plover ......... 447 Actitis macularia. Spotted Sandpiper ......... 450 Numenius americanus. Long-billed Curlew . . . . . . . . 453 Numenius hudsonicus. Hudsonian Curlew ........ 455 Numenius borealis. Eskimo Curlew ......... 457 Family CHARADRIID^. Plovers 459 Squatarola squatarola cynosurae. American Black-bellied Plover .... 459 Pluvialis dominica dominica. Golden Plover . . . . . . . . 462 Oxyechus vociferus. Killdeer ........... 465 Charadrius semipalmatus. Semipalmated PloVer 468 Xiv CONTENTS PAGE Charadrius melodus. Piping Plover 470 Pagolla wilsonia wilsonia. Wilson's Plover ........ 473 Podasocys montanus. Mountain Plover ......... 474 Family APHRIZID^. Surf Birds and Turnstones 476 Subfamily ARENARIIN.E. Turnstones . . ' . . . . . . .476 Arenaria interpres interpres. Turnstone ......... 476 Arenaria interpres morinella. Ruddy Turnstone 478 Family ILEMATOPODID,E. Oyster-catchers 479 Haematopus palliatus. Oyster-catcher ......... 479 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PLATES Plate 1. Plate 2. Plate 3. Plate 4. Plate 5. land Gull Plate 6. Gull Plate 7. Plate 8. Least Tern ................ Plate 9. Leach's Petrel — Wilson's Petrel — Sooty Shearwater — Greater Shearwater — Cory's Shearwater — Fulmar Plate 10. Cormorant — Double-crested Cormorant — Gannet ..... Hooded Merganser — Red-breasted Merganser — Merganser .... Mallard — Black Duck — Red-legged Black Duck — Gadwall Baldpate — European Widgeon — Green-winged Teal — European Teal — Blue Horned Grebe — Holbcell's Grebe — Pied-billed Grebe Red-throated Loon — Loon .......... Black Guillemot — Puffin — Razor-billed Auk — Dovekie — Brunnich's Murre Long-tailed Jaeger — Parasitic Jaeger — Pomarine Jaeger — Skua . Great Black-backed Gull — Glaucous Gull — Kittiwake — Kumlien's Gull — Ice Herring Gull — Ring-billed Gull — Sabine's Gull — Bonaparte's Gull — Laughing Black Skimmer — Sooty Tern — Caspian Tern — Royal Tern .... Arctic Tern — Roseate Tern — Forster's Tern — Common Tern — Black Tern — FACES PAGE 2 16 30 50 Plate 11. Plate 12. Plate 13. winged Teal Plate 14. Plate 15. Duck . Plate 16. Plate 17. Plate 18. Plate 19. Plate 20. Plate 21. Plate 22. Wood Duck — American Pintail — Shoveller . Canvas-back — Redhead — Lesser Scaup Duck Scaup Duck — Ring-necked 58 72 96 104 134 152 174 190 202 218 232 246 260 272 284 292 306 Old-squaw — Buffle-head — Golden-eye — Barrow's Golden-eye . King Eider — Northern Eider — Harlequin Duck — Eider .... American Scoter — White-winged Scoter — Surf Scoter — Ruddy Duck White-fronted Goose — Greater Snow Goose — Blue Goose .... Whistling Swan — Canada Goose — Brant — Black Brant .... American Bittern — Green Heron — Least Bittern — Glossy Ibis — Cory's Bittern Great Blue Heron — American Egret — Black-crowned Night Heron — Snowy Egret — Little Blue Heron 324 Plate 23. King Rail — Virginia Rail — Yellow Rail — Black Rail — Clapper Rail — Sora . 352 Plate 24. Coot — Red Phalarope — Purple Gallinule — Florida Gallinule — Wilson's Phalarope — Northern Phalarope 364 Plate 25. Woodcock — Wilson's Snipe — Dowitcher 384 Plate 26. Purple Sandpiper — Knot — Stilt Sandpiper — Pectoral Sandpiper . . . 400 Plate 27. Red-backed Sandpiper — Baird's Sandpiper — White-rumped Sandpiper . . 410 Plate 28. Semipalmated Sandpiper — Sanderling — Least Sandpiper 418 Plate 29. Hudsonian Curlew — Long-billed Curlew — Eskimo Curlew — Marbled Godwit — Hudsonian Godwit 426 Plate 30. Spotted Sandpiper — Solitary Sandpiper — Greater Yellow-legs — Yellow-legs . 436 XVI LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FACES PAGE Plate 31. Willet — Upland Plover — Western Willet — Buff-breasted Sandpiper . . . 442 Plate 32. Oystercatcher — Killdeer — ■ American Black-bellied Plover — American Golden Plover 458 Plate 33. Ruddy Turnstone — Wilson's Plover — Piping Plover — Semipalmated Plover . 468 FIGURES Fig. 1. Pied-billed Grebe on Nest 12 Fig. 2. Nest and Eggs of Loon 12 Fig. 3. Young Ivory Gull 60 Fig. 4. Gull-billed Tern on Eggs 60 Fig. 5. Young Herring Gulls 78 Fig. 6. Nest of Herring Gull 78 Fig. 7. Head of Laughing Gull 86 Fig. 8. Head of Franklin's Gull 86 Fig. 9. Primaries of Laughing Gull and of Franklin's Gull 86 Fig. 10. Head of Male Masked Duck 86 Fig. 11. Head of Female Masked Duck 86 Fig. 12. Young Roseate Tern 118 Fig. 13. Nest of Common Tern 118 Fie. 14. Young Least Tern 122 Fig. 15. Eggs of Least Tern 122 Fig. 16. Pintado Petrel or Cape Pigeon 138 Fig. 17. Black-capped Petrel 138 Fig. 18. Male, Female and Young of Booby 154 Fig. 19. Head of Man-o '-war-bird 154 Fig. 20. White Pelican 164 Fig. 21. Brown Pelican . 164 Fig. 22. Sheld Duck 216 Fig. 23. Nest of Black Duck 216 Fig. 24. Nest and Eggs of Canada Goose 296 Fig. 25. Nest and Eggs of Brant 296 Fig. 26. Head of Wood Ibis 312 Fig. 27. White Ibis 312 Fig. 28. Green Heron and Nest 334 Fig. 29. Yellow-crowned Night Heron and Nest 334 Fig. 30. Young Woodcocks 390 Fig. 31. Nest of Woodcock 390 Fig. 32. Curlew Sandpiper ............ 432 Fig. 33. Ruff 432 Fig. 34. Eggs of Piping Plover in situation . . . 466 Fig. 35. Nest and Eggs of Killdeer 466 CUTS IN THE TEXT PAGE Map showing courses of six storm centers connected with incursions of southern birds into New England ................ xx Map showing places of recovery of young Night Herons banded at Barnstable .... xxiv Topography of a duck showing terms used in describing birds in this volume .... xxix LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XV11 PAGE Topography of outer or upper surface of spread wing of a shore bird ..... xxx Topography of inner or under surface of wing . . . . . . . . . xxx Method of measuring length, folded wing and tarsus xxxi Method of measuring bill .............. xxxi Method of measuring tail .............. xxxi Foot of grebe 3 Downy young of Pied-billed Grebe 11 Foot of Loon 16 Downy young of Loon 18 Pacific Loon 26 Downy young Black Guillemot .36 Head of Murre 38 Head of Brunnich's Murre 38 Position of Brunnich's Murre under water ........... 41 Diagram showing position and progress of Brunnich's Murre under water and position of ob- server .................. 42 Forward stroke and back stroke of Razor-billed Auk . . . . . . . . .44 Attitudes of young Herring Gulls 76 Downy young of Laughing Gull ............ 83 Head of adult Little Gull in breeding plumage . . . . . . . . . .91 Head of young Little Gull 91 Head of Sterna sandvicensis sandvicensis . . . . , . . . . . . . 101 Downy young of Common Tern 106 Terns fishing ................ 108 Common Tern from nestling to last stage of the down Ill Half-grown Least Tern "hiding" . . . . . . . . . . . .124 Young Least Terns with their mother ........... 125 The first meal — young Least Tern . . . . . . . . . . . .125 Bill of merganser ............... 175 Foot of river duck 190 Downy young of Black Duck 196 Axillars of Baldpate and axillars of European Widgeon 202 Downy young of Wood Duck . 226 Foot of sea duck 231 Bills of Eiders 263 Movements and positions of Ruddy Duck under water . . . . . . . . 282 Head of Barnacle Goose 301 Head of Whistling Swan, and outlines of bill and forehead seen from above .... 303 Head of Trumpeter Swan, and outlines of bill and forehead seen from above .... 305 Night Herons in the tree-tops ............. 338 Young Night Herons beginning to climb ........... 339 The goal of the climbers — young Night Herons ......... 339 The use of the head in climbing under difficulties — - young Night Heron ..... 339 Result of inexperience in climbing — young Night Heron ........ 340 Whooping Crane ............... 345 Head of Little Brown Crane ............. 347 Sandhill Crane 349 Corn Crake 363 Xviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Foot of Coot 369 Foot of Red Phalarope 373 Foot of Northern Phalarope 375 Foot of Wilson's Phalarope 377 Avocet ... . .380 Black-necked Stilt 383 Tail of Pectoral Sandpiper ............. 407 Tail of Baird's Sandpiper „ 411 Foot of Semipalmated Sandpiper ............ 419 Downy young of Spotted Sandpiper . . . . . . . . . . . .451 Axillars and first primary of Long-billed Curlew ......... 453 Axillars and first primary of Hudsonian Curlew ......... 455 Axillars and first primary of Eskimo Curlew .......... 457 Downy young Killdeer .............. 466 Downy young Piping Plover ............. 471 Piping Plover, young and egg ............. 472 Young Piping Plovers leaving nest ............ 472 Head of Mountain Plover 475 INTRODUCTION When the task of preparing a work on the birds of Massachusetts was undertaken, the fact became apparent at once that practically all the birds of New England must be included. There are very few species recorded in New England which have not been taken in Massachusetts and these few are mere accidental visitors. A glance at the map of New England shows that Massachusetts lies directly across the region and is contiguous to every other state except Maine, the southwestern boundary of which is only about fifteen miles from the northeastern border of Massachusetts. Migratory birds passing through New England in their northward and southward flights naturally go through or over Massachusetts and many of them remain for a time within her borders. The long outreaching arm of Cape Cod extends farther out to sea than any other of the outlying coasts of these states. Many water-birds cross it or land upon it, and seabirds from far- away islands and waters are likely to be blown there by hurricanes. Many shore-birds, which in their autumnal migrations reach South America largely by sea, are deflected and driven on the Massachusetts coast by such storms. The so-called West Indian hurricanes that occasionally move northward near the Atlantic coast of the United States are so violent as to carry birds many hundreds of miles. If one of these gales occurs at a time when birds are migrating over waters lying in its course, it is likely to be followed by the appearance along our coast of birds rarely seen there. The following notes regarding the relation of West Indian hurricanes to irruptions of birds from the south were prepared for this volume by Mr. James Mackaye : " Southern storms coming up the Atlantic coast from the Gulf region are of the usual revolving type, but are divided into two classes : (1) storms which are part of the general west-east drift of cyclonic areas, and (2) West Indian hurricanes which are unique in movement and usually in violence. These last originate normally eastward of the Gulf of Mexico, moving at first from east to west, and then as a rule recurve in a wide sweep and pass out in a northeasterly direction over the Atlantic. Their tracks are sometimes far at sea, sometimes close to the coast, and sometimes partly over the land. "Prof. E. B. Garriott, in his monograph on 'West Indian Hurricanes' (Bulletin H of the Weather Bureau) lists 95 such hurricanes between the years 1878 and 1900 inclusive, distributed throughout the year as follows : Month Number May 1 June 3 July 3 August 25 September 25 October 32 November 3 December 3 Total 95 XX INTRODUCTION Map showing courses of six storm centers connected with incursions of southern birds into New England. Dates indicate time of nearest approach of centers to Massachusetts. INTRODUCTION XXI Of these storms 76 recurved in the manner described, making an average of three or four hurricanes a year (mostly in late summer or autumn) traveling along or near the Atlantic coast. "Examination of the records of southern birds * to be found in this volume discloses five fairly definite incursions into New England or vicinity since the organization of the Weather Bureau. These were in 1876, 1878, 1879, 1893 and 1924. "The map shows the paths of the storms most closely connected with these five sudden invasions, and the table shows the correlation (in time) between the several storms and the corresponding incursions. It will be observed that, with the exception of the invasion of the Glossy Ibis in May, 1878, all were probably due to West Indian hurricanes. That particular spring irruption was doubtless caused either by the storm of April 5, which closely resembled a West Indian hurricane in its characteristics, or by the abnormally moving storm of May 5, combined with the south winds which prevailed all along the coast for some days previous to that date — most likely to the latter. "The extraordinary flight of Killdeers in November, 1888, referred to on page 467, was closely connected with the most violent of the three November hurricanes recorded by Garriott, and the only one which, on account of its severity, he singles out for special description as an example of the violent action and stress of such storms. He says : ' On the morning of the 27th of November the center was just off the New England coast ; on the afternoon of the same day it had passed into Maine,' l and 'on the after- noon of . . . November 28 . . . several flocks of Killdeer were seen ... on the extreme point of Cape Elizabeth, Maine. ... On the following day . . . hundreds of the Plovers were to be seen along the shores of the Cape.' 2 "During this storm, which caused losses of millions of dollars, a barometric pressure below 29 inches was recorded, and a wind velocity of 84 miles an hour. "The only (two) definite records of the very rare Man-o-war-bird contained in this volume were unmistakably associated with severe storms. In October, 1876, a normally moving storm coming from the west-southwest developed high winds along the coast, and snow fell as far south as North Carolina. On the 15th the storm center reached Nova Scotia and the Halifax Man-o-war-bird f was taken on the 16th. On October 14, 1893, the center of a West Indian hurricane passed over Buffalo, N. Y., the nearest point of its passage to Massachusetts, and the New Bedford Man-o-war-bird f was taken October 17th. "That the severity of a storm is an important factor in bringing birds from the South is indicated by many facts cited elsewhere in this volume,3 and also by the fact that the hurricanes of September, 1876 and August, 1879 and 1893, which presumably brought the irruptions of those years, are among the limited number cited by Garriott as 'important/ * By southern birds are meant such as breed in the South. 1 Garriott, E. B. : "West Indian Hurricanes," Bulletin H, Weather Bureau, 1900, p. 41. a Brown, Nathan Clifford : Auk. Vol. VI, 1889, p. 69. fSeep. 172. 3 See pages 127, 131, 132, 144, 171, 172. XXII INTRODUCTION from their severity and destructive effects on life and property. The April storm of 1878 was not classed by Garriott as a hurricane, and the August hurricane of 1924 oc- curred much later than his publication. That both were violent, however, the latter notably so, is well attested by the records. The incursion of the Glossy Ibis in 1850 * and the accompanying great storm are not included in this summary because they occurred before the establishment of the Weather Bureau." Relation between Storms and Incursions op Southern Birds into New England and Vicinity since 1876. Date of Arrival op Storm Center At Point Nearest to Massachusetts Date, Place and Species op First Bird Recorded in Incursion Species op Southern Birds Re- ' corded During Incursion Sept. 18, 1876 Sept. 20, 1876 Granby, Conn. Sooty Tern1 Sooty Tern April 5, 1878 or t May 5, 1878 May 4, 1878 Eastham Glossy Ibis Glossy Ibis Aug. 18, 1879 Aug. 19, 1879 Sandwich, Woods Hole Black Skimmer Black Skimmer t Aug. 29, 1893 Aug. 28, 1893 Oneida Lake, N. Y. Black-capped Petrel Black-capped Petrel Black Skimmer Aug. 26, 1924 Aug. 26, 1924 Nantucket Black Skimmer Black Skimmer Sooty Tern Oyster-catcher The exact manner in which these great disturbances bring southern birds to our shores must be largely a matter of conjecture, but from the known facts regarding the progress of the storms some assumptions may be made. These hurricanes, moving north as they do, naturally carry with them any birds flying in their path. It may be assumed theoretically that the influence of such great disturb- ances on southern sea-birds is exerted in the following manner: The wind revolves around the storm center in a direction opposite to the course of the hands of a watch held in a horizontal position. The effect of this revolving gale is felt at a great distance from * See pages 310, 311. lSage, Bishop & Bliss: Birds of Connecticut, 1913, p. 24. t In comparing these dates with those adjoining in column 2 it should be borne in mind that at any given latitude the high winds caused by northward moving storms begin to blow before the arrival of the storm centers at that latitude. INTRODUCTION XXlii the center, and the wind velocity is said to reach at times over 100 miles an hour at sea. Probably no bird can long face a gale blowing 60 to 70 miles an hour. As the storm center at sea usually moves first toward the Atlantic coast north of the Caribbean sea, birds flying over waters that lie south of the center but at some distance from it and under the full influence of the gale would be carried first eastward out to sea, then northward and finally as the storm center moved north along the coast would be driven in from the southeast, east or northeast upon the shore, provided they lived to reach it. Others nearer the storm center might be carried more than once around it before reaching land. Birds migrating at or near the center of the disturbance probably would be caught in the tremendous upward draught there, and might be carried to great heights. Only birds of powerful flight would be likely to withstand the storm, and small land birds driven to sea by one of these hurricanes probably would never see land again. Sea-birds caught near the surface by hurricanes are sometimes crumpled up and driven into the sea. In many cases birds cast ashore during these storms are completely exhausted, and in some cases many die of exhaustion after they reach the shore. Such storms probably account for most of the accidental occurrences of sea-birds on the coasts of Massachusetts. Northward movements of storm-driven southern birds should not be confused with migratory flights of birds that move north commonly in summer from their nesting places. Birds have a tendency to wander after the nesting season, and although the general trend of migration then is southward, many birds are prone to move first in various directions. It is at this season that certain birds are most likely to appear north of their breeding-grounds. Some of the herons apparently regularly do this. For example : Little Blue Herons and Egrets in small numbers go far north of their breeding places after their nesting time. Black-crowned Night Herons also show a tendency to move- ment in that direction and specimens have been taken three or four hundred miles north of their known breeding place. The map (page xxiv) and the data given with it show in part the movements of banded and identified birds from a Night Heronry in Barnstable. Massachusetts is diversified in physical features which range from the sandy shores and dunes of Cape Cod, Essex and Ipswich to the fertile fields of the Connecticut Valley, and from the rocky coast of the North Shore to the high forested hills of Berkshire County in its extreme western area. Its natural features provide suitable feeding places and (in many cases) breeding-grounds for birds that can live in any part of New England. Birds that rarely breed north of southern Connecticut sometimes come up the Connecticut Valley into Massachusetts ; birds that breed in northern Maine pass through Massachu- setts in migration or come here in winter. Most of the water birds and shore birds breed outside of New England. As the present volume deals only with such birds, we are now concerned chiefly with their haunts while in migration, namely : the water, swamp, marsh and shore areas. Therefore the life zones of New England birds will not be treated here, but will be given in the introduction to the second volume. New England is blessed with a very extensive shore line. Including her island coasts and all the various indentations in her shores, the coast line measures about 2,372 miles. XXIV INTRODUCTION MAP SHOWING PLACES WHERE BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERONS WERE RECOVERED.* Birds banded in June, 1923 (marked with round dots) Aug. 17, 1923 East Deering, Me. Aug. 22, 1923 New Holland, Pa. Aug. 27, 1923 Napanooh, N. Y. Aug. 29, 1923 Newburyport, Mass. Aug. 31, 1923 Montpelier.Vt. Sept. 1, 1923 Oka, P. Q., Can. Sept. 9, 1923 Quebec, P. Q., Can. Sept. 26, 1923 Springvale, Me. Oct. 9, 1923 Swansboro, N. C. Nov. 1, 1923 Amherst Is., Ont., Can. Nov. 15, 1923 Mathews, La. Nov. — , 1923 Hanover, Ja- maica, W. I Dec. 25, 1923 Lee County, 1 D..--T" Fla. \ / Birds banded in June, 1924 \ 1 t h — r (marked with square dots) i / July 24, 1924 Mashpee, Mass. ^ i Aug. 3, 1924 Harrison, Me. Aug. 8, 1924 Sandwich, Mass. i J /\ Aug. 21, 1924 Lewistown, Pa. i vr" — V Aug. 22, 1924 Albany, N. Y. i L"" Aug. 26, 1924 Van Bruyssel, P. Q., Can. Sept. 1, 1924 Laconia, N. H. Sept. 14, 1924 Ipswich, Mass. Sept. 29, 1924 Bois Blanc, P. Q., Can. Nov. 5, 1924 Erie, Mich. Nov. 17, 1924 Key West, Fla- Nov. 29, 1924 Moore Haven, Fla. Nov. 30, 1924 Inverness, Fla. Dec. 10, 1924 Valona, Ga. — , 1924 Sutton Jet., P. Q., Can. Jan. 1, 1925 Back Bay, Va. Jan. 13, 1925 Back Bay, Va. The birds were banded as nestlings at Barnstable, Massachusetts, in 1923 and 1924, by members of the Northeastern Bird Banding Association. The location of the heronry is in the center of the circle at the right. * The recovery of a banded bird means the taking of the bird at some locality other than that at which it was banded. INTRODUCTION XXV New England is a well watered country. A late atlas maps 4,926 streams and 3,967 lakes and ponds. In addition to these there are very many small streams, " pond holes," "sloughs," and pools that do not appear on any map of the region. Also in spring, when water-fowl are migrating northward, the water surface is often much augmented by the flooding of swamps, river meadows and low fields, and there are thousands of rain-water or snow-water pools in low spots in pastures and fields which may attract wild-fowl. In late summer, the season of drought, the lowering waters uncover flats and bars in lakes and rivers and thus expose feeding-grounds for shore birds. Along the coasts of New England there are many extensive salt-marshes and flats which are bared daily by the recession of the tides. There are also many pools and tidal streams in these marshes and on these flats which contain at times an abundant food supply for both marsh and aquatic birds. In the lower river valleys much marshland borders the streams, and both on the coastal plain and in the interior former shallow lakes and ponds have, in the course of time, filled with growing and decaying vegetation, and now form wooded swamps or sedgy marshes attractive to marsh birds. Nature therefore has provided bountifully for her feathered children of the shores, waters and marshes, and if New England has not now an adequate supply of water-birds in their seasons it is the fault of the inhabitants, who, with their neighbors to the north and south, have reduced the numbers of these fowls and driven them away by wanton and continuous persecution and slaughter. We have only to turn to the records left us by some of the chroniclers of early exploration and settlement in Massachusetts to learn of the myriads of swans, geese, brants, ducks, shore birds and marsh birds that once flocked in their seasons along our coasts. Undoubtedly the principal inland waters also teemed with them, and though our modern civilization will never see such sights again, there has been considerable increase under recent pro- tective laws, and conservation methods may, in time, greatly multiply the numbers of these birds. The coastline of New England and the larger river valleys running north and south are great highways for the migrations of water birds. Many birds in their northward flight pass along the coast on the way to their boreal breeding-grounds. Some, like the Brant, follow the shore to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and then strike across the country to Hudson Bay and so on to the Arctic regions. Others fly along the coast only until they reach the rivers of Maine and then turn northward up the river valleys and through the lake regions. Still others veer to the north near where the Connecticut shore bends eastward and so pass up the valley of the Hudson or that of the Connecticut. Lake Champlain, a part of the Hudson River route, lies largely in Vermont and is responsible for bringing many water birds into that state ; but the Connecticut Valley is the principal inland highway of bird migration lying within the New England states. Passing as it does through western Massachusetts, it is of particular interest to the Massachusetts ornithologist. The river from source to mouth runs 360 miles to the sea, traversing the entire length of two states, between which it forms the boundary, and crossing two more, thus becomes XXVi INTRODUCTION the chief waterway of New England.1 The general direction of its flow is slightly west of south. The valley is bounded by many landmarks ; high hills on either hand serve to mark the way, with the winding, shining river ever in view. The Merrimack River in New Hampshire and the Androscoggin, Kennebec, Penobscot, St. Croix, St. John and Allegash in Maine together with the Maine lakes offer other routes by which water birds may reach the Canadian provinces. It is unfortunate for those who delight in field study of birds that many people living in the interior know so little about the water birds. These birds are not so common or accessible inland as land birds, and constant persecution has made them shy, but on most of the larger lakes and rivers as well as on smaller bodies of water some of them may be found in their seasons, and there are now a considerable number of lakes or reservoirs which are public reservations where shooting is not allowed. In such places water birds soon become comparatively unsuspicious and may be rather closely approached. On most large bodies of water in retired situations, some of these birds may be watched with binoculars or a telescope during the seasons of migration. Thus far this introduction has dealt with New England as a country fitted for the sojourn of water birds, and both the usual and extraordinary conditions which favor their occurrence here. It now remains to give some explanation of the plan of the book itself. The technical names of birds used in this volume are mainly those of the Third Edition of the Check-List of North American Birds issued by the American Ornithologists' Union and the various supplements thereto published later in The Auk. The syno- nyms given in the vernacular under the heading "Other Names" are chiefly such as are used in New England. In the descriptions the forms used by the eminent American ornithologists, Baird, Coues and Ridgway, have been largely followed. Technical verbiage has been omitted, however, as far as possible, in order that the ordinary reader may be able to understand the terms used without reference to the dictionary. A few terms, such as " primaries" and "secondaries" have been used as a matter of convenience. These are explained by cuts appended to the Introduction (see pages xxix and xxx). The descriptions are abridged to save space. Most of them have been compared with many specimens and prepared in such a way as to allow for a certain amount of individual variation. It has been impossible in the limited space allowed to describe all fixed and transitory stages of plumage, or to give complete descriptions in all cases, but it is hoped that those given will be sufficient, in connection with the illustrations, to enable the novice to identify most species. In certain cases, especially where young birds of different species or indi- viduals of different races closely resemble one another, the services of an expert ornithol- ogist will be required to distinguish them. This is unavoidable. The measurements of birds were obtained from all convenient available sources, in- » Bagg, A. C. : The Connecticut Valley — a Highway for Bird Migration. Auk, Vol. XL, 1923, pp. 256-275. INTRODUCTION XXvii eluding a large number of specimens, with the intention of approximating in most cases maximum and minimum measurements of each species. The term "nuptial plumage" as used in this volume denotes a plumage worn during the mating season, but partially molted later in the breeding season, as in most ducks, cormorants and a few species of terns. In most adult ducks the full winter and spring plumage and the nuptial plumage are the same in most cases, while the eclipse plumage is assumed in summer. Male eiders in high plumage have a peculiar development of two outer tertials or inner secondaries, the end of the vane being much expanded and its shape changed. Probably this is found only during the nuptial season. This plumage is depicted on plate 17, while only the winter plumage is described, as that is the dress usually seen in New England. No specimens with the perfected tertials were available for description. The term "breeding plumage" indicates a plumage worn during the entire breeding season (including breeding and upbringing of young), as in most terns, gulls and many other birds. Some terns, however, have a full black cap in the nuptial season, a part of which is lost during the breeding season. In such cases the full black cap indicates nuptial plumage. The colors of the soft parts of birds (bills, eyes, ceres, feet, etc.) are very variable. These colors may vary according to sex, and change from time to time with age and season. Some tints change immediately after death. The descriptions recorded by ornithologists differ widely regarding these colors. Some of these descriptions were taken from living birds in various stages, others from dead birds, and many from dried skins in which the colors of soft parts rarely approximate those of the living birds. Cor- rect descriptions of these colors and their variations would require study of the living birds for a long series of years. The author has been guided in his statements regarding these colors by his own observations and notes, by the notes of collectors and ornithologi- cal artists, especially those of Mr. L. A. Fuertes, who makes the colored drawings for the work, and by the descriptions of the most eminent and trustworthy ornithologists ; but information from all these sources is still inadequate. It was impossible to supply fully the demand for information about the molts of birds. Comparatively few people have made a study of this subject, and such knowledge as we have has come largely from exami- nations of dried skins of birds in museums. Unfortunately in American museums there are not enough specimens showing molt to enable one to complete the study, and there is so much individual variation in the matter of dates when molting begins or ends and the ages at which the young arrive at full maturity, that the facts are rather obscure and difficult to ascertain. Authorities differ more or less in statements regarding these mat- ters. The trapping and banding of birds, a comparatively new method of research in ornithology, provides a great opportunity for the study of molts by repeated examinations of the same individuals among living wild birds. To assist the student, some of the most striking or readily discernible colors or markings of each species have been treated briefly in this volume under the head of "Field Marks." In studying birds afield a knowledge of the notes and calls of the different species is as xxviii INTRODUCTION useful as an acquaintance with field marks. Syllables supposed to represent the more common vocal utterances of birds have been assembled in this volume under the heading of "Voice." Such transcriptions of birds' utterances leave much to be desired, and in most cases owe something to the imagination of the persons recording them, as different listeners often record the same notes in dissimilar words or syllables ; but when properly rendered vocally they will resemble in a greater or less degree the actual calls or cries of the birds, and may serve, together with the field marks, to fix both the identity of the bird and the sound of its notes in the mind of the observer. Usually it is impossible to record more than a few of the commonly heard calls of each species. There are many low or soft notes that rarely are heard by human ears. As hereinbefore stated, most of the birds described in this volume do not breed in New England ; therefore the record of their breeding is in most cases brief and perfunctory. It has not been possible to ascertain the period of incubation of some or to procure certain other data in regard to them. No measurements of eggs were taken, but their dimensions are those given by standard authorities and collectors. These measurements are not given always in uniform order, but are transcribed in each case in the original form. The ranges are based upon those given in the Check-List of the American Ornitholo- gists' Union (Third Edition, 1910), but are modified by later information which brings them more nearly up to date, and are corrected to conform to changes in names and boundaries in Canadian territory — northern or northeastern Manitoba, for example, now is substituted in most cases for central Keewatin. Our knowledge of the geographic distribution of birds is very far from complete. Birds are great wanderers, and stragglers may appear at times at points very far from their regular habitats. The ranges as now recorded in unsettled regions are dependent not so much on the actual distribution of birds as on the distribution or wanderings of ornithologists. Our practical knowledge of the occurrence of birds in Arctic regions is derived from the explorations of very few persons, and we know little of the distribution of water-birds in northern Canada and much of South America. Doubtless the ranges of many species will be far better known in future years. Information regarding the season during which each species may be found in Massa- chusetts was obtained in part from published records but mainly from notes furnished by a considerable number of observers. The dates are so arranged as to show as far as possible the seasons when the species may be reasonably expected here ; extreme dates and seasons when the species is rare are given in parentheses. The seasons in most cases will correspond more or less closely (according to distance) with the seasons of the same species in the other New England states. Under "Haunts and Habits" is given as much of the biography of each bird, particu- larly during its sojourn with us, as space allows, including some items in respect to food and migrations. Under "Economic Status" there is transcribed, as is required by the Act authorizing INTRODUCTION XXIX the preparation of the work, some account of the utility of orders, families and species. Where little is known of the economic status of the species, reference usually is made to the page on which the economic status of the family is given. In connection with the distribution of birds, a number of comparative terms are used to describe the numerical status of a bird in different regions or localities. These terms graduate from "accidental" to " very abundant" in the following order : (1) Accidental, (2) Casual, (3) Occasional, (4) Very rare, (5) Rare, (6) Uncommon, (7) Not uncommon, (8) Common, (9) Very common, (10) Abundant, (11) Very abundant. "Accidental" and "casual" have similar meanings according to the dictionary, but as used in this volume they describe different degrees of rarity. Here the word "accidental" denotes a purely fortuitous occurrence, when the bird appears far outside the ordinary range of the species, while the word "casual" denotes a less rare appearance, occurring usually in migration outside of the regular migration route. Many descriptive terms used in this work are explained by the cuts that follow. A glossary of terms together with a bibliography and an index of all three parts will be appended to the last volume. fToslril mi Inner- loe. STlddlc loe Outer toe. Topography of a duck showing terms used in describing birds in this volume. XXX INTRODUCTION Flight feathers Topography of outer or upper surface of spread wing of a shore bird. 'Under- primary coverts First {outer) prirrtary Axi liars or Ax.illa.ries Topography of inner or under surface of wing. INTRODUCTION XXXI . Length Method of measuring length, folded wing and tarsus. The bird should be extended full length upon the back, without stretching, upon the ruler or steel tape. The wing measurement may be taken by pressing the wing flat upon a ruler, or by measuring along the outer surface of wing with a steel tape measure. The spread is taken by spreading the wings to full extent upon a flat surface, placing a mark at the tip of each wing and then measuring the distance. For reasons readily seen in practice this measure- ment is not very reliable. Bill Method of measuring the bill from its tip to the feathers of the forehead. This is the length of the bill (the chord of the culmen or ridge). All bills of specimens treated in this volume are so measured unless it is otherwise stated under the measurements of a species. Some ornithologists measure bills with a tape carried along the culmen or ridge. In birds with hooked bills this method considerably increases the measurement. Tail Method of measuring the tail. One point of the dividers is placed between the roots of the two middle tail feathers and pressed to the skin, while the other touches the tip of the longest tail feather. BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS CLASS AVBS BIRDS Birds as a class have a close affinity to reptiles from which they are believed to have developed. Birds are distinguished from all other animals by their feathers which are modified scales. The Class Aves has been divided into toothed and toothless birds, all of the former being long extinct and known to us only by their fossilized remains. Some so-called modern birds have toothed bills, but no real teeth. Sub-Class Carinatce : Keel-Breasted, Toothless Birds The birds of today are divided into two sub-classes : Ratitce, or raft-breasted, toothless birds, which includes flightless species like the Ostrich which have no keel to the breast bone, and Carinatce, or keel-breasted toothless birds, which have a thin keel-like projec- tion in the middle of the breast bone, to which the powerful breast muscles which help to move the wings are attached. No species of the sub-class Ratitce are native to North America ; all North American species belong to the Carinatce. According to the classification adopted by the American Ornithologists' Union, the Carinatas are divided into the following sixteen Orders: Pygopodes (Diving Birds), Longipennes (Long- winged swimmers), Tubinares (Tube-nosed swimmers), Steganopodes (Totipalmate swimmers), Anseres (Lamellirostral swimmers), Odontoglossa (Lamelliros- tral waders), Herodiones (Herons, Storks, Ibises, etc.), Paludicolce (Cranes, Rails, etc.), Limicolce (Shore Birds), Gallinos (Gallinaceous Birds), Columbce (Pigeons and Doves), Raptores (Birds of Prey), Psittaci (Parrots, Macaws, Paroquets, etc.), Coccyges (Cuckoos, etc.), Pici (Woodpeckers, Wrynecks, etc.), Macrochires (Goatsuckers, Swifts, etc.) and Passeres (Perching Birds). This last great order includes over half of all known birds. All these orders with the exception of Odontoglossce and Psittaci are represented among the birds of Massachusetts. 1 2 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Order PYGOPODES. Diving Birds. Number of species in North America 32; in Massachusetts 11. Birds of this order are formed especially for diving and swimming under water. Their bony framework is long and extends backward, enclosing the internal organs in such a way that they are protected from extreme pressure of water at great depths. The name of the order is derived from two Greek words signifying that the feet are attached to the hind parts. The legs are placed so far back and so buried in the body (in most species of this order) that the birds, when walking on land, are obliged to stand nearly erect. Most of them sit in this posture, squatting on the feet and tarsi, or else lie down, resting on the breast. Locomotion on land is ordinarily slow and difficult, but most species can move rapidly for a short distance when obliged to reach water. The toes are either webbed or lobed ; the tarsi more or less flattened. The wings are comparatively short, never reach- ing, when folded, to the end of the tail (which is either very short and of many feathers or merely rudimentary), and are used at times, with or without the feet, in progression beneath the surface. This under-water wing action may be employed either habitually or only occasionally to assist a bird in escaping from its enemies or in pursuing its speedy prey. The food of these birds consists largely of fish and other aquatic animal life, supplemented to some extent in many cases by aquatic vegetation. The Pygopodes, owing to their shortness of wing, find it difficult or even impossible to rise from a level land-surface ; when once in the air, however, most of them fly rapidly. The bill is hard and various in shape, but it is never widened laterally like that of ducks and geese, and is never lamellated. The plumage is dense; and when in good condition waterproof. The order is divided into two suborders. The first (Colymbi) includes grebes (Co- lymbidce) having a rudimentary tail ; the second (Cepphi) comprises loons (Gaviidce) and auks, murres and puffins (Alcidce), with tail short but fully developed. Suborder COLYMBI. Grebes. Number of species in North America 6 ; in Massachusetts 3. Family COLYMBIMI. Grebes. Number of species in North America 6 ; in Massachusetts 3. Modern systems of biologic classification present first the lowest and simplest forms. In the present work, following the system of classification adopted by the American Ornithologists' Union, the grebes come first, as among North American birds they seem to rank nearest to the reptiles from which birds sprang. Grebes can stand nearly erect upon their feet, but when stranded on land and pursued there by an enemy, both old and young progress more or less on all fours like a turtle or a lizard. In swimming under water they sometimes use both wings and feet. PLATE 1 PLATE 1 HORNED GREBE Winter Plumage Adult in Breeding Plumage HOLBCELL'S GREBE Page 4 Adult in Breeding Plumage Winter Plumage PIED-BILLED GREBE Page 11 Adult in Breeding Plumage All one-fourth natural size. ■■■■■■" ^-. GREBES 3 The characters of the family are the same as those of the suborder. Among them are the following : Body depressed or flat ; bill usually compressed, sharp-pointed, of vari- able length, either longer or shorter than head, ridge either nearly straight, a little con- cave or quite convex toward tip ; eyes far forward, with a narrow stretch of bare skin extending from each eye to the base of the upper mandible ; head usually adorned with crests or ruffs in the breeding season ; neck long and slender ; plumage compact, rather hair-like above, silky below ; when well dressed, waterproof, so that a grebe in good con- dition never gets wet to the skin ; wings short and concave with eleven developed prima- ries ; bastard quills and greater wing-coverts comparatively long ; tail rudimentary, with- out quills and practically useless ; legs so enclosed by the skin of the trunk that only the tarsi move freely ; feet especially adapted for swimming but different from those of other lobe-footed birds ; toes flattened and further widened by broad lobes, and connected in varying degrees by basal webs ; hind-toe elevated, lobed and free ; nails broad, flat and arranged on the toe somewhat like human nails. The whole foot forms a compound paddle which spreads on the back stroke and closes on the forward stroke. A vigorous grebe when held in the hand can work these paddles so fast that they seem a mere haze, like a hummingbird's wings in motion. Many birds have air-cells in various parts of their bodies which communicate with their lungs. The ability to fill these air-cells as well as the lungs and to empty them at will may account in part for the manner in which grebes and other Pygopodes are able to Foot of a Grebe sink quietly below the surface without diving, or to float partly submerged. Their power to compress the feathers and thus to expel the air from be- neath them may also assist in this manceuver — in which perhaps the feet may some- times play a part. In flight the feet extend well out behind the tail, the place of which they seem to take in steering. Grebes are among the most aquatic of birds. They may be distinguished from ducks by the narrow sharp-pointed bill, narrow head and neck, tailless aspect and lobed feet. A peculiar characteristic of this family is the habit of eating feathers. Kearton writes that his boatman on the Norfolk Broads, a capable and veracious observer, told him that the young of the Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) secure themselves on the back of the parent by seizing some of her feathers in their bills. This boatman (Alfred Nudd) once found a grebe chick with three feathers plucked from its parent's back and swallowed to the very base of their shafts. Kearton suggests that possibly thus the habit of feather- eating is formed and continued. Commonly when the stomach of a grebe is opened, many feathers are found.1 Dr. Alexander Wetmore in his "Food and Economic Relations of North American Grebes " describes the feathery mass which most grebes' stomachs contain and which consists of feathers, some of which are dislodged when preening and then devoured. He 1 Kearton, Richard : Our Rarer British Breeding Birds, 1899, p. 36. 4 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS says : "It may be suggested that the feathers act as a strainer to prevent the passage of fish-bones or large fragments of chitin into the intestine until they have been reduced to a proper size and condition by the process of digestion." J Economic Status. Feeding as they do mainly on the smaller forms of aquatic life, animal and vegetable, grebes have but slight economic importance. "The results obtained by stomach examinations show that they do not depend wholly or even chiefly on fish. On the contrary they eat a large number of crawfishes, which often severely damage crops, and they consume numbers of aquatic insects, which devour small fishes and the food of such fishes." 2 Dr. Wetmore in his Bulletin No. 1196 (already cited) also holds that the suspicion that grebes are seriously detrimental to certain valuable fishes is without actual foundation in fact. Speaking of the large Western and Hol- bcell's Grebes he says : "But on the whole they cannot be considered actually injurious, as the kinds [of fish] eaten are in most cases of little or no value to man." Colymbus holbcelli (Reinhardt). Holboell's Grebe. Other name: red-necked grebe. Plate 1. Description. — Bill straight, tapering, long and rather slender. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Sometimes seen in spring in Massachusetts. Crests short and ruffs not prominent ; forehead, top of head and back of neck, greenish-black ; back brownish-black with slight grayish or buffy edgings to many feathers; wing-coverts and primaries chocolate-brown, latter with black shafts; secondaries mainly white with black shafts mostly, and brownish tips ; some if not all specimens have lesser upper wing-coverts more or less white (see small figure in plate 1) ; linings of wings and axillars whitish ; a broad well-defined patch of bright silvery-ash on chin, upper throat and sides of head, whitening along upper and posterior edges; lower throat and front and sides of neck deep brownish-red, which pales as it extends to breast; below glossy white, shaded with silvery-ash, each feather with dark shaft-line and terminal spot, producing a dappled appearance; sides mostly blackish; lower part of base of upper mandible and most of lower, yellowish (specimens taken in middle October had upper mandible greenish-black, lower greenish-yellow) ; tarsi and feet black on outer side, dull greenish-yellow sometimes mottled with bluish on inner side; "legs and feet black" (W. L. Dawson) ; most of lower mandible orange-yellow changing to greenish-yellow on lower edge of upper mandible ; iris always bright yellow (E. W. Nelson); iris carmine (Coues). (The difference in color of iris, thus re- corded by these and other authorities, probably is due to age or season ; colors of eye, bill and feet vary.) Adults in fall and winter plumage (as seen from October to April in Massachusetts) : Some individuals show change to breeding plumage in late February or early March; crests not noticeable; red of neck replaced by brownish-ash or dusky ; chin, throat, and cheeks pale grayish, sharply defined against dusky neck ; an upright whitish spot or bar on either side of back of head ; below mainly silvery-white ; bill mostly yellowish or greenish-yellowish, ridge and tip more or less dusky ; some if not all specimens with large patch of white on upper fore wing, mainly on lesser upper wing-coverts, extending from shoulder to middle forearm; secondaries chiefly white as in breeding plumage. Young in first winter plumage: Closely resemble winter adult but colors duller and not so pure ; chin and throat whiter but usually mottled dusky ; crown browner ; neck sometimes reddish, and sharply defined pattern of head so con- 1 United States Department of Agriculture, Department Bulletin No. 1196, 1924, p. 4. 2 McAtee, W. L., and Beal, F. E. L. : United States Department of Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletin No. 497, 1912, p. 19. GREBES 5 spicuous in adults much obscured ; iris dark brown, brownish-yellow or yellow ; outside of tarsi and feet blackish, inside more or less yellow. Downy young : Considerable variation but generally black above, fading later to blackish-brown or seal-brown ; white below when first hatched ; head and neck broadly striped black and white. Measurements. — Length 18.00 to 20.75 in. ; spread 30.00 to 32.00 ; folded wing 7.00 to 8.00 ; bill 1.64 to 2.40; tarsus 1.90 to 2.50. Female smaller than male. Molts. — Young birds acquire in September first real (juvenal) plumage which retains signs of youth on head and neck, both of which show stripes of black and white, while neck is more or less reddish ; stripes disappear during fall, but often reddish tint on neck retained through winter and until first nuptial plumage is acquired (A. C. Bent) ; Mr. Bent, who has studied the plumages of Holbcell's Grebe, believes immature birds become "indistinguishable from adults" at first postnuptial molt, when bird is one year old, but is not positive that another year is not required to complete change ; the various changes of color in plumage, eyes, feet and bill seem to indicate that more than one year may be required for this species to reach full maturity — in some cases at least ; adults have partial prenuptial molt in early spring, "involving mainly head and neck," and full postnuptial molt in autumn. Field Marks. — Size less than Black Duck, much larger than other Massachusetts grebes, but much smaller than loons ; carries head horizontally like a loon ; in winter resembles Red-throated Loon, but is smaller and has no white spots on back ; neck thinner than that of any loon ; white wing-patch (which distinguishes it from loons) shows plainly in flight or when wing is flapped, but often is covered by body-feathers when wing is closed ; colors in winter similar to those of the smaller Horned Grebe, but cheeks not so shining white ; also adults have whitish upright spot toward back of head nearly surrounded by gray, which can be seen at close range (see plate 1). Voice. — Love-notes in Manitoba begin with series of loon-like wailing cries, loud and piercing at first, running off into series of short, plaintive, vibrating wails — Ah-ooo, ah-ooo, ah-ooo, ah-ah-ah-ah; sometimes end in a staccato chattering trill — whaaa, whaaa, whaaa, whaaa, whaaa, whaaa, chitter-r-r-r-r-r (A. C. Bent) ; loud trumpetings suggest cries of loon (Mrs. Lizzie T. Burt) ; coarse, prolonged, nasal quonk suggests braying of donkey (P. M. Silloway) ; an explosive kup; an exceedingly harsh note not unlike voice of angry crow but much louder ; calls given more slowly, car, car, three or four times, some- times lengthened to caar, and again broken or quavering, like c-a-a-r or c-a-a-ar (William Brewster) ; note suggested by the syllables wit'-tah not loud but rather high, the first part higher than the second (Robert J.Sim); spring call, naar-ah-haah-hah ! naar-ah-haar-hah ! naar-ah-haar-hah ! (Miss Elizabeth Dickens). Breeding. — In watery marsh or marshy lake. Nest: Built of marsh-grass, reeds, rushes, etc., usually among reeds or water brush, sometimes on muskrat house, sometimes floating, but attached to surrounding vegetation. Eggs: Generally 3 to 5, sometimes more, up to 8 ; size varying greatly, 2.10 to 2.35 by 1.25 to 1.45 in. ; ovate to narrow elongate ; whitish, bluish- or greenish-white to buff, but almost always stained and dirty. Dates: Throughout breeding range eggs found chiefly in June, and nearly all that month. Incubation: Period 22 or 23 days, when hatched in incubators (A. C. Bent). One brood yearly. Range. — North America and eastern Asia. Breeds from northeastern Siberia, northwestern Alaska, northern Mackenzie, Ungava (northern Quebec), and Hudson Strait south to northern Wash- ington, North Dakota, southwestern Minnesota and southwestern New Brunswick ; winters mainly on Atlantic and Pacific coasts from Maine, southern Ontario, southern Wisconsin and southern British Columbia south to southern California, southern Colorado, Ohio Valley, North Carolina and casually Georgia and Tennessee ; in Asia south to Japan ; recorded in winter from Pribilof and Aleutian Islands and winters along coast of northern Pacific from Alaska to Washington. Distribution in New England. — Fall and spring migrant, coast and interior, and regular winter resident coastwise; casual in winter in interior and generally rare to casual in spring and autumn on larger ponds, lakes and rivers. Season in Massachusetts. — September 10 to May 25. 6 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Haunts and Habits. A bright clear day in January, a gentle breeze, a river mouth where the rippling flood flows into the sparkling sea, a lazy swell washing gently on the bar where a herd of mottled seals is basking in the sun, Old-squaws and Golden- eyes in small parties — such a scene at Ipswich is a fit setting for the great Grebe that winters on our coasts. Here we find the bird, nearly always shy and wary, resting low in the water, its head held horizontally much like that of a loon, alert, diving "like a flash" and ready for any eventuality. Sometimes, loon-like, it floats with its head held under water while spying below for its prey. First we see it, then it has vanished ! For nearly a minute we search the face of the waters in vain, when suddenly it reappears, but at a greater distance. Now as we hold the glass on it, it disappears again so quickly that we can hardly tell how it went. Like all grebes Holboell's often dives with a sudden forward spring, but it can let itself down into the water backward either slowly or swiftly. Several observers have reported that this species when diving remains under water about fifty-five seconds. Sometimes when alarmed it exposes only enough of its head to enable it to see, while keeping its body below the surface. It can do this for long periods, swimming so slowly and gently as to escape observation. In Massachusetts Holboell's Grebe is usually the least common of the grebes, and stays mostly in wide waters where it can keep more than a gunshot from shore, but where no shooting is allowed, it becomes tame and unsuspicious. It may be seen off either rocky cliffs or sandy shores, and often is most common off isolated isles like Block Island or headlands like Nahant, where it sometimes gathers in numbers. Occasionally it is seen far out at sea. Sometimes in spring or autumn one or two individuals,, or even a small flock, may be met with in some of the larger fresh-water ponds, lakes or rivers of New England ; but otherwise the species is rather seldom seen in the interior of southern New England, except when severe cold waves freeze up the Great Lakes or other large lakes of States or Provinces to the westward in which, in ordinary seasons, many of the birds pass the winter. Such lakes are most often frozen over in February, when the winter tempera- ture of the water reaches the minimum. Then these wintering grebes must either remain to be frozen in or must climb out upon the ice where they lie helpless, as they cannot rise from the slippery surface ; or they must attempt to escape by flight from the fast-freezing lakes. In trying to reach the sea with wings unaccustomed to long flights, some become fatigued and fall or alight on the snow or ice in New England, eastern New York and New Jersey. Probably at such times individuals have fallen helpless in all the inland counties of Massachusetts, and doubtless many are never found and perish of starvation and cold. Many reach the sea but in a weakened condition. Miss Elizabeth Dickens, of Block Island, Rhode Island, informs me that in some seasons hundreds of these birds die along the shores of that island. During severe storms some are driven in from the sea and die miserably in extreme cold weather when they find no open water in the ponds. Dr. Warren tells of an instance in Pennsylvania where an individual of this species dashed through the glass into a greenhouse. 1 It doubtless mistook the glass for water as 1 Warren, B. H. : Birds of Pennsylvania, 1890, p. 3. GREBES 7 wearied Canada Geese, similarly deceived in a fog and storm, have been known to alight on the wet roof of a large shed covered with gray roofing felt. Often when swimming in shallow water beneath the surface, Holbcell's Grebe uses only its feet, striking out with both at once and moving very rapidly ; but in clear, deep water where there are no obstructions, a frightened bird has been seen to use its wings vigor- ously and to dart about so swiftly that the eye could barely follow its movements.1 In ordinary swimming on the surface the lobed feet strike downward and outward much as a canoeman paddles. When the bird is really alarmed, it seldom flies, but dives at once. This species stands well on its feet and can walk or run for short distances with the tarsi at an angle of about 45 degrees. Mr. Robert J. Sim had a captive specimen that slept on its breast with its head on its back and its feet entirely concealed under its wings.2 Mr. J. A. Farley has seen birds of this species apparently dozing on the water with head drawn in on the chest. Holbcell's Grebe is most common along New England coasts and on the larger inland waters in migration in October and November and again in late March and early April. My only summer record for this species in New England is that of a lone bird at Isle au Haut, Maine, July 1, 1919, recorded by Dr. Chandler Foot. Possibly this bird was a cripple. In migration Holbcell's Grebe assembles in flocks, and now and then numbers appear where food is plentiful along our shores ; but usually in Massachusetts waters the species is rather solitary. In migratory flights along the coast it flies commonly not far above the water with head and neck extended and feet stretched out behind. Mr. Wilbur F. Smith of South Norwalk, Connecticut, wrote to me March 27, 1916, that he had observed Holbcell's Grebes fishing near an anchored boat on which a fisher- man lived. The birds had become so fearless that they sometimes approached within a few feet of the boat. They fished all day, were fishing at ten p.m. when the fisherman retired, and were still fishing at daylight when he awoke. The fish taken, Mr. Smith says, were mainly little flounders found at the bottom, although one bird was seen with a large smelt. Mr. Smith noted that when a bird had swallowed a particularly large fish, it put its head on its back and went to sleep. This suggests that they feed day or night until satisfied, and then sleep. Herring Gulls bothered them repeatedly by attempting to snatch the fish from their bills, but the grebes by diving seemed usually to foil their tormentors. When feeding in salt water this fast swimmer overtakes the swiftest small fish. Occasionally it catches a fish too large to hold readily and swallow quickly, which wriggles away from the beak-hold. Then the eager bird dives "like a flash" and seizes its prey again. Sometimes it carries such a fish to shallow water where it strikes, pounds and slaps it about until the victim succumbs. Then the active bird throws its own head up and backward until it seems to strike the back and so works the fish down its widely distended throat. The food of this bird on salt water seems to consist largely of fish and 1 Cahn, Alvin R. : Auk, Vol. XXIX, 1912, p. 440. (See also Department Bulletin No. 8, Massachusetts Department of Agriculture, 1922, pp. 9-10.) 2 Wilson Bulletin, Vol. XVI (old series), 1904, p. 71. 8 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS crustaceans. Mr. Bent says that it can live in lakes where there are no fish. He as- serts that in Manitoba it lives largely on crayfish, amblystomse and aquatic insects, and that it takes tadpoles, aquatic worms, small crustaceans, mollusks and vegetable substances.1 It also takes earthworms and beetles. Economic Status. See page 4. Colymbus auritus Linnaeus. Homed Grebe. Other names: dipper; hell-diver; devil diver. Plate 1. Description. — Bill straight and tapering. Adults in nuptial plumage (sexes alike) : Occasionally seen in late April or May in Massachusetts. Forehead, crown, chin and very full handsome ruff on sides of head below eyes glossy greenish-black ; brownish-yellow stripe over eye, widening and deepening in color toward end of long crest and darkening to chestnut between eye and bill ; above generally brown- ish-black, each feather pale edged ; primaries light chocolate-brown with pale brown inner webs and white bases, shafts black except at base; secondaries mainly white, "inner ones black with white tips and innermost white with black bases"; under surface of wing, except terminal half of primaries, largely white; neck (except dark stripe at back) and sides of body rich "chestnut," "reddish-brown," "brown- ish-red" or "purplish vinaceous-red," mixed with dusky on flanks; elsewhere below silky white; iris, carmine with fine white inner ring (sometimes even scarlet with irregular yellow ring, A. C. Bent) ; bill black, tipped yellow ; feet dusky on outer edges, the rest yellow or yellowish. Adults in fall and winter plumage (as commonly seen in Massachusetts). Similar but grayer; no noticeable ruffs or crests and no bright colors, but crown blackish and sides of head white ; some specimens have rufous markings behind eyes ; black of cheeks and red of neck replaced largely by silky white, lightly washed with ashy- gray on front and sides of neck and lower belly; some specimens have a second white wing-patch on upper fore wing, including more or less of lesser upper wing-coverts from shoulder to elbow, and extending slightly down on tertials, this white space often mottled with dusky. Young in first winter plumage : Similar but cheeks sometimes not so pure white and probably always without rufous markings behind eyes; bill smaller and lighter colored, usually dusky on ridge but elsewhere tinged olive, yellowish, orange, or sometimes bluish-white; outer sides of legs and bottoms of feet dusky, inner sides of legs and upper sides of feet much lighter, pearly-gray, greenish or yellowish. Downy young : Dusky, almost black above, striped and spotted grayish-white; white stripe on hind head and white V on forehead extending down on sides of neck ; sides of head, neck and throat white, sometimes tinged with salmon- buff, spotted and streaked dusky ; sides dusky ; below white. Measurements. — Length about 12.50 to 15.25 in. ; spread about 24.00 ; folded wing 5.40 to 6.00 ; bill about .90; tarsus 1.60 to 1.75. Molts. — First or juvenal plumage following natal down not unlike first winter plumage, but shows some dusky stripes and spots on head and throat ; first winter plumage shows some of these markings and in spring of second year after prenuptial molt adult plumage is assumed ; adults molt partially in late March, April and May and completely in autumn. Field Marks. — Size of Green-winged Teal but head and bill smaller ; in nuptial plumage we have no grebe like it; in autumn adults may show some signs of breeding plumage on throat; in winter plumage its pure white fore neck, cheeks and underparts (white extending up from throat to nape), absence of brown in its plumage, its straighter, slenderer bill, and its conspicuous large white wing-patch (which »The fullest life history of Holboell's Grebe has been written by Arthur Cleveland Bent in hia "Life Histories of North American Diving Birds," Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Bulletin No. 107, 1919. All North American diving birds are more exhaustively treated in this excellent bulletin than in any other work. GREBES 9 always shows when wing is spread) distinguish it from the Pied-billed Grebe ; small size and short bill distinguish it from Holbcell's Grebe. Voice. — Love-calls a wonderful combination of weird, loud, striking cries, a series of croaking and chattering notes followed by several prolonged, piercing shrieks (A. C. Bent) ; a curious far-sounding note of complaint, keogh, keogh, with a nasal twang or more sharply keark, keark or yark, yark (W. L. Dawson) ; in large companies there is a perpetual conversational undertone (Lynds Jones). Breeding. — In rushy borders of ponds or sloughs or on their shores ; singly or in small colonies. Nest: Wet rotten reeds, flags or other rubbish and mud, often partly or wholly afloat but anchored to growing vegetation, sometimes on a tussock or on wet foreshore. Eggs: 3 to 5 and up, rarely 10; indistinguishable from those of Pied-billed Grebe. Dates: April 6 to August 12 in various parts of North America (A. C. Bent). Incubation : Period unknown. So far as known only one brood reared in a season ; wide variation in egg-dates may indicate two broods occasionally. Range. — Northern parts of Northern Hemisphere. Breeds from near Arctic coast to northern United States, Maine, Minnesota, southern Wisconsin, and northern Nebraska ; also in Iceland, northern continental Europe and Siberia; recorded in summer in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Michigan and Indiana ; in the East, winters mainly from Maine and New York to Florida and Louisiana and on west coast from southern Alaska to southern California and southward; most interior winter records are from region of Great Lakes ; also winters in central and southern Europe, northern Africa and Azores, and on coasts of China and Japan to Tropic of Cancer ; casual in Greenland and in Bermuda and Com- mander Islands. Distribution in New England. — Common fall and spring migrant and common winter visitant coastwise, especially common during mild winters ; irregular, sometimes common, in migration in interior waters ; breeds casually in northeastern Maine ; may have bred in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Season in Massachusetts. — (September 14) October 1 to May 28 (July 6). Haunts and Habits. In its full nuptial plumage the Horned Grebe is a handsome bird. In sunshine its ruffed and crested head and rich, deeply colored neck and flanks glow resplendent. Even in the modest dark and white plumage of winter in which it is usually seen in New England, with its pure, satiny white breast, it is delicately handsome, and it seems as if aware of its distinction. Its head is carried proudly and when at ease it rides the water lightly and gracefully. Even in the finest plumage, however, it seems like a freak, with its fluffy tufted head and handsome fore parts, its rather ordinary- looking, plain back and its lack of any appreciable tail to balance its frontal beauties. Like all grebes the bird seems somehow to have been left unfinished ; yet it is admirably adapted to its mode of life. It may be found in winter almost anywhere along the New England coast, is more common than Holbcell's Grebe, and sometimes in migration is abundant locally not only on the coast but also in the interior. Occasionally severe easterly storms drive large flocks into the ponds of interior Massachusetts. This bird is not generally so wary as the preceding species and frequents narrower streams and smaller ponds. Mr. H. K. Job once found a pair in Connecticut in a little brook from which they seemed unable to rise.1 Ornithologists have repeatedly asserted that grebes cannot rise in the air if once stranded on the ground. Nevertheless, Mr. Charles H. Rogers says that Mr. Walter » Job, Herbert K. : The Sport of Bird Study, 1908, p. 272. 10 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Granger and himself, while at Long Beach, Long Island, New York, saw a Horned Grebe on the shore, which, on their approach, scuttled away from the water, rose against the wind and circled about, flying several hundred yards before alighting.1 This incident of course cannot be considered proof that any other species ever flew under such condi- tions, but if one can do so another may. The flight of this Grebe is strong and often direct and long-continued. In rising from the water it splashes along on the surface for a long distance before it can gain sufficient impetus to launch itself into the air. In flight it appears much like a loon except for its small size, the greater rapidity of its wing strokes and its conspicuous white wing-patches. On the surface it swims with alternate strokes of its lobed paddles and dives quickly and gracefully with closed wings. When observing this species diving in a tank, I have never seen one open or use its wings under water, but Mr. C. W. Vibert, of South Windsor, Connecticut, who kept one alive for a time, says that it often used the slightly raised wings while swimming under water. Mr. C. A. Clark told me on November 9, 1917, that he with a friend watched two Horned Grebes diving on Walden Pond in the Lynn woods. The watchers took up their positions on a hill above the water where by looking down from this eminence they got a very clear view of the pond below. There were in the pond many small fishes that looked like minnows, which the grebes pursued and some of which they caught. With a glass the manceuvers of the birds could be seen plainly. Mr. Clark says that the wings were held partly open and now and then a quick stroke was given with them. In catching the elusive fish the birds frequently darted their heads to the right or left as their prey dodged and doubled in flight. Several other observers have reported the use of the wings by this grebe for propulsion under water.2 Dr. Langdon illustrates the precocity of the young of this species by the assertion that when fully developed chicks which he removed prematurely from the eggs were placed in the water, they immediately swam and attempted to dive.3 No bird is more at home on the water than this grebe. It often sleeps there with its head on its back and its bill turned to the right and buried under its scapulars. Like the loon it turns on its side or back to preen the feathers of its breast. It is driven from coast waters in winter only by severe storms when a few, stranded on ice or snow, are found occasionally in the interior. On the Atlantic coast it passes in numbers ; and in October and November and again in March and April its greatest flights occur, usually a mile or two off shore. When mi- grating in the interior it oftens follows the course of a river, swimming with the current very early in the morning or just before dark. At times it flies at a considerable height. Various authorities have given notes on the food of this species which is known to consist largely of small fish, crustaceans, tadpoles, lizards, leeches, beetles, grasshoppers, locusts, many aquatic insects, a few snails and spiders and some vegetal food. The best 1 Auk, Vol. XXXV, 1918, p. 218. 2 Department Bulletin No. 8, Massachusetts Department of Agriculture, 1922, pp. 10-12. 3 Dawson, William Leon: Birds of Ohio, Vol. II, 1903, p. 631. GREBES 11 account of its food that I have seen is that given by Mr. W. L. McAtee in Farmers' Bulletin No. 497, U. S. Department of Agriculture. He found an average of 66 per cent, of feathers in the contents of the stomachs examined and suggests that feathers are fed to the young. They are finely ground in the gizzard and are believed to be digested and assimilated. It has been suggested that they are eaten as an aid to digestion, but one would suppose them to be more likely a hindrance. The food of the Horned Grebe, exclusive of feathers, is thus listed by Mr. McAtee in an analysis of the food contents of 57 stomachs : Beetles, chiefly aquatic, 23.3 per cent. ; other insects nearly 12 per cent. ; fish 27.8 per cent. ; crawfish 20.7 per cent. ; other crus- taceans 13.8 per cent., with a little other animal matter, and a small quantity of vegetal food in two stomachs.1 Economic Status. Evidently these grebes were feeding not only on fish but on the enemies of both fish and crops, and the evidence seems to indicate that they do more good than harm. Podilymbus podiceps (Linnaeus). Pied-billed Grebe. Other names: dabchick; water-witch; dipper; didapper; hell-diver; little diver. Plate 1. Description. — Bill very stout, its ridge much downcurved. Adults in nuptial plumage (sexes alike) : Crown, back of head and back of neck grayish-black, with slightly lighter feather-edgings ; sides of head and neck brownish-gray ; a conspicuous, long, broad, black throat-patch, the black extend- ing upward at base of lower mandible ; rest of upper plumage dark brown or brownish-black, edges of feathers barely lighter ; primaries and secondaries chocolate-brown, latter often with some whitish or white, mostly on inner webs ; below silvery-ash, closely mottled dusky ; mottling most apparent on sides ; lower belly mostly dusky; bill "light, dull bluish or bluish -white," dusky on ridge and sometimes at tip, almost encircled near middle by a black band which includes nostrils; iris brown and white; eyelids white; "feet greenish- black outside, leaden-gray inside" (Coues). Adults in winter plumage : Similar but more brownish generally ; feathers of back with paler edges ; top of head and nape dusky brown ; throat white without black throat-patch, though some adults have traces in autumn ; neck beneath, breast and sides with more or less light russet-brown mottled dusky, darker behind ; lower belly grayish ; other under plumage silky-white, often almost unspotted, but some- Downy Young Pied-billed times much spotted with dusky; bill dusky-yellowish, no black Grebe. band. Many immature birds retain on head and throat until into About \ natural size. October black and white markings suggestive of the nestling plumage. Downy young: Mainly black with four whitish stripes on back of neck and back; white throat and fore neck striped and spotted with black ; crown black more or less variegated with bright brown, with two pairs of longitudinal white stripes meeting or closely approaching on forehead ; sides of body more or less washed with dusky ; other under plumage grayish-white. Measurements. — Vary greatly. Length about 12.00 to 15.00 in.; spread about 22.00 to 24.50; folded wing 4.50 to 5.25; bill about .85; tarsus about 1.50. 1 McAtee, W. L., and Beal, F. E. L. : United States Department of Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletin No. 497, 1912, p. 19. 12 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Molts. — Young bird is nearly full-grown before down disappears entirely to be replaced by juvenal plumage ; many young birds retain black and white striped head until late in October ; others change by that time into winter plumage; black throat of adult and black band on bill appear just before breeding season. It seems probable that full adult plumage is ' acquired during the first year" (A. C. Bent) ; adults molt completely in autumn and partially in spring. Field Makks. — Smaller than a teal ; unmistakable in nuptial plumage because of black throat and pied bill ; in late autumn or winter, when these marks are wanting, may be known from Horned Grebe by thick hen-like bill with curved upper mandible, general brownish tinge of fore neck and breast where other bird is white and absence of shining white cheeks which distinguish Horned Grebe ; also no large conspicuous white wing-patches (but a line of white often shows on tips of secondaries when wing is spread and there is some white under wing). Voice. — "A loud sonorous cow-cow-cow-cow-cow-cow-cow-cow-cow-uh cow-uh. The notes vary in number and are sometimes followed by wailing cows or uhs ; these love notes of male are sometimes joined by those of female cuk-cuk-cuk followed by a slower ugh, ugh, ugh" (F. M. Chapman); pr-r-r-r-r-tow- tow-tow-tow (E. E. Thompson) ; "an odd bubbling giggle keggy, keggy, keggy, keggy, keggy, keggy, keggy, etc. rendered very rapidly; also a single excited aou" (W. L. Dawson); cuck-cuck-cuck-cuck, kow, kow, kow, kow, suggesting notes of a cuckoo ; a loud wah'-hoo, wah'-hoo, wah'-hoo, wah'-hoo, suggesting the note of a loon ; a low alarm toot, toot, toot, (Ralph Hoffmann) ; alarm note keck, keck; call to the young, cup, cup (A. A. Allen). Breeding. — In cattail swamps, marshes, ponds and sloughs. Nest : A heap of reeds partially decayed, or flags bent or matted down with perhaps some coarse sedgy grasses ; usually in water from one to three feet deep, in a lagoon, grassy pond or cattail marsh ; among reeds, flags or water brush ; most of the nest-material below the surface; a shallow depression contains the eggs. Eggs: 3 to 10, usually 5 to 7; about 1.70 by .95 in. ; generally "elliptical," ovate, smooth-shelled; dull bluish-white or pale olive-white, usually stained by contact with wet nest-material to a dirty brown. Dates: April 23 to June 28, Massachusetts; May 15 to August 8, New York and New Jersey. Incubation : Period 23 to 24 days; both sexes incubate. Not positively known that more than one brood is raised in a season. Range. — North and South America generally, in suitable places, but very local. Breeds from British Columbia, Great Slave Lake, Saskatchewan, northeastern Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick south to Chile and Argentina; winters south from New York and New Jersey (occasionally), Vancouver Island, Washington, Arizona, Texas, Mississippi and Potomac Valley southward; recorded casually from Cape Horn and Bermuda. Distribution in New England. — Summer resident, breeding locally in suitable localities through- out most of New England; common autumnal migrant, less common in spring; casual in winter in mild seasons in southern New England. Season in Massachusetts. — March 1 to December 12 ; reported also in January and February. Haunts and Habits. When autumn comes, when the leaves have turned to crimson and gold, when white frost lies on the meadows at sunrise, when noisy jays and busy squirrels are gathering their winter stores, then, on the winding reaches of some sluggish river where the pickerel-weed and arrow-plant grow and where wild rice and cattail flags wave in the breeze, we may find the " Water-witches. " If undisturbed and at ease, they ride almost as lightly and buoyantly upon the water as an Indian canoe or an autumn leaf wafted along the surface. When apprehensive they sink slowly down, swimming with only the head or head and neck above water ; but when really alarmed they go under so quickly that one can hardly see how they vanish. Often after such a disappearance Photograph by Dr. Frank N. Wilson Fig. 1. — Pied-billed Grebe on Nest Fig. 2. — Nest and Eggs of Loon The pale appearance of the eggs is caused by reflection of light from their glossy surface Page 18 GREBES 13 the eager hunter searches in vain, for the scared bird swims under water until it reaches the water-plants on the margin and there rests with only its bill and perhaps also its eyes above the surface, so deftly concealed that its hiding place is rarely discovered. My friend, the late Charles E. Bailey, who was extremely handy with a gun and as sharp- eyed as a lynx, asserted that one of these birds committed suicide when it saw him aiming, as he felt sure that it never came up. Its apparent descent to the lower regions so quickly as often to escape a charge of shot, and its occasional total and complete disappearance have given it the euphonious appellation of "Hell-diver." There is evidence to the ef- fect that when wounded it sometimes seeks a hiding place at the bottom and dies there either clinging to or entangled in pond weeds or other aquatic vegetation.1 In the old days of flintlock guns the bird dived at the flash in the pan and eluded the shot. Even now in these days of smokeless powder, if low in the water and at a goodly distance, it may escape the gunner, as its body lies mostly under water, and the head and neck offer a small and instantly vanishing mark. The wild-fowler should not shoot it as it is likely to act as an involuntary decoy to flying ducks which see in its presence a sign that the coast is clear and descend without suspicion. Blunderers and ignoramuses with guns there be, however, who pursue this harmless bird which is of little value as food. If successful, they either throw their victim away or keep it only long enough to display as a trophy of marksmanship. In the breeding season the Pied-billed Grebe is shy and secretive, keeping generally well out of sight, but its presence may be detected by the sonorous notes which it often utters during the mating time. At this season it frequents cattail swamps, large marshes and stagnant, reed-bordered ponds where the nest is built. When the water is deep enough, the nest floats, attached to stems of reeds, flags or bushes. It is large, measur- ing from 12 to 15 inches in diameter, and sometimes the material used would almost fill a bushel basket. Usually it is built high enough to keep the eggs above water, but they are rarely dry. A small colony of the species consisting of several nests and their occu- pants often occupies a small pond or marsh. When the mother bird leaves her eggs, if time allows, she covers them with some of the "muck and truck" from the nest, although Mr. A. M. Collette, who watched the species in Kansas, found that some of them used fresh grasses to cover the eggs. This grebe is so shy and secretive in the breeding season that it covers and leaves the nest at the first alarm ; but Mr. Collette2 and several other naturalists by using great care have ascertained that the species, like other grebes, if undisturbed, remains on the nest attend- ing to the duties of incubation most of the time, night or day. This seems to dispose of the old notion that this grebe incubates only at night and, covering the eggs in the morn- ing, leaves them all day to be incubated by the heat of the sun and the fermentation of the decaying nest-material. It may, however, so leave them for brief periods. Appar- ently its eggs will withstand long neglect, for Mr. W. L. Dawson records that, having col- 1 Department Bulletin No. 8, Massachusetts Department of Agriculture, 1922, p. 40. 2 Transactions Kansas Academy of Science, Vol. XIII, 1891-92, pp. 49-50. 14 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS lected some eggs of this species and taken them home, he was somewhat disconcerted two days later when the disimprisoned young ones "cheeped" lustily, "forty hours from the nest." * Mr. Griffing Bancroft tells how quickly the parent is able to cover the nest and disap- pear when disturbed. On June 9, 1920, he happened by good fortune to surprise one of these birds on her nest. He says that when approached the bird slipped off, but while doing so covered the eggs completely in about two seconds by three quick pecks at the nesting material. As the bird half rose on the nest, the eggs could be plainly seen; when she dived beneath the surface, they were quite covered.2 When the eggs have been thus concealed, the nest appears as a mere heap of trash such as may be found anywhere in a marsh. Mr. George Atkinson tells of a similar habit of this bird in the Canadian Northwest. He says that in 1906 the Dabchick was conspicuous on any pond of any size between Portage LaPrairie and Edmonton. He reports that he did not find the species covering the eggs with rubbish and leaving them during the day, but that he regu- larly disturbed the birds sitting on the nests. When flushed, they were seen to "flap a considerable quantity of the decayed reed foundation over the eggs as though to hide them."3 Mr. C. H. Pease sent me some notes on the nesting of this species in 1913 at Canaan, Connecticut, which have since been published by Mr. A. C. Bent in his Life Histories of North American Diving Birds. The nest was completed and contained one egg when he found it on May 22. An egg was laid daily until May 28 when the eighth and last was deposited. The first two young birds hatched at 9.15 a.m. June 21. On June 22 only one young bird remained in the nest. On July 3 the young appeared to be "half grown." The young can take to the water immediately after they are hatched and do so if disturbed. In any case they do not remain long in the nest. They swim and dive readily as soon as they strike the water but cannot stay very long beneath the surface. Dr. A. A. Allen says that he watched some that extended the wings at nearly right angles in swimming and diving.4 This species like other grebes often carries the tiny young upon its back. In the face of danger the young are covered by the mother's wings while she swims away buoyantly. If she dives, she usually carries the young under water with her and emerges with them still concealed as it were in her pockets. Often the little ones ride about on the back of the mother sometimes entirely hidden beneath the scapulars or wing-coverts, or with only their little heads peeping out. At such times, if the mother dives, the young often remain floating on the water ; and even when held under the wings, if the parent bird becomes frightened, the chicks sometimes come to the surface, perhaps because the mother uses her wings in swimming under water to hasten her flight. But she has been observed, when closely pursued, to push the young from her back and, evidently at a signal from her, "each baby took a portion of the mother's tail in its bill and all disap- » The Birds of Ohio, Vol. II, 1903, p. 634. 2 Condor, Vol. XXII, 1920, p. 206. s Macoun, John and James: Catalogue of Canadian Birds, 1909, p. 8. < Bird-Lore, Vol. XVI, 1914, p. 246. GREBES 15 peared under the water, coming up some distance away with the babies still clinging to mother's tail." 1 (Loons are said to have a similar habit.) Dr. A. A. Allen tells of seeing a young grebe plunge from the back of one parent and swim to the other. Ordinarily in shoal-water diving the species seems to make little or no use of its wings, but while under the surface it has been seen to use them. Audubon records that two grebes of this species, which were caught in a net, were placed in a large tub where they swam around the sides like puffins, using their feet and wings "in accordance," and stay- ing a long time under water. He says again that this species "during submersion" employs its wings, as he had an opportunity of observing while some that he was pursuing passed under the boat. Chester A. Reed says of the habit, " In my boyhood I frequently cornered these birds in a creek or small cove, so that in order to escape it was necessary for them to swim under the boat. At these times we could plainly see their mode of progression. They flapped their wings in much the same way as in flying, and this in addition to their feet is what gives them their great speed. On one of these occasions, as the grebe was going under the boat, my companion in his excitement leaped overboard, clothes and all. By some accident he happened to catch the bird by the neck." 2 I have many reports from trustworthy observers who have seen this species using both wings and feet under water and a few have observed the use of the wings alone. Prob- ably the use of both wings and feet explains the great speed which grebes sometimes are able to attain under water, and possibly all grebes use both wings and feet in deep diving, in pursuing their swift and elusive prey or in escaping from some of their larger enemies. The Pied-billed Grebe though swift and graceful in the water is quite awkward on land. It can walk or run slowly while standing on its feet with the body inclined forward at an angle, but if much hurried it throws itself forward on its belly, and scrambles along with both wings and feet as if it were swimming. It lives largely and sleeps often on the water, but Audubon asserts that he has seen the species resting at evening on beds of reeds such as are found in some of its favorite haunts. If severely or mortally wounded and not pursued, it seeks the shore, if possible, where it rests on its breast. Probably all waterfowl instinctively turn to the shore in such a case. While it is true that the plu- mage of grebes and other water birds is impervious to water when they are in good health and able to keep the feathers well dressed, it seems to lose its water-proof character when the bird is ill or wounded. I once saw such a bird kept in a tank. The feathers became water-soaked and draggled, and the bird though taken from the tank soon died. The southward migration of the species begins during September in New England. The earliest arrival reported at Block Island, Rhode Island, was September 16. By November 15, most of the "Pied-bills" have left New England for the South; but dur- ing the exceedingly mild winter of 1920-21 the species was reported a few times in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, and also on Long Island. As the Pied- billed Grebe is mainly a fresh-water bird and frequents chiefly still or sluggish waters, it commonly moves southward when such waters freeze and remains in the South until 1 Peck, Grace H. : Bird-Lore, Vol. XXI, 1919, p. 110. 2 American Ornithology, Vol. I, 1901, p. 149. 16 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS March when the ice breaks up on the lakes and rivers of southern New England. It then returns, and in April its cuckoo-like notes may be heard in the ponds and marshes where it breeds. It is supposed to migrate at night, and it would seem that its small wings could not make very long flights, but it has been seen at daybreak coming to shore over wide bays and estuaries. The food of this grebe consists of small fish and other small forms of animal life, as frogs, tadpoles, snails, crustaceans, leeches and aquatic insects, together with vegetal matter such as seeds and other parts of water-plants. Audubon says that he found in the gizzard a quantity of hair and a feather-like substance which he found was the down of certain plants such as thistles with the seeds remaining undigested and attached. Like all grebes they eat feathers, balls of which are usually found in their stomachs, but the nutritive value of these to the grebe is unknown. Economic Status. See page 4. Suborder CEPPHI. Loons and Auks. Number of species in North America 26 ; in Massachusetts 8. Family GAVUD^J. Loons. Number of species in North America 5 ; in Massachusetts 2. Loons are larger than grebes. They have stout, strong, straight, narrow, tapering, sharp-pointed and sharp-edged bills with which they strike and hold their finny prey. Unlike grebes the head is fully feathered to the beak with no crests or ruffs. The plu- mage is often more or less velvety about the head and neck, but hard and glossy elsewhere. The front toes are connected by a web extending to their tips, and the tail though very short is not downy like that of a grebe, but is equipped with stiff quills. Loons are especially noted for their diving powers, the long distances that they travel under water and their great speed beneath the surface where like grebes they use either feet or wings, or both, for propulsion. Like grebes and anhingas they can alter their specific gravity quickly and swim with the body wholly or partly under water, with only head and neck exposed. In plumage the sexes are alike. Immature birds and winter adults are similar to each other, Foot of Loon " but are usua% much duller in color than summer adults. The voice is loud and resonant. Economic Status. No thorough all-the-year-round study of the food of loons has been made. Therefore their economic status remains undetermined. They feed mainly on aquatic animal and vegetal life and probably play their part as regulators of subsur- face life in lakes where they breed. "The possibility that the Loon may render a service to conservers of game fishes, by holding in check in some degree the destroyers of fish-eggs, such as suckers and horned- PLATE 2 o o Ph I o H H P3 pq Eh D a i ■3 H < 6 a 55 O O ■J Q H feathers of former bordered whitish ; upper plumage marked with small oval spots of white, and throat pure white. Young in first winter plumage : Birds of the first year similar to winter adults but have V-shaped white spots on back; throat more or less grayish or mottled; bill bluish-white, darker on ridge ; iris brown. Downy Young : Dark brown above, shading into drab below. Measurements. — Length 24 to 27 in.; spread about 44.00; folded wing 10.00 to 11.50; tail 1.73 to 2.06; bill 2.00 to 2.25 ; tarsus about 2.75. Note. This bird varies much in size, shape and markings. Some summer adults have very few spots on back; some first year birds have many diamond-shaped or V-shaped markings and are more spotted than adults. Molts. — In juvenal plumage head and neck are mottled with "mouse gray" and dirty white; upper parts dusky, mottled on back with light grayish spots or V-shaped marks ; a partial postjuvenal molt apparently takes place in late winter and early spring which gives head and neck more resemblance to that of adult, but throat-patch is lighter and duller and much restricted ; at first postnuptial molt in second autumn bird assumes adult winter plumage, and with second prenuptial molt in spring of third season it takes on adult nuptial plumage ; adults apparently have a complete prenuptial molt and a com- plete postnuptial molt. Field Marks. — Smaller than Loon ; seen here rarely in May in full nuptial plumage which is un- mistakable ; in autumn or winter, at close range, with a good glass, distinguishing white spots may be seen on upper plumage where the Loon has only light edgings ; toward spring some examples of Common Loon may show scattering white spots, but surest distinction is rather slender bill often slightly upturned (or concave at nostrils) which can be noted at longer range than spots ; however, bill varies in size and shape and often the two species are indistinguishable at a distance unless close together. Voice. — The bird seems rather silent with us in winter but more vocal toward spring and very noisy on its breeding grounds. Russians have named it Gegara from its note, a harsh gr-r-ga gr-r, gr-r ga, gr-r, ga (E. W. Nelson) ; a goose-like honking cry, also a variety of weird loud cries similar to those of common Loon (A. C. Bent) ; ordinary call note ah ak (H. Seebohm). Breeding. — ■ About (or in) lakes or ponds, sometimes in small shallow pools. Nest : Like the Loon, it sometimes makes no nest other than a mere hollow in sand or mud on some island. Sometimes a nest is built of vegetation, lined with straws and even a few feathers, always near water, sometimes in it where shallow. Eggs : 2 ; variable in size, about 3.00 by 1.75 in. ; vary from bister or sepia in darkest eggs to deep olive-buff ; some nearly spotless but usually well spotted with very dark shades of brown and under- lying spots of various shades of drab. Dates: May 10 to July 15, various parts of range; May 30 to July 5, Labrador and Hudson Bay (A. C. Bent). Incubation: Period 24 to 28 days (Faber) ; bot> sexes incubate (Yarrell). LOONS 29 Range. — Northern part of Northern Hemisphere. Breeds in North America from northern Alaska, Banks Island, Melville Island, Ellesmere Island, Grant Land and northern Greenland south to Com- mander Islands, western Aleutian Islands, Glacier Bay, Queen Charlotte and other British Columbia islands, southern Mackenzie, northern Manitoba, south-central Quebec, New Brunswick and New- foundland ; winters in North America principally along Pacific and Atlantic coasts, in Aleutian Islands and southern British Columbia to southern California, and from Maine and Great Lakes to Florida; recorded casually in interior in eastern North America as far south as Missouri ; a few birds summer locally in northern United States ; breeds also in northern Europe and Asia and winters south to Mediter- ranean and southern China. Distribution in New England. — Migrant and winter resident, coastwise mainly; rare in interior ; occasionally reported in summer in Maine but "does not breed" (O. W. Knight). Season in Massachusetts. — As in New England, winter resident coastwise ; common transient visitor in autumn; less common in late winter and spring; August 27 to May 30 (July 2). Haunts and Habits. The Red-throated Loon commonly appears in considerable numbers on our coast in late September or October but is rarely recorded in ponds or streams of the interior. Some individuals of this species winter along the New England coast. In spring the larger number either go north through the interior or else pass far out to sea as the species is much less common here in spring than in autumn. Like the common Loon it begins moving northward along our coast in March and some are still passing in May. In habits and appearance the bird is much like the common Loon while with us but it differs in one respect ; it can rise readily and fly from even a small pool, springing into the air with little difficulty, even without the aid of a breeze ; although like the Loon if frozen out of a pond in winter, it seems unable to rise from the ice and thus is captured or starved. Like the Loon, also, it uses its wings under water when necessary to increase its speed. Dr. George Suckley noted carefully the subsurface motions of one of this species which was attempting to escape out of a lagoon to the open water of the Straits of Fuca by swim- ming through a narrow outlet. Although slightly wounded it moved so fast that he was obliged to run as rapidly as possible to keep up with it. As the water was clear and shallow, he was able to watch its motions. The neck was fully extended, and the bird used the wings as in flying in addition to the ordinary motions of the feet. "Indeed," he wrote, "the bird was flying through water instead of air." l Mr. A. C. Bent gives the following interesting account of these Loons in the autumnal migration : "The migration along the New England coast is mainly in October accompanying the main flight of the scoters. After leaving the fresh-water lakes of their summer homes they resort to the seacoast for migration and seem to prefer to spend the fall and winter on salt water. When traveling they fly at a great height and in a direct course along the shore, a mile or two out from land ; they usually fly singly, although often several are in sight at one time, widely scattered. There is, however, some sociability among them, most noticeable on foggy days, when they manage to keep in touch with 1 Suckley. George, and Cooper, James Graham : The Natural History of Washington Territory and Oregon, 1860, p. 280. 30 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS each other by frequent interchange of call notes, as if helping each other to maintain the same general line of flight. They are even somewhat gregarious at times, gathering in small parties on the water to rest and calling to their passing companions ; these gather- ings are sometimes quite noisy, and are well known to gunners as 'Loon caucuses.'" 1 This species while with us seems to feed mainly on fish. Its food so far as known is similar to that of the common Loon, but Mr. Bent says that it takes fish-spawn also. Economic Status. See page 16. Family ALCID.dE. Auks, Murres and Puffins. Number of species in North America 21 ; in Massachusetts 6. Birds of this family, like other Pygopodes, have the legs attached to the rear end of the body, but seem to stand a little higher in the scale of evolution than the grebes and loons. They are not so highly specialized for swimming with the hind limbs, which are not provided with an extension or apophysis of the tibia beyond the knee-joint, such as in loons and grebes appears to add muscular power to the legs. The feet are webbed and three-toed (hind toe wanting). Birds of this family habitually use their wings in swimming under water. All species stand or sit more or less upright, and most of them walk badly owing to the posterior position of the legs. Most of them in sitting or walk- ing rest more or less on the tarsi, but some can stand upright on their toes. The tail is perfect, of 12 to 16 feathers (18 rarely). The bill varies much — from a shape some- what similar to those of loons or grebes, as in murres, to curious forms with ridges, fur- rows and deciduous horny protuberances, as in puffins. Head completely feathered; nostrils feathered or naked. All species are altricial, as the young ordinarily remain on land, and are fed by the parents until quite well grown or able to fly. All members of the family are normally marine, though they sometimes reach the interior in migration when their favorite northern salt waters are covered with ice. The family reaches its highest development in the North Pacific, where the greatest numbers of genera and species are found. A few species are still abundant in parts of the North Atlantic. The family is divided into four subfamilies according to feathering of nostrils, shape and structure of bill, and other characters. Economic Status. No exhaustive investigation of the food of auks, murres and puf- fins has been made. They have little economic importance on the coast of New England. Subfamily FRATERCULIN5J. Puffins. Number of species in North America 3 ; in Massachusetts 1. This group with one exception is confined to North Pacific and Polar waters ; nostrils a mere slit, naked and remote from feathers ; bill large, flattened, much higher than wide 1 Bent, A. C. : Life Histories of North American Diving Birds, Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Bulletin No. 107, 1919, p. 79. PLATE 3 PLATE 3 BLACK GUILLEMOT Page 35 Young in First Winter Plumage Adult in Breeding Plumage PUFFIN Page 31 Adult in Breeding Plumage Adult in Winter Plumage RAZOR-BILLED AUK Page 43 Adult in Winter Plumage BRUNNICH'S MURRE Page 40 Adult in Winter Plumage DOVEKIE Page 46 Winter Plumage All one-fourth natural size. PUFFINS 31 and supplied in breeding season with a number of deciduous plates, which increase its size, but which drop off later ; rosette at angle of mouth ; inner claw enlarged and con- siderably curved. Fratercula arctica arctica (Linnaeus). Puffin. Other names : sea-parrot ; paroquet. Plate 3. Description. — Tail of 16 feathers ; a grotesque bill nearly as long as head and about as high as long, much compressed laterally and ornamented with highly-colored, deciduous, horny plates. Adults in nuptial plumage (sexes alike) : Crown grayish-black or brownish-black, usually separated by a narrow, gray, cervical line from glossy black of other upper plumage ; chin, throat, face and sides of head mainly light ashy, nearly white before eye ; color sharply defined against dark crown and neck ; dark ashy patch on each side of throat ; above from head backward, brownish-black to clear black, continuous with a broad band of same color around neck under throat ; below from neck white ; under surface of wings pearly-gray ; upright, conical, bluish, horny appendage on upper eyelid, horizontal one on lower ; naked edges of eyelids vermilion ; iris light grayish-blue or "bluish-black" (C. W. Townsend) ; base of bill and first ridge dull yellowish, next section grayish-blue, end section vermilion; tip of lower mandible and two terminal grooves often dull yellowish ; rosette at angle of mouth orange ; mouth and tongue light yellow; feet red. Adults in winter plumage: Similar; face dusky or blackish; cheeks and throat dark gray; no bright colors nor appendages on eyelids; rosette shrunken and pale; highly colored, deciduous parts of bill have been shed leaving it smaller, darker and more contracted at base, but still more or less red toward tip ; feet orange or yellow. Young in first winter plumage : Much like winter adult, but bill less developed, smaller, weaker, more pointed; above glossy brownish-black; below white; iris hazel; feet pale olive. Downy young: Above dark sooty "brown with drab shadings"; color varies in intensity in different specimens ; middle of belly white, sometimes tinged light gray or yellowish ; bill much smaller in proportion than in adult, not so convex. Measurements. — Length 11.50 to 13.50 in.; spread 21.00 to 24.00; folded wing 6.50 to 7.50; tail 2.25 to 2.87; bill 1.60 to 1.90; arc of ridge about 2.10; tarsus 1.00 to 1.50. Female averages smaller than male. Molts. — Apparently young birds retain first winter plumage through the next spring and later molt into winter plumage indistinguishable from that of adult. Adults have either a limited or complete prenuptial molt in spring and a partial or complete postnuptial molt in autumn. Field Marks. — Adults at close range are unmistakable ; in autumn a young puffin with un- developed bill might be mistaken at a distance for a Razor-billed Auk or even a Briinnich's Murre ; the puffin is smaller than either, floats high on water and presents a "chunky" appearance. Voice. — A low purring note, purr -la-la-la (C. W. Townsend) ; deep-throated mirthless laughter (J. M. Boraston) ; a long, deep, slowly rising awe (E. Selous) ; "a hoarse grunt or groan" (F. M. Chap- man). Breeding. — Usually on sea-islands and in colonies. Nest : Usually a burrow in soil, sometimes under rock or in crevice. Eggs: 1, sometimes 2; average about 2.50 by 1.75 in. ; rounded ovate ; gran- ular; dull white, occasionally marked with indistinct spots, dots and scratches of pale purplish, some- times with splashes of pale yellowish-brown or concealed chocolate ; usually stained with earth. Dates : June 6 to July 27, Gulf of St. Lawrence and Maine. Incubation: Period 1 month (T. M. Brewer); 36 days (in incubator) ; both sexes incubate. One brood yearly. Range. — Coasts and islands of North Atlantic. Breeds in North America from southern Green- land (casually northern Greenland) and Ungava Bay south to Nova Scotia, Bay of Fundy and eastern Maine, and in Europe from Norway and British Isles south to Portugal ; winters south to Massachusetts 32 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS and casually to Long Island, and Delaware River, Pennsylvania, and in Europe south to coast of Morocco and casually to Azores ; accidental at Ottawa (one record) ; recorded by Audubon from the Savannah River. Distribution in New England. — Breeds off coast of Maine at Machias Seal Island and summers regularly (a few) at Matinicus Rock which is the most southerly breeding-station in the United States ; "though regularly present in summer, there is a question whether the birds now breed there at all or do so irregularly" (Arthur H. Norton); said to have laid eggs on Eastern Egg Rock in 1908; resident eastward from Machias Seal Island ; uncommon winter resident off entire Maine coast ; rare winter visitor off Massachusetts coast mainly north of Cape Cod ; accidental or casual in winter off Rhode Island coast. Season in Massachusetts. — October 16 to March 19, Essex County (C. W. Townsend) ; Puffin found drowned in Eugene Haines' fish-trap, Sandwich, Cape Cod Bay, June 5, 1924 ; reported by Ben- jamin S. Harrison. Haunts and Habits. "Way down east" on Machias Seal Island, off the eastern- most part of the Maine coast, lies the nearest real refuge and breeding-place of the Puffin to the United States. Here where the sea dashes heavily against jagged rocks, and the wind blows the white spray high and far, the Puffin now makes its last stand near our shores. The serio-comic appearance of the little feathered clown is laughable. The bright and handsome colors of its nuptial array are forgotten in contemplation of its peculiar and amazing appearance. Its bright little eyes seem spectacled, while its parrot-like bill like a great, highly-colored Roman nose is masked by an outer coating which is mostly shed at the end of the breeding season. The bird stands erect like a little soldier, its red splay feet slightly straddled and planted firmly on the rock, resting not on its tail and tarsi, but standing up high and clear. Add to its ludicrous clownish appearance a voice of deep, sepulchral tones "full of the deepest feeling" and capable of harsh croak- ings, and we have a character in feathers — a solemnly comical Mr. Punch among birds. On the wing the Puffin buzzes about as if upon important business. It tumbles out of its hole, flies down and into the sea, flies around under water, flies out again, and here it comes back to the rocks, its great "red nose " pointing the way, its little "sabre-like" wings beating the air like a threshing-machine and its red feet spread out behind. When it comes up from the depths to find that it is being overtaken by a steamboat, it is very likely to "lose its head" and show the most comical kind of apprehension and indecision. It dips its head under water as if to dive, then raises it and tries to fly, gives this up and finally dives through a wave, comes flying out on the other side and dives again until finally it has blundered and floundered out of the way. When under water it seems to use its wings mainly for progression and its feet chiefly for steering, as it does when flying in the air. A live Puffin in captivity is rarely seen. One such was brought, about February 1, 1922, to the Department of Agriculture, State House, Boston, from Kingston by Mr. Harold Cooke, who several days previously caught the bird about 10 p.m. in his garage during a gale. How and when the Puffin entered the garage was a mystery. Although PUFFINS 33 a wild seafowl the bird seemed at home from the beginning, and apparently knew that it was among friends. It accepted food (fish, clams and spaghetti) readily, and allowed petting. It ran across the floor, and stood quite upright when food was held out to it. It was sent to the Boston Zoological Park and was kept for some time where it had access to a pool of water. The Superintendent, Mr. George F. Morse, Jr., informed me that in swimming under water the bird used its wings for propulsion, extending them quite fully to the carpal joint but holding the primaries parallel with the body. The Puffin's wings are so small that it appears to have difficulty in rising from the water, except in a breeze ; but they move so fast that it can fly with great rapidity once in the air. On the surface it swims well. Mr. Harrison F. Lewis kindly sends me the following notes on the erratic behavior of the Puffin on its breeding-grounds : "Owing to its grotesque appearance, the Puffin is a most amusing and interesting bird to watch. At Perroquet Island, near Bradore, Canadian Labrador, I found that if I sat nearly motionless, even though fully exposed to view, Puffins at a little distance soon acted as if quite unconscious of my presence. This was during the period July 10-14, 1921, when incubation was going on. Every few minutes an incubating bird pattered out of its burrow, often apparently for no purpose but to relax its cramped muscles, ob- tain a breath of fresh air, and view the surroundings. After issuing from the burrow the bird usually stood up very straight, stretched itself, and fluttered its wings for a moment. One could readily imagine it yawning and complaining of the tiresomeness of incubation. "If I walked slowly toward a Puffin perched on a rock, the bird often alternated for a considerable time between the desire to escape by flight and the desire to avoid the exer- tion required to get under way. It looked at the advancing human being, apparently decided that it had better depart, crouched for a spring into the air, then, at the last in- stant seemed to find the necessary effort too great, and relaxed to watch the intruder again. As the source of trouble continued to advance, its fears temporarily gained the ascendency over its indolence, and the performance was repeated. After several repeti- tions of this behavior the bird finally pitched forward into headlong, clumsy flight. "Considerable numbers of Puffins were almost always resting on the water near Per- roquet Island. I found that if I approached these slowly and quietly, by gently sculling a small rowboat, their curiosity impelled them to swim slowly toward me. When within twelve or fifteen feet of the boat, however, they were likely to be seized with fear and fly hurriedly away." It is extremely unfortunate, to say the least, that this remarkable bird should now be in some danger of extirpation on American shores. The thousands of these birds that once bred along the coast from the Maine islands to near the Arctic Circle are largely gone — the victims of the fishermen and eggers of the United States and Canada. Let us hope that our Canadian neighbors will find some means to save the remnant of these swarming hosts, for their presence adds something to the joy of living. Puffins are now rare winter visitors to the coast of southern New England. Indeed we have no record 34 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS from the Connecticut coast, and the birds are seen in Massachusetts chiefly in hard winters and mainly along the rocky shores of our northeastern county of Essex where a few are met with occasionally near Cape Ann. They are seldom seen here on shore and probably never in their nuptial plumage which they molt in August and September. At this time also they shed their primaries like many species of ducks and are unable to fly, so that if overtaken by a severe storm far at sea they are said to perish by thousands. During the autumnal molt the birds shed the coating of the bill in nine pieces, and with it go the bright colors of the nuptial season. When the wing quills have grown again, the birds migrate southward but normally keep far from land. Dr. Charles W. Townsend in Bulletin No. 107 of the Smithsonian Institution de- scribes the courtship of this bird as follows : " I have watched groups of these birds off the southern coast of Labrador during the courtship season. They swim together in closely crowded ranks, rarely diving, for their thoughts are not on food. At frequent intervals individuals rise up in the water and flap their wings as if from nervousness. Again two males fight vigorously, flapping their wings meanwhile and making the water foam about them. Again two, possibly a pair, hold each other by the bills and move their heads and necks like billing doves. Now several are seen to throw their heads back with a jerk until the bill points up, and this is repeated a number of times. Edmund Selous (1905), who has watched this action near at hand in the puffins of the Shetlands, says the bill is opened wide but no sound is uttered. The brilliant lining of the mouth is therefore the result of sexual selection and it evidently forms a part of the courtship display." 1 The Puffin usually nests in colonies. A famous one is that on Perroquet Island, visited by many ornithologists since Audubon (1840) whose description is vivid. The burrows are dug in a steep slope or bank of some island and carried inward, downward and upward for an arm's length or more. In some cases the burrow curves so that the nest is close beneath the entrance hole. The nest consists of a little dead grass with sometimes a few feathers. In reaching into a nest I have found gloves very useful, as the Puffin often is at home and will bite and scratch like a cat or as much like one as a bird can. Its claws and beak are sharp and strong. Dr. Townsend says that the work of burrowing falls chiefly to the male, and that at times he is so intent on it that he allows himself to be caught in the hand. The claws, especially the inner, are strong, curved and sharp and thus especially adapted for digging. Dr. Townsend informs us that the young are able at the age of four or five weeks to fol- low their mothers to sea. Puffins are very hardy birds and do not commonly migrate very far south of their breeding range. They appear during the latter half of October off the coast of Massa- chusetts in very small numbers and are believed to go northward in March. Migration dates, however, are almost wholly lacking. Puffins feed largely on small fish and other forms of marine life. Doubtless also the 1 Bent, A. C. : Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Bulletin No. 107, 1919, p. 90. GUILLEMOTS 35 powerful bill enables them to crush small crustaceans and mollusks as do the Tufted Puffins on the Pacific coast. Economic Status. See page 30. Note. Audubon figures and describes a Tufted Puffin (Lunda cirrhata (Pallas)) shot, he says, in the winter of 1831-32 by a fisherman-gunner at the mouth of the Kennebec River in Maine. No other bird of the species was seen. The skin of this bird is said to have been deposited in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. As the only specimen there that is accredited to Audubon is labeled as taken on the Pacific coast, the Audubon record for Maine may be questionable.1 This species was recorded also by Verrill in New Brunswick. There is no record of its capture in Massachusetts. Kumlien says (Polar Expedition, 1877-78) : "Off the North Labrador coast I noticed on several occa- sions a small auk (?) intermediate in size between Mergulus alle and Uria grylle, with much the same pattern of coloration as the former, but with tufts or plumes of white feathers on the head. I saw some with single young, and at one time killed three at a single discharge ; but the ship was under such headway that the sailor stationed in the waist could not reach them with his pole and net. The bird is entirely unknown to me, but I suspect it will be found to be one of the small auks hitherto supposed to belong only to the North Pacific." 2 Dr. J. A. Allen also reports the probable occurrence of one of the auklets on Cape Cod.3 The bird was described to him by an intelligent and trustworthy gunner and fisherman. Dr. Allen believed it to be "apparently" a Crested Auklet (Mihia cristatella) . If such Pacific coast species have really been known to appear on the Atlantic coast of the Continent, there is a bare possibility that some of these Alcidge may occur sometimes on the coast of Massachusetts. The Tufted Puffin is easily identified by its great bill and the long, streaming, yellowish tufts on each side of the head. Subfamily ^ITHIIN^;. Auklets, Mureelets and Guillemots. Number of species in North America 14 ; in Massachusetts 1. Nostrils naked or incompletely covered by feathers ; bill with or without deciduous appendages ; with or without crests ; inner claw not specialized. Cepphus grylle (Linnaeus). Black Guillemot. Other names: white-winged guillemot; white guillemot; sea pigeon. Plate 8. Description. — Bill straight, sharp-pointed ; wings rather short ; first primary longest ; tail of 12 feathers. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Sooty-black with slight greenish reflections (darker on back) ; wings and tail black ; lesser upper wing-coverts, terminal half of greater upper wing- coverts, axillars and under wing-coverts white ; in some specimens narrow band of black in white wing- patch ; iris brown or black ; bill and claws black ; mouth and feet carmine, vermilion or coral-red ; in July wings begin to fade and in August wings and tail become gray, white upper wing-coverts become soiled and plumage loses its green gloss ; as molt proceeds, bird becomes more or less marbled with black and white, back retaining much black. Adults in winter plumage: Wings and tail black; wing-patch as in summer white ; head and neck, rump and under plumage mainly white ; back, hind neck and top 1 Ornithological Biography, Vol. Ill, 1835, p. 364. 2 Kumlien, Ludwig : Bulletin of the United States National Museum, No. 15, 1879, p. 103. 3 Auk, Vol. II, 1885, p. 388. 36 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Downy Young Black Guillemot About i natural size. of head blackish-dusky and white, varying in individuals; some old birds may retain black plumage through winter. Young in first winter plumage : Similar to winter adults but less white and more dusky, particularly on head ; white wing-patches much obscured and broken by black tips of feathers. Young in juvenal plumage (acquired usually in August) : Sooty- black above, white below, heavily mottled on sides with dusky, less so on breast and belly and finely spotted on throat (A. C. Bent). Downy young: Sooty-black above, somewhat paler or grayish below. Measurements. — Length 12.00 to 14.00 in. ; spread about 23.00 ; folded wing 6.00 to 7.30 ; tail about 2.00 ; bill about 1.30; tarsus 1.25. Male averages slightly larger than female. Molts. — Juvenal plumage is soon replaced by first winter plumage, which change is completed in October or later ; in spring young birds molt either wholly or partly into black and white plumage of adult; spring molt in- cludes all but wings and tail and is much prolonged or varies greatly in date ; some birds appear in full summer plumage by February 1 ; others are still in practically full winter plumage in May, and some are still molting as late as June 18 (birds in both summer and winter plumage may be seen before March 1 off coast of Massachusetts) ; they assume adult winter plumage in second autumn (A. C. Bent). Field Marks. — Slightly smaller than Green-winged Teal. The White-winged Scoter is the only New England bird that at all resembles this species in summer ; but white wing-patches of Guillemot are farther forward, much larger and more conspicuous when the bird floats on the water ; also Guillemot is much smaller than Scoter and has smaller, narrower and more pointed bill ; nothing like it in our waters when in its "white" winter plumage. Voice. — "A faint, shrill, piping whistle. When disturbed on nest, a hissing note" (A. C. Bent) ; a hoarse, whining whistle (A. J. Parker). Breeding. — On sea-islands or shore-cliffs. Nest : In crevice, rift or fissure in cliff or sea-ledge, or space under some rock, or among large loose rocks, often so far back under rock as to be inaccessible. Eggs: Laid on bare ground, rock, pebbles or gravel. Usually 2, rarely 1 ; about 2.25 to 2.50 by 1.50 to 1.60 in. ; nearly elliptical ; white, bluish-white, greenish-white or creamy, sometimes covered with small spots of various shades of brown and lilac ; more often with fewer small spots and with large spots grouped about larger end. Dates: June 12 to July 16, Maine (A. C. Bent). Incubation: Period about 21 days (A. C. Bent). One brood yearly. Range. — Coasts and islands of northeastern North America and northwestern Europe. Breeds from Maine to southern Greenland and Ungava (northern Quebec) ; winters from Cumberland Sound south to Cape Cod and casually to New Jersey and Pennsylvania ; in Europe breeds from Iceland east to Scandinavia and White Sea and south to northern Scotland ; in winter south to northern France. Distribution in New England. — Common winter resident coastwise in Maine and occasionally seen in open ponds and rivers; a not uncommon summer resident and breeder on Maine islands from Eastern Egg Rock eastward ; rather uncommon winter visitant coastwise in New Hampshire ; very rare and irregular in winter coastwise in Rhode Island ; recorded once in Connecticut. Season in Massachusetts. — August 28 to April 23 ; rather common winter visitant as far south as Massachusetts Bay ; usually most common in January and February ; reported casually in July at Nahant. Haunts and Habits. The sinuous coast of Maine is a little over 1,300 miles in length, so many are the islands and so irregular and deeply indented are the rock-ribbed GUILLEMOTS 37 shores.* The deep bays, coves and inlets offer some of the finest harbors in the land, and off shore lie scores of little rocky islands and dozens of low sandy islets, many of which are in summer the nurseries of sea-birds. Some of these sea-girt islands, some forested more or less with spruce and fir, are frequented by the handsome, little Black Guillemot. Their rocky formation and the loose blocks of stone and boulders piled upon them afford ideal nesting sites for a bird that seeks a secure place to hide its eggs. There, above ordinary high-water mark, the "Sea Pigeon" makes its home, well back under some great stone ; or it inhabits the rifts of bare ledges far out at sea. The little domicile requires no furnishing, as the bird is a primitive cave dweller, its roof the sheltering rock, overlooking the heaving sea. Here in their little caves the downy young are fed, and from their rocky fastnesses they go out into a world of water and of sky. Often during cruises along the Maine coast I have watched the Guillemots flying back and forth between their great storehouse, the sea, and their little caves in the rocks. Now and then you may see the male in his courtship pursuing the female. He is an ardent lover, but she is coy. She dives and he pursues her. She comes to the surface and he is close at her heels. She swims away and he follows, running and splashing along the water. She flies and he chases after, until finally she seems to accept his attentions as if to be rid of his importunities. The mating over, they hunt for a suitable cavity as remote and inaccessible to their enemies as possible. They are gregarious and often may be seen in groups sitting on the rocks close to the sea. Normally in many parts of their range they nested in large colonies, but along the coasts of the Maritime Canadian Prov- inces their eggs have been taken for food so constantly throughout the season that the numbers of the species are few compared with its former abundance. In Maine where many island colonies are protected by wardens of the National Association of Audubon Societies, the Guillemots have a better chance for undisturbed nesting; and as they frequently find crevices where their eggs and young are inaccessible, their numbers have not been so reduced as have those of other species whose nesting places are more conspicuous. In flight this species progresses swiftly, usually close to the water, its white wing- patches flashing in the sunlight and its bright red feet extended behind. On the water it rides as buoyantly as a Wood Duck. When approached by a boat, it has a trick of lowering the head quickly and repeatedly as if about to go under, but it is more likely to fly than to dive. In rising from the water, which it does easily, it aids itself by striking the surface with its feet. In diving and swimming under water it uses its wings more than its feet and seems to fly rapidly under water. In New England the Black Guillemot may be looked for in winter (and even in sum- mer) on rock-bound coasts. It leaves its breeding-places when the young are able to care for themselves. Many of this species winter slightly south of their summer range. It commonly drifts southward along the Maine coast from September until late Decem- * The United States Geological Survey gives the tidal shore-line of the mainland as 558 miles and of the islands, 761 miles, a total of 1,319 miles. (Bulletin No. 689 : United States Geological Survey, p. 220.) 38 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS ber. Early in March it turns northward, and its numbers in New England waters begin to decrease. Small fishes, little mussels and other small shellfish, crustaceans, marine worms and insects seem to form the principal food of the species, but Selous asserts that he has seen it eating seaweed.1 Economic Status. See page 30. Subfamily ALCIN.32. Auks and Murres. Number of species in North America 3 ; in Massachusetts 3. Nostrils linear, densely feathered, quite covered by feathers; bill long with no append- ages ; no crests ; these birds are the largest of the family and are abundant in the North Atlantic. Head of Murre Head of Brunnich's Murre Both | natural size. Uria trollle troille (Linnaeus). Murre. Other names: common murre; foolish guillemot. Description. — Bill long and rather slender ; tail of 12 feathers. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Head and neck rich, dark brown (sometimes olive-brown), in some cases a little grayer on crown ; other upper plumage dark sooty-brown ; most feathers of back and rump with slightly lighter edges ; secondaries narrowly but sharply tipped white ; sides and flanks mainly white, streaked lightly or heavily dusky-brown ; below from throat or lower fore neck pure white ; lining of wings white, varied with dusky-brown ; bill black ; inside of mouth yellow ; iris dark brown ; feet dark or blackish ; some individuals have narrow white ring around eye with white line extending back from it above ear region (this variation is responsible for the form ringvia, recognized as a species by Ridgway). Adults in winter plumage : Similar, but white of under plumage extends to bill, up sides of head to mouth, and up sides of neck, leaving only narrow band of dark brown on back of neck ; also a white stripe extends upward and forward from white of neck on either side of upper hind head, separated from white of throat by a dark stripe running back from eye ; bill and feet lighter or more brownish than in breeding plumage. Young in first winter plumage : Smaller ; very similar, but with less white (or no white) on sides of head and slight mottling or washing of dusky on throat and fore neck ; bill smaller and "like the feet in part light colored." Downy young: Grayish-brown above, almost black on head and neck which are variegated with long, whitish or buffy filaments ; throat often mottled white ; below whitish. i Selous, Edmund : The Bird Watcher in the Shetlands, 1905, p. 203. MURRES 39 Measurements. — Length about 17.00 in.; spread about 30.00; folded wing 7.75 to 8.30; tail about 2.25; bill 1.60 to 2.45; tarsus 1.35 to 1.60. Female averages smaller than male. Molts. — Juvenal plumage not much different in color from that of downy young ; by October 1 replaced by first winter plumage ; partial molt in spring followed by plumage closely resembling breeding dress of adult ; in next autumn immature bird molts again, and takes on adult winter plumage ; this is soon molted and some birds appear in spring plumage in December; adults have a complete molt in autumn (July or August to November) and a complete molt November to April. Field Marks. — Size larger than teal ; in any plumage may be distinguished from Razor-billed Auk (in field) and Bninnich's Murre (in hand) by its longer, more slender bill, and from winter loons by its much smaller size, white cross-line on wing and unspotted and very dark back ; bills of young birds are shorter and more slender than those of adults; hence confusion may arise between the young of both murres, also Razor-bills and Puffins, all of which are difficult to distinguish in the field. Voice. — Adults — Arr-r-r-r — orr-r-r-r — errr-r-r-r ; young — Irrr-r-r-idd — Irrr-r-r-idd (Gatke) ; "a soft, purring sound suggested by its name" (A. C. Bent). Breeding. — In colonies on sea-islands. Nest : None ; egg laid on shelf of rocky cliff, or on earth or rock. Eggs: 1; 3.00 to 3.50 by 2.00 in.; "ovate pyriform" to "elliptical ovate"; light green, light blue, creamy or whitish or other light, varying shades variously washed, spotted and otherwise marked with shades, lines and scrawls of brown, lilac, olive, lavender, etc., and often clouded or washed with two or three colors. Dates: May 20 to July 25, Gulf of St. Lawrence (A.C.Bent). Incubation: Period about 28 to 30 days. One brood yearly. Range. — Coasts and islands of North Atlantic and northeastward in Arctic to Spitzbergen. Breeds in North America from southern Greenland and southern Ungava (central Quebec) south to Magdalen Islands and Newfoundland (formerly to Nova Scotia) ; winters south to Maine ; casual in Massachu- setts ; breeds in Europe south to coast of Portugal, and winters south to Mediterranean and west coast of Morocco ; recorded from Canary Islands. Distribution in New England. — Casual in winter off coast; doubtless formerly more common ; doubtless, also, less rare than supposed; "was years ago a regular breeder off Cape Sable Island and at Gannet Rock in the Gulf of Maine" (Arthur H. Norton) ; only four positive Massachusetts specimens (all in collection of Boston Society of Natural History) : * Bird in full breeding plumage taken June 26, 1913, at Penikese Island by Dr. Stanley Cobb; male taken May 18, 1921, at Essex by A. B. Fuller; bird taken March 29, 1922, at Brant Rock, Marshfield; male sent to me by Rev. Smith O. Dexter from Westport Point (where it was taken April 7, 1923) and transferred to Boston Society of Natural History. There is also in the Society's collection a specimen labeled merely "Massachusetts" and recorded by Dr. G. M. Allen.2 Captain Donald B. MacMillan reports taking a Murre in the winter of 1920 in Provincetown Harbor, but the specimen was not preserved. Haunts and Habits. The Murre which formerly bred in countless numbers on the coast and islands of the North Atlantic has been reduced to an insignificant remnant of its former hosts by the insane policy of slaughter and plunder which has possessed many people in the United States and some of their Canadian neighbors ever since the settlement of the country. Samuels (1867) intimated that the Murre was rather common in his day on our coast, but evidently he failed to separate it from the next species.3 i Brooks, W. Sprague: Auk, Vol. XLI, 1924, p. 163. 2 Occasional Papers of the Boston Society of Natural History, VII. Fauna of New England, II. List of the Aves. Bostony June, 1909, p. 6. 3 Samuels, Edward A. : Birds of New England, 1870, p. 570. 40 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS ■ Knight records a single specimen taken in Maine and placed in the collection of the Portland Society of Natural History and notes that the species is said to have nested formerly on Grand Menan.1 Occasionally the Murre is reported on the Massachusetts coast in winter, but prob- ably most of these cases are referable to Brunnich's Murre. I have never knowingly seen the bird alive. For the best, fullest and most recent life-history of the species the reader is referred to Bulletin No. 107, Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Life Histories of North American Diving Birds, by Mr. Arthur Cleveland Bent, a work for which all ornithologists owe the author a debt of gratitude. Economic Status. See page 30. Uria lomvia lomvia (Linnaeus). Brunnich's Murre. Other name: thick-billed guillemot. Plate 3. Description. — Bill short, wide and deep, upper outline of upper mandible curved throughout, its cutting edges dilated and denuded toward base where those of Murre are feathered ; this bare space flesh-colored in life ; tail of 12 feathers. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Similar to Murre, but crown and nape darker, contrasting with lighter and browner sides of head; form more robust; "legs light colored" (Lord Lilford). Adults in winter plumage: Similar; upper parts dusky or sooty, more or less glossy ; sides of head brownish to .50 inch below eye ; sooty of neck nearly meets at point in front, almost forming a collar and nearly enclosing white of throat ; tips of secondaries white as in sum- mer ; below pure white ; linings of wings mainly white. Young in first winter plumage : Fully 2 inches shorter than adult and much less in other measurements; bill smaller, thinner and generally weaker; similar to winter adult but often lighter on back, and somewhat spotted or washed with dusky on throat. Downy young : Blackish above, varying individually to various shades of brown, shading off to brownish- gray on throat and sides ; many long whitish or pale buff filaments on head and neck ; breast and belly mainly white or whitish but less white below than in preceding species. Measurements. — Length 18.00 to 19.75 in.; spread 24.50 to 32.00; folded wing 7.45 to 8.80; tail about 2.25; bill about 1.40; tarsus 1.40 to 1.55. Molts. — Plumage and plumage changes of this species are very similar to those of the Murre. Field Marks. — Size of a small duck ; practically indistinguishable from Common Murre in field ; barely distinguishable from it (if seen close to) only by the thicker, shorter, stouter bill, darker head and light flesh-colored stripe on mandible near gape ; from the Razor-billed Auk, in field, by its smaller, more slender bill ; from loons or grebes by its plain black back and the white line on the wing ; when murres of either species are rising or alighting on the water their bodies seem to flatten ; if viewed from behind when on wing, the white feathers of flanks and white under tail-coverts overlap on to the black back and tail respectively so that white shows behind wings on both sides of rump and tail ; when the birds are seen flying en profile the white wing linings show and might be mistaken at a distance for a white wing patch. Voice. — Young birds — shrill emphatic cries like "beat it, beat it" ; adults — a soft purring note and a loud croaking (A. C. Bent) ; a hoarse, guttural note ; another like the bleating of a sheep (Turner). Breeding. — On sea-islands in colonies. Nest: None; egg laid on bare ledge of rocky cliff. Eggs: 1, perhaps rarely 2 ; great variety of colors and markings (a few spotless) but most of them indistinguish- able either in size or color from those of preceding species. Dates : Those given by Mr. Bent from Green- 1 Knight, Ora W. : Birds of Maine, 1908, p. 34. MURRES 41 land, Labrador and the Gulf of St. Lawrence run from June 5 to July 18. Incubation : Period about 28 days (A. C. Bent) ; both sexes incubate. One brood yearly. Range. — Coasts and islands of North Atlantic and Arctic. Breeds in North America from northern Greenland and coasts and islands of Arctic Ocean south to Gulf of St. Lawrence ; stated by Manly Hardy (in Vol. II, of the Osprey for 1897, p. 26) to have bred "over 50 years ago" [about 1847 Ed.] on a Maine island ; in Europe breeds on Arctic islands and in Asia along parts of Siberian coasts ; winters from edge of ice in southern Greenland south off Atlantic coast to Delaware, more rarely to South Carolina ; more or less common occasionally in region of Great Lakes ; rarely south of Great Britain and North Sea. Distribution in New England. — Common winter visitant along Maine coast and accidental inland ; irregular winter visitor coastwise (but sometimes locally abundant) in the other sea-coast states ; casual or accidental in most of interior but has been common transient at times on Lake Champlain, Vermont. Season in Massachusetts. — October 27 to May 1. Haunts and Habits. Along the bleak, desolate, rocky and inhospitable shores of the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans, from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to northern Green- land, Briinnich's Murre in migration or in summer is one of the commonest of the water- fowl. It bred formerly in countless thousands on the coasts and islands of Newfoundland and Labrador, but now it is found in such immense numbers only in its far northern retreats where the white man rarely goes. Mr. A. C. Bent gives an account by Mr. Elmer Ekblaw of a rookery of these birds on Saunders Island where he says there are literally millions ; that the noise they make is appalling, and that when they leave the island cliffs at the sound of a gun, the rush of wings sounds like a passing tornado. The egg of a Murre is more or less flattened on the sides and pointed at the small end so that when it is disturbed or displaced, it tends to roll in a circle and stay on the ledge where it lies. When the birds are suddenly alarmed, many eggs are displaced, never- theless, by the owners themselves and pushed off the rock and into the sea. A Murre does not sit upon its single egg like most birds, but stands erect over it like a penguin and pokes it into place with the bill. Murres can dive at the flash of a gun and are difficult to kill at long range. They use their wings for under-water swimming at which they are as expert as a loon. The following notes from Mr. and Mrs. Richard B. Harding show at least one method em- ployed by an individual of this species in swimming under water. Three birds were ob- served February 27, 1921, from Cunningham's Bridge, Cohasset, Massachusetts, swim- ming in a tidal stream. Mrs. Harding says : "The circumstances were quite unusual. Mr. Harding and I observed the birds from a bridge some twelve feet above the water which was clear, so we could plainly see the actions of the nearest bird. The birds were now diving at inter- vals, and averaged 30-35 seconds under water ; one was diving close to the bridge from which we could distinctly see it under water, swimming with powerful strokes of the wings, held as in cut, Position under water- primaries parallel and most of the power in the wing-butts. It dived in the ordinary feeble fluttering manner of the murre using both wings and feet, but once under water 42 BIKDS OF MASSACHUSETTS it seemed to drag the feet and use the wings or, to be more exact, wing-butts, entirely. In this connection it is interesting to note why it was diving. The current was bearing it towards the bridge somewhat faster than the bird could swim on the surface. By swim- ming under the surface it could gain on the current, thereby indicating more speed under than on the surface. The bird was neither frightened nor feeding. " The wings were used on the descent and on the level under water, but on rising to the surface were held rigid in the position above indicated." Diagram Showing Position of Observers and Position and Progress of Bird under Water as Observed by Mr. and Mrs. Harding 3-ridge jrinjsj^ed. te. r> -» Current "The cut shows clearly the position of the observer while observing the bird's actions under water. Depth of water 8 to 10 feet." Usually not many birds of this species arrive until late November off the Massachu- setts coast where they seem most numerous usually in January and February. Com- monly they remain well offshore but sometimes, particularly during severe easterly storms, they come into open estuaries. Captain Donald B. MacMillan tells me that at such times the exhausted birds while asleep have been killed with oars by boys in Prov- incetown Harbor. They frequent waters off both rocky and sandy shores. In New England they are found most commonly on the Maine coast and on the northernmost shores of Massachusetts. By March they are again moving northward, and in May and June they reach the farthest northern points at which they are known to breed. In some winters a few of these birds are found scattered about the interior as far or farther south than the Great Lakes. Such a dispersal to the interior is believed to be caused in some cases by storms ; but Mr. J. H. Fleming gives good reasons for the belief that sometimes the Murres are driven out of Hudson Bay by the freezing of the surface, and so fly southward seeking open water, many of them becoming exhausted and coming to earth in their fruitless search. There have been record flights in the late fall on the lower lakes (Erie and Ontario) when most of the birds die, seemingly of starvation. Brunnich's Murre feeds on small fishes, crustaceans and other marine food, as do all Murres. Its food has never been carefully studied. Economic Status. See page 30. AUKS 43 Alca torda Linnaeus. Razor-billed Auk. Other names : tinker ; ice-bird ; sea crow, plate 3. Description. — Bill much compressed laterally; knife-like upper mandible hooked and cross- grooved; tail of 12 feathers. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Head and upper neck all around and other upper plumage generally dark brown or slaty-black, brown on sides of head and neck, much darker on top of head, deepening to slaty-black on other upper plumage; glossy on back; a sunken white line from base of upper mandible to upper eyelid ; secondaries narrowly and sharply tipped white ; below, including under wing-coverts and axillars, white ; bill slaty or black, white band crossing both mandibles near middle ; inside of mouth yellow ; iris dark brown or bluish ; feet black. Adults in winter plumage : Similar but white below reaches bill and sides of neck ; conspicuous white line before eye now obliterated, but white line across bill remains. Young in first winter plumage : Similar to winter adult but smaller, duller and paler ; much more white or gray about head and neck ; bill very much smaller, more pointed and lacking grooves and white cross-line of adult bill. Downy young : Variable ; sooty or blackish-brown ; lighter or more brown on rump ; overlaid with rufous on crown ; paler or much lighter, often whitish, on head, neck and below. More or less of the downy filaments above are paler at tips giving chick a lighter appearance than would be given by the down alone. Measurements. — Length 16.00 to 18.50 in.; spread 25.00 to 27.00; folded wing 7.75 to 8.50; tail about 3.50; bill 1.25 to 1.30; tarsus 1.25 to 1.40. Molts. — The natal down is changed in a few weeks for juvenal plumage, and very soon winter dress is assumed, so that young bird is in first winter dress in late September or early October ; after a partial prenuptial molt in spring the head takes on a nuptial plumage similar to that of adult, but youth of bird can be determined by smaller and more pointed bill which lacks grooves so prominent on that of adult ; date of this prenuptial molt varies ; there is a complete postnuptial molt beginning in August after which young bird assumes adult winter plumage; adults have a partial prenuptial molt of body feathers in winter or spring (date varying greatly) and complete postnuptial molt in autumn. Field Marks. — Adults in winter plumage (as we see them) may be distinguished from Brtinnich's Murre by stouter build, larger head, longer tail and (especially) compressed, hooked bill ; sometimes when seen on water at a little distance, white line across bill seems to cut off its end, and head appears like that of a pig ; shortened neck contracts the white on its side into a more or less narrow band extending up nearly to nape, and bird appears as a dark pig-headed bird crossed by two white marks ; white on sides of neck extends up much farther toward nape than in Murre ; Mr. Bent tells us that Dr. C. W. Town- send remarks that when "Razor-bills" fly away, they show white on either side of a black median line (murres show this also), while the Puffin under such circumstances shows a solid black back ; the "Razor- bill" often (but not always) carries its comparatively long tail upright when resting or swimming on the water ; the Murre sometimes does this, but tail is shorter than that of Razor-bill. Voice. — Hoarse, guttural notes or low croaking sounds (A. C. Bent) ; notes in courtship like syllables odd arr and hur-ray (F. O. Morris). Breeding. — On sea islands ; in colonies. Nest : None ; eggs laid on ledge of rock or in fissure in cliff, resting on bare rock or small stones, in plain sight or partially concealed. Eggs: 1 (rarely 2 are found together) ; 3.00 by scant 2.00 in. (Coues) ; elliptical-ovate or elongate-ovate, never really pear- shaped ; shell coarse, thick, tough and lustreless ; sometimes resemble some Murres' eggs in color (though never green) but not in shape ; color varies from bluish- or greenish-white or pinkish-buff to dull yellow or yellowish ; markings vary from small spots to blotches and scrawls of darker shades of brown. Dates : May 24 to July 25, Gulf of St. Lawrence. Incubation : Period about 30 days (in incubator) ; by both sexes (A. C. Bent). Range. — Coasts and islands of North Atlantic and Arctic oceans. Breeds in America from Green- land south to Newfoundland and New Brunswick, formerly occasionally to Maine, and in Europe from Iceland south to British Isles and Channel Islands and east to coast of Norway and Lapland ; winters 44 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS from southern Labrador south to Ontario, Long Island, and rarely or casually to Virginia and North Carolina, and in Europe south from British Isles to Azores and Canary Islands and east to Mediterranean and Adriatic seas ; recorded in interior of America west to Lake Ontario. Distribution in New England. — Common winter visitant coastwise in Maine ; not uncommon in some winters on coasts of New Hampshire and Massachusetts ; less common on those of Rhode Island and Connecticut; sometimes abundant locally off outlying points on any of these coasts except Con- necticut. Season in Massachusetts. — Not uncommon irregular winter visitant coastwise ; October 27 to April 15 (May 12). Haunts and Habits. After a long easterly winter storm, in clearing weather when the dark blue wintry seas are stirred by the gusts of a brisk northwester, we may find the hardy " Razor-bill" riding at ease off the storm-beaten ledges of the North Shore. It swims lightly, swiftly and easily with head sometimes raised but commonly drawn in and often the tail is cocked jauntily upward. It flies with the head held close to the body and level with it and does not stretch its neck forward like a loon, cormorant or murre but, like murres, it tips from side to side in flight, showing its breast and back alternately. Like auks, murres and guillemots in general it employs its wings in under-water flight, raising them as it dives and using them either partly closed like fins or not quite as fully opened as in flight. It is an expert diver going down to great depths and swimming for long distances under water. On March 12, 1922, on the beach at Nantucket I surprised a "Razor-bill" apparently asleep on some seaweed close to the water. In my attempt to catch the bird it menaced me with open bill, flapping wings and strident cries, but before I could seize it, it plunged into the water and swam and dived, opening its wings to nearly full length when under water and moving them backward and forward. The bird moved fast, but the wings were not flapped so rapidly as when used in the air. I could not see the feet ; apparently i A they were hidden by the tail. I saw the same bird or an- <^2^^Z^> i^~\ °ther g° °ff from the beach in the same way later in the "^N r^~ U\f\i day. The wing motion was absolutely unlike that observed Forwani SiroAe JacAJtratc in Briinnich's Murre by Mr. and Mrs. Harding (page 41) or that observed in the Razor-bill by several authorities. Selous asserts that the wings are "raised from and brought downwards again towards the sides in the same position in which they repose against them when closed." l This is a very different motion from the one that I observed, for in that case the wings were not brought near the body (see cut). Yarrell gives an interesting account by Mr. Theodore Walker of how the mother bird inducts her offspring into the mysteries of swimming and diving. Sometimes if it proves obstinate, the mother takes it by the back of the neck and flies down with it to the sea. In teaching it to dive, she seizes it by the neck and dives with it. Up it comes again, only to get another dousing until finally it dives to escape its mother, and "so endeth the first lesson." 1 Selous, Edmund: Bird Watching, 1901, p. 151. AUKS 45 Mr. Harrison Lewis sends me the following notes on this species : "Razor-billed Auks are still quite numerous on some parts of the Canadian Labrador coast, near Cape Whittle. In this region they breed upon islands, where their eggs are deposited in crevices in the solid rock, or under protecting boulders, so that they are usually difficult to reach. Where many birds are incubating together, however, some eggs are almost always in easily accessible situations. "During the period of incubation, those Auks which are not sitting upon the eggs often stand in groups on rocks from which they can obtain a good view of the surroundings. Upon the approach of an intruder these birds fly away and alight upon the water. Prob- ably, in doing so, they give warning to their incubating mates, for the latter usually scramble hurriedly out from their rocky homes and fly away to join the others. Occasion- ally, however, an incubating Razor-bill will remain on its egg, in some secure situation, despite the approach of a man to the nearest possible point. In such cases the bird usually faces its unwelcome visitor and opens its mouth very wide. "Razor-billed Auks possess much curiosity, and the occupants of a boat passing near them can readily entice them to fly by within a few yards by cheering and waving their hands." "Razor-bills " are staunch and hardy sea-birds and although many of them in autumn follow the last flights of the scoters down the New England coast, they commonly keep well offshore, even in midwinter. Probably they are far more common off our coasts in winter than the number reported by landsmen would lead us to believe. During the winter of 1921-22 many were cast up dead or dying on the south shore of Nantucket. Most of these birds had become soaked with crude oil floating on the sea. Sometimes large numbers perish in another way. Mr. Edward Babson, writing on December 28, 1920, from Gloucester, stated that many Razor-bills had been caught offshore in gill- nets by the local gill-netting steamers, as many as two bushels of the birds being taken on one occasion from the nets where they had become entangled and drowned while diving for food. This is another of the birds that formerly were abundant from Maine to Labrador and which man's rapacity has reduced in all this territory to a mere remnant of its former numbers. Its habit of nesting in rifts and holes and hiding its eggs in the crevices of in- accessible cliffs has saved it thus far to posterity. The Razor-billed Auk moves southward to Massachusetts mainly in November and December and is most common off our coasts in December, January and February. In March and April it moves north again to its breeding grounds, migrating mainly at a considerable distance from our shores. This bird feeds often in the ocean, many miles from land, and its food consists largely of small fish, crustaceans and other marine organisms which it gets from the waters or the bottom of the sea. Economic Status. See page 30. 46 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Subfamily ALLINiE. Dovekies. Number of species in North America 1 ; in Massachusetts 1. This subfamily includes but one genus characterized by nostrils rounded, incompletely feathered ; bill without appendages, small, short, obtuse ; size small ; no crests ; tail normally of 12 feathers. Alle alle (Linnaeus). Dovekie. Other names : little auk ; pine-knot ; knotty ; ice-bird ; little ice-bird. Plate 8. Description. — Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Head, neck and all upper plumage glossy bluish-black, except sides of head, throat and front of neck which shade into sooty-brown; scapulars narrowly edged white, forming white streaks ; secondaries sharply and narrowly tipped white, forming a narrow white bar on wing ; below from neck pure white ; some long feathers on upper flanks streaked black ; linings of wings dusky, varied in some cases with whitish ; bill black ; inside of mouth light yellow ; iris brown ; feet flesh-colored with black webs. Adults in winter plumage : Similar, but white of under plumage extends to bill and nearly or quite around nape. Young in first winter plumage: Similar to adult but upper plumage duller and browner ; some dusky mottling on sides of head and neck and across breast; bill smaller; feet dusky-greenish. Young in juvenal plumage: Strangely resembles nuptial plumage of adult. Downy young: Uniformly sooty-slate, paler or more grayish below (Ridgway). Measurements. — Length 7.25 to 9.15 in. ; spread 13.86 to 15.50; folded wing 4.50 to 5.25; tail 1.50 to 1.75; bill about .50 ; tarsus .75 to .85. Female smaller than male. Molts. — Before end of September young bird undergoes a molt of body plumage which is succeeded by first winter plumage ; at first prenuptial molt in spring young bird takes on a dress indistinguishable from adult ; adults have partial prenuptial molt early in spring and complete postnuptial molt in August and September (A. C. Bent). Field Marks. — Its extremely small size, together with its black back and white breast, distinguish this, the smallest winter sea-fowl on this coast. Voice. — Harsh squeak uttered sometimes just as it dives; note at nest a pretty chirrup or pipe try and eye (F. O. Morris) ; also likened to syllables al-le (A. C. Bent). Breeding. — On sea-cliffs or steep slopes covered with loose rocks. Nest : Crevice among rocks or rubble or horizontal cleft in cliff, sometimes lined with pebbles or bits of grass. Eggs: 1, rarely 2 ; 1.60 to 1.85 by 1.10 to 1.25 in. (Coues) ; pale greenish-blue, usually unmarked, but occasionally indistinctly streaked with yellowish-brown at larger end (H. Seebohm). Dates: Earliest eggs at Etah, north Green- land, last week in June ; laying at its height first week of July. Incubation : Period 24 days (Hantzsch) ; shared by both parents (H. Seebohm). One brood yearly; young begin hatching about middle of July (W. Elmer Ekblaw). Range. — Coasts, islands and offshore waters of North Atlantic and Arctic. Breeds in northern Greenland, Ellesmere Island, Baffin Island and on other Arctic coasts and islands, also in northern Iceland, Spitzbergen, Novaya Zemlya and east to Franz Josef Land ; winters from southern Greenland south to New York, New Jersey, Virginia and casually South Carolina and from North Sea and British Isles south along coasts of Europe to Azores, Canary and Madeira Islands. Distribution in New England. — Rather irregular winter visitant coastwise ; at various times either rare, uncommon or abundant according to weather conditions; rare winter visitant on Rhode Island coast ; very rare in Connecticut coastal waters ; casual inland in all New England states (one taken May 31, 1910, in summer plumage at Bennington, Vt. Dr. L. H. Ross in litt.) : Mr. Arthur H. Norton notes (Auk, Vol. XXVIII, 1911, p. 481) a pair in mixed nuptial and winter plumage that he saw AUKS 47 July 15, 1911, about 6 miles from Machias Seal Island, off the Maine coast, and adds on the authority of Capt. Merton Thomas, late keeper of Matinicus Rock light, that a Dovekie was seen frequently in the summer of 1910 near the Rock. Season in Massachusetts. — (September 20) November 4 to May 1 (June 3). Haunts and Habits. In January, 1878, during a great freeze in the north I was on a steamer off the Virginia capes, bound for Florida. We were far offshore as the cap- tain was making a good offing in passing Hatteras, for a great easterly storm was brewing which soon burst in full force and smashed our steering-gear, so that we lay for four hours in the trough of a mighty sea, exposed to the full fury of the cyclone. Before the storm broke, hundreds of dovekies could be seen scattered on the heaving seas. This was the first time that I had seen the little things alive, and their activities impressed themselves upon my memory. As the steamer's bow approached, some of the birds dipped forward and with partly opened wings flew diagonally downward into the depths. Others pat- tered along on the surface, some flying from wave-crest to wave-crest and " skittering" over or through their tops ; while still others fluttered into the air and flew along for a short distance, only to alight again or to dip below the surface. All was excitement in their little companies as they fled from the great black, smoking monster, as it rushed furiously on. The impression made on my youthful mind by the sight of these little birds at home far out on that wild sea in the face of a coming storm has never been effaced. The Dovekie is reported to dive with open wings and to use the wings alone for progress- ing beneath the surface ; but I have seen it dive with wings closed, slightly lifted or widely spread, apparently as the exigency of the moment required. Mrs. Lidian E. Bridge writes that while standing on a high rock overlooking the sea at Rockport, she saw two Dovekies swimming under water and using both wings and feet. As they met she says, they uttered "an absurd little screech, short and sharp." The fishermen call Dovekies "Pine Knots" or "Knotties" to indicate their extreme hardiness, for they are indeed as "tough as a pine knot." They are rarely numerous near shore, but offshore they fly in small flocks with quick wing-beats close to the waves, or else rest on the sea. Probably the Dovekie is abundant during every winter on the fishing banks off the New England coast. The winter of 1920-21 was remarkably mild; nevertheless, on the coasts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island numbers of Dovekies were found dead or disabled, their feathers soaked with crude petroleum, discharged upon the water by some steamship or oil barge. A few uninjured birds also were seen along our shores. In the winter of 1919-20, which was very severe, the "ice-birds" were abundant off the coast of Virginia. Dovekies seem to be able to weather an ordinary gale, but now and then a protracted storm rising to hurricane force exhausts them and drives many ashore and even into the interior, where some alight in streams or in ponds if these are open. If the ponds are covered with ice, the birds finally fall spent on the snow, ice or frozen ground, from which 48 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS it is believed they never rise again, since many have been picked up dead under such cir- cumstances. Captain Donald B. MacMillan states that sometimes in winter at Provincetown large numbers of Dovekies are driven on the coast or into the harbor and beaten to death by the sea and washed to the beach where the skunks feed on them. Mr. J. A. Farley tells me that he found a Dovekie on Plymouth Beach which had fallen on pebbly ground and, being unable to rise in the air, had worn away its webs in its attempts to walk until its toes resembled those of a sandpiper, the entire web having been destroyed. The greatest inland flight of this species of which we have any recollection was in November, 1871. Brewster gives the date as November 15.1 This occurred during a very violent easterly gale accompanied by torrential rain. Probably on that occasion the Dovekies appeared in every county in Massachusetts. They were not only scattered over eastern Massachusetts and Worcester County but reached the Connecticut valley and were reported from Belchertown ponds ("winter of 1872"), near Amherst.2 Since then the species has been seen or taken casually west to Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties, but I can find no record for Berkshire County. This little auk is a " God-send" to the Eskimo on its return home to the Arctic regions at the advent of spring. The Eskimos welcome its arrival with joy as we welcome the return of the bluebird, for its coming means to them not only the recurrence of the vernal season but often the transition from starvation to plenty. Captain Donald B. MacMillan, who has seen, several times, the return of the birds after the dark winter in the North, graphically describes the scene as follows: "But what is that great, pulsating, musical note which seems to fill all space ? Now loud and clear, now diminishing to a low hum, the sound proclaims the arrival of the true representative of the bird-life of the Arctic, the most interesting and most valuable of all, the bird which means so much to the Smith Sound native — the dovekie or little auk (Alle alle). The long dark winter has at last passed away. The larder open to all is empty. The sun is mounting higher into the heavens day by day. Now and then a seal is seen sunning himself at his hole. The Eskimos are living from hand to mouth. And then that glad cry, relieving all anxiety for the future, bringing joy to every heart, lArk-pood-e-ark-suit! Ark-pood-e-ark-suit ! ' (Little auks ! Little auks !)." 3 Thus the Eskimos hail these — the first small birds of spring. They come in clouds, like the driving snow, and fill the air with the uproar of their wings. The Eskimos kill them by thousands. The children, expert in stone throwing, knock down many. Some are eaten raw. An Eskimo boy will pick up the quivering body of one of these little birds, tear open its breast and eat the warm and bleeding creature right out of its skin, leaving little else than skin and feathers. 1 Brewster, William : Memoirs of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, No. IV. Birds of the Cambridge Region of Massa- chusetts, 1906, p. 90. 2 Clark, Herbert L. : Birds of Amherst and Hampshire County, Massachusetts, 1887, p. 45. 8 MacMillan, Donald B. : Four Years in the White North, 1918, pp. 105-106. AUKS 49 I have heard Capt. MacMillan describe the common method of catching Dovekies. An Eskimo woman ascends the steep and rocky slope where the Dovekies have their nests, sits in a hole among the rocks and sweeps with a long-handled dip-net, catching birds as they fly past, as a child catches butterflies. Sometimes as a flock passes, she will get several birds at one sweep with her 15-inch net. Thousands of these birds are cached in the frozen ground to be used in winter for food, and many of the skins are made into birdskin shirts. The eggs also are useful as food, and the children squeeze into the crev- ices and holes in rocky hillsides to collect them. All this has no noticeable permanent effect on the great abundance of this bird, and as it nests in the far north where the destructive white man is a rarity, its future seems secure. The Dovekie has many enemies besides man. The Arctic fox seeks its nest and no doubt sometimes catches it there. The Glaucous Gull, the Raven and the Gyrfalcon take their share. The white whale catches it on the sea and no doubt it has other submarine enemies, among them seals and large fish.1 Probably Dovekies begin to leave their northernmost breeding grounds in late July and early August, but many never go much farther south than the edge of the ice pack and some remain in southern Greenland. Occasionally a few appear on the New England coast in September, but they are seen rarely in abundance along the Massachusetts coast until the latter part of November. They migrate at sea, move southward slowly, and seldom appear in great numbers near shore unless driven in by severe storms. They begin to move northward in February, and the migration is at its height in March. In these two months they begin to appear in numbers at their homes beyond the Arctic circle, but they do not reach northern Greenland until about May 15. Mr. A. C. Bent quotes Mr. W. Elmer Ekblaw to the effect that the food of young Dovekies consists largely of so-called "shrimps," numerous in Arctic waters, and so- called "blackberries" or little black "arthropods," abundant there also. Many crus- taceans, small fish and bits of seaweed have been found in their stomachs. They are said to store quantities of crustaceans in their mouths and gullets when feeding their young, as the swallow fills for the same purpose its capacious maw with insects. The Dovekie is brought forth on the earth but gets its sustenance from the sea, that great fecund mother of varied and multitudinous life. Economic Status. See page 30. Order LONGIPENNES. Long-winged Swimmers. Number of species in North America 47 ; in Massachusetts 28. This order of swimmers includes Skuas and Jaegers, Gulls, Terns and Skimmers. All have long, pointed wings reaching when closed beyond the base or even beyond the end of the tail, which normally has twelve feathers; all have open lateral nostrils, small, free hind toe and webbed front toes. 1 Ekblaw, W. Elmer : Quoted in Life Histories of North American Diving Birds by A. C. Bent, 1919, p. 219, Bulletin No. 107, Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum. 50 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Family STERCORARIID^l. Skuas and Jaegers. Number of species in North America 4 ; in Massachusetts 4. This family includes long- winged swimmers with hooked bill, upper mandible saddled with a large sheath or so-called false cere, and nostrils opening beneath its edges — a character common to no other water-birds. The hook at the end of the bill appears as a separate part of its covering. There is a peculiar dark phase of each species, and one genus has the middle tail feathers much elongated. All birds of this family are virtually sea-hawks, with powerful wings, strongly hooked beaks and stout, curved claws. They are the most predatory of all sea-birds, the "robbers of the sea." They subsist largely by killing birds and small mammals, eating eggs, or robbing weaker birds of their food. Economic Status. These birds seem to be of little economic importance. Catharacta skua (Brunnich). Skua. Other names: great skua; sea-hen; sea-hawk. Plate It. Description. — Large, powerful, robust ; wings moderately long ; primaries very broad, and rounded at tips ; tail short, broad and nearly even or a trifle rounded at tip ; feathers on sides of nape elongated and rigid with long disconnected fibrillee ; bill stout and heavy, shorter than middle toe without claw; tarsus shorter than middle toe and claw. Adults (sexes alike and apparently no differences in seasonal plumages except such as are due to wearing and fading): Above blackish-brown, more or less varied with small spots and markings of whitish ; each dark feather with spot of rusty toward end, which (in some specimens at least) fades into whitish along shaft ; crown and upper fore part of head with little whitish or rusty ; axillars and under wing-coverts grayish-brown slightly tinged cinnamon ; wings and tail blackish ; shafts yellowish-white except toward tips ; quill-feathers of wings and tail white toward base, white on tail concealed by coverts, but appearing on outer primaries as conspicuous white spot or patch, largest on under side but conspicuous on upper side ; some specimens with rusty spots on sides and flanks ; bill and claws blackish ; cere grayer ; iris dark brown ; feet dull black. In dark phase this species is quite uniformly blackish with white wing-patch very conspicuous. Young in first winter plumage: Similar to adults but often smaller; bill more slender; cere poorly developed; feathers of neck shorter and more rounded ; wings shorter and rounded ; colors similar to adult but more rufous, duller, more blended, with few if any white spots ; rusty spots duller, numerous and large especially on edge of fore wing and smaller upper wing-coverts ; quill-feathers of wing and tail dull brownish-black, shafts yellowish-white, darker toward ends ; white patch on wing largely covered from above but plainly visible from below ; bill, tarsi and feet more brownish, feet sometimes varied with yellowish or whitish. Downy young : Buff y-gray or ruddy-gray ; darker and sometimes ruddier above than below. Measurements. — Length about 20.00 to 22.00 in. ; folded wing 15.75 to 16.25 ; tail about 6.00 ; tarsus 2.60 to 2.75 ; bill (chord) 2.10, (along ridge) 2.23. Molts. — Young birds may become as adults at first postnuptial molt when a little over a year old, but perhaps not for a year or two later (A. C. Bent) ; adults have a complete postnuptial molt (July to December) ; probably they have a partial prenuptial molt in spring. Field Marks. — Large size, near that of Herring Gull ; robust shape ; dark brown or blackish color ; blackish legs and feet ; white patch on primaries conspicuous in flight ; short, slightly-uptilted tail; jaegers also show some white on wing and in dark plumage might be mistaken for Skuas; but their PLATE 4 PLATE 4 LONG-TAILED JAEGER Page 58 PARASITIC JAEGER Adult Page 55 Light Phase Dark Phase POMARINE JAEGER Page 52 Adult SKUA Page 50 All one-eighth natural size. SKUAS AND JAEGERS 51 wings in flight are long, angular, bent at carpal joint and sharp-pointed, resembling those of a falcon, while those of Skua are broader and rounded at tips and held fully spread like those of soaring Red- tailed Hawk or eagle ; all jaegers, except very young, show elongated middle tail-feathers ; Skua has none and tail of young often appears slightly forked. Voice. — Usually silent in our waters. Its cry sharp and shrill resembling that of young gull, like the word skua or skui (McGillivray). Breeding. — On sea-islands but not in colonies. Nest : On rocky cliffs or tundra, of grasses, lichens, mosses, etc. Eggs: 2 or 3 ; 3.00 by 1.99 to 2.45 by 1.55 in. ; pale olive to brownish or deep olive-buff spotted with large and small brown markings of varying shades. Dates: May 5 to June 21, Green- land ; May 20 to June 23, Iceland. Incubation : Period 28 to 30 days (Hantzsch) ; by both sexes. One brood yearly. Range. — Coasts and islands of North Atlantic. Breeds in Iceland, Faroe, Shetland and Orkney Islands ; believed to breed in Greenland and on Lady Franklin Island north of Hudson Strait ; winters on fishing-banks off Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Massachusetts; casual to Long Island and in interior ; recorded at Niagara Falls, December 3, 1915 ; x in Europe from British Isles and Norway south to Gibraltar ; casual or occasional on Madeira Islands and in Mediterranean and inland waters. Distribution in New England. — Rare visitor off shore in late summer or autumn ; only one record of specimen taken on New England coast — at Pollock Rip. Season in Massachusetts. — The Skua has been considered mainly a winter visitor on the fishing banks off the Massachusetts coast, but Capt. J. W. Collins says that Skuas are "most plentiful on the Grand Banks [of Newfoundland, Ed.] in July, August, and September ; while Mr. Walter H. Rich found Skuas from June 19 to November 5 on the fishing grounds off Nantucket (in the "south part of the channel" 35 miles east of south from Sankaty Head, 68° 42' W. ; 41° 20' N.) where its period of greatest abundance was from August 12 to September 10. Mr. Rich says that these facts have suggested to Mr. Arthur H. Norton the possibility that these summer Skuas may be Antarctic Skuas which come north to summer here, and which breed in the far south in the Antarctic summer, while the winter Skuas come from the northern breeding grounds.2 If some ornithologist would collect and examine a few summer Skuas, this question might be settled. Following are the only definite records of the Skua : One captured alive on a fishing vessel on Georges Bank was found dead July 18, 1878, at Gloucester, where it had been left by its captor (this has been cited as a Massachusetts record, but the bird was taken about 100 miles offshore) ; 3 one seen at Ipswich Bay, September 17, 1878, by Raymond L. Newcomb ; 4 two noted October 17, 1883, on Nantucket Shoals;5 female taken September 10, 1884, at Pollock Rip.6 This species appeared at Woods Hole August 30, 1890, and September 19, 1889 — both probably sight records by the late Vinal N. Edwards who reported them, according to H. C. Oberholser.7 Haunts and Habits. The Skua is a bird of the wide seas or the fishing banks far out of sight of land. Chamberlain describes it as a sea-falcon preying upon weaker and smaller birds, robbing those it cannot kill, subsisting on fish and flesh, with a partiality for eggs ; piratic, daring, strong and bold ; living solitary as the eagle, and defending its nest as few eagles dare ; showing so fierce a front in defense of its offspring that few dogs care to close with it. Its attacks in defense of its young are so swift, savage and reckless i Reineke, Ottomar: Oologist, Vol. XXXI, 1916, p. 13. 2 Bent, A. C. : Bulletin No. 113, Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, 1921, p. 6. s Brewer, T. M. : Bulletin, Nuttall Ornithological Club, Vol. Ill, 1878, p. 188. * Allen, J. A. : Bulletin, Nuttall Ornithological Club, Vol. IV, 1879, p. 128. 6 Collins, J. W. : United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, Report of the Commissioner, 1882, pp. 323, 324. « Goss, N. S. : Auk, Vol. I, 1884, p. 395. 7 Cooke, W. W. : Bulletin No. 292, United States Department of Agriculture (Biological Survey), 1915, p. 6. 52 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS that even the Golden Eagle is compelled to retreat, and for this reason it is believed to guard from the attack of the king of birds the flocks of sheep on some of its island homes. On the fishing banks it follows the fishing fleet and pounces upon any refuse thrown over- board. Powerful of wing, it rides unharmed upon the storm, and so it keeps the sea — a great, dour, somber bird, the embodiment of predatory might. It is not very rare on the fishing banks off the New England coast. Mr. Walter H. Rich, who has often observed it, thus excellently describes its appear- ance in flight : "When on the wing, which is the greater part of the time, the skua shows in the air hawk like, rather than like the gulls, with whom we rather expect to find its resemblances. Its appearance in the air is somewhat like the buteonine hawks, except that its wing action, in its seemingly restrained power and forceful stroke, suggests the unhurried flight of a falcon, or, perhaps, more accurately — since the wings are at all times fully opened, employing their full sweep in their action, their primaries slightly separated at the tips and slightly recurved — the majestic flight of an eagle. The wing spread is ample, the wing well balanced in its proportions of length and breadth, well combined to produce both power and speed. The figure is somewhat burly and chunky as compared with the lighter appearance of the gull and the more racy lines of the yager. The im- pression of muscularity is heightened by the short, square-cut tail, carried somewhat up- tilted, giving the fowl an appearance unmistakable in the eyes of one having once recog- nized it. This peculiarity of tail, which to me seemed slightly forked instead of having the central feathers lengthened, as in others of this group, together with the broad white patch across the bases of the primaries, furnishes a good field mark for the identification of the species." 1 Sometimes it may be driven by storm or attracted by food to the shores of Cape Cod, Marthas Vineyard or Nantucket. At such times gunners and fishermen have told of visits of a large, dark bird which from the description they give may have been the Skua. Economic Status. See page 50. Stercorarius pomarinus (Temminck). Pomarine Jaeger. Other names: jiddy hawk; gull chaser. Plate 4. Description. — Jaegers are smaller and not so robust in form as Skuas ; bill weaker ; middle tail- feathers of all except very young birds extend considerably beyond others; a light or whitish band usually across primaries (white basal parts of inner webs) fading toward ends; plumage very much varied, but upper plumage always darkest ; flight hawk-like ; all have a light and a dark phase. Adults (sexes alike) : Cere straight and smooth ; unguis not longer than cere ; bill shorter than head, about f length of tarsus ; upper mandible convex and hooked ; head with slight appearance of crest ; feathers of 1 Bent, A. C. : Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Bulletin No. 113, 1921, pp. 3-4. SKUAS AND JAEGERS 53 neck rigid and narrow ; 1st primary longer than 2d ; tail (excluding middle feathers) less than half length of wing ; all tail-feathers broad to tips, shafts projecting slightly beyond them ; middle pair much length- ened, projecting 3 to 4.75 inches beyond others and twisted at tips to an angle of at least 45 degrees ; webs of this middle pair also broadened near tip ; hind toe extremely short ; webbing of toes very full and slightly convex on edges. There is great individual variation in coloration but little seasonal varia- tion ; description of all individual variations is impossible ; three principal phases may be described as follows (somewhat abridged from Ridgway) : Adults, light phase : Forehead, top of head and front face, together with upper plumage, except lower nape and hindneck, plain dark sooty-gray ; rest of head and neck and under plumage white, ear-region and sides of nape and throat more or less tinged with straw-yellow forming a yellow collar ; region of vent and under tail-coverts brownish-gray, sometimes intermixed with whitish ; bill whitish, its terminal third (approximately) black ; iris dark brown ; tarsi and feet blackish, upper part of tarsi pale bluish. Adults, intermediate phase: Similar to light colored phase but chest and hind neck barred or spotted across with dusky; sides and flanks irregularly barred same.* Adults, dark phase: Entirely plain, dark, sooty, grayish-brown, with a slaty cast in certain lights, ear-region sometimes tinged yellowish. Young in first winter plumage, light phase : Very little if any elongation of middle tail-feathers ; head, neck and under plumage dull buff or white, elsewhere barred dusky; upper plumage dusky, grayish- brown, scapulars and interscapulars tipped buff, rump and upper tail-coverts spotted or tipped same. Young in first winter plumage, dusky phase : Entirely sooty grayish-brown ; breast, abdomen and sides narrowly and rather indistinctly barred buff ; under and upper tail-coverts broadly and sharply barred same. Immature : Varying in each phase ; lighter phases grow lighter below and the dark phase grows darker ; middle tail-feathers increase in length year by year ; in lighter phases buffy barring on upper plumage fades into whitish during second winter. Downy young: Immaculate grayish-brown passing into paler and tending toward drab on chin and under parts of body ; bill brownish, legs and feet much paler brownish. Measurements. — Length about 20.00 to 23.00 in. ; spread about 48.00 ; folded wing about 14.00 ; tail about 5.00, middle feathers projecting 3.00 to 4.00 more; bill 1.45 to 1.75; tarsus 2.00 to 2.10. Molts. — Juvenal plumage seems to be practically continuous with first winter plumage which is worn with slight change to about end of first year ; from June to October of second year birds are under- going first postnuptial molt ; (if there is any spring molt it is partial) ; many birds in third year plumage (at about two years of age) are practically in adult plumage, but seem to perfect this later. "I have never seen a specimen in which the neck, breast and shoulders were entirely free from dusky mottling. The prenuptial molts of both young and adults are probably incomplete" (A. C. Bent). Length of central tail-feathers varies with age ; in juvenal plumage they project very little, if at all, beyond the others, and in other early stages they project more but are not noticeably twisted. Field Marks. — Largest of our jaegers; adults have elongated central tail-feathers twisted so that ends standing out beyond rest of tail are set vertically and appear spatulate like the blade of an oar ; immature birds closely resemble those of Parasitic Jaeger and though larger are indistinguishable in the field unless the two species can be compared side by side. Voice. — Usual call "a sharp which-yew ; also a squeaky whistle; occasionally a squealing note like the week-week of the Herring Gull" (Walter H. Rich) ; "a low, harsh chattering cry" (E. W. Nelson). Breeding. — On sea-islands, on the mainland, and by preference in colonies, but nests not very close together. Nest : A mere hollow in the moss of some knoll in marsh or tundra ; eggs sometimes deposited on a cliff-ledge. Eggs: 2 or 3 ; 2.85 by 1.77 to 2.32 by 1.57 in. ; color variable, from light or dark olivaceous or greenish to brownish, spotted more or less heavily with dark brown and sometimes with underlying blotches of gray or drab. Dates : June 10 to 28, Alaska. Incubation : No data. One brood yearly. * "The majority of specimens are of this intermediate phase, the two extremes being comparatively rare. A large series shows every gradation between the two extremes " (Ridgway) . 54 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Range. — Northern part of Northern Hemisphere and south to Peru, South Africa and Australia. Breeds in North America from Banks, Melville and North Somerset Islands and central Greenland south to northern Alaska, northern Mackenzie, Melville Peninsula and Baffin Island, in Europe from Iceland to Spitzbergen and Novaya Zemlia, and in Asia along the coast of Siberia ; winters on Atlantic coast to Florida, Gulf of Mexico and probably much farther south, and on Pacific coast south to the Galapagos and Peru; reported in European and Mediterranean waters, south Africa and northern Australia; occasional in winter in Orkney Islands, off southern coast of England and off Japan ; casual in interior of United States. Distribution in New England. — Uncommon spring, not very common fall, migrant off or along coast from Maine to Rhode Island ; uncommon or rare to casual in midsummer, but plentiful in the great flight of 1886, from Pt. Judith to Buzzards Bay ; x on Maine coast occurs throughout summer (May 29 to September 22). — A. H. Norton states that "almost any day in summer spent at sea three or more miles beyond the bays, will usually show one or more Pomarine Jaegers" ;2 not recorded from Connecticut. Season in Massachusetts. — Spring, usually in May ; July 5 to October 20 ; not recorded in June ; occasional in July ; more common in late August and September. Haunts and Habits. Probably the Pomarine Jaeger is not so common on New England shores as is the Parasitic Jaeger but, like all our jaegers and shearwaters, it comes in some numbers when mackerel and bluefish are numerous in August and Septem- ber off our coasts. When the mackerel fishermen are making great catches, then is the time to look for the Pomarine Jaeger and other jaegers and shearwaters, for the birds follow the fish. In seasons when mackerel-fishing does not pay, few birds are to be found. The fishermen say: "No fish, no birds." In autumn when the fish move southward, these birds go with them. This large species is rather less bold and active than the smaller species and a little heavier in flight. Dr. E. W. Nelson says that whenever a Pomarine Jaeger crosses the path of one of the smaller jaegers, the latter commonly gives chase and beats its antagonist off the field. Regarding this he writes as follows : "This attack embarrasses the large bird, so that it flinches and dives, and often alights and watches an opportunity to escape from its nimble assailant. One that was driven to alight in the river thrust its head under water at every swoop of its assailant, and exhibited the most ludicrous terror. When on the wing they usually ward off an attack from one side by a half closed wing, and if above, both wings are used, forming an arched shield above the back." 3 The Pomarine Jaeger may be seen not uncommonly along the Massachusetts coast, particularly on Cape Cod, in its southward migration, but as the shore line turns and recedes westward toward Long Island Sound, the species grows rare. It seems to move south into the broad Atlantic, and so far as I know has never been recorded from the coast of South America. About May 9 the species again passes northward along our coast. It moves rapidly and a month later appears 2,000 miles north of our latitude. A few stragglers return early in July. Although this Jaeger is depicted as a coward in its relations to its smaller and more > Baird, Spencer F. : Auk, Vol. IV, 1887, p. 71. « Auk, Vol. XXXIII, 1916, p. 376. 8 Nelson, E. W. : Report upon the Natural History Collections made in Alaska, 1887, p. 46. SKUAS AND JAEGERS 55 active congeners, it nevertheless does not hesitate to attack gulls of all sizes, even the great Glaucous Gull and the Black-backed Gull, in its attempts to rob them of their food. The swarming Kittiwakes seem to suffer more than any other species from its persecu- tions while off our coasts. On its breeding-grounds over the wide and desolate tundra or on its tremendous island cliffs within the Arctic circle this, like other species of the genus, is a notorious nest-robber, taking eggs and young birds alike, but it is constant^ on the watch for insects. At sea it has been known to pursue and kill small sea-birds and it continually robs shearwaters of their food. Its evolutions in attacking shear- waters are graphically told by Mr. Walter H. Rich, who says that on several occasions he has seen the Pomarine Jaeger turn a complete somersault in the air while diving down upon some piece of food which the sweeping gale had caused it to overrun. Mr. Rich says that the "Gull Chaser," coveting some dainty morsel which the shearwater has seized, rises against the breeze, turns upside down, and then, with wings half closed, falls on its victim like a lance. The squealing, choking "Hag" gulps mightily to swallow its spoil in time ; but if the Jaeger has any luck, he may secure a fragment.1 The piratical bird is so persistent in its attacks that it often forces the Hag to disgorge. Terns also are pursued by the Pomarine Jaeger, but it is not quite so successful in robbing them as are its smaller congeners. At Nantucket, Chatham or almost any outlying point or island on the New England coast in September this bird may be seen chasing gulls or terns to make them drop or disgorge food ; it is, however, much more common on the fishing-grounds miles from shore. Two or three or even more sometimes join in the chase of a single gull or shear- water, and when the victim disgorges, they fight over their ill-gotten booty. Yet this Jaeger does not merely exploit the labor of others ; it hunts for itself, sweeping over wide waters with steady flight as it searches the waves for any smaller creature that may come within its ken. Economic Status. This bird has no known economic value. Stercorarius parasiticus (Linnjeus). Parasitic Jaeger. Other names: Richardson's jaeger; jiddy hawk; gull chaser. Plate 4. Description. — Nasal sheath or false cere much longer than chord of rest of mandible ; wings moder- ately long, strong, pointed; 1st primary longest; others regularly and rapidly graduated; shafts of three outer primaries white, those of other primaries growing gradually darker; lateral tail-feathers grad- uated only .50 inch, middle pair tapering and pointed, projecting 3 to 4 inches only and beginning to taper about 4 inches from their pointed tips ; feet rather short and quite slender ; tarsus as long as middle toe and claw. Adults, light phase (sexes alike) : Top of head, and region in front of and surrounding eyes grayish-brown ; rest of head, together with neck and under plumage (except partial collar on sides of neck, and under tail-coverts) white ; sides of head more or less strongly tinged straw-yellow ; upper- plumage brownish-gray, becoming darker or dusky on primaries and tail ; basal part of inner webs of 1 Bent, A. C. : Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Bulletin No. 113, 1921, p. 12. 56 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS primaries white which shows when wing is spread ; region about vent, and under tail-coverts brownish gray; bill light horn color, terminal part dusky or blackish; iris brown; legs and feet mainly black "upper part of tarsus light bluish " (E. H. Eaton) ; adults in autumn have chin, throat and neck clouded more or less with light drab, and cap not so dark as in spring. Adults, dark phase (sexes alike) : Entirely plain, dark, sooty-grayish-brown, neck often more or less tinged straw-yellow. Young in first winter plumage, light phase: Head and neck streaked dusky-brown and cinnamon or cinnamon-buff, latter usually predominating ; whitish under plumage more or less distinctly barred or cross-spotted with dusky- brown; upper plumage dusky-grayish-brown, feathers tipped or terminally margined cinnamon, cin- namon-buff or whitish. Young, dark phase: General color dusky-grayish-brown or brownish-gray; wings and tail darker; middle of neck streaked indistinctly all round grayish-white; under plumage except chest and upper breast, barred with grayish-white, bars broad and distinct on under tail-coverts ; scapulars, wing-coverts, upper tail-coverts and most of feathers of back and rump narrowly tipped or terminally margined pale dull buff. In all the above plumages an interrupted band of white or whitish (composed of white basal parts of inner webs) shows across primaries when wing is spread. (This can be seen from above or below.) Downy Young: "Sooty brown above, paler below; but the downy young of dark parents are darkest." Measurements. — Length about 15.50 to 21.00 in.; folded wing 11.80 to 13.50; tarsus 1.50 to 1.87; bill 1.15 to 1.50; tail 4.90 to 6.05, long middle feathers up to 9.00. Molts. — The sequences of molts and plumages are practically the same in both light and dark phases as in the case of the Pomarine Jaeger, except that the Parasitic Jaeger seems to mature earlier, normally acquiring its adult plumage when not much over two years old; adults and young have a complete postnuptial molt in August, September and October ; probably there is an incomplete prenup- tial molt also (A. C. Bent). The Practical Hand-book of British Birds, edited by H. F. Witherby, gives immature plumages up to the "third" summer when the bird is about three years old. Field Marks. — The long, middle tail-feathers which in adults project 3 to 4 inches beyond rest of tail are not broadened, twisted or rounded at ends as in the case of Pomarine Jaeger but are tapering and pointed ; young of the year are hardly distinguishable in the field from either the preceding or succeeding species, although pomarinus is larger and longicaudus smaller; note in the lighter phase the downward extension of dark upper color on sides of neck where it forms a partial or even complete collar ; the adult Long-tailed Jaeger lacks this. Recognition marks : Immature birds of this species and of the Long-tailed Jaeger so closely resemble each other, their measurements so frequently overlap and their tails are often so nearly alike that it is well to point out dependable recognition marks for the bird in hand ; in museum specimens measure the distance direct from front edge of nostril to tip of bill, then compare this with length of false cere or nasal shield, measuring along ridge of mandible ; in longicaudus these two measure- ments are about equal ; in parasiticus cere is much the longer ; in birds in the flesh parasiticus has legs usually black or mainly blackish, while longicaudus usually has them bluish-gray or grayish-blue. Voice. — Loud wailing cries interspersed with harsh shrieks ; on cloudy days or in dusky twilight vicious screams (W. Elmer Ekblaw) ; on our coast the bird seems rather silent (E. W. Nelson). Breeding. — On Arctic tundras or on or near shores of rivers or lakes. Nest: A mere hollow, some- times scantily lined, in bare soil, grass, moss or other low-growing vegetation or among rocks near sea or lake or on an island. Eggs : 2, rarely 3 or 4 ; 2.42 by 1.62 to 2.20 by 1.50 in. ; like those of the Long- billed Curlew and quite as variable but not quite so pear-shaped ; olive-green or gray, sometimes deeply tinged with yellow or reddish-brown (sometimes brown), marked with sepia and differing shades of drab, brown and lilac. Dates: June 10 to July 18, northern Alaska. Incubation: Period 24 days (Faber) ; by both sexes. One brood yearly. Range. — Northern part of Northern Hemisphere. Breeds in North America to about 80° North latitude ; from northwestern Alaska, Melville and other Arctic islands and northern Greenland south to southwestern Alaska, Aleutian Islands, southern Mackenzie, northeastern Manitoba, northern Hudson Bay and northern Labrador, and on Arctic islands of Siberia and northern Europe south to Commander SKUAS AND JAEGERS 57 Islands and north coast of Scotland and Hebrides ; winters from southern California south to Argentina and occasionally to Straits of Magellan, and from Florida south along eastern coast of South America; also from European coast to Cape of Good Hope, Persian Gulf, and occasionally in Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand and Chatham Islands ; accidental in winter in Massachusetts and Maine ; casual in interior of North America to Great Lakes, Missouri, Kansas and Colorado. Distribution in New England. — Rather rare spring and common fall migrant along New England shores except in Connecticut where very rare ; more common on fishing-banks ; occasional or casual in midsummer, but plentiful in the great flight of 1886 ; 1 accidental in interior (Portland, Connecticut) and in winter. Season in Massachusetts. — May 31 to November 1, but most common in spring and fall; occa- sional in summer ; accidental in winter. Haunts and Habits. Dark hawk-like birds chasing terns or smaller gulls may be seen most commonly in August, decreasing in October on our Massachusetts shores. They are seen most often near Cape Ann, Cape Cod, Marthas Vineyard and Nantucket, and are nearly always common at this season on the fishing-banks. The Jaeger singles out some tern that has just caught a fish, perhaps, and darts after it, following every twist and turn of its victim, menacing it with hooked beak and clutching at it with strong, curved claws until the tern either drops or disgorges the fish, when the dashing robber catches its ill-gotten booty in the air. Probably the Parasitic Jaeger is the commonest jaeger off our coast and along shore when the terns are moving in their autumnal migra- tion. On the fishing-banks the Kittiwake Gull seems to be the victim most often selected by this species. Jaegers seem to be as well equipped as any tern for swimming and diving, but their powerful hawk-like pinions, hooked bills and strong hooked claws fit them for a predatory life, and they prefer to profit by the labor of others. At times when food is abundant, however, and easily obtained they do not rely on the labor of others, but help themselves to anything that they fancy. At such times they so gorge themselves with food as to be unable to fly until they have disgorged at least a part of the feast. The majority of the birds of this species seen on our coasts in late summer and early autumn seem to be adults of the lighter phases. Birds of the dark phase are rather seldom seen. At a distance these seem almost as black as a crow. The Parasitic Jaeger passes northward off our coast in May but is then rarely ob- served ; in the latter part of May or in June it arrives on its breeding-grounds in Arctic regions. Its principal flight along the Massachusetts coast occurs on its southward migration. Now and then one rarely appears in July, but the majority come in late August or September. October usually sees the last of them, but there are November and winter records. In addition to its fish and shellfish diet this species seeks the eggs and young of gulls and terns, kills small rodents, small birds and large insects ; while Chamberlain says that in extremity, it will feast on crowberries. Also like all jaegers it is an ignoble scavenger, feeding on offal, ordure or garbage. Economic Status. This species is of no economic importance in New England. i Baird, S. F. : Auk, Vol. IV, 1887, p. 71. 58 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Stercorarius longicaudus Viellot. Long-tailed Jaeger. Other names: buffon's jaeger; whip tail. (Also share their names with the two preceding species.) Plate 4. Description. — Bill shorter than head, less than middle toe without claw, higher than broad at base, its sides regularly converging ; nasal sheath or false cere, covering basal portion of mandible, equal in length to chord of unguis ; encroachment of feathers on bill greater than in other species ; on upper mandible extending within .50 inch of the outer end of cere, having a broad, rounded termination, feathers of the two sides meeting on and covering ridge of upper mandible at some distance from its real base ; feathers on sides of lower mandible extend nearly as far as on upper ; wings long ; 1st primary longest, rest rapidly graduated ; tail longer, both absolutely and relatively, than in any other jaeger, being half as long as wings, graduated .75 inch ; middle pair of feathers projecting 7 to 10 inches beyond others, rigid at base, being there much stiffer than other feathers, but gradually becoming flexible, and at length very slender ; feet quite slender ; tarsus equal to middle toe and claw. Adults, light phase (sexes alike) : A black cap extends over forehead, lores, eyes and top of head, and down below eyes and upper part of nape ; rest of head and neck, including hindneck and lower part of nape, straw-yellow, paler on chin and throat ; upper plumage, except as described, plain deep brownish-gray, flight-feathers and tail-feathers darker, becoming nearly black towards ends; two outer primaries with shafts white or yellowish-white, others usually abruptly darker (but this abrupt change not always plainly evident) ; chest (sometimes breast also, more rarely even upper part of abdomen) white, shading into grayish behind ; under tail coverts, region about vent, flanks and (usually) abdomen neutral gray ; bill blackish toward tip, basal part brownish or horn color ; iris dark brown ; legs and basal parts of toes and webs light bluish-gray, remaining parts of toes and their webs black. Young in first winter plumage, light phase : Ash-brown above, head darkest, cap streaked; feathers of back, fore wings, throat and fore neck grayish-white streaked ash-brown ; tail-coverts tipped buff, these tips increasing in width on scapulars and upper tail- coverts; other under plumage dull grayish-white, barred ash-brown.1 Young in first winter plumage, dark phase : Entirely dark, dusky-brown with narrow buff y or whitish feather tips which grow wider on abdomen, tail-coverts, sides and flanks ; feet and tarsi of young birds more or less clouded and variable in color. Downy Young : Brown, head paler with few if any markings. Measurements. — In size this species is decidedly less than Parasitic Jaeger, but extreme elonga- tion of middle tail-feathers makes its total length as much or even more — 20.00 to 23.00 in. in some cases ; folded wing 11.55 to 12.85; tail about 6.25, its middle feathers 10.50 to 16.00; bill (chord) 1.15; cere .60; unguis about the same; from feathers on sides of bill to tip .90; tarsus 1.50 to 1.80. Molts. — There seems to be a light and a dark phase among the young birds but possibly not among adults; first year plumage seems to be worn with little change until first postnuptial molt in second summer ; at second postnuptial molt when a little over two years old, bird becomes indistinguishable from adult ; adults have partial prenuptial molt in spring and complete postnuptial molt in August, September and October (A. C. Bent) . (The Practical Handbook of British Birds describes immature plu- mages up to the fourth summer.) Field Marks. — Small size, slimmer form and exceedingly long, tapering tail distinguish adult from other jaegers, but young of the year have short central tail-feathers like those of the others and are indistinguishable in the field except by size. Voice. — A shrill pheu-pheu-pheu-pheo, often followed by a harsh qua; a rattling kr-r-r-r, kr-r-r-r, kr-r-r-r, kri, kri-kri-kri, latter syllables shrill and querulous and sometimes followed by the long-drawn pheu-pheu-pheu in the same tone (E. W. Nelson). 1 Saunders, Howard : Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum, XXV, 1896, p. 337. PLATE 5 PLATE 5 GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL Page 69 Adult in Breeding Plumage Young in First Winter Plumage GLAUCOUS GULL Page 64 Adult in Breeding Plumage Immature in Second-year Plumage KITTIWAKE Page 62 Adult in Breeding Plumage Young in First Winter Plumage Young in Juvenal Plumage KUMLIEN'S GULL Page 67 Adult in Winter Plumage ICELAND GULL Page 66 Adult in Breeding Plumage All one-eighth natural size. ®> -A-4I SKUAS AND JAEGERS 59 Breeding. — On tundra or barren plain or on an island ; in colonies. Nest : A mere slight hollow in ground lined with a little grass or a few bits of moss or leaves. Eggs : Commonly 2 ; indistinguishable from those of preceding species; average smaller but measurements overlap; 2.41 by 1.67 to 1.90 by 1.40 in. Dates: In various parts of breeding range June 6 to July 12 (A. C. Bent). Incubation: Period 23 days (Manniche) ; both sexes incubate (A. C. Bent). One brood yearly. Range. — Northern part of Northern Hemisphere. Breeds on Arctic coasts and islands of Europe and Asia, northwestern and northern coasts of Alaska, in northern Mackenzie and east probably in Keewatin to northern Hudson Bay, north to Grinnell Peninsula, Ellesmere Island and northern Green- land, south to northern Labrador and probably in northeastern Manitoba ; winters south to Gibraltar and Japan ; recorded in winter in South Carolina and Florida and in migration in Chile and Argentina ; not rare in migration off New England coast ; casual on Pacific coast south to California ; migrates in interior as well as on both coasts; reported in British Columbia, Manitoba, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana and Illinois. Distribution in New England. — Rare migrant on New England coast ; not rare offshore ; casual in Rhode Island and Connecticut ; accidental in interior. Season in Massachusetts. — Spring and autumn migrant ; mainly late August and September ; casual in winter. Haunts and Habits. The Long-tailed Jaeger is the most northerly in range of the jaegers. It breeds largely within the Arctic Circle and perhaps seldom wanders so far south in winter as the others. It is the rarest of the jaegers on our coast and keeps mostly well offshore. I have never knowingly seen it alive. Its habits are similar to those of other jaegers. In power of flight it rather exceeds its congeners. It is so much superior to the gyrfalcon in the air that in defense of their young a pair of Long-tails will drive off the much larger and more powerful falcon. It arrives on our coast in September, but authentic records here in the spring migra- tion are rare indeed. In late May and June it reaches its Arctic breeding-grounds. The Long-tailed Jaeger is almost omnivorous, and takes all sorts of animal food, gar- bage, insects and even berries. Economic Status. See page 50. Family LARIDiE. Gulls and Terns. Number of species in North America 42 ; in Massachusetts 23. This family consists of long-winged swimmers with horny covering of bill continuous (no false or so-called cere such as is seen in skuas and jaegers) and tail without especially elongated central feathers. This is a large and important group with about a score of genera and over 100 species. It has a world-wide distribution. It is divided into two subfamilies — Larince (Gulls) and Sternince (Terns) . Subfamily LARIN.ffi. Gulls. Number of species in North America 26 ; in Massachusetts 12. Gulls differ from terns in having bill more or less hooked and tail even or rounded, rarely forked. Gulls average much larger than terns and are more robust in form ; their feet are larger and their wings relatively shorter and wider. When on the wing in search 60 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS of food, they commonly carry the head horizontally. They are more at home on the water than terns, but most gulls are not so skilful as terns in diving. Sexes are alike ; young generally darker. Apparently they molt twice a year ; some of the larger species require at least three seasons to reach full plumage. Gulls feed largely on fish, but are scavengers also, and are continually flying and circling over water and picking up float- ing garbage or dead fish which they seek also on shore. At low water they frequent tidal flats where they feed. Economic Status. Gulls are more or less omnivorous, but prefer animal matter as food. The quantity of fish consumed by them is relatively unimportant, as the live fish which they eat are mainly small surface-species. Gulls feed more on dead, injured or dying fish, offal, carrion and small forms of animal life exposed by outgoing tides. They are valuable as scavengers, as they dispose of vast quantities of garbage thrown into the sea or into harbors, and consume shoals of fish and other sea-animals that are some- times stranded on the shore. Some species visit agricultural lands and follow the plow for grubs and other destructive insects. They destroy many grasshoppers and locusts, as well as field-mice and other rodent pests, and should be protected and conserved. Gulls often are of some value to fishermen in cases where their presence indicates the arrival of food-fish. In foggy weather mariners and fishermen locate dangerous rocks and ledges by the cries of gulls which breed upon them. In war time gulls show the location of drifting mines by perching upon them, and by following submarine boats these birds betray the presence of the submerged craft. Pagophila alba (Gunnerus). Ivory Gull. Other names : snow bird ; snow gull ; ice partridge. Fig. 3. Description. — Bill much shorter than head, about equal to tarsus, very stout ; feet very short and stout (webs deeply incised) ; wings very long and pointed ; form robust. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Pure white ; shafts of primaries straw-yellow ; bill greenish-gray or slaty at base, rest yellow, changing to yellowish-red at tip ; feet black ; iris dark brown ; edges of eyelids red. Adults in winter plumage: White, similar to breeding plumage. Young in first winter plumage (variable) : Similar, white, but front and sides of head and throat clouded or mottled dusky-grayish, upper neck spotted same; scapulars and both upper and under wing-coverts and tertials spotted brownish-black; spots most numerous along lesser coverts; primaries, secondaries and tail-feathers spotted near or at tips with dusky ; a row of spots along under surface of wing near edges. " Bill blackish with yellowish cloud- ing" (Ridgway). Downy young: White at first, later gray. Measurements. — Length 15.00 to 19.50 in.; spread about 41.00; folded wing 13.00 to 14.37; tail 5.50 to 6.25; bill 1.15 to 1.40; tarsus 1.40 to 1.50. Female smaller than male. Molts. — Molts and plumages of this species not yet fully known ; authorities differ regarding time required to reach maturity ; Dr. Jonathan Dwight gives it a three-year plumage cycle, indicating that bird becomes adult at its second postnuptial molt when somewhat more than 2 years old ; "adults appar- ently have but one complete annual molt — in July and August" (A. C. Bent). (Practical Handbook of British Birds gives molting dates June to October.) Field Marks. — ■ Small size ; near that of Kittiwake, much smaller than Glaucous or Iceland Gulls; L Fig. 3. — Young Ivory Gull in Winter Plumage From specimen in Museum of Boston Society of Natural History Courcesy of Dr. Frank M. t'napman Fig. 4. — Gull-billed Tern on Eggs From Camps and Cruises of an Ornithologist Page 95 GULLS 61 snowy whiteness; extreme restlessness; runs rapidly on ice suggesting action of large plover (A. H. Norton) ; wings well extended in flight, long for size of bird but with little bending of carpal joint, broad and wedge-shaped in comparison with those of Herring Gull; black feet; flight much like that of tern or jaeger; immature show blackish spots on head, neck, wings, back and tail. Voice. — A "short, loud, harsh scream," something like that of the Arctic Tern. Beeeding. — In colonies ; usually on rocky, boulder-strewn shores, sometimes on cliffs, sometimes on low ground. Nest: If on low ground, a bulky, flat-topped pile of mosses, algae, lichens, etc., with a few feathers, splinters, etc. ; if on cliff, a slight depression lined with a little moss, grass, feathers, etc. Eggs: 1 or 2; 2.23 to 2.73 by 1.56 to 1.75 in. ; olive-buff or olive-drab marked with varying shades of brown and gray ; more glossy than those of Kittiwake. Dates : Late June and early July in various parts of range, but no accurate data available. Incubation: Apparently by both sexes. One brood yearly. Range. — Probably circumpolar. Breeds in high latitudes from Arctic coast of North America to Prince Patrick Island, Melville Island, northern Baffin Island, northern and northeastern Greenland (in large numbers) and on Arctic islands of Eastern Hemisphere; winters mainly in Arctic regions south to Labrador and casually British Columbia, Lake Ontario and Long Island ; in Europe south casually to northern France. Distribution in New England. — The Ivory Gull is accidental in winter during or after north- easterly storms. Records: A bird was shot December 1, 1886, on Monomoy at the elbow of Cape Cod, by a member of the Monomoy Life Saving crew.1 A bird was taken in December, 1894, in Penobscot Bay, Maine, and is now in the National Museum at Washington.2 Messrs. Arthur H. Norton and Walter H. Rich observed an Ivory Gull January 5, 1918, in Portland Harbor, Maine.3 Dr. C. W. Townsend notes that the late George O. Welch of Lynn told him that an Ivory Gull was shot near the middle of the last century by a fisherman at Swampscott and that the bird was mounted.4 Haunts and Habits. Where countless crowding icebergs rear their snowy pinnacles ; where dark blue, racing seas, flashing and roaring in the clear sunlight, dash their foam- ing crests high up the pallid slopes of crashing ice ; there we may find the Ivory Gull. When leaden waves run sullenly to dash upon the floes ; when driving snow-squalls whiten the pack ice ; there amid the tumult, its lovely form touched now and then with a gleam of sunlight from a rift in the maelstrom of whirling snow, standing out in strong contrast against the murky clouds, the snowy bird sails serene. In spring dawns, fair and rosy, when the sun rising over the blue Arctic, magnificent with floating ice, reveals a scene of gorgeous splendor; where ice lies in innumerable shapes, some sparkling like gems and prisms, others rearing vast, white, phantasmal forms ; on the edge of the ice pack where the wind opens vast sea-lanes ; where the mi- rage shows towering mountains that never were on land or sea ; in summer or winter, in storm or sunshine, there dwells the white Gull, bird of the ice and snow. The Ivory Gull is abundant in summer on its breeding-grounds in the Arctic seas. It sometimes remains in the far north until the sun has gone and the long Arctic winter night has come. Forced southward at last by winter conditions during the rest of the i Cahoon, John C. : Ornithologist and Oologist, Vol. XII, 1887, p. 206. 2 Cooke, Wells W. : United States Department of Agriculture, Bulletin No. 292, 1915, p. 16. 3 Norton, Arthur H. : Auk, Vol. XXXV, 1918, p. 220. « Townsend, C. W. : Birds of Essex County, Massachusetts, 1905, p. 88. 62 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS year, it follows the pack ice often far from any land. It appears to prefer as a perch the highest pinnacles of ice, and is rather rarely seen on the water. The bird seems to be generally rare in North America below the Arctic Circle, though at times it is common or even abundant for a short time in November or December on the Labrador coast. Board- man reports two examples from Grand Manan, and Chambsrlain notes one off the harbor of St. John, N. B.1 This lovely white bird is courageous, attacking even the polar bear in defense of its young; but it is a voracious scavenger, a foul feeder, subsisting on blubber, dead fish, dead whales, shellfish, small rodents, garbage thrown from ships and even the excrement of seals. It is a ravenous and omnivorous feeder and no animal food seems to come amiss. Economic Status. This Arctic species has no known economic value. Rissa tridactyla tridactyla (Linn.^us). Kittiwake. Other names: frost-bird; snow gull; winter bird; haddock gull; winter gull; jack gull; pinny owl or pinyole; meterick. Plate 5. Description. — The Kittiwake has but three toes ; hind toe usually absent or rudimentary and without claw (but sometimes fully developed) ; wings longer in proportion to its size than those of Her- ring Gull. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Head, neck, rump, tail and under plumage, including axillars and under wing-coverts, white; back, scapulars, wing-coverts, tertials and secondaries except white tips light pearl-gray ("between light and pale neutral gray") ; primaries a paler gray than back, first five with black ends ; 1st, "very pale gray without white tip, entire outer web and inner web for about 2.50 inches from tip, black; 2d, like 1st but without black outer web, tip black for nearly same distance as on 1st but having a tiny white spot at extreme end ; on 3d and 4th black sometimes grows shorter while tips usually show more white ; base of black wing-tip thus extends in a nearly straight line across closed primaries; 5th primary breaks this line, having a white tip with a little black on one or both webs; markings of primaries may vary somewhat ; 6th sometimes has black subterminal spot on outer web ; white tips sometimes wanting on 1st, 2d and 3d ; bill light yellow tinged more or less with greenish ; iris dark reddish-brown; edges of eyelids and inside of mouth orange or red; feet black or blackish. Adults in fall and winter plumage : Similar to breeding plumage but hind head, nape, hind neck and rarely more or less of breast and belly clouded with color of back ; a slaty spot in ear-region which sometimes extends across back of head but may disappear in February ; usually a small, dark crescent in front of eye and partially surrounding it ; bill a trifle more clouded greenish than in summer. Young in first winter plumage: Similar to winter adults but all tail-feathers except outer pair tipped with a broad, black bar; large, prominent, dusky patch in ear-region; broad bar or patch across back of lower neck and large patch on fore wing near bend (usually including most of lesser wing-coverts and part of tertials) dusky or blackish ; first four or five primaries have outer webs, outer half of inner webs together with ends for some distance black, rest mostly grayish-white ; 5th and 6th usually have some black toward end; bill black; feet dusky-brownish. Downy young: Head, neck, wings and under plumage white; back, rump and thighs shaded with yellowish-gray and buff; grizzled, but not spotted like young of Herring Gull. Measurements. — Length 16.00 to 18.00 in.; spread about 36.00; folded wing 12.00 to 13.00; tail 5.25 to 5.75; bill 1.40 to 1.50; tarsus 1.25 to 1.30. Female smaller than male. 1 Chamberlain, Montague : Ornithology of the United States and Canada, based on Nuttall's Manual, 1891, Vol. II, p. 245. GULLS 63 Molts. — Juvenal plumage is succeeded by first winter plumage with little molt ; immature birds have partial molt usually in early spring (February or March), but sometimes as early as December, in which most of dusky feathers on head and black lesser wing-coverts disappear; most immature birds become as winter adults after first postnuptial molt in August when a little more than one year old (this is a complete molt) ; a partial prenuptial molt involving head, neck and body-feathers produces adult nuptial plumage; adults have partial molt in spring and complete molt June to December, after which they take on winter plumage. Field Marks. — Adults : Smaller than Herring Gull or Ring-billed Gull ; otherwise much like them, except that at a distance ends of wings appear pure black ; the black is cut nearly straight across at its base as if the wing-tips had been dipped in black paint ; feet black (Herring and Ring-billed Gulls have feet of pale flesh color and greenish-yellow, respectively). Young: Broad, black, terminal band on tail ; dark bar on back of neck ; blackish patch on upper wing ; in flight when seen from above, outer primaries form wide, black border at end of each spread wing; bill black or dark; young Kittiwake resembles young Bonaparte's Gull but is much larger and shows white hind-border and black fore- border to spread wing when seen from above ; young Bonaparte's Gull has both wing margins black and no black patch on back of neck. Voice. — This bird derives its name from its common note kit-ti-wake or kitti-aa (Montague Cham- berlain); "their cry resembles keet keet wack, wack" (Ralph Hoffmann); ka-ake; sharp, piercing ki, ki, ki rapidly repeated and a harsh, rattling kaa, kaa, kae, kae, kae and kaak kaak (C. W. Townsend). Breeding. — In colonies ; on ledges of rock and cliffs overhanging salt water. Nest : Usually of seaweed, grasses and mosses. Eggs : Usually 1 or 2, sometimes 4 ; about 2.09 to 2.46 by 1.47 to 1.70 in. ; not distinguishable in color from those of other gulls but rather lusterless. Dates : May 23 to June 26, Gulf of St. Lawrence. Incubation: Period 26 days (Evans); 21 to 24 days (Hantzsch). One brood yearly. Range. — Coasts and islands of northern regions. Breeds in North America principally if not wholly east of longitude of Mackenzie River north and east to north Greenland, south to Gulf of St. Lawrence, and from Arctic islands of Europe and western Siberia to northwestern France ; winters from Gulf of St. Lawrence south to New Jersey, south in Atlantic to 25° north latitude, and casually or occasionally to Virginia, Bermuda, Great Lakes and Florida; accidental in Ontario, Michigan, Penn- sylvania, Illinois, Missouri, Colorado and Wyoming, and in Eastern Hemisphere to Canary Islands, Azores and Mediterranean, Black and Caspian seas. Distribution in New England. — Common to abundant fall, winter and early spring visitant off- shore except on Connecticut coast where it is generally rare ; recorded every month in year off Maine coast ; casual in interior ; has been noted or taken in Vermont, and at inland localities in Maine. Season in Massachusetts. — September 2 to April 7 ; usually most numerous November to Febru- ary during cold rough weather. Haunts and Habits. Out on the heaving sea of the Grand Banks, where dripping bowsprits rise and fall ; where plunging bows of fishing-craft throw off the foaming waves and dash aloft sheets of blinding spray which, torn by the wind, descend upon the icy planks in freezing showers ; where roaring, foaming crests overleap the bulwarks and flood the rocking decks; there the Kittiwake rides the wind. Where fishing-vessels ride to taut cables, when dories are hoisted aboard and the splitting and cleaning of the fish begins, there our little gulls gather to the feast. The Kittiwake is a sea-bird. It is not so commonly seen in our harbors and estuaries as is the Herring Gull, but keeps more at sea, drinking salt water and sleeping on the waves. It is quite tame, comes close to schooners and dories, and thousands have been 64 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS caught in the past by fishermen with hooks and lines baited with pieces of fish offal. The birds thus taken were eaten or used for bait. Kittiwakes follow ocean steamers and fishing and coasting vessels, sometimes for long distances. At times, particularly after severe winter storms, they may be seen in harbors like those of Rockport, Gloucester, Provincetown, Nantucket and Marthas Vineyard where they find food and shelter. At such times they also visit the outer beaches. Kittiwakes fly over the sea in loose flocks or in company with other sea-birds. Their exceedingly long wings and long, broad tails fit them for powerful flight, and they are among the most graceful of the gull family as they circle and glide on fixed and stable wing, or flutter easily above their prey, main- taining always a perfect mastery of the air. Mr. J. A. Farley tells me that he once saw at Plymouth Beach a flying Kittiwake drop a mussel and then shoot downward easily and gracefully and catch it in the air before it had fallen many feet. The Kittiwake is extremely affectionate toward its mate and young and companions of its own species. If one is shot down, others gather and hover over it and clamorously lament its fate, singularly indifferent to their own peril. The Kittiwake rarely appears in numbers off the Massachusetts coast until about the middle of October and sometimes not until well into November. It begins to move northward toward its breeding grounds in February. The Kittiwake feeds largely on the smaller fishes of the sea, on crustaceans, mollusks and other marine animals, and like other gulls it is more or less of a scavenger. It fol- lows whales to pick up the fragments that escape the cetacean's jaws. Dr. Hatch re- marks that in Minnesota it eats small snakes. Economic Status. See page 60. Larus hyperboreus Gunnerus. Glaucous Gull. Other names: burgomaster; ice gull; owl gull; white minister. Plate 5. Description. — Very large and powerful ; as large as Black-backed Gull ; bill large and strong, nearly as long as middle toe and claw ; primaries without dark subterminal areas ; tarsus longer than middle toe and claw. Adults in breeding -plumage (sexes alike) : Back, scapulars and wings very pale pearl-gray ; primaries white or with tinge of pale gray, fading to white toward tips ; shafts yellowish- white to pale yellow; otherwise pure white everywhere; bill mostly lemon or gamboge-yellow; ver- milion spot near angle of lower mandible ; iris yellow ; naked skin around eye orange-yellow ; feet pale flesh-color or pinkish. Adults in winter plumage : Similar ; edges of eyelids yellow ; feet paler than in summer. Immature in second winter plumage : Some white all over ; bill flesh-colored, black-tipped ; feet as in adult. Other second-year birds more or less mottled ashy or brownish-gray and some have light gray backs and tails quite white but mottled brownish. Young in first winter plumage: Impure grayish- white tinged and mottled pale grayish-brown ; variable ; upper plumage more or less tinged buff y ; sometimes quite dusky on back ; under plumage pale brownish or grayish ; wings and tail slightly barred with same (primaries, white below, fade toward spring to nearly white above) ; iris yellowish- brown; bill blackish ; feet brownish-flesh color. Downy Young: Grayish-white above; white below, tinged buff on throat and breast ; back marked with smoke-gray ; head and throat spotted sooty-black. GULLS 65 Measurements. — Length 26.00 to 32.00 in. ; spread 57.00 to 65.00 ; folded wing 16.75 to 18.75 ; tail 7.40 to 8.50 ; bill 2.15 to 3.00 ; tarsus 2.30 to 3.25. Female smaller than male. Molts. — These occur in the following succession : Juvenal plumage barred or mottled with brown seen in August or in early September; partial postjuvenal molt in November or later, which includes mainly part of body plumage while quills of wings and tail are retained ; partial prenuptial molt which often begins about end of February when birds have faded and become much whiter than in previous autumn ; these two molts seem to overlap and this obscures the question whether all birds have one or two molts at this time ; first postnuptial plumage assumed in second autumn is lighter but still more or less mottled; in this plumage also some birds become pure white all over; practically adult winter plumage apparently is assumed in some cases in autumn of bird's third year, but some birds may require more time ; The Practical Handbook of British Birds gives progressive plumages up to the fifth winter, admitting, however, that some birds may become fully adult the fourth winter ; adults have a complete molt (July to winter) and a molt of body-feathers beginning in March or April. Field Marks. — Adults: Great size and no black marks; white primaries very conspicuous in fight (Herring Gull and Black-backed Gull have blackish or black-ended primaries) ; may be distinguished at close range from Iceland Gull (which it resembles in all plumages and sometimes closely in size) by its larger head and longer, heavier bill. (A Glaucous Gull, a trifle smaller in most of its measurements than an Iceland Gull compared with it, had a much longer and heavier bill.) Voice. — Hoarse cry like raven (Nuttall) ; kuk-lak or cut-leek (Montague Chamberlain) ; kuk-kuk (C. W. Townsend) ; hoarse cries ku'-ku'-ku', kiX-kH-kiX, ku-lee'-6d, ktt-lee'-oo, ku-kH-kH, kH-kH-kH — ktt-kil in a hoarse nasal tone, the rest a shrill screaming cry (E. W. Nelson). Breeding. — Usually in colonies ; commonly on cliffs, sometimes on low islands or sandy beaches. Nest: Often mere depression on beach ; sometimes mound composed of moss, seaweed, grass and almost any available material. Eggs: 2 or 3, rarely 4 ; 2.75 to 3.34 by 1.91 to 2.25 in. ; variable; stone-drab, umber-brown, olive-buff, sometimes pale buff or pale bluish-green, marked with different shades of brown (mostly dark) and ashy-gray. Dates : From May 12 to July 6, Arctic coasts and islands. Incubation : Period variously recorded as 3 to 4 weeks; 28 days (Evans) ; 27 to 28 days (Swenander). One brood yearly. Range. — Arctic regions mainly. Breeds on practically all Arctic coasts and islands from north- western Alaska, Melville Island and northern Greenland south to Pribilof Islands, northern Mackenzie, James Bay, eastern Labrador and Newfoundland, and on Arctic coasts and islands of Eastern Hemi- sphere ; winters from Aleutian Islands and Greenland south to Monterey, California, the Great Lakes, and Long Island, and casually to Bermuda, North Carolina, Texas and Hawaiian Islands; in Europe and Asia north to the limits of open water and south to Azores, Mediterranean, Black and Caspian seas and Japan. Distribution in New England. — Uncommon but regular winter visitant on coast ; but not re- corded from Connecticut. Season in Massachusetts. — November to April. (May 26.) Haunts and Habits. The Glaucous Gull or Burgomaster is much on the wing, and apparently does not rest on the water as often as do many other gulls. In the Arctic regions it seems to prefer to alight on icebergs and cliffs, but in New England it is some- times seen along the beaches where fish refuse is thrown into the sea. Even in harbors such as Boston, Gloucester, Rockport and Woods Hole where such food abounds, this species should be looked for among the many Herring Gulls that frequent such places. Since ornithologists along our coasts have begun to look carefully for it, the bird has been seen during every winter in small numbers on the sea-coast of Massachusetts. The Glaucous Gull often reaches Anticosti Island in August, but does not usually 66 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS appear in Massachusetts until late November or early December. In spring it reaches southern Greenland and Baffin Land in March or April, and appears in May at the northern limits of its range. This is one of the largest, most powerful and most predatory of all gulls. It not only robs other gulls, guillemots and other sea-birds of choice morsels and of their eggs and young, but it also actually kills and devours many of the smaller species such as Dovekies. It eats shell-fish, starfish, sea urchins, dead water-birds, dead fishes and other carrion, garbage, and even the droppings of large animals, and is said to feed also on crowberries. Economic Status. See page 60. This bird has little economic importance in Massachusetts. Lams leucopterus Faber. Iceland Gull. Other name: white-winged gull. Plate 5. Description. — Bill commonly shorter, smaller and more slender in proportion to size of bird than in Glaucous Gull (according to Dwight, this species averages only 16 per cent smaller than Glaucous Gull, but its bill averages 33 per cent smaller) ; tarsus usually not longer than middle toe and claw ; in corresponding stages of plumage closely resembles Glaucous Gull, but smaller; considerable varia- tion in first winter plumage, some birds being quite white but all more or less shaded and mottled and all growing whiter as spring approaches ; in second year plumage some birds are practically white all over, while others have upper plumage much like adults; according to Dwight, back, scapulars and fore wings are slightly darker at maturity than those of Glaucous Gull ; tarsi and toes in fully adult leucop- terus often orange-red and not flesh-colored as in hyperboreus (L. Kumlien) ; in juvenal stage "the pri- maries more frequently have white or brownish shafts untinged with the yellow so prominent in hyper- boreus; some birds, too, are in the mottling perhaps more black and white than brownish" (Jonathan Dwight). Mr. Charles R. Lamb took an adult at Rockport, January 22, 1916, which had a bill of a "delicate shade of light green" with a yellow spot, almost orange, on lower mandible and a lighter yellow spot on upper.1 Young in juvenal plumage have the bill blackish, as in Glaucous Gull. Measurements. — Length 24.00 to 26.00 in. ; often less, rarely more; folded wing 14.75 to 17.00; bill 1.56 to 1.87; tail 6.00 to 6.75; tarsus 2.05 to 2.50. Molts. — About like those of Glaucous Gull. Field Marks. — Most individuals seen on our coast are young of the year in mottled plumage with an occasional older white but still immature bird ; nevertheless adults sometimes appear ; Iceland Gull resembles Glaucous Gull but averages much smaller; head and bill more slender and smaller in pro- portion to the bird's size than in the case of Glaucous Gull ; seen with Herring Gulls, Iceland Gull usually seems a trifle smaller, whereas Glaucous Gull usually is larger than Herring Gull (but measurements of Glaucous Gulls and Iceland Gulls may approach closely or even overlap ; size alone cannot be depended upon always as a field mark) ; Iceland Gull may be distinguished from Herring Gull by its white or light primaries with no black markings, and from Glaucous Gull by its relatively longer and more pointed wings ; in first winter plumage Iceland Gull is indistinguishable from young Kumlien's Gull. Voice. — This species seems rather silent here in winter but when pursuing living fish it is said to be vociferous. Breeding. — In colonies, sometimes with other species. Nest : Varying from mere grass-lined hollow on beach to compact grass, moss and seaweed structure on cliff. Eggs: 2 or 3; 2.66 to 2.97 by 1.55 to 2.02 in. ; light or dark buff or clay color ; variable ; more or less tinged with green ; some nearly » Auk, Vol. XXXV, 1918, p. 233. GULLS 67 "olive drab" ; marked with browns and grays like those of Glaucous Gull. Dates: May 29 to July 2, Greenland and Iceland. One brood yearly. Range. — Arctic regions. Breeds from Victoria Island to central Greenland and east to Jan Mayen Land ; winters regularly from southern Greenland south to Long Island ; occasionally on Great Lakes as far west at least as Chicago ; casual south to Cape Hatteras, west to Nebraska ; recorded in California and at Point Barrow, Alaska ; winters in Europe from Iceland to British Isles, Scandinavia, Baltic Sea and coast of France ; casual or accidental in Madeira Islands and Italy. Distribution in New England. — Common to rare but regular winter visitor locally along the coast ; most common in Maine ; very rare in Connecticut. Season in Massachusetts. — (September 15) November 4 to April 19 (May 13). Haunts and Habits. The Iceland Gull, like the Glaucous Gull, is a boreal bird, descending to the latitude of Massachusetts during its winter migration only. Com- paratively few specimens are seen annually off our coast. Occasionally, though, it is common locally. At Eastern Point, Gloucester, 32 were reported December 24, 1917, by Barron Brainerd, and Judge C. F. Jenney found 14 at the same spot January 19, 1918. l Wherever along our coast fish-cleaning is done or garbage is thrown into the sea, there gulls congregate, and there this species may be looked for. It is reported each winter at Gloucester, Swampscott and Lynn, and occasionally at Boston. It is seen regularly in small numbers about Block Island and Long Island. White-winged gulls are reported in winter from Cape Cod, and may belong to either this or the preceding species. The bird is not very shy, and I have seen it about the fish wharf at South Boston, seemingly quite as tame and confiding as any Herring Gull. Apparently it is not so predatory as the Glaucous Gull. Its habits are like those of the Herring Gull, as it commonly accom- panies many of the latter species and feeds with them. The mottled young birds which greatly predominate here might easily pass unrecognized among young Herring Gulls were it not for their generally lighter hue and their white or whitish primaries. Some of them resemble the young of Kumlien's Gull so closely that it is impossible to distin- guish the two species. The food of this species while here is similar to that of the Herring Gull. The bird is a scavenger and a feeder on small marine animals. It is said to eat vegetal matter including grain. Hagerup asserts that in Greenland the young eat crowberries (Empe~ trum nigrum).2 Economic Status. See page 60. Larus kumlieni Brewster. Kumlien's Gull. Other names: gray-winged gull; lesser glaucous-winged gull. Plate 5. Description. — Similar to Iceland Gull, but four outer primaries of adults with subterminal space of deep brownish-gray on outer webs and two or three of primaries with cross bands of same color near tips. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Back, scapulars and wings uniform pallid to pale neutral- 1 Townsend, C. W. : Memoirs of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, No. V, Supplement to the Birds of Essex County, Massachusetts, 1920, p. 34. 2 Hagerup, Andreas T. : The Birds of Greenland, 1891, p. 15. 68 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS gray ; primaries and secondaries tipped white, five outer primaries broadly so tipped ; 2d, 3d and 4th, or 2d and 3d, or 3d and 4th, with subterminal band (either extending across both webs or broken or con- fined to inner web) of brownish-gray (sometimes a trace of this band on 5th) ; bands on 2d or 4th, or both, sometimes imperfectly developed or obsolete — more rarely only that on 3d complete ; four outer primaries with outer web brownish-gray toward end ; this color sometimes connects with subterminal band on inner web, but sometimes is separated from band by a white area ; inner webs of primaries pure white (except when subterminal brownish-gray band is present) passing into delicate pale gray basally, outermost primary sometimes with narrow subterminal stripe of gray on inner web along shaft ; head, neck, rump, upper tail-coverts, tail and under plumage, including axillars and under wing-coverts, white ; bill yellow, lower mandible with subterminal spot of red on each side ; iris cream color ; eye-ring reddish- purple; legs and feet flesh color. Adults in winter plumage : Similar, but head, neck and throat rather faintly spotted and streaked brownish or grayish. Young in second winter plumage (variable) : Similar to winter adult ; head and neck mottled brownish-gray ; first four primaries dark brownish-gray, darkest on outer webs, wing generally darker than in leucopterus, tail largely white (may show gray patches) ; bill yellowish but somewhat clouded. Young in first winter plumage : Light brownish-gray or grayish- brown, nearly uniform on breast and abdomen but upper plumage mottled dull white and indistinctly mottled and irregularly barred brownish-gray; head and neck paler and indistinctly streaked; pri- maries brownish-gray above, darker on outer webs, whitish below ; tail nearly brownish-gray mottled whitish ; tail-coverts brownish-gray or grayish-brown, more coarsely mottled or blotched whitish ; bill darker than that of adult ; iris gray ; legs and feet dull flesh color (I have examined many specimens labeled L. leucopterus which showed no constant difference from other specimens labeled L. kumlieni. If these were correctly labeled, the two species in first winter plumage are sometimes indistinguishable). Young in juvenal plumage : Kumlien, who collected the type specimen of this species, asserts that young early in September are even darker than young of Herring Gull and that primaries and tail are very nearly black, but I have seen no specimen in this plumage. Measurements. — Length 23.00 to 24.00 in.; spread about 50.00; folded wing 15.00 to 17.00; tail 6.00 to 6.50; bill 1.56 to 1.90; tarsus 2.06 to 2.40. Molts. — Dr. Jonathan Dwight who has examined a considerable number of birds of this species says that first winter plumage is very similar to juvenal, and that plumage assumed in following spring doubtless still closely resembles that of first winter (but birds may be expected to become whiter about head and with a few gray feathers on back) ; after second autumnal (first postnuptial) molt species attains a considerable amount of adult plumage; "the gray mantle, clouded white head and body, and white tail indicate a close approximation to the adult plumage," but primaries and other feathers of wing not very much paler than in first winter plumage; tail and wings may show some gray patches; bill becomes yellow but often clouded and lacking red spot ; second nuptial plumage shows some renewal of body plumage at second prenuptial molt, but individual bird does not become indistinguishable from adult until after second postnuptial molt, when it finally assumes adult winter plumage during third winter, and in next spring after third prenuptial molt when nearly three years old it appears in full nup- tial plumage. Field Marks. — Adults: This is well called the Atlantic "Gray-winged" Gull to distinguish it from the "White-winged" Iceland Gull; it is slightly smaller, with considerably smaller bill, than Herring Gull ; its lighter back and wings and its dark gray markings toward ends of white-tipped primaries which replace black markings on wing of Herring Gull are good field marks to separate it from that species. Immature : Birds in their second winter may be distinguished from immature Iceland Gulls by their darker and grayer primaries but in first winter plumage the two species are indistinguishable. Breeding. — Nothing is known of its breeding habits since Kumlien found this gull in 1878 nesting "on shelving rocks on high cliffs" ; the single egg known to science (now in the United States National Museum) is badly broken ; elongate oval in shape ; olive-buff with small spots of various shades of brown and brownish-drab. GULLS 69 Range. — North Atlantic coast of North America. Known to breed only in Cumberland Sound ; south in winter from Gulf of St. Lawrence rarely to New York, Connecticut and Long Island. Distribution in New England. — Rare winter visitant to coast of maritime states. Season in Massachusetts. — October 27 to March 24, Essex County (C. W. Townsend). Haunts. I have never seen this bird in life and can say nothing of its habits, but I have camped for days at a time on islands where its slightly larger Pacific congener Larus glaucescens breeds. Both these species seem to resemble the Herring Gull rather closely in habits. The bird was first taken in 1878 by Kumlien who believed it to be identical with glaucescens. It was unknown to science as a distinct species until 1883 when it was described by Brewster. Since then specimens have been seen and taken rarely about the Bay of Fundy and along the New England coast. Dr. C. W. Townsend has over twenty records of observations of this bird in Essex County 1 and I have nearly as many, several of which doubtless refer to the same bird or birds. On February 22, 1905, Mr. Francis H. Allen took, in Boston Harbor, an adult male, the first specimen recorded from Massachusetts.2 Mr. C. J. Maynard also has reported it not infrequently. An adult female was taken January 31, 1913.3 Other specimens have been taken in New England. The bird has been noted at Ipswich, Gloucester, Swampscott, Lynn, Nahant, Boston and a few other Massachusetts localities. In the late fall and early winter it wanders southward sparingly along the New England coast. Its haunts seem to be similar to those of the Herring Gull and it seems to feed on similar food. Economic Status. See page 60. Larus marinus Linnaeus. Great Black-backed Gull. Other names: black-back; saddle-back; coffin-beaker ; minister; turkey gull. Plate 5. Description. — Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Bill very stout and heavy, upper mandible very concave ; back, scapulars and wings dark slate, nearly black, with purplish reflections ; secondaries and tertials broadly tipped white; primaries variable, but all black or blackish, white-tipped; 1st (outer) primary, black, tipped white for 2.50 inches ; 2d, black, but more grayish at base with a little less white at tip, the white tip usually interrupted by a broad black bar on one or both webs ; 3d, 4th and 5th, broadly tipped white, their bases successively lighter than that of 2d, and fading into white at junc- tion with a broad black subterminal bar ; remaining primaries dark slate, tipped white ; head, neck, tail and under plumage (including under wing-coverts and axillars) white ; bill bright chrome-yellow or pale yellow, tip paler; most of terminal half of lower mandible bright vermilion and often a little of upper mandible ; edges of jaws and eyelids vermilion; iris very pale lemon-yellow; feet pale bluish- flesh color. Adults in winter plumage : As in summer, except top of head and hind neck which are slightly streaked dusky. Young in first winter plumage: Upper plumage mostly dark dusky-brown with buffy edgings on back and buffy indentations on wing-coverts which fade to whitish toward spring, when back appears to be barred transversely dusky and white ; head heavily streaked dusky in autumn, becoming much whiter before spring ; primaries brownish-black ; dusky tail basally white, mottled with fuscous, narrowly tipped white, and crossed near tip by a narrow band of brownish-white or whitish, thus mark- 1 Townsend, C. W. : Supplement to the Birds of Essex County, Massachusetts, 1920, p. 35. « Auk, Vol. XXII, 1905, p. 205. 3 Auk, Vol. XXXV, 1918, p. 233. 70 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS ing off a broad dark subterminal band ; outer tail-feathers mottled white and some primaries slightly tipped white ; under plumage (except white throat) mottled white or whitish and dusky ; bill blackish, sometimes paler at base (where pinkish on lower mandible) ; iris brown ; feet whitish. Downy young : Pale, olive-gray, lighter on head and flanks, and white on middle breast ; upper parts mottled with deeper dusky-gray and head spotted with blackish. Measurements. — Length 28.00 to 31.00 in.; spread about 65.00; folded wing 17.60 to 19.50; bill 2.40 to 2.60; tarsus 2.70 to 3.10. Molts. — The following description (condensed) from Bent (who had access to a large series of specimens) of the molts and sequence of plumages of this bird shows the gradual changes which indicate that the species does not normally assume full adult nuptial plumage until after the third year. The half-grown young bird is nearly fledged in its dusky and buff juvenal plumage; change from Juvenal to first winter plumage is gradual and not very well marked, as the molt is limited ; such changes as occur in coloration in this plumage are largely due to fading and wear ; in late winter and early spring the first spring molt occurs and the bird then assumes second year plumage showing only slight advance toward maturity, evidenced by more or less dark, slaty feathers in back, scapulars and wing-coverts; other feathers here show both adult and juvenal colors while still others appear like those of the first year ; under plumage and tips of wing-feathers grow white ; in third year back becomes more than half blackish, and primaries show more black and white ; at next postnuptial molt some birds, now a little over three years old, probably assume adult plumage ; others (probably a large majority) retain traces of immaturity in primaries and tail, and only become indistinguishable from adults after the postnuptial molt in fall of next year ; both adults and young have incomplete prenuptial molt in winter and early spring and complete postnuptial molt in August and September.1 (Practical Handbook of British Birds gives progressive molts and plumages up to the fourth winter.) Field Marks. — Larger than Herring Gull. Adult: Unmistakable when back is seen in a good light ; dark back (much darker than that of other large gulls) contrasts strongly with white head, neck, breast and tail. Immature in second winter : Begin to show some resemblance to parents, being evidently "black-backs." Young of the year : Difficult to distinguish at any distance from some immature Herring Gulls, but average larger, are more buffy and less gray, are lighter below and head and bill are larger and heavier ; may be distinguished from young Glaucous Gull (which has very light wings and tail) by black- ish primaries and wide, dark band near tip of tail. Voice. — Cak, cak, cack (Nuttall) ; "a very noisy bird on its breeding grounds, indulging in a variety of loud, harsh cries or raven-like croaks ; has a long drawn-out scream — keeaaw — on a lower key than that of Herring Gull ; also a short, more quickly uttered note — kow, kow, kow — very much like other gulls; also a high pitched ki ki and a hoarse laughing ha, ha, ha" ; courtship note kowaat softer and more prolonged — also humanly varied (A. C. Bent) ; notes uttered while in Massachusetts waters are generally limited to a hoarse cow cow cow and a harsh ha ha ha; in Labrador, cow cow, Car- cassonne, au-par-a-vant, help help, and ma-ma (C. W. Townsend). Breeding. — In single pairs or in colonies ; on sea-coasts or islands on coast or in lakes. Nest : Mere depression lined with moss, grass, seaweed or similar material, or pile of grass, moss and seaweed. Eggs: 2 or 3, rarely 5 ; 2.83 to 3.43 by 2.00 to 2.25 in. ; olive-gray, buffy-gray or pale drab to deep buff, some- times blue or tinged with olive, blotched with brown, blackish and gray ; sometimes spotted with purplish or neutral tints darker than those of Glaucous Gull. Dates: May 15 to June 13, Nova Scotia; May 25 to June 28, Labrador. Incubation: Period said to be 26 to 28 days ; by both sexes. One brood yearly. Range. — Coasts and islands of the North Atlantic. Breeds from North Devon Island and central western Greenland south to Nova Scotia and to 50° north latitude on European coasts; winters from southern Greenland (rarely) south to Great Lakes and Delaware Bay (casually to northern Florida), northern Africa and Canaries ; accidental in Nebraska, Bermuda, Kerguelen Island and Japan ; occasional in interior to Ohio. 1 Bulletin 113, Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, 1921, pp. 81, 82. GULLS 71 Distribution in New England. — Common spring and fall migrant and winter resident coastwise except in Connecticut and Rhode Island waters where rather rare; occasional and sometimes locally common in summer in Maine and Massachusetts. Season in Massachusetts. — September 3 to May 11 ; non-breeders seen irregularly in summer. Haunts and Habits. This great, dark-backed, powerful, wary bird is locally com- mon in winter along the New England coast, and a few individuals may be seen for days at a time in all the summer months on some Massachusetts bars and beaches. Occasion- ally in June or July scores appear at outlying points on the Massachusetts coast, such as Cape Ann, the tip of Cape Cod or Monomoy, but nearly all these seem to be immature and probably non-breeding birds. The species begins to increase in number here in late July and early August and by September it is here in considerable force. Sometimes a hundred may be seen at once, but usually they are much fewer and often appear in the company of the more numerous Herring Gulls. They frequent sand-bars and beaches, rocky ledges and isolated points and take good care to keep out of gunshot. Indeed they are so shy that a powerful telescope is needed to make any intimate study of their habits except in places where they are seldom molested, or are protected or fed in winter, such as the fish pier at South Boston and in Plymouth Harbor. On their breeding- grounds they may be watched from a "blind." While here their behavior is much like that of the Herring Gull. Commonly they are slow fliers but when in pursuit of other birds they exhibit both speed and agility. In March or April they begin their journey from New England to their northern breeding grounds. The Black-back feeds on fish or flesh, living or dead. It is a robber among the sea- fowl, sometimes pursuing smaller birds until they drop their prey, which it appropriates. It kills and devours Dovekies and other small birds, young ducklings and the eggs and young of other birds, young mammals such as mice, rats and rabbits, drives other gulls and crows away from their finds upon the beaches, and takes shellfish and crustaceans. Mr. Allan Keniston of Vineyard Haven states that this gull devours Coots (fulica). In a letter (Nov. 30, 1924) relative to the great numbers of Coots or "Blue Peters" in Edgartown Great Pond he writes : "A daily toll is taken by several Black-backed Gulls ; these gulls hover over the rocks, dip down and take one every few minutes, then leave to come back again when hungry . . . these Blue Peters seem to lose all idea of escape, just rush around on top of the water and it's only a matter of time or the number of Black- backs that will put the whole bed of fowl out of the running." "It eats dead ducks and sometimes crippled ducks that it has killed. It can carry a full-grown scoter." (Isaac Hills, 3d.) It has even been accused of eating eggs of its own species. Economic Status. This gull, like the Herring Gull, is a scavenger, and as such may be of some service in cleaning up carrion, refuse and garbage. On the other hand as it kills and eats wild ducks and some other birds it must be included among the enemies of birds. As no thorough investigation of its food habits has been made, we do not know to what extent, if any, it destroys harmful rodents and insects or useful land birds, and its economic status therefore is doubtful. 72 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Larus argentatus Pontoppidan. Herring Gull. Other names: sea gull; harbor gull; gray gull; winter gull. Plate 6. Description. — Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Back, scapulars and wings mostly pale bluish-gray ("between pale and pallid neutral gray"), darker than those of Glaucous Gull and much lighter than those of Laughing Gull ; primaries somewhat variable in markings, their bases colored much like back or a little lighter, this color very short on 1st primary, barely reaching within 6 or 7 inches of tip, not lighter at its juncture with black and extending no farther on central part of feather than on edge ; first six primaries with small rounded white spots at tips and black from these spots to gray bases ; * black grows narrower from 1st to 7th where it often becomes a mere point on outer web ; basal gray of pri- maries extends about 'same distance on 2d, 3d and 4th (within about 4 inches of tip of 2d), runs farther up on centers than at edges and grows much lighter where it meets black ; white spot near tip of 1st primary rounded and slightly more than an inch long, this mark sometimes wanting on outer vane; in oldest birds spot so enlarges as to include white tip of feather ; on 2d primary this subapical spot usually either wanting or very small ; primaries from 7th inward gray with white tips ; head, neck, rump, upper tail- coverts, tail and under plumage white; bill yellow with transverse spot of red above angle of lower mandible ; iris silvery-white to pale yellow ; bare ring around eye yellow ; legs and feet pale flesh-color. Adults in winter plumage: Similar to summer adults but head and neck streaked gray; bill duller in color. Immature in second winter plumage : Lighter than in first winter ; feathers of back more or less pearly gull-gray ; primaries largely dark or blackish, tipped white ; head, neck, rump and breast more or less spotted and streaked; tail sometimes dark, sometimes light (when light with imperfect bar of dusky near end). Young in first winter plumage: Prevailing color rather dark, brownish-gray, or gray- ish-brown, more or less variable ; upper plumage mottled with irregular small patches of light grayish or grayish-buff y ; head and neck streaked whitish; tail and flight-feathers mostly brownish-black; no prominent white spots near tips of primaries ; tail sometimes mottled slightly with whitish ; breast and belly ashy-brown ; bill flesh-colored, blackish toward tip ; iris brown ; feet dull or pale flesh color. Juvenal plumage assumed by fledglings is dark gray tinged brown, more or less mottled above with whitish and buffy and streaked whitish on head and neck. Downy young: Buffy, fading into whitish below and darkening on back, more or less mottled with angular dusky spots ; feet dusky-pink. Measurements. — Length 22.50 to 26.00 in. ; spread 54.00 to 58.00 ; folded wing 16.25 to 18.00 ; tail about 7.50; bill 1.95 to 2.50; tarsus 2.30 to 2.80. Female a little smaller than male. Molts. — Young have a partial autumnal molt and another in spring, but first winter plumage and first nuptial plumage do not differ very greatly from dark juvenal plumage ; at this age bird is widely known as Gray Gull ; it has a complete molt in fall when it assumes its second winter plumage which is lighter than before, with more white below and much light gray above ; a partial molt in the next spring into the second nuptial plumage lightens the dress still more ; not until third year (or later) does bird seem ever to molt into fully adult nuptial plumage ; (Astley who has kept European Herring Gulls in captivity says that they do not assume the bright yellow bill until later,1 and the Practical Handbook of British Birds asserts that young birds become like adults in the fourth winter) ; adults have two molts yearly — a limited prenuptial in spring and a complete postnuptial in August and September. Field Marks. — Compared with other gulls the Herring Gull is larger than Ring-billed Gull and smaller than Glaucous Gull or Black-back, but size is very deceptive unless species can be compared side by side. Young of these other species resemble young Herring Gulls and all at some age may have (or appear to have) a black band or bar near end of tail ; but young Black-backed Gull is more streaked and buffy and lighter below than young Herring Gull, while young Ring-billed Gull is generally lighter in * White spots at tips of outer primaries wear away during summer, leaving extreme tips black, i Astley, H. D. : My Birds in Freedom and Captivity, 1901, p. 160. PLATE 6 PLATE 6 HERRING GULL Page 72 Adult in Breeding Plumage Young in First Winter Plumage SABINE'S GULL Page 93 Adult in Breeding Plumage BONAPARTE'S GULL Page 89 Adult in Breeding Plumage Adult in Winter Plumage RING-BILLED GULL Page 80 Young, Juvenal Coming into First Winter Plumage Adult in Breeding Plumage LAUGHING GULL Page 82 Adult in Breeding Plumage Young in Juvenal Plumage Young Coming into First Winter Plumage All one-eighth natural size. >-:'--■• — ^■-■■-^•V .» y GULLS 73 color both above and below, with very distinct blackish subterminal bar on tail; adult Herring Gull may be distinguished from white-winged gulls by black ends of its primaries and from Kittiwake by longer and more irregularly shaped black markings on same, as well as by its flesh-colored feet. This latter character will serve also to distinguish it from Ring-billed Gull, with its yellowish-green feet, if the two birds are not too far away. Voice. — The usual alarm note kak-kak-kak, or a series of ha ha has (C. W. Townsend) ; a challenge or trumpeting call queeeeeah-ah, quak, quak, quak, quak, quak, quak, quak, quak, quak, quak (A. C. Bent) ; also many other calls which perhaps express various emotions, as a peculiar, mournful, wailing cry when its young are threatened, and strange hissing whistles. Breeding. — Usually in colonies on islands in sea or in fresh water. Nest : On ground (sometimes on a bare shoal or on rocks or cliffs, sometimes in thick vegetation) ; rarely among or in trees ; usually composed of eel-grass or other seaweeds when on shore, but often of marsh-grasses, weeds, sticks, chips, sometimes a few feathers, shells and tree-mosses. Eggs: 3, rarely 4 or 5 ; 2.70 to 2.90 by 1.80 to 2.05 in. ; commonly elongate-ovate but variable; very variable in color and markings — "light sky blue, dead blue, light blue-gray, light gray-blue, dark lilac-gray, light gray, light pea-green, green, drab, warm drab, ochre drab, pink drab, light brown, and cinnamon," with spots and blotches of chocolate-brown, rich brown, light brown, snuff brown, asphalt, black, lilac and mauve (William Dutcher and W. L. Baily) ; * spots and blotches of various shades and many sizes distributed sparsely or thickly as the case may be. Dates: May 4 to August 8, Maine (C. W. Townsend). Incubation: Period, 24 to 28 days (C. W. Town- send) ; by both sexes. One brood yearly. Range. — Northern Hemisphere. In America its western and northern limits are rather un- certain but it has been reported as breeding from south central Alaska, Melville Island, southern Elles- mere Island and Cumberland Sound south to southern British Columbia, Saskatchewan, northern North Dakota, central Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, Lake Michigan, southern Ontario, central New York, northern Vermont and Massachusetts, and in Eastern Hemisphere from Iceland and western Siberia south to northern France and east to White and Baltic seas ; winters from southeastern Alaska south to Lower California and western Mexico, and from Gulf of St. Lawrence and Great Lakes south to Bahamas, Cuba, Yucatan and coast of Texas ; in Europe from British Isles to Mediterranean and Caspian seas and casually to Canary and Madeira Islands. Distribution in New England. — Abundant winter resident and migrant coastwise where un- common to abundant locally in summer ; breeds on islands (mostly) on coast and in lakes of Maine ; * nests on islands in Lake Champlain ; a rare breeder on Massachusetts coast ; common to rare locally in migration on interior rivers and lakes. Season in Massachusetts. — Resident on coast throughout year ; most abundant in migrations or in winter ; breeds in a few localities. Haunts and Habits. South of Marthas Vineyard lies a little isle of the sea, a mere sand-bar thrown up by the waves, known as Skiffs Island. It is all that shows above water of a long, dangerous shoal that extends far offshore. Strong tides run swiftly about it and angry waves beat on its sloping sands. It is a place for the mariner to avoid. There are ugly tide-rips about it, and often the pounding surf makes landing difficult. High storm-tides tear it down and rebuild it. In August, 1888, it was 1,200 feet long •- Auk, Vol. XX, 1903, p. 417. * Arthur H. Norton, Field Agent for Maine of the National Association of Audubon Societies, in his annual report for 1921 said that the Herring Gulls had increased "enormously," having in the past ten years "extended their breeding range on our [Maine, Ed.] coast nearly sixty miles to the westward, with many large colonies" (Bird-Lore, Vol. XXIII, 1921, pp. 355- 356). Mr. Norton in 1923 said : "The Herring Gull breeds today as far west as Casco Bay. It has extended its range west- ward from Matinicus, once its farthest west." 74 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS and 290 feet wide in its widest part, and was more or less covered with weeds and beach- grass. In July, 1908, it was but a small sand-spit swept clear of all vegetation. In July, 1917, there were two islands, one of which had a pond with beach-grass growing around it. In January, 1919, there were three islets; in April there were two; and in July there was only one. In July, 1920, there appeared a long island like that of 1888, but narrower. For many years Skiffs Island has been occupied more or less, summer and winter, by Herring Gulls, and in 1919 I found them breeding there. Probably they had been domiciled there for several years. In 1919 they nested in the most primitive manner on the island. The outer beach had been reared high by surf, and usually the sand sloped a little toward the center. Over this outer rampart the sea during storm- tides threw sea-wrack and eel-grass, and in bunches of this stranded seaweed the gulls made their nests. These were mere hollows shaped by the bird in the seaweed and lined with a little of the same material. Young birds that had left the nest squatted and tried to hide from intruders. Larger young ran away over the bare sand until they reached the water into which they boldly plunged to be washed about by the surf. Probably the Herring Gull once nested on small islands all along the coast of New Eng- land ; but many years ago most nesting sea-birds were driven away from our southern coasts by continued persecution, and it is only within recent years since protection has had some effect that they have begun to come back. Mr. Allan Keniston of Vineyard Haven sent me a photograph of a nest and eggs of the Herring Gull that he found in 1912 on a "neck" extending out into Edgartown Great Pond. This is the first recent record of the breeding of the species in Massachusetts. The last prior and only known earlier record is that of a pair nesting on middle Wepecket Island in 1888 which is recorded in an interesting paper on the Herring Gull by Mr. George H. Mackay.1 Mr. Vinal M. Edwards, a thoroughly reliable observer, found the nest and downy young. Captain W. H. Proctor informs me that about 1913 a small colony of these birds nested at Edgar- town on the beach-ridge between the herring creek, which flows from the Great Pond, and the sea. The next record is mine for Skiffs Island where at least 20 pairs were nest- ing in 1919 and 1920, and where I found 14 nests in 1921 though some evidently had been washed away by high seas.* In 1920 Mr. W. Sprague Brooks found two nests with eggs on sand-spits near Muskeget which I saw later; and Dr. John C. Phillips informs me that in 1921 more than a dozen pairs nested there. In 1924 a nest was reported on Marthas Vineyard and several nests on Monomoy. In 1919 Mr. Freeman B. Currier of Newburyport reported a large colony of gulls on one of the Isles of Shoals off the New Hampshire coast which he said was continually robbed by fishermen. He sent me a colored drawing of one of the eggs which unquestionably was that of the Herring Gull. It is improbable that the Herring Gull can long maintain itself anywhere on the coast of southern New England. All habitable islands will be occupied sooner or later by "sum- mer people " ; and the gulls on most of the islets that they now occupy cannot be protected « Auk, Vol. IX, 1892, p. 226. * Mr. J. A. Farley found about 12 pairs nesting in 1922. GULLS 75 from the depredations of fishermen and collectors. However, there are gull-colonies on islands in lakes in the interior, such as Lake Champlain and some of the Maine lakes ; while there are islands off the Maine coast where Herring Gulls breed and where they are more likely to prosper. Says Mr. Arthur H. Norton, of the Portland Society of Natural History, the accredited authority on the birds of Maine : "By a conservative estimate, it seems probable that upwards of 60,000 pairs of Gulls bred this year [1921] on the coast of Maine" (Bird-Lore, Vol. XXIII, 1921, p. 356). I have visited several of the Maine islands which are comparatively large, with high, dry breeding-grounds which have been guarded for years by wardens appointed by the National Association of Audubon Societies. On all these islands there are weeds and shrubbery and on some, spruce and fir-trees, all of which offer protection and conceal- ment for nests and young. Most of the islands are uninhabited or occupied only by lighthouse keepers who are concerned to protect the birds. One of the largest colonies is situated on Great Duck Island off Mt. Desert Island. This is a rocky island sparsely forested with coniferous trees but there is much relatively open land used as sheep- pasture which supports a good growth of grasses and shrubbery. The sheep probably do no great injury to the gulls' nests for the birds are well able to defend their eggs and young against these timid creatures. Duck Island is nearly two miles long and perhaps three-quarters of a mile wide at its widest part. The gulls build their nests over the greater part of it. When we approached Great Duck Island in early July, multitudes of white-breasted gulls were seen sitting on stumps or dead branches or on their nests; for in the most thickly settled part of the colony the trees are dead and many have been cut or have fallen, leaving only stumps and dead branches where the forest once stood. Our intru- sion disturbed hundreds, if not thousands, of birds which rose high in air with a continu- ous, complaining clamor. The avian host presented a wonderful spectacle as they floated on widely-extended pinions, some wheeling, others darting downward, and all calling and crying with all their might. Presently many of the more distant birds settled like white doves on the branches of the dark trees, their snowy breasts in bold relief against the blue summer sky. Numerous nests lay scattered about, some in the open, others concealed, some with eggs, others with newly hatched young. Downy young were running about and many more were hiding beneath the weeds or shrubbery. By setting up a blind among the nests one is able, while concealed, to watch at close range the habits of the birds and to observe their manner of incubating their eggs and brooding and feeding their young. The material used in the nest (largely green grasses, seaweeds, etc.) shrinks and settles under the weight of the incubating bird and is added to and re- placed from time to time with more fresh green material. Formerly many nests were placed in trees, and I have seen a few in such situations ; but under protection compara- tively few gulls now nest in trees. While the young gulls are small and tender, the parents brood them and protect them from sun, rain and their natural enemies. The parent bird swallows the food intended 76 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Dejection mm Somnolence for its young. On reaching its offspring it bows its head until it succeeds in regurgitating the food which is either in a fresh undigested condition or partially digested according to the length of time since it was swallowed. The bowing of the parent sometimes brings up the food at once ; at other times it seems as if an emetic would be necessary to produce any visible results. In such cases diges- tion perhaps has gone a little too far. However the youngster seems to receive thankfully whatever comes and does not require actually to be fed; for though it receives its food occasionally from the parent's bill, it takes it more often from the ground. The gull chicks as they grow stronger wander about more or less, and some no doubt "get lost" while the parents are away hunting for food; but the adults seem to be able to find and recognize their offspring. The young, however, do not care by what bird they are fed so long as they get their fill; they beg from any parent that appears near them with food. Dr. C. W. Townsend avers that both parents feed the young and that they are fed for at least five weeks.1 While watching the feeding of the young, I saw several insist- ent, begging, young birds attacked and killed by adults which were probably not their parents. This murderous habit may come from irritation at the insistent demands for food made by strange youngsters. In these instances the adult not only pecked the young bird on the head but followed up the frightened and fleeing little thing, sometimes even grasping it by head or neck and shaking and pecking it until it was stretched dead or dying on the ground. Such savage birds were believed by the warden to be irritable old males who had acquired this habit, which is not uncommon. Downy young of various ages and sizes are the usual victims. It is difficult to determine just when the southward migratory movement of the Herring Gull begins in Massachusetts as many of the species remain in summer on our coast. A large proportion of these birds are immature but by no means all ; most adults seen here in June and early July, however, may be barren or unmated birds. They roost on islands, sand-bars, marshes, beaches or sand-hills, in isolated and quiet nooks and corners of the coast. Where the shore is unsafe, they sometimes sleep on the water; but on islands where they breed, they roost on land, go out at daylight and return before dark. In early July I have known about 500 birds to sleep nightly in a valley among the sand-dunes Expectation Joy Attitudes of Young Herring Gulls 1 Bulletin No. 113, Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, 1921, p. 107. GULLS 77 of Cape Cod. More than half of them were adult or nearly adult birds. Gulls are seen also not only on the coast but occasionally about the larger rivers, lakes and ponds, mostly during migration. Their numbers have increased largely since they have been accorded general protection under State and Federal laws, and have had special care on their breeding grounds by the National Association of Audubon Societies. The Herring Gull is a master of the air. It can fly forward or backward, veer grace- fully in any direction, soar with stiffened pinions or shoot downward like an arrow, sail on steady wing against the wind and perform numberless evolutions with grace and ease. In calm weather it flaps along much like a heron, and ordinarily when traveling this is its mode of progression ; but when the wind blows, it sails, wheels, rises and falls with great speed and power. Large flocks sometimes swing in wide circles and rise to im- mense heights. Naturalists have much discussed the power possessed by these gulls of following with- out wing-motion a steamer for a considerable distance against a strong head wind. Some believe that gulls are able to do this because of an upward current of air deflected from the hull of the boat ; but this does not explain how gulls can sail thus into the wind when distant from a vessel. Dr. C. W. Townsend has observed that in flight the feet of this gull are usually carried behind under the tail, but are sometimes brought forward and buried in the feathers of the breast or belly. Herring Gulls are excellent swimmers ; but although commonly seen on the water, they do not swim very far when able to fly. They do not seem to dive commonly or deeply, but in case of necessity they can dive like terns from on the wing. I once saw one at rest on the Wankinco River that dived from the surface in less than six feet of water and apparently brought up some food from on or near the bottom. This species, like many other sea-birds, can drink salt-water, but evidently it must drink fresh water also, as there are many colonies on fresh-water lakes. During the seasons of migration when fresh-water ponds are unfrozen, many Herring Gulls visit such ponds that are near the sea. It is a common sight to see them flying over Boston in numbers in autumn, winter and spring, on the way to and from the Back Bay Basin, Fresh Pond in Cambridge, or other ponds about Boston where shooting is forbidden. At times so many gulls collect in some of the reservoirs supplying Boston or nearby cities with water that the authorities have feared that these birds from the water-front might contaminate the drinking water with typhoid bacilli from sewage discharged into the harbor ; and men with guns have been employed to drive the gulls from the reservoirs. Perhaps eventually we may come to realize the folly of casting into rivers and harbors the sewage of our cities, and thus wasting invaluable fertilizer for the land, befouling pure waters, destroying or polluting valuable fisheries and endangering the lives of citizens. About the second week in August when the breeding season is nearly over and many young are on the wing, the Herring Gulls scatter from their breeding-islands in Maine and the Provinces. Late in July their numbers begin sometimes to increase on the Massa- 78 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS chusetts coast and on the fishing-grounds, and before the end of September they have scattered all along the coast of southern New England, and have reached New Jersey. From late March until well into May flocks may be seen on their return flight. The natural food of the Herring Gull consists of fish, shell-fish and other marine or fresh-water animals, together with many insects, supplemented in times of scarcity by eggs and young of other sea-birds. A scavenger, however, the bird always has been, for the reason that it is not skilful in diving and swimming under water, and so finds it difficult to catch large, healthy, active fish except under particularly favorable circum- stances — as where many fish are crowded together in a limited space in a net or weir or in a narrow, shallow stream. Therefore it lives more on dead, dying, stranded or disabled fish and fish-refuse than on the products of its own skill in fishing. The Herring Gull watches diving ducks and mergansers as they dive for food ; and when a successful bird comes up, the gull hovers overhead and very often is quick enough to snatch the morsel from the diver's bill as soon as the bird reaches the surface. Mr. John A. Farley, who has spent considerable time in watching Herring Gulls, has been kind enough to supply me with his notes on this subject. See also "The Gulls and Terns of Sagadahoc County" by Capt. Herbert L. Spinney for a description of this habit.1 It is able often to secure clams and other shell-fish, especially after storms when the bivalves are washed upon the beach. By care and dexterity it now and then seizes the neck of a buried clam and bites off its head. It has learned the crow's plan of rising high in air and dropping the clam or mussel on a rock or other hard object to break the shell, following quickly as it falls to take advantage of a break in the shell, or to guard the morsel from thieving crows. Often the gull does not fly high enough the first time to break the shell. However, if the shell remains unbroken, the bird picks it up again and carries it higher. If the second drop is ineffective, the mollusk is taken higher still, until finally the impact of the fall smashes the shell and the bird descends to its hard-won repast. The gulls have learned that the automobile road between Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs on Marthas Vineyard offers an excellent surface for smashing shells. As a consequence the roadway is constantly strewn with broken shells much to the dis- gust of motorists. There is some complaint that these gulls destroy scallops, but probably most of these shell-fish taken by them are such as are cast up by the waves or have gotten into shallow water where, if not picked up by the gulls, they probably would be destroyed by the frost and ice of winter. When the crews of fishing-vessels are dressing their catch, Herring Gulls lose most of their characteristic caution, and crowd around the sterns, and drop to the water with extended feet and spread tails to pick up any morsels they can reach. When thus they swarm about the stern of a fishing-boat, in their eagerness to secure their share, they sometimes approach within two or three yards of the men at work. Throughout the fishing-season the gulls visit the traps and pounds of the shore-fishermen where they cap- 1 Journal of the Maine Ornithological Society, Vol. I, 1899, p. 17. Photograph by the A uthor Fig. 5. — Young Herring Gulls Less than Three Days Old Skiffs Island Photograph by Allan Kenislon Fig. 6. — Nest of Herring Gull. Skiffs Island GULLS 79 ture many fish that are dead, dying or disabled. In herring ponds and creeks, also, where the fish become massed in shallow water, the gulls catch many, especially the weaker or injured ones, and feed also on the dead and dying. They kill and eat mice, rats and other rodents. Chamberlain says that "their formula for disposing of a rat is unique." They first break the bones by crunching with the bill ; then dip the rat in water and soak it thoroughly ; then swallow it entire, head first. It is a habit of this gull to soak dry or salted food, or to rinse food in water before eating it. I saw traces on the sands of Monomoy showing that a gull had dragged some object, probably a dry fish, nearly 150 yards to the water, and Dr. C. W. Townsend tells of a fish that he found on Ipswich Beach that had been dragged 134 yards.1 On islands where insects are abun- dant, young Herring Gulls secure many of the larger species. Adults sometimes pick up worms and grubs behind the plowman. During hard winters when harbors and flats are iced over and food is hard to get, Herring Gulls eat dead ducks, and even pursue and kill the wounded or starving of these or other birds, thereby usurping the prerogative of the crows. Mr. Horace Bearse of Chatham says that during the hard winter of 1919-20, when the crows and gulls, both on the verge of starvation, clashed at a garbage-heap in that town, he saw a crow attack a Herring Gull. The crow was more active and vigorous than the gull and succeeded first in blinding its enemy and then in killing it. This could not have happened except to a gull weakened by starvation. Economic Status. Civilization has diminished the natural food for gulls in our harbors and rivers by decreasing the supply of fish and shell-fish, but has substituted offal, garbage and sewage which are eagerly sought by these birds. The Herring Gull has become valuable therefore as a scavenger. It gathers in flocks in harbors wherever fish are dressed or thrown away, at canning factories, fish-freezers or fish-wharves and quickly devours all offal or fish-waste thrown into the water. It flocks in thousands where sewage is discharged and where garbage is dumped at sea, and cleans up much filthy, floating refuse that might otherwise be cast back by winds and tides on beach and shore. Wherever fish, killed in thousands by disease, frost or other causes, are cast up in countless multitudes upon the shore to poison the air with the offensive effluvia of decay, there the gulls gather and in an astonishingly short time succeed in abating the nuisance. Sometimes the zeal of the gulls in disposing of such noisome fare brings them into disfavor with the farmers who, having hauled loads of dead fish to their fields for fertilizer, fail to plow them under, and soon find that they have vanished, the gulls having flown away with them. Not long ago a farmer in Rhode Island bought for fer- tilizer some tons of starfish that had been dredged up by the oystermen ; but he let them lie too long and when he got ready to haul them, they had disappeared. The gulls knew where they went. Mr. Arthur H. Norton reports (Auk, Vol. XXVI, 1909, p. 438) that the Herring Gull 1 Bent, A. C. : Bulletin No. 113, Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Life Histories of North Amer- ican Gulls and Terns, 1921, p. 111. 80 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS destroys the beach snail (Polinices heros) which is a well-known and common enemy of the clam. Herring Gulls are very noisy during the breeding season, and in foggy weather on the Maine coast their clamor serves to mark the islands on which they breed. The birds thus serve the purpose of the stationary fog-horn. In thick weather local fishermen heed the loud voices of the birds to correct their course. Small coasting steamers threading devious channels in a fog often stop while the pilot listens for the gull-chorus which may indicate the need of another turn of the steering-wheel to clear the rock. Larus delawarensis Ord. Ring-billed Gull. Plate 6. Description. — Bill quite stout, nearly equals length of middle toe without claw ; middle toe and claw hardly more than three-quarters length of tarsus. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Head, neck, tail, upper tail-coverts and under plumage including axillars and under wing-coverts white ; back, scapulars and wings light pearl-gray fading gradually into white at ends of secondaries; primaries (subject to some variation) — 1st black, basal part of inner web very pale gray, almost white, with spot of white about 1.25 inches in length near end and of about equal extent on both webs, divided by black shaft ; 2d primary similar but with inner web whitish basally for a longer space and small white spot near end ; whitish on bases of primaries increases inward and black decreases until on 5th or 6th, it becomes a mere bar or spot ; tip of 1st primary black, others white, white terminal spot being very small on 2d, gradually increasing on others (but these terminal spots sometimes wanting) ; 7th and last primaries like secondaries pale gray with white tips and no black; bill chrome-yellow at tip, sometimes tinged orange, greenish-yellow elsewhere, except wide band of black which encircles it at angle (some specimens have only a transverse spot of black) ; inside of mouth deep orange-red ; edges of eyelids red or yellow ; iris straw-yellow or cream; feet pale greenish-yellow, "light yellow" or "chrome-yellow" (but usually with a greenish cast) ; "dusky-green" (J. H. Langille). Adults in winter plumage: Similar but head and neck (except chin, throat and sometimes fore neck) spotted or streaked slightly with dusky ; feet greenish. Immature in second winter plumage: Back mainly light gray, feathers narrowly edged whitish, greater wing-coverts similar ; lesser wing-coverts mottled dusky ; much dusky on primaries, tertials and some- times on secondaries ; primaries brownish-black ; tail whiter basally but still has broad, dusky, subter- minal band ; head and hind neck streaked and spotted dusky ; below mainly white ; basal half of bill yellowish, terminal half black; iris grayish-yellow; feet becoming greenish. Young in first winter plumage: Similar to juvenal plumage. Above irregularly mottled with dusky-brown and "gull gray" of adults ; during winter buff y and dark markings of feathers wear away and fade leaving bird generally much lighter colored than in juvenal plumage ; head and neck mottled dusky ; many new feathers, partly light gray with dark markings, appear on back; primaries largely blackish, inner ones basally light gray slightly tipped white; basal half (about) of secondaries light gray; tail very pale gray, basally whitish, lighter in color than in juvenal plumage, mottled with grayish-brown, a broad, dusky band near end, and slightly tipped whitish ; below white with more or less mottling ; iris brown ; naked eye-ring bluish ; feet pale flesh color or "purplish gray" ; bill blackish, base (more or less) flesh color or yellowish, extreme tip light. Dark Phase: Apparently two phases are seen in juvenal and first winter plumages. Some young birds in September are nearly as dark as juvenal Herring Gull with blackish tail (no dark bar) and only a few light marks toward tips and on lateral feathers; some variation in tail-pattern; feathers of back and scapulars broadly margined and tipped pinkish buff or whitish; lower abdomen shading into whitish ; closely resembles young of California Gull but smaller. Young in juvenal plumage : Resembles juvenal Herring Gull but much smaller ; tail dusky or blackish (not light with subterminal GULLS 81 black band as in later immature plumages), with usually a little more white about tip than in Herring Gull ; relatively broader whitish margin on feathers of back, scapulars, tertials, rump and upper tail- coverts. Downy young: At least two color phases; some individuals smoke-gray; others buffy, all distinctly spotted dark brown on head and neck, and less distinctly mottled or clouded with same on back ; lighter, sometimes nearly white, below. Measurements. — Length 18.00 to 20.00 in. ; spread about 47.00 to 49.50 ; folded wing 13.60 to 15.75; tail 5.20 to 6.00; bill 1.42 to 1.63; tarsus 1.95 to 2.45. Molts. — Juvenal plumage complete when bird is nearly full grown and partial molt of body- feathers later when bird goes into first winter plumage ; in spring partial prenuptial molt and in autumn full postnuptial molt ; molt thus continues, partially in spring and wholly in autumn, until bird is two years old when "the fully adult plumage is perhaps assumed by some birds," but many "still retain signs of immaturity during the third year" (A. C. Bent); there is complete postnuptial molt of both adults and young in August and September and partial prenuptial molt (of body-feathers) mainly in March. Field Marks. — A little larger than Kittiwake or Crow. Adult : Black ring or partial black cross- bar on bill, seen only at close range unless with a powerful glass ; tarsi and feet greenish-yellow or grayish- yellow-green, instead of black as in Kittiwake, or flesh-colored as in Herring Gull ; black of primaries has distinct terminal white spots (see under Kittiwake) ; back a little lighter than that of Herring Gull ; smaller and tamer "with a lighter and more sprightly carriage" (L. A. Fuertes). Bird of first winter: Not usually so slaty-gray as in Herring Gull but lighter ; its lighter color and very distinct, well-defined, dark band on tail should separate it from Herring Gull, immature of which, however, sometimes has, or appears to have, a broad, dark tail-band. "The fact that they may fly along the beach directly by or over an observer without sheering off out of gunshot as Herring Gulls do has always given me a hint as to the species, for they appear to have a very confiding nature" (C. W. Townsend). Voice. — When alarmed, a piercing note of protest — kree, kreeee — like the cry of a hawk, softened and modified when its excitement has subsided ; subdued kow, kow kow often heard from a flock floating overhead ; while pursuing its ordinary vocations rather silent except for a short mellow kowk (A. C. Bent). Breeding. — In colonies ; sometimes with other water-birds, on islands in inland lakes or on sea- islands or cliffs. Nest: Much like that of Herring Gull ; usually on ground or rock, rarely in small tree. Eggs: Commonly 3; similar to those of Herring Gull but smaller; average 2.35 by 1.67 in. Dates: May 9 to June 22, North Dakota; June 4 to 23, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Incubation: Period about 21 days (A. C. Bent). Presumably one brood yearly. Range. — North America. Breeds (mainly in southern Canada) from southern Alaska, central British Columbia, Great Slave Lake, northern Manitoba, northern James Bay and Hamilton Inlet south to southern Oregon, northern Utah, Idaho, southern Colorado, northern North Dakota, southern Ontario, northern New York (casually) and Canadian Labrador (southeastern Quebec), and (formerly at least) in Minnesota, Wisconsin and northern Michigan ; not known to breed on Atlantic coast in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia or New England ; winters from British Columbia, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Great Lakes and Maine (rarely Gulf of St. Lawrence), south to Bermuda (casually), Gulf of Mexico, Cuba and southern Mexico ; accidental in Hawaii. Distribution in New England. — Not uncommon migrant coastwise ; locally and irregularly common to rare or casual migrant inland ; irregular winter resident coastwise. Season in Massachusetts. — July (17) to late May or early June (June 5) ; apparently winters rarely (though perhaps regularly) except in mild winters when more common ; "common at Plymouth in a very severe winter" (J. A. Farley). Haunts and Habits. The Ring-billed Gull which was described by Audubon as the ''Common American Gull" is no longer the common gull of New England. It does 82 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS not breed now on the New England coast, if it ever did, and has not been noted very recently as breeding very commonly even in Labrador where formerly it was abundant. It has also forsaken several islands in the Great Lakes and has retired to regions where it is less persecuted by man. Apparently it cannot stand such persecution as has fol- lowed the Herring Gull, and it has been driven to breeding-haunts farther north or in the interior which are remote from thickly populated districts. For many years it has been seen on the New England coast only in migration or in winter ; but it is still the common gull on the lakes of the prairies and plains of the northern United States and Canada where it far outnumbers the Herring Gull. Since gulls have been given continuous pro- tection under the laws of State and Nation, this species seems to have increased in migration along the Atlantic coast ; recently it has been reported in greater numbers, and more often, in New England. It is seen singly, in small flocks or with Herring Gulls, mainly during the migrations. In appearance, flight and behavior the Ring-billed Gull resembles closely the Herring Gull. Many of its notes are similar to those of that species ; and when seen in flocks of its own kind, it might be (and probably often is) mis- taken for its larger congener. It is sociable and gregarious, associating not only with those of its own species but also with other gulls. It is a very clever bird on the wing. Mr. J. A. Farley notes that once in the Gulf of St. Lawrence he saw a Ring-billed Gull which was flying in the wake of the vessel, and which scratched its face with its claw as it flew. The Ring-billed Gull is rarely seen in Massachusetts waters before September or early October when young birds appear among flocks of Herring Gulls. Most individuals pass southward and comparatively few winter north of Cape Cod. In March and April they appear on their return ; by the middle of April they have reached their breeding- grounds in North Dakota ; and during the latter part of the month they arrive in the Canadian Northwest. This gull frequents the outer bars and beaches where it feeds largely on dead fish and other aquatic animals, small rodents and insects. Economic Status. The Ring-billed Gull performs the part of a scavenger by assist- ing the Herring Gulls in cleaning up floating refuse in the harbors, or wherever garbage from the cities is dumped at sea or about the lakes of the interior. It sometimes robs the nests of other birds but has a useful habit on its breeding grounds, that of catching flying insects, particularly grasshoppers. On the whole it is a gentle, confiding and beautiful species, and may be regarded as ordinarily more beneficial than injurious. Larus atricllla Linnmtjs. Laughing Gull. Other names: black-headed gull; black-head; black-headed mackekel gull. Plate 6. Description. — Bill about as long as middle toe and claw ; shorter than tarsus or head ; outline of lower mandible concave in front of angle ; tip of upper mandible well decurved ; middle toe about three- quarters length of tarsus. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Head mostly dark sooty-gray or GULLS nearly black which extends farther down on throat than on nape ; eyelids more or less white, posteriorly, their edges red; neck (all around), broad tips of secondaries, tertials and inner primaries, upper tail- coverts, tail and under plumage white, latter sometimes with more or less rosy, peach-blossom tinge; back, scapulars and wings rather dark leaden-gray, much darker than usual gull-gray ; outer six (five sometimes) primaries more or less black, usually white-tipped, their bases for short distance on inner web of 1st and for increasing distance on both webs of others, colored like back; bill dark brownish-red shading into blood-red or carmine toward tip of upper mandible; feet dusky-red, webs darkest; iris very dark brown. Adults in winter plumage : Similar but white below, never rosy ; no hood ; head white with some blackish marks on top and back of head and about eye- and ear-regions ; bright coloring of bill and feet obscured. Young in first summer plumage : Similar to winter adult but secondaries largely grayish-brown; primaries dark grayish-brown and unspotted; tail white with some dark feathers or marks. Young in first winter plumage: Back, scapulars and smaller wing-coverts grayish-brown, broadly edged pale grayish-buff or clay color ; greater wing-coverts gray with edges lightening to pale grayish-buff toward ends ; secondaries dusky (mainly on outer web) white-tipped but grayish basally ; primaries and their coverts dull slaty-blackish, some narrowly tipped white ; upper tail-coverts and sides of rump white; rest of rump light brownish-gray; other hinder parts, except tail, white ; basal half of tail light gray, rest black, narrowly tipped white; head, neck, breast and sides brownish- gray or grayish-brown, darkest on top of head and nape and some- what tinged dull buffy on breast and sides; upper breast and abdomen grayish-white or very pale brownish-gray ; bill and feet obscured with blackish. Young in juvenal plumage: Similar to that of first winter but darker, some dark gray or drab on head, neck and breast, almost as dark as young Herring Gull. Such birds may be seen in August on our coast. Downy young : Buff y- brown or dark above, sometimes more or less tinged with tawny- olive and variegated with dusky or dark brown ; lighter below. Measurements. — Length 15.50 to 17.00 in. ; folded wing 12.25 to 13.75; tail 4.62 to 5.40; bill 1.42 to 1.65; tarsus 1.82 to 2.07. Female smaller than male. Molts. — Apparently the Laughing Gull assumes winter plumage of adult in its second autumn, although a few individuals may still show signs of immaturity ; in spring of next year all take on for the first time fully adult nuptial plumage ; Bent says that juvenal plumage is complete before the young bird is fully grown, and that a gradual post juvenal molt takes place during the first autumn and winter, which is practically continuous with the first prenuptial molt of first spring ; the bird afterward molts fully in fall and partially in spring. Field Marks. — Adults : Not likely to be confused with any gull commonly found in Massachusetts except Bonaparte's Gull, which is smaller, has a much lighter back, a black bill and is rarely seen here (except in spring) in full nuptial plumage with black head ; black outer primaries distinguish Laughing Gull from Bonaparte's Gull which has outer primaries mainly white with black tips. Young: No other small gull in New England has breast as dark as this species. Voice. — 'Haw 'ha 'ha 'ha 'haw, oh oh agh agh (Nuttall) ; half, half, half (A. C. Bent) ; a deep ha ha ha followed by rapidly repeated sounds as of rippling laughter, complaining cries ai ai and kai kai (C. W. Townsend) . Breeding. — In colonies; sometimes in company with terns; usually on sea-islands. Nest: On ground ; sometimes mere hollow in sand without concealment ; usually rather well built of grasses, sea- weed, sticks, etc., and more or less concealed among rather thick, low vegetation. Eggs: Two to five, usually three ; 2.10 by 1.55 in. (Coues) ; ranging in shape from elongate-ovate to short-ovate ; brown to Half Grown Downy Young Laughing Gull About \ natural size. 84 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS olive-buff or cream-buff or even pea-green, with spots, blotches and sometimes scrawls varying from seal- brown to raw-umber ; often with underlying spots of different shades of gray or pale purplish. Dates : April 8, Texas; May 26, Cobb's Island, Virginia; June 7, Muskeget Island. Incubation : Period about 20 days (A. C. Bent). One brood yearly. Range. — Tropical and temperate coasts of America. Breeds from Maine and Massachusetts (formerly Nova Scotia) south on Atlantic and Gulf coasts to southern Texas ; winters (mainly in Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea) from coast of South Carolina south to Chile and Brazil; casual in New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa, Quebec and Ontario ; accidental in Lower Cali- fornia, Bermuda and Europe. Distribution in New England. — Rare summer visitant along most of New England coast but fast increasing in numbers ; breeding plentifully on Muskeget Island and in smaller numbers on Western Egg Rock in Muscongus Bay, Maine;* former nesting-places of the bird in Maine were Matinicus Seal Island, Metinic Green Island and Little Green Island, the latter colony being of long standing ; a straggler in Vermont ; more or less common in summer on coast within 20 miles or more of its breeding places ; a bird of this species was seen early in October, 1923, by R. O. Morris at Southwick Ponds, Massa- chusetts.1 Season in Massachusetts. — April 12 to October 23 (November 10). Haunts and Habits. South of the peninsula of Cape Cod lies a sandy island which is now the chief breeding-place of the Laughing Gull in New England. The Indians named this islet Muskeget and it still bears the name. Lying on the boundary of Nan- tucket Sound and surrounded by treacherous shoals, it is one of the graveyards of the Atlantic and is avoided by mariners. Often its shores are strewn with the timbers and wreckage of lost ships. Strange sea-creatures frequent the deeps and shallows that sur- round this island. Small fish often abound in the adjacent waters and these are pursued by larger fish and sea-birds. Thousands of gulls and terns breed and rear their young upon the sands of the island. It is one of the largest bird nurseries on the New England coast. Muskeget Island consists mainly of sand built up by wave and wind and appears to be of comparatively recent origin. It is roughly crescent-shaped and is about one and one-half miles long. Sand spits rising above the waters near its northwestern face defend it against the sea and provide a harbor for small boats. Tides run fiercely over the shoals about it and in windy weather, particularly at low stages of the tide, foaming breakers roar for miles along the tide-rips and break in fury on the shore. Treeless, Muskeget is a succession of low, rolling dunes and hollows or sandy levels covered more or less with beach-grass, poison-ivy, beach-peas and other low-growing plants and with stunted bay berry and beach-plum bushes. Formerly its vegetation was very sparse ; but within a few years this has increased in quantity and luxuriance, making conditions more favorable for the Laughing Gulls, which prefer to hide their nests, and less so for the Common Terns which affect more open sandy land. The only permanent domicile on the island is the United States Life Saving Station, but there are also a number of * Western Egg Rock is near New Harbor, a small fishing hamlet and summer resort in the town of Bristol. It is owned by the Cumberland County Audubon Society. " In Muscongus Bay some of these birds have nested from times unknown. There they have occupied the Shark, the Eastern and the Western Egg Rocks, at times scattering to all, at other times resorting to one or two of the three stations" (Arthur H. Norton in Maine Naturalist, Vol. IV, 1924, p. 65). I, A. C. : in litt. GULLS 85 shanties and camps occupied from time to time by gunners, sportsmen or fishermen. The Laughing Gulls usually arrive in numbers about the second week in May on their nesting grounds here. When I first visited Muskeget in 1908 with two companions, we were lost in wonder at the enormous numbers of its feathered inhabitants. As we approached the nesting grounds, we were soon in the midst of a veritable storm of darting, diving, sailing, flutter- ing, screaming terns, while high above our heads in the blue and cloudless sky floated innumerable black-headed gulls, their clear cries mingling with the harsher sounds given out by the storming terns. Nests were there in thousands ; but while those of the terns were usually quite open and unconcealed on the sands, those of the gulls were more often made beneath the shelter of high beach-grass or that of umbrageous plants like the poison- ivy, a path beneath the vegetation leading in at one side of a nest and out at the other. The eggs, therefore, usually were well hidden, and the downy young (which do not re- main long in the nest) were mostly lying concealed under the dense foliage. Most of the nests contain eggs by the middle of June ; and early in July there are many half- grown young, many of which may be seen running to shelter whenever an intruder appears. I am told that about the year 1850 Laughing Gulls were abundant on the island, but that the depredations of the eggers greatly reduced their numbers ; and that about 1876, when the demand for the feathers of native birds was at its height, this colony of gulls was nearly extirpated. Mr. George H. Mackay, who is responsible for the preservation of the colony, tells me that at one time there were not over 12 pairs of Laughing Gulls left on the island. In 1880 they were still scarce although a few pairs bred. The species would soon have vanished but for Mr. Mackay's influence in state legislation for the protection of birds, and in the town affairs of Nantucket. Mainly through his good offices the town authorities were induced to employ a warden to guard the birds during the breeding season on the island, and the captain of the life-saving crew took an active interest in their protection. Since this guardianship was assumed, the birds have in- creased, slowly indeed for the first ten years but more rapidly since, until now (1923) there are thousands of Laughing Gulls on the island ; and they appear during the sum- mer in numbers not only for miles around but also on the coasts of the three southern New England states, in places where for many years they were seldom or never noted. Nuttall reported great numbers on the coast of New Jersey ; and in Giraud's day there were colonies of the species along the coast of Long Island. Now, however, the bird is practically extirpated as a breeder from the region between Muskeget and the coast of Virginia, with the exception of two colonies in New Jersey which have thrived under the protection of the National Association of Audubon Societies. In the breeding season of 1919 I saw this species with young on Monomoy where, Mr. George W. Bloomer informed me, a few nests were built and a few young reared. They, however, have not nested there since, and I know of no other nesting-ground in New England but Muskeget excepting the Maine islands mentioned on page 84. 86 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Apparently the name Laughing Gull is a misnomer. The bird certainly produces syllables that simulate laughter, but those who hear in its notes anything closely resem- bling the quality of human mirth must draw largely upon their imagination. There is nothing about the notes suggesting risibility or likely to promote mirth in the listener. Some of them seem sad and complaining and these are most commonly heard. In April Laughing Gulls appear all along the Atlantic coast of the United States even to their "farthest north" in Maine where a few of the birds arrive late in the month. In late August and September they are again on their way southward and October sees most of them in the "sunny South." The food of the Laughing Gull consists of almost anything edible that it can find on sea or shore. Insects, worms, small fish, crabs and their spawn, various other marine animals, garbage, offal, etc., make up a large part of their food in our waters. Several times I have observed Laughing Gulls standing in small, shallow, tidal-streams which flowed at low tide over the flats, and apparently dancing. Close observation showed that they were actually dancing backward in water, sometimes up to their bellies but usually more shallow, evidently for the purpose of dislodging some creature from the sand or mud. When successful each bird made a quick lunge into the water apparently with the object of catching some lively little animal. What they secured I could not see even with a telescope. This gull at times eats many insects, and where insect pests are numerous it often goes inland to secure them. In the summer of 1923 when there was an outbreak of the seventeen-year cicada {Tibicina septendecim) on Cape Cod, great numbers of these gulls, as well as many terns, fed on the insects. The Laughing Gulls apparently carried many cicadas to Muskeget Island to feed their young. The nearest outbreak of the insects was fully 20 miles distant from the island. Mr. Allan Keniston who visited the island at this time asserted that about a dozen of the young birds that he examined there ejected the remains of cicadas.1 In August when flying ants are abundant, I have seen these gulls in numbers near shore circling about like swallows over the waters of Buzzards Bay and catching the ants in air or picking them up from the surface of the water. They follow the fishermen for the offal thrown overboard, go far to sea for floating refuse, search river-shores near the sea, and resort to flats and beaches for animal food uncovered by the tide. They often follow the steamers upon Nantucket and Vineyard Sounds, and feed upon whatever edible matter is thrown overboard. In summer it is only necessary to toss out a few small pieces of bread or fat to attract numbers from far and near. They hover over or near the stern of the boat, dipping gracefully to the water with extended legs and expertly picking up the fragments. Often they may be attracted in the same way about the wharves of Marthas Vineyard, Nantucket and Cape Cod. When pieces of fish-liver are thrown to them, they become very bold and sometimes will come within a few feet of the observer. With a low sun shining upon their lovely breasts, the wheeling flock makes a very attractive picture, not soon to be forgotten. I have never seen this bird dive » Auk, Vol. XLI, 1924, pp. 468-470. Fig. 7. — Head of Laughing Gull i natural size Fig. 8. — Head of Franklin's Gull i natural size Fig. 9. — Above, Primaries of Laughing Gull, of Franklin's Gull i natural size Below, Primaries Fig. 10. — Head of Male Masked Duck i natural size Fig. 11. — Head of Female Masked Duck i natural size Page 283 GULLS 87 under water for food like the terns or some of the other gulls, but it may do so in case of extreme necessity. It has been seen to chase viciously a tern and rob it of its fish. Mr. A. C. Bent quotes Mr. Stanley C. Arthur to the effect that in Louisiana the Laughing Gull takes a heavy toll of the eggs of Cabot's and Royal Terns. He also quotes Audubon in proof of the egg-eating habit and says that he himself has seen some evidence of it.1 I have seen no direct evidence at Muskeget that this gull destroys the nests and eggs of the terns, but apparently the number of terns on the island has decreased much in recent years while that of the Laughing Gulls has increased. One of its peculiar habits in the South enables it to get sustenance at the expense of a larger bird. It watches the Brown Pelican at its fishing and when the latter raises its head awkwardly from the water with fish in its pouch or beak, the gull coolly alights on the pelican's head and snatches from its partly closed beak a share of the prey, while other gulls flutter about to pick up the pieces that fall from the pelican's capacious food receptacle. Economic Status. The Laughing Gull's fondness for insects may cause it to render some service to the farmer, as for example in the destruction of the cicadas on Cape Cod. Otherwise, its economic value has not been demonstrated, except as a scavenger. Larus franklini Richardson. Franklin's Gull. Other names: prairie pigeon; prairie dove. Figs. 8 and 9. Description. — Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Similar to Laughing Gull, but bill smaller and much shorter and hood of similar size but darker — deep slaty-black ; upper surface of body similar but a mere shade more bluish and usually not quite so dark as in Laughing Gull but considerably darker than in Bonaparte's Gull ; primaries marked as follows (but somewhat variable) — 1st with outer web black to within about 1 inch of tip, inner web white, crossed by a black bar about 2 inches wide near end, leaving about 1 inch of whole tip white ; next five primaries white-tipped, colored basally like back, paler on inner webs and all fading into white toward black bar which crosses each feather near its end, this bar about as wide on 2d primary as on 1st, narrowing on successive feathers (toward inner edge of wing) to small bar or one or two little spots on 5th or 6th ; rest of primaries and secondaries colored like back, all fading into white at tips, shafts of all white (sometimes black where feather is black) ; tail white, tinted very pale bluish-gray on several central feathers; neck all round, rump, tips of secondaries (broadly), tips of longest scapulars (usually) and all under plumage white, latter with rosy wash which fades after death ; bill dark red with band of darker red near tip ; naked eye-ring, legs and feet dark red or "claret color." Adults in winter plumage: As breeding plumage, but hood wanting or indicated by only a few dark feathers ; head largely white with dusky-gray about top and back of head, darkest from just before eye to ear-region ; bill and feet darker, duller red than in breeding plumage, bill tipped orange- red. Young in first winter plumage : Variable ; forehead white, top of head and hind head mottled gray and dusky, darkest on sides of head under and behind eye, much as in winter adult ; nape and sides of head mainly dusky or slaty-black; back and scapulars mostly plain gull-gray, otherwise resembling juvenal plumage especially on wings; tail with broad subterminal bar of dusky; under plumage white. Young in juvenal plumage : Head mottled dusky and whitish above ; back, scapulars and lesser wing- coverts brown and drab, feathers edged light brown ; greater wing-coverts gray ; primaries blackish, tipped white ; secondaries gray basally, black centrally, broadly tipped and edged white ; tertials black- 1 Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Bulletin No. 113, 1921, p. 160. 88 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS ish, broadly edged white ; upper tail-coverts white ; tail light gray with broad, subterminal blackish band; under plumage white from chin to tail, rarely faintly tinged rosy. Downy young: variable; two color phases, the first largely brown, spotted or marbled with black above ; throat and upper breast buffy ; white below ; other phase similar but brown and buffy replaced by gray. Measurements. — Length about 13.50 to 15.00 in.; spread about 35.00; folded wing 11.25 to 11.35; tail 4.00 to 4.50; bill 1.25 to 1.30; tarsus 1.60 to 1.70. Molts. — After a partial postj uvenal molt (September to December) first winter plumage is ac- quired ; there is a complete molt in the ensuing spring, followed by first summer plumage ; after post- nuptial molt in autumn immature birds appear to be indistinguishable from adults, except by primaries which still show signs of immaturity, outer primary being black for about 3 inches, with less black on each succeeding primary and tips of all white ; as bird grows older black in primaries decreases at each succeeding molt and white increases until bird becomes fully adult ; adults have a prenuptial molt (March to May), and a postnuptial molt (August to October). Field Marks. — I have never seen this bird alive, but it may be difficult to distinguish it from Laughing Gull, which however has more black and less white on primaries. Voice. — A soft k r r r u k or a low clucking call (A. C. Bent) ; a shrill kuk, kuk, kuk, kuk; a more plaintive cry pway pwa-ay, rather musical, also weeh-a weeh-a weeh-a and po-lee polee polee polee (Thomas Miller). Breeding. — About lakes fringed with marshes. Nest : A mass of dead reeds or rushes in water, on bottom or afloat. Eggs: 2 to 4, very variable in size, shape and color, average 2.05 by 1.45 in. (Coues) ; ground color various shades of buffy and greenish-buffy, with all sorts of markings of various browns and lavender. Dates: May 18 to June 4, Minnesota and North Dakota. Incubation: Period probably 18 or 20 days (T. M. Roberts) ; probably by both sexes. Range. — North and South America. Breeds from southeastern Alberta, central Saskatchewan and south-central Manitoba to northeastern South Dakota, Iowa (formerly) and southern Minnesota ; winters from Gulf coast of Louisiana to Peru and Chile ; accidental or casual in California, Keewatin, Hudson Bay, Utah, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Ontario, Massachusetts, Virginia, Lesser Antilles and Hawaii. Distribution in New England. — One record : Female taken October 28, 1885, at Salem ; placed for years with the gulls in Peabody Museum, Salem, and supposed to be a Bonaparte's Gull, but finally identified by Prof. Albert P. Morse, the present curator.1 Haunts and Habits. Franklin's Gull in life is one of the most beautiful of the gull tribe. It is a great wanderer and should occasionally reach New England, as although it breeds in the far interior and migrates up and down the middle and western sections of the continent, it has occurred on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. We have but one authentic record for New England. Although the species has been reported several times in Massachusetts, it resembles the Laughing Gull so closely that no dependence can be placed on sight records. Franklin's Gull seems to have a better disposition than the New England gulls, for often it has been known to feed and care for stray young ones belonging to other gulls of the same colony. Its habits resemble somewhat those of the Laughing Gull, but it feeds much more inland and commonly follows the plow to pick up worms and grubs, and it nests about or in bodies of fresh water in the interior. In autumn it follows the inland route to the Gulf of Mexico, and passes the winter largely along the western coast of South America, returning by the same route in reverse as spring comes on.2 1 Morse, Albert P. : Bulletin Essex County Ornithological Club, 1921, p. 69. 2 Job, Herbert K. : Bird-Lore, Vol. XII, 1910, p. 127. GULLS 89 Economic Status. This is a very useful bird on its western breeding-grounds, as it feeds largely on insect pests of the farming country. In the breeding season insects seem to constitute a very large part of its food. Small fish, frogs, crawfish and small mollusks, as well as destructive grasshoppers, locusts and many other insects have been found in the stomachs examined. Where numerous, this species destroys immense quantities of grasshoppers. Larus Philadelphia (Ord). Bonaparte's Gull. Other name: frost gull. Plate 6. Description. — Bill shorter than head or tarsus ; very slender for a gull, curve of ridge less than in most species; slight distinct notch on each mandible near tip; nostrils very narrow; length of tarsus about equal to middle toe and claw. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Hood (including about all of head, but not extending so far back as in Laughing Gull) leaden-slate; white of eyelids extending behind eye but not in front ; back, scapulars, greater part of wings and upper plumage to middle of rump, delicate pale neutral-gray, much lighter than that of Laughing Gull; ends of inner secondaries and scapulars barely lighter than back ; shafts of first four or five primaries white except extreme tips, others darker ; 1st primary, outer web and extreme tip black, rest white ; 2d, mainly white, with longer black tip than first, feather usually bordered narrowly for a greater or less length on either or both webs with black ; 3d to 6th have black ends, each for about same distance, and light tips, black bordering each inner web farther than on outer web ; inner webs of 3d and 4th and both webs of 5th and 6th colored much like back ; other primaries match color of back ; 7th and 8th have spot of black near tip ; 3d to 6th with white or light speck at tip ; markings of adult primaries vary somewhat but generally quite constant in this species; unlike Laughing Gull primary wing-coverts and bastard quills largely white, giving fore wing a white border ; neck and all under plumage, including lining of wings, white ; breast and belly often with rosy tint ; bill black ; lining of mouth and eyelids carmine ; iris dark brown ; legs and feet orange- red or orange- vermilion. Adults in winter plumage: Similar, but head and neck white; back of head more or less mottled with grayish-black and white ; a blackish patch in ear-region ; little crescent before eye and patch below ear dark slate ; back of neck washed with color of back ; lower base of bill light colored ; feet paler or flesh color. Young in first winter plumage : Similar to winter adult ; head mainly white with dusky patch in ear-region ; patch on lesser wing-coverts and tertials brownish-gray or dusky- brown ; seen from above spread wing seems to be margined all around black or blackish, as secondaries are blackish near ends; white tail with subterminal dusky or blackish bar and very narrowly tipped white ; bill dark flesh color ; in this plumage juvenal wing and tail are retained but upper plumage be- comes much grayer and head whiter. Young in juvenal plumage : Top of head, and hind neck clouded with dusky bluish-gray, becoming light grayish-yellow on sides of neck; sides of head mainly white with dark crescentic spot before eye, and dark ear-patch ; scapulars and feathers of middle back basally like those of adult but tipped broadly grayish-brown (fading into white at extreme tips) and thus nearly hiding basal color, leaving prevailing color of upper plumage brown with pale edgings; a band along lesser wing-coverts, tertial* and inner secondaries brownish-black, latter edged like feathers of back; feathers along outer edge of wing variegated black and white; primaries black; outer two-thirds of inner vanes of first three or four, bluish-white to near end ; both vanes of others same color toward end ; extreme tips of most of them light gray or whitish ; secondaries light, their ends largely blackish, con- tinuous with black ends of inner primaries; tail white, with broad subterminal band of black, very narrowly tipped buffy or whitish ; below white excepting brownish wash on sides of neck and breast ; 90 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS bill more or less dusky or blackish ; feet black. Downy young: Much like that of common tern. "Yel- lowish with dusky mottling above" (Jonathan Dwight). Measurements. — Length 12.00 to 14.50 in. ; spread about 32.00 ; folded wing 9.50 to 10.75 ; tail 3.75 to 4.25 ; bill 1.05 to 1.25; tarsus 1.15 to .42. Female smaller than male. Molts. — Young apparently assume adult winter plumage in autumn of second year and full adult breeding plumage in spring of third year; succeeding juvenal plumage, there is partial molt in Sep- tember and October, involving body plumage, after which first winter plumage is assumed ; again there is partial molt in March and April when plumage of head is renewed, but in some cases partially black head is acquired, even amounting to nearly complete dark hood ; tail still retains its broad, dark subter- minal band; next comes complete postnuptial molt lasting from July or August until September or October; adults have partial prenuptial molt in spring and complete postnuptial molt beginning in August. Field Marks. — Small size, slender bill, much lighter coloration of back and wings and black outer border of white-ended wing distinguish this species when in full plumage from Laughing Gull ; spread wings have white back-edges and much black on primaries ; young Bonaparte's Gull has black band near tip of white tail, white breast and wing margined about with black or blackish, while young Laughing Gull has neck and sides of breast clouded with gray and banded tail darker than that of Bonaparte's Gull; young Bonaparte's Gull except for size, resembles young Kittiwake; both show some black on side of head and black subterminal band on tail, but Kittiwake has black patch on back of neck also ; Bonaparte's is smaller than Kittiwake and its feet are red or flesh-colored while those of young Kittiwake are yellowish or dusky-brownish. Voice. — A harsh, rasping cry (C. W. Townsend) ; plaintive, shrill cry, almost a whistle (Neltje Blanchan) ; usually rather silent in Massachusetts. Breeding. — In colonies ; on forested islands in lakes or in the forested interior near some lake or stream. Nest : On logs, stumps or bushes, but usually in coniferous trees from 4 to 20 feet from ground, built of sticks, twigs, leaves, etc., and lined with mosses or down. Eggs: 2 to 4; 1.80 to 1.95 by 1.30 to 1.34 in. (Coues) ; ground color, varies from "olive gray," "grayish olive brown" or "Dresden brown" to "dark olive buff," spotted and blotched, rarely scrawled, with chocolate and various shades of brown, "brownish olive" and "brownish drab." Dates: June 10 to July 15, Anderson River region (A. C. Bent). One brood yearly. Range. — North America. Breeds from northwestern Alaska and northern Mackenzie south to southeastern British Columbia (but few breeding places actually known) ; winters from Massachusetts, (Maine very rarely) to Florida, on Gulf coast southward to Yucatan, and on Pacific coast from Wash- ington south to Lower California and western Mexico ; occurs in migration west to Kotzebue Sound and east to Ungava (northern Quebec) ; casual in Peru, Bermuda and Bahamas ; accidental in Laysan Island of Hawaiian group, in Chile and in Great Britain, France and Heligoland. Distribution in New England. — Common migrant near coast but visiting both coast and interior waters ; irregular resident or visitant coastwise in mild winters. Season in Massachusetts. — July 25 to June 10, but most common in March, April and May and again in September and October; rare and irregular or local in winter. Haunts and Habits. With the first warm days of April when the alewives begin to run up our streams comes the lovely, graceful, little Bonaparte's Gull. Arrayed in its gay nuptial plumage, with black head and snowy vesture, it wings in graceful flight along the coast or up the great river-valleys of the interior, spurred on by the urge of the reproductive instinct, toward the great forests of the North where it nests in dark coniferous trees. In autumn the immature birds appear — dainty tern-like creatures — with their slender bills, trim forms and long wings ; but the rounded tail with the broad GULLS 91 black bar near the tip serves to distinguish them at once from the terns. Their flight is airy, buoyant, easy and graceful like that of the terns. They frequently dip down to the water, but I have never seen one go under as terns so often do. A loose flock of these charming birds wandering along shore or over river marsh, per- forming their sprightly evolutions while catching insects, or fluttering poised over the water as they stoop to pick up some tidbit, perhaps a living fish which they secure by a lightning-like dart, adds life and beauty to the landscape. Although this delicate creature seems fitted only to play in the sunlight amid summer zephyrs, it has wonderful powers of flight and is hardy enough to breast the storms and raging seas of winter along our coast. Although it is not often seen during the most inclement seasons on the New England coast, yet it is not uncommon locally during mild winters and a few may be found here irregularly at this season where rivers or estuaries remain ice-free so that the birds can secure food. In winter in our waters it seems to be a rather silent bird ; but while feeding in flocks, particularly in spring, individuals sometimes keep up a continual chattering. Bonaparte's Gull feeds largely on small "fry" but during the summer is more depend- ent on insects than are most gulls. It seeks insects in marshes, on cultivated fields, on seaweed stranded on shore or floating on water ; and its stomach is often filled to repletion with such food. Flies, ants, moths and their larvae, and other insects are eaten, also many small crustaceans and marine worms. Economic Status. Apparently this species does no harm as it is not known to feed on any of man's crops, and as an insect eater it no doubt has some share in the regulation of insect life. Larus minutus Pallas. Little Gull. Description. — Tail nearly even at end. Similar to Bonaparte's Gull, but smallest of its tribe, much smaller than any American gull. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Hood black ; back and wings very pale pearl-gray ; primaries shading darker toward margins of inner webs, very broadly edged (toward end of inner web) and tipped white ; secondaries also tipped white ; no black marks on wing ; Adult in Breeding Plumage and Young of Little Gull About ■§• natural size. upper tail-coverts and tail white ; below white, rose-tinted ; under wing-coverts and under surface of flight-feathers (except white tips) dark smoke-gray ; axillars white ; bill dark reddish-brown or lake-red ; iris dark brown; legs and feet vermilion. Adults in winter plumage: Similar but lacking black hood; forehead white, with more or less gray and dusky (or slaty) about eyes, ears and hind head ; legs and feet reddish-brown to flesh-color. Young in first winter plumage : Resemble adults in winter, but with 92 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS much dark brown above, with white or buffy feather-tips ; wing-coverts and inner quills tipped white ; secondaries mainly white ; inner webs of outer primaries chiefly white ; inner primaries gray, their tips white; tail with broad, black terminal band; bill blackish; feet yellow to flesh color. Downy young: Above dark grayish-buff, marked irregularly and rather inconspicuously with brownish-black; below buffy-gray. Measurements. — Length 10.40 to 11.50 in. ; folded wing 8.70 to 9.10; tail 3.55 to 3.75; bill .82 to 1.20; tarsus .98 to 1.10. Molts. — Juvenal body plumage is molted August to October, and young bird then assumes first winter plumage; young birds probably become as adults or closely resemble adult in second winter; adults have a complete molt in autumn and a partial molt in spring. Field Marks. — Smallest of gulls; shorter than Common Tern. Adult: Pale gray back, and primaries tipped white ; broad white hind border to wing ; no black on primaries ; under wing-surface dark gray or dusky, hind border white ; adults and young resemble Bonaparte's Gull or terns in flight, but lack the black margin about wing seen in Bonaparte's. Young: Have wide dark band extending entire length of upper surface f spread wing, bordered before and behind by white ; pale fore margin extends outward on fore wing from body to bend, and a broad white border extends similarly outward on hind wing to tips of middle primaries ; black band at tip of tail. Voice. — "Its voice is described by Naumann as short and screeching and as different from that of any other Gull or Tern" (Seebohm). Breeding. — Usually in colonies ; sometimes with other gulls or terns on small islands in fresh- water lakes or on tussocks in marshes. Nest : Of dead sedges, rushes, etc., among rushes, reeds or grasses in the water or close to it. Eggs: 2 to 5; smaller than those of Bonaparte's Gull, about 1.66 by 1.25 in., resembling eggs of Common Tern; ovate. Dates: Late May to mid-June, northern Europe. Incu- bation: By both parents. One brood yearly. Range. — Europe and parts of Asia and Africa. Breeds chiefly in northern Europe and Asia from Iceland to the sea of Okhotsk ; in winter migrates south to coast of north Africa and mouth of Amur River ; casual in northern India, Faroe Islands and interior of central Europe ; accidental in Bermuda and eastern United States. Note. The Little Gull (Larus minutus Pallas), the smallest of all gulls, has not been recorded within the limits of Massachusetts. Since, however, it has been taken twice on Long Island and twice in Maine, it is not improbable that it may have visited Massachusetts, and it may yet be recorded here. An Eurasian species, the Little Gull must cross the Atlantic to reach our coast. Records : An adult male in nuptial plumage but with worn primaries and traces of postnuptial molt on head was taken August 12, 1904, near Mosquito Island, St. George, Maine ; 1 the other Maine specimen was also an adult male and was taken July 20, 1910, at Pine Point, Scarborough.2 Haunts and Habits. The smallest of all gulls, a mere straggler from across the sea, the Little Gull is a vara avis in New England. It feeds on small fish and other small aquatic life and is an indefatigable insect catcher ; its flight in pursuit of insects much resembles that of the Black Tern ; probably it is quite as graceful and active in flight as are any of the terns. It might be mistaken for Bonaparte's Gull by anyone unacquainted with the field marks, but it is actually much smaller. Economic Status. Probably the Little Gull is useful in Europe because of its in- sectivorous habits there, however as an accidental visitor it is of no economic importance in America. i Norton, Arthur H. : Auk, Vol. XXXIII, 1916, p. 377. 2 Norton, Arthur H. : Auk, Vol. XXVII, 1910, p. 447. GULLS 93 Xema sabini (J. Sabine). Sabine's Gull. Other name: fork-tailed gull. Plate 6. Description. — Bill not slender ; tail forked. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Hood clear, dark, slaty-gray bounded behind by narrow collar of black; neck (all around to edge of collar), lower rump, tail, upper tail-coverts, under plumage, four inner primaries, most of greater wing-coverts, most of exposed parts of secondaries (except tips of innermost), wing-linings and axillars white; back, scapu- lars, upper rump and wing-coverts (except greater) slaty-gray, somewhat lighter than in Laughing Gull ; dark line around bend of wing including bastard quills ; first five primaries black except tips and broad margins of inner webs which are white to near ends ; rest of primaries white, 6th with mere touch of black on outer web ; bill black from base nearly to angle, terminal part abruptly orange or yellow ; inside of mouth orange or vermilion ; naked edges of eyelids orange or red ; feet dusky-gray. Adults in winter -plumage : Similar but without hood or collar ; head mainly white, usually with more or less touches of dark gray or dusky on back, nape and ear-region. Young in first winter plumage: Similar to juvenal plumage but lighter above, a paler, more uniform grayish-brown; primaries dull blackish, tail white, tipped black, and bill dusky. Young in juvenal plumage : Smaller than adult ; tail forked according to age — at first very little, more later ; no dark hood or collar ; above, including back of neck and most of head, slaty grayish-brown or deep brownish-gray, cross-waved by brownish-white or buff y tips of feathers ; on longer scapulars, tertials, etc., lines of dusky precede light tips ; rest of plumage mainly white, but tail has subterminal bar of black about 1 inch wide on middle feathers, growing gradually narrower at each side, sometimes reaching only inner web of outer feathers ; wings similar to those of adult, with white secondaries but less white on inner webs of primaries, and white tips, sometimes barely noticeable or wanting; bill rather dusky, smaller and weaker than that of adults. Downy young: "Rusty yellow," ochraceous-tawny, "tawny-olive" or "deep brownish-buff" above and on throat (paler on chin) and pale pinkish-buff or still paler "whitish-gray" on belly; top and sides of head heavily spotted black; back and often rest of upper down, mottled blackish. Measurements. — Length 13.00 to 14.00 in. ; folded wing 10.10 to 11.15 ; tail 4.50 to 5.00, forked .60 to 1.25; bill .95 to 1.04; tarsus 1.25 to 1.47. Molts. — ■ First winter plumage a continuation of juvenal, becoming paler above by fading and wear ; first spring or prenuptial molt is partial, and young bird assumes part of its black collar and gray hood ; first postnuptial molt in August or September is succeeded by adult winter plumage ; adults have partial or perhaps complete prenuptial molt in late winter or early spring and acquire hood and collar before May, and a complete postnuptial molt in August and September which is succeeded by winter plumage. Field Marks. — Adults: Distinguished by hooded head and forked tail, black line around bend of wing, large white patch on hind wing and yellow or orange end of bill. Young: Also plainly show white patch on wing and forked tail with a graduated (apparently terminal) bar of black. Does not resemble closely any other gull or tern. Voice. — A harsh, grating cry similar to that of Arctic Tern but harsher and shorter (E. W. Nelson). Breeding. — On islands or on shores of ponds. Nest : On ground ; a mere depression, sometimes lined or partly lined with stems and blades of grass. Eggs: 2 or 3; 1.75 by 1.25 in. (Coues) ; brownish-olive, Dresden-brown, deep olive-buff and other shades, usually sparsely and rather faintly and irregularly spotted with various shades of brown. Dates: May 28 to July 10, northern Alaska and northern Mackenzie (A. C. Bent). Incubation: Both parents apparently take part. Probably only one brood yearly. Range. — Arctic regions to South America. Breeds on St. Lawrence Island, coast of Bering Sea, in northern Alaska, northern Mackenzie, northern Keewatin, northern Hudson Bay, Boothia Peninsula, 94 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Victoria Island, on eastern and western coasts of Greenland, and in Spitzbergen, northeastern Europe, and Siberia; occurs in summer but not known to breed in many Arctic and subarctic lands in both hemispheres ; in migration on both coasts of United States and casually over greater part of interior ; winters on coast of Peru ; occasional in winter in British Isles and northern France ; accidental in Hol- land, Heligoland, Middle Europe and Bermuda. Distribution in New England. — Accidental transient visitor to Maine and Massachusetts coasts. Records: Maine: Scarborough, bird taken May 31, 1877 j1 Portland (Brothers Island), immature female taken September 22, 1899 ;2 Saco Bay (near Bluff Island and locality of first Maine record in 1877), bird seen September 11, 1912.3 Massachusetts: Boston Harbor, immature bird taken by H. W. Diamond, September 27, 1874,4 and now in the collection of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge; Cape Cod, immature bird taken in 1888 ;5 North Truro, adult female taken August 21, 1889 ;6 Chatham, two adult males in winter plumage taken September 2, 1912.7 Season in Massachusetts. — August 21 to September 27. Haunts and Habits. Sabine's Gull is a boreal bird and usually haunts the vicinity of cold seas. It is rarely seen in temperate or tropical regions, except on the coast of Peru to which it migrates in winter. On that coast there is a very cold Antarctic cur- rent, and in this current Arctic and Antarctic zoologic forms meet. To this region of cold currents Sabine's Gull annually finds its way over the broad Pacific. As there is no such region of cold waters in the Atlantic, this bird does not migrate in any numbers down the Atlantic coast, and so cannot be regarded as other than a rare or accidental visitant to New England. It has been recorded in many places in the interior of the con- tinent, which fact may indicate that some individuals normally reach the Pacific coast of South America by the overland route. This bird's habits are much like those of Bona- parte's Gull. According to Mr. F. S. Hersey, the species is usually rather solitary, and at low tide it spends much time feeding on the flats where it runs about like a plover. In appearance and flight it resembles a tern, and the forked tail adds to the illusion ; es- pecially if the bird appears late in September without the hood and in winter plumage. Toward the end of September Sabine's Gull becomes scarce over its breeding range as most individuals of the species are then on their way south. In April they begin to move northward and they arrive at their subarctic and Arctic breeding grounds from the latter part of May until late in June. In the Arctic regions this species feeds much like other gulls on various aquatic forms of life, and insects. Little is known of its food elsewhere. It picks up much of its food from the surface of the water, not flocking much, but seeking its subsistence singly and attending chiefly to its own affairs. Occasionally two or three are seen together and sometimes they feed with other gulls. Economic Status. See page 60. 1 Smith, Everett : Forest and Stream, Vol. XX, April, 1883, p. 205. 2 Knight, O. W. : Journal Maine Ornithological Society, Vol. II, 1900, p. 2. « Norton, Arthur H. : Auk, Vol. XXX, 1913, p. 574. * Brewster, William : American Sportsman, Vol. V, 1875, p. 370. e Ornithologist and Oologist, Vol. XIV, 1889, p. 95. • Miller, G. S., Jr. : Auk, Vol. VII, 1890, p. 227. 7 Hersey, F. Seymour: Auk, Vol. XXX, 1913, p. 105. TERNS 95 Subfamily STERNINiE. Terns. Number of species in North America 17 ; in Massachusetts 11. Terns may be distinguished from gulls by their different shape. As a rule they are of slighter build and of more graceful form. The bill is slender, long and narrow, and its upper mandible is not sharply curved toward the point nor almost hooked like that of the gull. The wings are very long, narrow and pointed and give terns a swift and dashing flight surpassing that of gulls. Terns average much smaller than gulls, though some species reach the dimensions of medium-sized gulls. The tail is usually more or less forked while that of the gull is commonly even or rounded. The feet are small and rela- tively weak, indicating that terns swim and walk but little. In seeking food terns fly habitually with the bill pointing downward and pounce headlong from the air upon their prey in the water; hence the name "Striker," applied to several species in the South. Most of the species when in full plumage are white or nearly white below with a black-capped head. They are more or less maritime, but are coastal rather than sea- birds. Economic Status. Many terns that feed on destructive insects are undoubtedly useful. Others which feed on fish follow the schools, and so guide the fishermen to their catch. From time immemorial the eggs of terns have been used for food by man ; but the gathering of birds' eggs for food is now illegal in the United States. Gelochelidon nilotica aranea (Wilson). American Gull-billed Tern. Other names: marsh tern; nuttall's tern. Fig. 4- Description. — Bill stout, somewhat gull-like but not hooked ; head crested ; wings very long and acute ; tail short, deeply forked ; tarsus shorter than bill, longer than middle toe and claw ; hind toe remarkably developed. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Cap, including long crest, greenish- black, taking in eye and leaving only narrow white line on side of upper mandible ; other upper plumage, including tail, mainly pale gray ; sides of head up to level of lower eyelid, and all under plumage, including wing-linings and axillars, white ; tail-feathers darkest at tips, fading to almost pure white toward bases on that part of each covered by next ; color of back reaches to tips of inner secondaries ; primaries gray- ish-black (darkest on outer web of 1st) but frosted over so as to appear much lighter, the shafts very pale yellow; space of white on each inner web, largest, purest and extending farthest on 1st primary where distinctly defined ; white space diminishes in length and width with each successive primary until incon- spicuous on last; bill black, tip rarely yellowish; iris dark brown; "legs and feet dark reddish-brown, soles of toes pinkish-brown" (Ridgway) ; "legs and feet greenish-black" (Coues) ; "bill and feet black" (Witmer Stone). Adults in winter plumage: Similar but cap very light, almost white, slightly mottled blackish posteriorly and on eye and ear-regions, usually dark crescent before eye and dark patch in ear-region ; sometimes head all white, except more or less dusky in eye and ear-regions. Young in first winter plumage : Similar to winter adult ; bill slightly smaller ; forehead white and crown mostly white but sometimes streaks on hind head and upper neck ; back and scapulars rarely streaked dusky ; traces of dusky on tail ; brownish-black bar on lesser wing-coverts ; bill dusky-brownish ; feet reddish to dusky- brown. Young in juvenal plumage: Head darker, more mottled; upper plumage largely pale gray, 96 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS with markings of brownish on feathers, giving bird general brownish appearance. Downy young : Pinkish- buff, light grayish-buff or creamy-buff above; a distinct dusky stripe on each side of hind neck and upper back ; usually more or less mottled, spotted or streaked above ; white on breast and belly ; "feet dull brownish orange" (Ridgway). Measurements. — Length 13.00 to 15.25 in.; spread 33.00 to 37.00; folded wing 11.75 to 12.25; tail about 5.50, forked 1.20 to 1.75; bill about 1.40; tarsus, average 1.30. Molts. — Partial postjuvenal molt begins early in September followed by quick change to first winter plumage ; probably species assumes plumage like adult in the next spring when about one year old ; adults have two complete molts each year — prenuptial in late winter mainly and postnuptial in August and September (A. C. Bent). Field Marks. — Tern-like tail, shorter and less deeply forked than that of Common Tern, and stout, somewhat gull-like, black bill should distinguish this species, but only at close range. Voice. — On breeding grounds katydid, katydid or kadid or killy or killy-kadid (A. C. Bent) ; kay-wek, kay-wek (Montague Chamberlain) ; che-ah and af, af, af (Yarrell). Breeding. — Singly or in colonies of other terns or of its own species ; on low sandy sea-islands. Nest : Varies from mere depression on sandy shores or among grasses to a large pile of sedges or grasses ; some- times also lined with shells. Eggs: 1 to 4 ; 1.74 to 2.00 by 1.27 to 1.42 in. ; usually shorter, rounder and lighter-colored than those of the more common species and thus more or less distinguishable ; very vari- able in color like eggs of terns in general — varying from different shades of buff to "ivory" and marked with many shades of brown and drab. Dates: June 2 to July 8, Virginia; May 3 to June 10, Texas (A. C. Bent). One brood yearly. Range. — - Species nearly cosmopolitan as closely allied forms breed in or visit many lands. The American form, recently separated, breeds on coasts of Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, North Carolina, Virginia (rarely) , (New Jersey formerly) and in Bahamas, Cuba and at mouth of Amazon River ; casual north to New Brunswick, Ohio and Illinois; winters in Texas and Louisiana (rarely), also in southern Mexico and southern Guatemala, but mainly in South America from Brazil south to Patagonia and Chile. Distribution in New England. — Records: Maine: Scarboro, three taken in September, 1868, and one shot, May 21, 1881 ;x Portland (near), accidental straggler taken March, 1885.2 Massachu- setts: Ipswich, bird taken by C. J. Maynard in September, 1871, 3 now in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge ; bird seen by Judge Charles F. Jenney and Dr. William C. Mackie August 8, 1909, at close range, and identification was positive.4 Probably less rare formerly. Haunts and Habits. The earlier writers knew this species as the Marsh Tern for it once frequented salt marshes of the Atlantic and Gulf States and bred there. Appar- ently the few left on the Atlantic coast now nest on sandy beach-flats. This tern possi- bly was a victim of the trade in birds for millinery purposes, and late in the last century it nearly disappeared from the Atlantic coast. Probably it always was rare in New Eng- land. This species is believed to feed almost entirely on insects and spiders ; but it also feeds to some extent on small fish and aquatic life. Economic Status. The Gull-billed Tern has become so rare as to be of no economic importance in the Northeast. 1 Smith, Everett : Forest and Stream, Vol. XX, April, 1883, p. 205. 2 Allen, Glover M. : Auk, Vol. XXV, 1908, p. 234. 3 Brewster, William: American Naturalist, Vol. VI, 1872, p. 306. 4 Maynard, C. J. : Records of Walks and Talks with Nature, Vol. II, 1909, p. 157. PLATE 7 PLATE 7 BLACK SKIMMER Page 130 Adult in Breeding Plumage SOOTY TERN Page 126 Adult in Breeding Plumage COUES' CASPIAN TERN Page 97 Young in Juvenal Plumage Adult in Nuptial Plumage ROYAL TERN Page 99 Adult in Winter Plumage Adult in Nuptial Plumage All one-sixth natural size. \ :'#> TERNS 97 Sterna caspia imperator (Coues). Coues' Caspian Tern. Other names: impebial tern; souawker. Plate 7. Description. — Largest of terns ; bill extremely large, thick, heavy ; tail short with no long, stream- ing, lateral feathers ; folded wings extend much beyond its tip. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Entire top of head, including crest, glossy greenish-black, extending lower than eye ; lower eyelid white ; back of neck, back and upper wings pallid neutral gray fading invisibly into white on upper tail-coverts and on sides of neck ; sides of head below cap, neck all around, rump and under plumage white ; tail (particularly middle feathers) more or less grayish ; primaries hoary grayish-black (when new so heavily frosted as to appear light, hoary gray, especially when seen from above), their shafts yellowish-white ; often a narrow, central, light field on web of each primary growing narrower from first to last or dis- appearing on inner primaries ; inner webs of secondaries white, outer webs gray ; bill deep coral or ver- milion-red, lighter ("orange or yellowish") toward tip; legs and feet black. Adults in winter plumage: Similar, but forehead white ; crown white, with narrow distinct streaks of blackish ; on sides of head, both before and behind eye, the black is mixed with white ; nape only slightly touched with white ; bill orange-red, lighter toward tip. Young in first winter plumage : Similar to winter adult but upper plumage more or less mottled dusky. Young in early autumn : Similar, but feathers of fore back heavily tipped dusky, scapulars and tertials marked with same ; lesser wing-coverts and tail toward tip mottled dusky, most so on middle feathers of latter. Young in juvenal plumage : Much smaller than adult ; bill smaller, weaker and duller in color; entire upper half or more of head blackish, mottled or streaked whitish, blackish cap running from gape well below eye ; gray feathers of upper plumage so broadly tipped buff as to give bird a buffy appearance ; scapulars banded black, two bands on each feather ; feathers of back and coverts more or less marked black ; under plumage white. Downy young : Pale grayish-white to dark grayish-buff above, sometimes unspotted but usually more or less mottled or spotted blackish ; as bird grows, color gradually fades until nearly white ; white below, except throat which is dusky, or black. Measurements. — Length 19.00 to 23.00 in.; spread 50.00 to 55.00; folded wing 15.00 to 17.40; tail 5.00 to 6.75; forked about 1.50; bill 2.45 to 3.00; tarsus 1.60 to 1.90. Molts. — Partial molt of body-feathers of juvenal plumage (September to winter) ; ensuing plumage soon changes by wear, fading or molt into first winter plumage, with pearl-gray back and wings ; com- plete molt from January to July after which practically adult nuptial plumage appears to develop in some birds (usually in March); others seem to resemble adult in winter plumage; "adults have two complete molts — prenuptial in February or March and postnuptial in August and September," the latter sometimes beginning as early as June (A. C. Bent). Field Marks. — Adult: Great size, nearly twice that of Common Tern; very large red bill; tail much less deeply forked than that of smaller Royal Tern and primaries much darker when seen from below. Young: Blackish on top and sides of head and forehead which runs back from gape well below eye and lower and farther forward than in young Royal Tern ; bill deeper in color ; tail less forked. Voice. — Adult : ca-arr, ca-arr, ca-arr, ca-arrrrrrrr (S. C. Arthur) ; loud, hoarse, rasping cry some- thing like that of a barnyard goose (C. W. Townsend) ; "the adult rather infrequently gives a loud, coarse squawk or croak, one of the harshest bird-notes I have heard. It has such carrying qualities, it may often be heard before the bird is fairly in sight. ... I have several times heard [from other birds (immature?)] a whistling note rather suggestive of a Black-breasted Plover, but with considerably less range between the high and low notes, and in a weak, sibilant tone, which nevertheless carries rather well" (J. A. Hagar). Breeding. — In colonies ; on sandy or gravelly islands or coasts. Nest : Hollow in sand, lined or unlined, or in dead reeds ; sometimes no nest. Eggs : 1, 2 or 3 ; 2.65 to 2.75 by 1.80 to 1.90 in. (Coues) ; ovate or elliptical-ovate, broad, more like gulls' than terns' eggs ; usually some light shade of buff and 98 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS somewhat sparingly marked with rather small spots of brown and gray of varying shades. Dates: May 25 to July 1, Lake Michigan; April 8 to June 18, Texas (A. C. Bent). Incubation: Period said to be about 20 days. One brood yearly. Range. — Species nearly cosmopolitan, but the American form is now regarded as a subspecies ; breeds at Great Slave Lake, Mackenzie ; Lakes Winnipegosis and Winnipeg, Manitoba ; Klamath Lake, Oregon; in Saskatchewan (probably), central California, on islands of northern Lake Michigan, coast of southern Labrador and coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Virginia; winters from coast of central California to Lower California and western Mexico and on south Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States south to Mexico; casual in migration throughout most of North America north to Alaska, mouth of Mackenzie river, James Bay and Newfoundland. Distribution in New England. — Formerly a not uncommon migrant coastwise, but now rare and local in the spring migration, although in autumn it is sometimes not very rare locally ; "of occasional occurrence along Maine coast" (A. H. Norton) ; not recorded from Connecticut. Season in Massachusetts. — (April 30) May 3 to 13 ; "August 8 to October 2," Essex County ; "a fairly regular transient in autumn at Ipswich" (C. W. Townsend) ; "I believe Caspian Terns are regular and not uncommon migrants on this coast ["South Shore"] and that if an observer could be along the shore daily, he would never fail in any year to see at least a small number" (J. A. Hagar). Haunts and Habits. The Caspian Tern is the largest and most powerful of the terns. It might well be called the Imperial Tern, since it surpasses in strength the Royal Tern, nearest it in size. Audubon relates how on its breeding grounds in (Canadian) Labrador it masters even the Pomarine Jaeger. Mr. A. C. Bent says of it: "Among the vast hordes of sea-birds nesting in the great colonies of the southern Atlantic and Gulf coasts, this king of terns may be seen climbing the air on its long, strong wings, its big, red bill wide open, yelling out its loud raucous cry of defiance. As the dominant, ruling spirit in tern colonies it scorns the companionship of humbler fowl, holds itself aloof and lives a little apart from the others." 1 In its great power of flight and the arrowy velocity of its dive from airy heights above the sea it resembles the great white Gannet of the North Atlantic. Formerly the Caspian Tern must have been rather common along the New England coast, on its migrations to and from its summer home in Labrador. In May, 1875, Mr. William Brew- ster found it common at Chatham ; but probably its nesting places on the coast of Labrador have been broken up by the natives and fishermen so that now it is. rather rare in migration in New England. If the Canadian authorities find it possible under the migratory Bird Convention Act to protect this species on its Labrador breeding grounds, it may again be commonly seen in migration on the New England coast. Mr. Joseph A. Hagar writes from Marshfield Hills : "They are so strictly a bird of passage, that I had never seen one alight until the morning of Sept. 9, 1921, when the flock of three circled about and lit for a brief moment on the sand bar off Trouant's Island. They had scarcely folded their wings when they were up again and passing down the river to the southward." A peculiar action of the Caspian Tern was observed by Capt. B. F. Goss at Nueces Bay on the Texas coast where the birds, on the approach of his party, rose about eight 1 Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Bulletin No. 113, 1921, p. 202. TERNS 99 feet, and hovered and circled over their nesting grounds, and then began plunging to the ground. The captain's companion, who had observed the habit before, exclaimed: "They are breaking their eggs !" On landing it was found that "at least one-quarter of the eggs were broken," and that in some cases the bill of the plunging bird had passed entirely through the egg. Captain Goss' companion believed that the birds did this to prevent their eggs from falling into the hands of the intruders.1 An illustration of the instinct of birds to seek the protection of deceptive appearances is afforded by the nesting of this species on the Gull Islands in Lake Michigan where among a number of gravel ridges they have selected only one on which to breed, that one being characterized by pebbles which match their eggs in size and color.2 The Caspian Tern flies much like other terns, but on account of its large size, large bill and head, and short tail seems heavier and more gull-like than any of the smaller species. When engaged in fishing it flies swiftly and rather low over the water, with bill pointed downward ; when resting on beach or bar it occasionally raises its black crest. Mr. A. C. Bent contrasts its note with that of the Royal Tern : "The cry of the Caspian tern is entirely unlike that of the royal tern and quite different from that of any of the Laridse. Its ordinary note is a hoarse, croaking 'kraaa' on a low key, loud, harsh and grating. A shorter note sounding like 'kow' or 'kowk' is often heard on its breeding grounds, where it also utters, when angry, a loud, vehement, rasping cry of attack." 3 This species is most likely to be found on the New England coast early in May and during September. The Caspian Tern feeds on small fish, and it takes various forms of surface-swimming aquatic life, also mussels ; it is said to eat the eggs and young of other birds. Economic Status. See page 95. Sterna maxima Boddaert. Royal Tern. Plate 7. Description. — Bill nearly or quite as long as in Caspian Tern, but more slender and differently shaped ; tarsus not longer than middle toe and claw ; tail deeply forked, middle feathers broad to rounded tips, others successively elongated, narrowing toward tips, outer pair slender ; a prominent (when raised) nuchal crest. Adults in nuptial plumage (sexes alike) : Cap glossy greenish-black but, unlike that of Caspian Tern, not extending below eye and narrowing in front of it, leaving a broad stripe of white feathers along base of upper mandible (below cap) and extending as far forward as black ; in most individuals complete black cap worn but a short time in spring and early summer and succeeded soon after pairing by black and white cap of breeding plumage (see below) ; tail white with faint gray tinge, especially on middle feathers and inner webs of others; back, scapulars and wings pale gray ('•'pallid neutral gray" or paler), fading into white on rump, upper tail-coverts and ends of inner secondaries; most of secondaries white except space (mainly on outer web) near tip which is darker than back ; outer web of 1st (outer) primary also darker than back; inner web with blackish space from base to tip, narrow at base and widening toward tip where for about an inch or more it occupies whole web ; rest of web white, separated 1 Bent, A. C. : Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Bulletin No. 113, 1921, p. 205. 2 Van Winkle, E. : Oologist, Vol. X, 1893, p. 114. 3 Bent, A. C. : Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Bulletin No. 113, 1921, p. 209. 100 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS by straight edge from black ; 2d to 5th primaries similar but white space rapidly narrows and shortens and runs out farther in center of web than along edge, leaving border of blackish along outer margin near end ; other primaries pearly blue-gray, their inner edges white ; under plumage and sides of head and neck all round white ; bill coral or orange-red with lighter tip ; feet black or blackish, soles yellowish. Adults in breeding plumage: Similar to nuptial plumage, but whole forehead and part of crown white, rest of cap black. Adults in winter plumage: Similar to breeding plumage but bill duller with dull yellowish tip ; front of cap white ; crown black and white, black increasing toward nape which is often nearly or quite black ; black often extends forward rather narrowly on sides of head including eye ; tail much less forked than in summer plumage, tinged gray like back and darkening toward tip into dusky leaden-gray (may be pure white in very old birds) . Young in first winter plumage : Similar to adult winter plumage but wings and tail are those of juvenal plumage. Young in juvenal plumage (August) : Bill much smaller than in adult, tip less acute, mostly reddish-yellow, lighter at tip ; cap resembling that of winter adult but crest not noticeable ; upper plumage mainly white with faint, creamy tinge, feathers centrally tinged with light gray and with brown or dusky spots or shaft-streaks ; primaries and second- aries slaty-gray, edged with white, much like thosa of adults, but wanting sharp definition ; tail white at base of inner webs, then dusky or lead-colored, then brownish, and white at extreme tip; under plumage pure white. Downy young: Variable; from light pinkish-cinnamon to "cartridge buff" above, much lighter below where sometimes nearly white ; some birds almost unspotted ; others heavily spotted with black above ; bill "pale yellowish or dull ivory whitish, more horn-colored at tip ; legs and feet grayish"; also a dusky type, with ground coloration concealed on head, throat, upper parts and flanks by dusky filaments. Measurements. — Length 18.00 to 21.00 in. ; spread 42.00 to 44.00; folded wing 14.00 to 15.00; tail 6.00 to 8.00, forked 3.00 to 4.00; bill 2.25 to 2.50; tarsus 1.35 to 1.45. Molts. — Juvenal plumage acquired before young birds reach full growth ; postjuvenal molt of body-feathers (quills being retained) begins late in August ; complete prenuptial molt in March after which young birds resemble adults but black cap may be imperfect ; adults molt completely both spring and autumn, postnuptial molt occurring mainly in August and September though often prolonged into October or November ; prenuptial molt in March, which is succeeded by black cap, is usually followed in turn by partial molt of head, producing white forehead ; only small proportion of incubating birds retain full black cap. Field Marks. — Adult: Distinguishable from gulls by slim, sharp bill and deeply forked tail; resembles Caspian Tern but distinguishable at close range by deeply forked tail extending about to wing- tips where caspia has short forked tail, and wings extending beyond its tip ; bill lighter red than that of caspia ; black of head does not run beneath eye as in caspia ; nor over forehead which is white and un- streaked where young (juvenal) caspia has it streaked with blackish and whitish. Young: Almost in- distinguishable from caspia in field but maxima is an accidental summer visitant to Massachusetts while caspia comes chiefly in spring and autumn; tail more forked than that of immature caspia. Voice. — Not so loud and raucous as that of caspia and pitched in higher key ; a squawking cry, like the syllables quak, kak or kowk; another note in lower key like bleating of a sheep; a soft liquid, musical rolling whistle — tourrreee — suggestive of the rolling whistle of the Upland Plover (A. C. Bent). Breeding. — In colonies ; on low sandy islands or sand-bars. Nest : Slight hollow in sand. Eggs : 1 or 2, rarely 3, very rarely 4; 2.60 to 2.70 by 1.70 in. (Coues) ; rougher, narrower and usually more pointed than those of the Caspian Tern from which they may be distinguished ; commonly very light, from white to ivory or dull yellow ; darker or more greenish specimens not common ; markings large or small, mostly dark brown of different shades, some almost black ; some eggs have spots of various shades of gray also, and a few are unspotted. Dates: April 8 to June 28, North Carolina, South Carolina and Gulf states (A. C. Bent). One brood yearly. Range. — Tropical American coasts and islands mainly ; north to United States. Breeds in West Indies and Bahamas, on southern Atlantic and Gulf coasts north to Virginia, west to Texas, and on TERNS 101 Pacific coast of Lower California and Mexico ; casual in summer north to Massachusetts, Michigan and Wisconsin ; not rare in that season from San Francisco Bay south to western Mexico ; winters from central Florida, Louisiana coast and Gulf of Mexico south along Atlantic coast to Patagonia ; on Pacific coast from central California to Peru ; also on west coast of Africa from Straits of Gibraltar to Angola. Distribution in New England. — Accidental summer visitant in Massachusetts. Records : Nantucket, two birds (a pair) taken by Brewster and Maynard July 1, 1874; ■> Chatham, female taken July 29, 1889; 2 Ipswich (beach), adult male taken by C. Otto Zerrahn, July 17, 1904.3 Haunts and Habits. The Royal Tern is one of the largest species of the family. In eastern North America it is second in size only to the Caspian Tern which, because of a more deeply forked and longer tail, it nearly equals in length but not in size. This species nests in such massed colonies that in one of the Breton Island Reservations (Loui- siana) Mr. Bent counted 100 nests in a space four yards square. The birds on their nests sat so close together that they could hardly spread their wings without mutual interfer- ence. He says that the full black cap seems to be the courtship plumage, and the white forehead is the prevailing nesting plumage.4 Therefore most of the Royal Terns which wander north in summer may be expected to appear in the latter plumage. The species might be mistaken easily for the Caspian Tern, though it is of lighter and more slender build than the other, while its flight resembles more that of the much smaller Common Tern. It is not improbable that nomadic Royal Terns may reach New England more frequently than records show. Economic Status. See page 95. Sterna sandvicensis acuflavida Cabot. Cabot's Tern. Other name: sandwich tern. Description. — Bill much longer than head, often exceeding combined length of tarsus, middle toe and claw; rather slender, tip very acute; hind toe very small. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Cap glossy greenish-black, extending just below eye, forward to bill and backward over nape, much as in maxima; slightly crested; black cap usually worn but a brief period in spring and early summer ; upper parts "pallid neutral gray to nearly pale neutral gray," fading to pure white on hind neck, rump and upper tail- coverts and tail; first four primaries colored much like those of Royal Tern (see page 99) ; heavily frosted when new; other primaries pearly bluish-gray with broad white margins for whole length of inner webs ; sides of head below cap, and all under plumage white ; bill black ; tip bright yellow for .50 to .75 inch, sharply defined; iris dark brown; inside mouth dark Sterna sandvicensis This head and bill is almost an exact counterpart of that of Cabot's Tern. About a natural size. 1 Brewster ; American Sportsman, Vol. V, 1875, p. 249, Howe and Allen. Footnote erroneous, but record correct ; one specimen now in museum of Boston Society of Natural History, the other in Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge. 1 Ornithologist and Oologist, Vol. XV, 1890, p. 110. 3 Townsend, C. W. : Birds of Essex County, Massachusetts, p. 102. * Bent, A. C. : Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Bulletin No. 113, 1921, pp. 214, 216. 102 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS blue ; feet black. In late May or June black cap usually becomes speckled with white. Adults in winter plumage : Similar, but frontal part of cap white, in some cases speckled with black ; top of head white with narrow black or blackish shaft-streaks ; crest usually brownish-black and a streak of same color running from crest to and through eye ; tail less forked than in breeding plumage because of shortening of lateral feathers, usually slightly grayish near end ; yellow at tip of bill duller and less in extent. Young in first winter plumage : Similar to winter plumage of adults but juvenal wings and tail retained. Young injuvenal plumage : Cap more or less black, variegated with white, forehead nearly or quite white, top of head with black markings and back of head nearly black ; back and scapulars pale gray, with irregular but well- defined spots of brownish-black and V-shaped markings which are largest on scapulars ; grayish band on lesser wing-coverts ; greater wing-coverts with pale gray wash ; flight-feathers of wings slaty-gray with white edges ; tail grayish-white, with dusky areas or black spots near tip, very slightly forked ; under plumage white; bill and feet either flesh-color or dusky, bill sometimes lighter toward end. Downy young: Usually buffy, whitish or white; unspotted; some individuals however are marked slightly with dusky on back and others in addition over top of head ; bill and feet flesh-color. Measurements. — Length 14.00 to 16.00 in.; spread about 34.00; folded wing 11.00 to 12.15; tail 4.50 to 6.00, forked 2.25 to 2.50; bill 1.90 to 2.25; tarsus about 1.00. Molts. — Juvenal plumage assumed gradually as down is shed, while bird is still growing ; partial postjuvenal molt (not including wings and tail) begins in September when first winter plumage appears ; following early spring prenuptial molt, most immature birds, then about one year old, probably assume plumage practically indistinguishable from adult nuptial ; adults molt completely twice each year — prenuptial between March and May, and postnuptial beginning in early July and continuing through August and September (A. C. Bent). Field Marks. — Adult: Slightly larger, paler and relatively more slender than Common Tern; recognizable (at close range) by long, slender, black bill with clearly-defined, bright yellow tip and black feet; after breeding season yellow of bill dulls and diminishes somewhat in extent. Voice. — Loud, sharp, grating, heard half a mile (Audubon) ; hoarse grating cry, cree or pink (Morris) ; kirhitt, kirhitt (Yarrell) ; very noisy when in flocks or on breeding-grounds. Breeding. — In colonies ; on sandy islands, often in company with Royal Terns. Nest : Mere hollow in sand; sometimes no hollow. Eggs: 1 or 2, rarely 3; 2.10 by 1.40 in. (Coues) ; often some- what pointed ; beautiful in both shape and color ; various shades of olive-pink and buff (some eggs white) , with an endless variety of markings of various browns, grays, lavender and black. Dates. April 25 to June 14, Texas (A. C. Bent). Incubation: Period about 3 weeks; shared by both sexes. One brood yearly, possibly two. Range. — North and South America. Breeds from Virginia (casually) and North Carolina south to Florida, Texas, Bahamas, Antilles and British Honduras ; winters from Bahamas, Florida and Louisiana south to Central America, Greater Antilles, Colombia, southern Brazil and on Pacific coast of southern Mexico and Guatemala; accidental in Ontario, Massachusetts and New Jersey; a few summer in Brazil. Distribution in New England. — Accidental visitor to Massachusetts. Record : Chatham, immature bird taken August, 1865. l The record of a Cabot's Tern taken October 2, 1888, at Monomoy, Chatham, by John C. Cahoon, seems to be based on an error, since the authority for this record, as given in Howe and Allen's "Birds of Massachusetts," is William Brewster in Vol. VI (1889) of the Auk, pp. 66, 67. But this reference mentions only the capture of Forster's Tern by Mr. Cahoon on the same date and at the same place as mentioned in the case of Cabot's Tern. Nor does Mr. Cahoon record the taking of the Cabot's Tern on this date or any other. It is of interest to know that Mr. A. W. Higgins, a competent field ornithologist, saw on July 10, 1918, at Sandwich, at the mouth of the Cape Cod canal, flying and also perched close by on the mooring pilings 1 Allen, J. A. : American Naturalist, Vol. Ill, 1870, p. 644. TERNS 103 two terns which he is confident were Cabot's Terns. They had black bills (with light tips) and black feet and when they flew, were notably whiter than the Common Terns with which they were associated. Mr. Higgins saw these terns through a good glass ; they were, in short, so near that their markings were distinctly discerned. Haunts and Habits. Cabot's Tern seems to be the friend and companion of the larger Royal Tern. It breeds in colonies of Royal Terns and lives amicably beside them. In form it appears slender and rather frail, but nevertheless it is strong, swift and daring, a master of the air and capable of battling successfully with wind and storm. Apparently it is not one of the vanishing species. Under protection it seems to be pushing its way northward. Not until recent years has it been known to breed in North Carolina and Virginia. If it continues to increase, it may be looked for during late summer and early autumn as a casual visitant on the outer bars and beaches of Cape Cod. Economic Status. See page 95. Sterna forsteri Nuttall. Forster's Tern. Other name: havell's tern. Plate 8. Description. — Similar to Common Tern but a little larger; bill longer and stouter; tail longer; feet larger. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Black cap not extending so far down on sides of head as in Common Tern ; lower lid of eye white ; rest of upper plumage except lower rump and upper tail-coverts and tail "pallid neutral gray" ; primaries not dark like those of Common Tern but heavily frosted or silvered ; outer web of 1st not black but frosted like others ; no such distinct white space on inner webs of primaries as are seen in Common and Arctic Terns, but indication of it on three or four outer ones, others gray and frosted ; tips of secondaries, anterior upper tail-coverts, sides of head and all lower plumage including wing-linings and axillars white, with hardly trace of leaden-gray evident on Common Tern and still deeper on Arctic Tern; "tail slightly lighter than back" (Coues) ; long outer tail-feathers white on outer web and dusky on inner (exactly the reverse in Common Tern) ; bill orange or orange- yellow with more or less black toward end ; iris dark brown ; feet bright orange, often nearing vermilion. Adults in winter plumage : Similar but forehead white ; black of cap mostly replaced by whitish ; dark, broad, ill-defined, crescent-shaped, dusky bar across nape, and distinct broad black stripe beginning before eye, inclosing it and ear, and extending well toward back of head ; white of neck often extending round like a white collar ; outer tail-feathers shorter than in summer, no longer than summer tail of Com- mon Tern ; iris dark brown ; bill dusky or black except base of under mandible and space toward tip ; feet dark orange ; sometimes whole top of head grayish-white, darkening toward nape (this is the plumage described by Audubon as Sterna havelli). Young in first winter plumage: Similar to winter adults, with broad blackish stripe on side of head, but tail less deeply forked and somewhat mottled brownish ; pri- maries darker and less frosted and their white spaces more sharply contrasted with dark. Young in juvenal plumage: Darker and browner above and below than young of Common, Arctic or Roseate Terns; pearl-gray of back and scapulars almost concealed by buffy or brown feather-ends of varying shades ; top of head snuff -brown ; sides of neck heavily clouded and fore-breast and rump lightly clouded same, which shows also on wing-coverts and tail, the whole giving bird a brown appearance above ; black patch on each side of head similar to that on winter adults and young. Downy young : Yaxy from light clay- color to pinkish-buff, fading into whitish below ; darker on throat, which is sometimes drab but not so dark as in Common Tern ; heavily spotted or streaked above with blackish, spots largest on back. 104 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Measurements. — Length 14.00 to 15.00 in.; spread about 30.00; folded wing 9.50 to 10.50; tail 5.00 to 8.00, forked 2.30 to 5.00; bill 1.48 to 1.75 ; tarsus .90 to 1.00. Molts. — Juvenal plumage acquired as young bird comes to full size, but browns fade or wear away as season advances and (with a partial molt of body feathers) young bird assumes its lighter winter plumage ; complete prenuptial molt in February or March, succeeded by first nuptial plumage, which usually is as adult, but sometimes shows traces of first winter plumage, bird being nine or ten months old ; two complete adult molts, prenuptial beginning in February and postnuptial beginning in July or August. Field Marks. — Adult in breeding plumage: Indistinguishable (except by cries) at a distance from Common Tern, but at close range seems slightly larger; white or nearly so below where at same season Common Tern is darker ; wings shorter ; primaries much lighter than those of Common Tern, as seen from above ; bill orange-yellow toward base, black toward tip ; tail longer and more streaming than in Common Tern. Adult and young in winter plumage: With much white in cap; fore part of head all white and distinct broad blackish stripe along side of head, beginning just before eye, including eye and ear. Voice. — Quite distinctive, rendering identification easy and certain ; young in juvenal plumage gives shrill, high-pitched squeal, quite different from those of other Gulls and Terns ; notes of adult harsh and grating on low key, tza-a-ap, zreep, zrurrr — a rasping, buzzing, nasal sound suggesting the cry of a Nighthawk; also a shrill peeping, pip pip pip pip pip, rapidly given (A. C. Bent). Breeding. — In colonies ; on salt marshes, sandy sea-islands or marshy borders of inland lakes. Nest: Varies from well-made structure on assembled heap of vegetation to mere hollow in pile of reeds or on muskrat house ; sometimes buoyed up by dead reeds or flags in several feet of water ; some- times a mere hollow on muddy shore. Eggs: 2 to 5; indistinguishable from those of Common Tern. Dates: In South early May to late June or early July; in North mostly in June and July. Incubation: Period 23 days; probably by both sexes (A. C. Bent). One brood yearly. Range. — Mainly temperate North America. Breeds in interior California, southern Oregon, Nevada and Utah and from southwestern Saskatchewan, central Alberta and Manitoba south to northern Colorado, northern Nebraska, Minnesota, northeastern Illinois and southern Ontario, on coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Virginia and (formerly) New Jersey ; winters from southern California, Gulf coast and South Carolina south to southern Guatemala ; in migration on Atlantic coast casually north to Massachusetts ; accidental off coast of Brazil. Distribution in New England. — A straggler ; definite records are in fall. New Hampshire : Seabrook, September 24, 1872, immature male taken by William Brewster and now in collection of Boston Society of Natural History.1 Massachusetts : Ipswich, September, 1870, bird taken by C. J. Maynard ; 2 Gloucester (Magnolia), August 28, 1877, male taken;1 Chatham, August, 1885, a number seen by Dr. J. A. Allen;3 Chatham (Monomoy), October 2, 1888, immature bird taken by J. C. Cahoon,4 and now in collection of Boston Society of Natural History ; Ipswich, August 3, 1920, bird seen by H. L. Barrett ; 5 Chatham (Monomoy), September 1, 1924, immature bird in first year plumage, seen by A. C. Bent.6 Haunts and Habits. Forster's Tern is so much like the Common Tern in appear- ance, habits and behavior that Audubon did not recognize the breeding adult as a dif- ferent species, though in a quite different winter plumage he named it Havell's Tern. Swainson and Richardson described it as the Common Tern while Wilson never recognized the species. George N. Lawrence, in 1858, was the first to differentiate the bird in breed- ing dress from the Common Tern ; and Coues, still later, described for the first time its various plumages. Considering its resemblance to the Common Tern it is probable that 1 Smith, J. D. : in litt. 2 Brewster, William : American Naturalist, Vol. VI, 1872, p. 306. 3 Allen, J. A. : Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. I, 1881-86. Revised List of Birds of Massa- chusetts, 1886, p. 227. * Brewster, William : Auk, Vol. VI, 1889, p. 66. « In litt. « jn mt. PLATE 8 PLATE 8 ARCTIC TERN Page 115 Adult in Breeding Plumage ROSEATE TERN Page 118 Adult in Breeding Plumage FORSTER'S TERN Page 103 Adult in Breeding Plumage COMMON TERN Page 105 Adult in Breeding Plumage Young in First Winter Plumage Young in First Winter Plumage BLACK TERN Page 128 Adult in Breeding Plumage Young in First Winter Plumage LEAST TERN Page 122 Adult in Breeding Plumage Young in Juvenal Plumage All one-fourth natural size. /? / ^ r / BassM®6-* TERNS 105 Forster's Tern is a less rare visitant to Massachusetts than the records indicate ; there- fore it should be looked for during the migrations. Except by its dissimilar cries the adult in breeding plumage may be distinguished from the Common Tern only at close range ; but in the immature and adult winter plumages (in one or other of which it may occur here in late summer or early autumn) the distinct black patch on side of head should enable a close observer with a good glass to recognize the bird. Like the Black Tern it breeds in the latitude of Massachusetts and wanders here in late summer and fall. Unlike the Black Tern, however, it may easily escape recognition. When terns are seen catching insects in autumn on our coast it is well to observe them closely as some may be of this rare species. Forster's Tern usually comes north in May and moves southward in August and September ; rarely a few remain until about the middle of October. This species feeds more on insects than does the Common Tern. It catches them on the wing and picks them up from the water. It also eats fish and frogs (both alive and dead) and other aquatic animals. Economic Status. See page 95. Sterna hirtindo LinnjEus. Common Tern. Other names: wilson's tern; tearr; mackerel gull; summer gull; sea swallow; medrick. Plate 8. Description. — Bill as long as head, about equal to tarsus and middle toe without claw. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Whole top of head, forehead and nape deep black, extending slightly below level of eyes but leaving lower eyelids white, black so broad in front of eyes that white feathers along side of bill barely reach forward as far as black; rest of upper plumage "pale neutral gray" except tips of secondaries, lower part of rump, upper tail-coverts and greater part of tail which are white ; below pale lavender-gray or "pallid neutral gray" to grayish-white; on neck, throat, chin, sides of head and under tail-coverts, color of under plumage fades insensibly into white ; wing-linings and axillars white ; shafts of primaries white, darkening toward tips; outer web of 1st (outer) primary black; first four or five primaries grayish-black and frosted silvery-gray, their inner webs with space of white along inner margins (on 1st primary this occupies entire web at base, narrows as it ascends and either ends or narrows to a line about 1 inch from tip) ; this white less extensive on other primaries, on each web running up center farther than on edge, and on innermost primaries forming only a narrow margin to web ; inner primaries lighter, mostly of color of back, edged white on inner web and at tip ; secondaries mostly white, their outer thirds bluish-gray and ends whitish or white ; tail largely white, not very deeply forked, folded wings reaching an inch or two beyond it ; inner web of outer tail feather white, outer web dusky, darkening toward tip ; outer webs of remaining tail-feathers (except middle pair, or in some cases, four feathers) pale gray ; bill bright coral or vermilion, with more or less of terminal half black (rarely only a little black near end of upper mandible) , extreme tip slightly yellow or yellowish ; iris dark brown ; feet rich orange- vermilion. Adults in winter plumage: Similar, but black of cap imperfect, replaced by white on fore part of head and crown, black only on back part of head ; below lighter, usually white; tail shorter than in spring ; red of feet and bill duller (base of upper mandible usually red, rest black, lower mandible ver- milion at base, crimson at angle, black at tip). Young in first winter plumage: Region about eye, and back of head (occiput) dull black, crown mixed with black and grayish-white ; other upper plumage pale gray, rather lighter than in adults ; scapulars, back and tertials, with subterminal crescent-shaped marks of dusky or grayish-brown and tipped pale buff; distinct blackish bar on fore wing formed by dusky 106 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS lesser wing-coverts ; fore part of head, upper tail-coverts, inner webs of tail-feathers, tips of secondaries and all under plumage white ; bill dusky with brownish tinge, base of mandible lighter and more reddish than dusky ; feet rather pale reddish ; as season advances young bird becomes more like winter adult except that feet are dark or blackish, tail is less forked and darker, and traces of dusky still remain on wing-coverts. Young in juvenal plumage : Forehead pale brown blending into dull black on back of head ; upper plumage more or less pale gray, with many dusky margins and buff edgings ; dusky band on fore wing caused by darker lesser wing-coverts ; white below ; iris dark brown ; bill and feet flesh- color ; tip of bill blackish. (Dwight says flesh-colored bill and feet first brighten, then darken.) Downy young : Vary above from pale yellowish to deep buff, clay-color or gray, mottled with various shades of rather dark brown or blackish ; throat varies from blackish or sooty-gray or dusky to nearly pure white and is usually dark (rarely very light and unspotted) ; under plumage white ; feet flesh-color, pinkish or reddish. Measurements. — Length 13.00 to 16.00 in.; spread 29.00 to 32.00; folded wing 9.75 to 11.75; tail 5.00 to 7.00, forked about 3.50; bill 1.25 to 1.50; tarsus .66 to .87. Female smaller than male; young smaller, down to 9 inches. (Above measurements indicate great variation in size among indi- viduals of same species.) Molts. — Downy young slowly acquire juvenal plumage early — before full growth ; first winter plumage assumed usually after September, following postjuvenal molt (August to November) of body- feathers and sometimes some of lesser wing-coverts, leaving wings and tail substantially as in juvenal plumage ; in next spring complete prenuptial molt (February to June), followed by adult nuptial plumage which often is not fully assumed until June when bird is nearly one year old; sometimes full adult plumage is not assumed until the next spring; A. C. Bent referring to this delayed development says, — "Occasionally in young birds the first nuptial plumage, described above, is not assumed, but instead a plumage like the adult winter plumage is acquired by a late prenuptial or an early postnuptial molt. This plumage is worn r~%t- ^^s-a* throughout the spring and summer, probably by the less vigorous Downy Young Common Tern birds which do not breed. It is the plumage which was once described 1 natural size as a sPe°ies under the name Sterna portlandica." l Adults molt com- pletely twice annually. Field Marks. — Adults : In summer darker than Roseate Tern ; bill bright coral or light vermilion with more or less black toward end and longer than that of Arctic Tern ; tail usually shorter than in Arctic or Roseate Terns; folded wings reach beyond its tip. Newly-fledged young: Indistinguishable in field from those of Arctic or Roseate Terns except perhaps by an expert. Downy young : May be distinguished from those of Roseate Tern by flesh-colored feet ; the former have blackish feet ; downy young of lighter phases of Common Tern may be separated from those of Arctic Tern by absence of dusky in forehead. Voice. — Most commonly tee' ar-r-r, uttered harshly, but often much varied in length, enunciation and pitch, thus expressing different emotions or moods ; "a sharp vibratory tut tut or kik kik kik, followed by a piercing, screaming tear" (C. W. Townsend). (See also page 111.) Breeding. — On islands in lake or sea or on shores. Nest: Varying from mere hollow in beach- sand or pebbles, lined with a few bits of shell or small stones to well-built hollowed mound of grasses and seaweeds ; sometimes of fish-bones ; sometimes a hollow in stranded eel-grass ; sometimes on bare rock ; usually in the open, but often among weeds or grasses and sometimes even amidst shrubbery. Eggs: 2 or 3, sometimes 4, rarely 5 or even 6 ; 1.55 to 1.65 by 1.20 to 1.25 in. (Coues) ; short ovate to elongate- ovate ; exceedingly variable in size, shape and color ; ranging from immaculate white (rarely) through various shades of pale brown, buff, olivaceous and green, spotted and blotched with various browns, grays and lilacs ; often eggs found in same nest differ widely in shape and color. Dates : May 15 to 1 Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum Bulletin No. 113, 1921, p. 245. TERNS 107 July 20, Massachusetts ; May 29 to July 26, Maine. Incubation : Period 21 days (Lynds Jones) ; by both sexes. One brood yearly; no conclusive evidence of more than one in New England, but twc broods may be reared in South. Range. — Both Hemispheres. Breeds from near northern coast of Mackenzie, Great Slave Lake, northern Manitoba and probably well into Keewatin, west coast of Hudson Bay, southern Ungava (central Quebec) and Newfoundland south to southeastern Alberta, southwestern Saskatchewan, northern North Dakota, southern Minnesota, southern Wisconsin, southeastern Michigan, northern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, northern New York and North Carolina ; some breed in the Bahamas, on coast of Venezuela, on Florida Keys, Dutch West Indies, and coasts of Alabama, Louisiana and Texas ; breeds also in Europe, Asia and northern Africa and in Azores, Canary and Madeira islands ; some bred formerly in Bermuda; winters from Florida south along both coasts of South America to Straits of Magellan and in southern Asia and Africa ; appears in migration through interior of North America, on Atlantic and Pacific coasts and in Bahamas and Bermuda. Distribution in New England. — Summer resident coastwise ; common to abundant locally ; abundant near its colonies in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, but rather rare visitant in interior, especially in Vermont (seen by Dr. L. H. Ross, May 30, 1907, at Bennington1). Season in Massachusetts. — (April 20) May 1 to November 23 (December 2 and 22) ; acci- dental in winter. Haunts and Habits. A June morning in 1908 found me marooned on a sandy islet near the elbow of Cape Cod. My skiff had been filled and my oars carried to sea by the surf of the stiff est "sou-wester" of the season ; and with back to the gale and the flying, cutting sand-drift I watched the rising sea gradually march up the streaming strand until the wash began to pour over the seaward bank and race across the sand to my feet. The attraction which drew me that morning to the islet was an immense concourse of birds resting on its sands or hovering above them, most of which proved to be Common Terns. There was nothing to do but await a rescue ; so crouching in the stranded boat I watched the birds and the sea. The flying terns soon discovered a "school" of fish, and then all was wild excitement among them. Instantly the island was birdless, as they all launched upon the gale and rode down to leeward intent upon their prey. When mackerel or bluefish, coming in great hordes, find a school of "bait," the larger fish chase the little ones until the latter, in their efforts to escape, break water in all directions and skip over the waves like little flying-fish, or else "mill" about in a dense mass at the surface. Then the water all about fairly boils under the savage onset of their pur- suers. The sharp-eyed terns, too, spying the commotion, flock from afar to feast on the luckless "fishlings." To see the terns thus fishing is a sight to stir the blood. High in the sunlight they hover above the surging sea. Below the blue waves roar on, to break in foam on the yellow sand. The whirling, screaming, light-winged birds, strongly con- trasted against the smoky murk to seaward, alternately climb the air and plunge like plummets straight down into the waves — rising again and again, fluttering, poising, screaming, striking. So now like birds gone mad the terns flashed from sky to sea. It fairly rained birds; hundreds of them were shooting down into the angry waves. They played with gale and sea. Rising, they shook the brine from their feathers and, i Vermont Bird Club Bulletin, No. 3, 1908, p. 32. 108 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Terns Fishing towering high, hovered a moment, breasting the gale ; then setting their wings like long, barbed spearheads, plunged again and yet again. This was the sight for which I had been waiting. The birds had given the signal to the fishermen to come out from shore. Soon three dories with their adventurous crews had passed out toward the foaming bar, and the men were dropping their lines near where the fishing birds were thickest. I had only to wait for a re- turning fisherman to take me off. Terns catching fish are a common sight, but " that day they furnished a ■' spectacle that illustrated, under stress, their power and address in taking prey — also their utility as guides to the fishermen of our coast. Mr. Franklin E. Campbell writes that on September 6, 1921, great schools of "sand eels" were massed in the North River at Scituate, and that a tern often had three or four at a time in its bill, holding them firmly and never dropping one. Neltje Blan- chan, on the other hand, says that one tern sometimes drops a little fish as if in play, when another catches it in the air, until it has been passed from mouth to mouth several times before it is swallowed. If one really wishes to see terns en masse, he should go in the breeding season to one of the greater tern colonies off the shores of Massachusetts or Maine, such as Muskeget or Machias Seal Island. In years past the human intruder upon the former breeding- ground was surrounded by a confused, gyrating "snow-storm" of birds and his ears were assailed by an almost deafening chorus of harsh, clashing cries. However, the fitness of Muskeget as a breeding-place for Common Terns is gradually lessening. Perhaps the vegetation over a great part of it is growing too dense for this species, which does not like thick cover ; also the island is fast becoming a paradise for the increasing numbers of Laughing Gulls which rather prefer to hide their nests under rank grass or herbage. The Common Tern seems to select the naked sand in preference, especially when nesting on the mainland where it may be disturbed by enemies at night ; and where new lands are building up from the sea, it promptly forsakes adjacent land on which it has bred (and which has become overgrown with beach-grass and other vegetation) and moves out on the bare sand which furnishes no cover for cats, skunks or other nocturnal enemies. The occupation of this land by the birds eventually increases its fertility; and when, therefore, vegetation becomes too rank, the terns must go elsewhere. Islands where sheep or cattle are kept, however, may be so closely cropped as to remain suitable for TERNS 109 tenancy of the birds. Penikese Island which has long been occupied by terns, has be- come the most fertile island of its group — in part from the droppings of the birds. Terns prefer small islands well offshore whereon to breed, for here native predatory mam- mals are not likely to raid their nests. Wherever they breed on the mainland, they are attacked by dogs, cats, foxes, skunks and other night-prowlers. The birds are safer on islands well out to sea ; but they also occupy islets in salt-water bays and harbors and in fresh-water ponds. When I first visited Skiffs Island off the coast of Marthas Vineyard, it was a barren, wind-swept, wave-washed islet of sand without a sign of vegetation ; yet terns were nesting everywhere above high-water mark. As we landed and our heads rose above the sloping bank, a multitude of downy young birds started up from the sand, marched to the opposite side of the island and there cast themselves boldly into the sea. Meanwhile overhead the darting, whirling multitude of parent birds filled the air with their clamor. We crouched down, and the young birds swam back to land little the worse for their bath ; indeed some presently crept to our feet. Here was no vestige of any real nest beyond a few pebbles or bits of shell in slight hollows in the sand, with occasionally a few pieces of seaweed ; yet here on this desolate, barren sand-bar the terns hatched, fed and reared their young in safety from cats or other nocturnal mammals. Common or Wilson's Terns arrive in numbers from about the first to the tenth of May on their breeding grounds in Massachusetts. They begin making nests about May 20 ; and if all goes well, the young are hatching by June 16. If the nests are not disturbed, most of the young are on the wing by August 1 and have deserted the breeding-grounds ; but if the nests are robbed, some young may still be found there through the month of August. The courtship of this species is well described as follows by Dr. Charles W. Townsend in " Beach Grass" : "On this June day [June 12, 1921] I sat on the sand of Ipswich beach within sixty yards of a flock of over a hundred common terns that had alighted on the water's edge. It was at once apparent that the birds were preparing to breed, as many of them were engaged in active courtship. As the sexes are alike in plu- mage, one could distinguish the males from the females only by their actions, but these actions were distinctive. With short mincing steps a male would strut before a demure female. His puffed out neck and his head were stretched up to the full extent and his open bill was continually vibrating as he uttered rasping crrrs. His long tail was cocked up between the wings which were extended from the body so that the shoulders stuck out nearly horizontally. At times he side-stepped ; at times he pirouetted. . . . Some- times two would fly at each other like gamecocks, and continue the fight in the air. Again a male would return from fishing with a sand-lance drooped from his bill, and after eluding rivals who sought to take it from him, he would alight close to his beloved one and present her with the choice morsel, following up his gift with courtship antics. She, meanwhile, calmly and apparently without the least concern for him, swallowed the tidbit." Nest building on the open sand is but the work of a moment. The bird alights, se- lects the spot, crouches slightly and works its little feet so rapidly that the motion seems 110 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS a mere blur, while the sand flies out in tiny jets in every direction as the creature pivots about. The tern next settles lower and smooths the cavity by turning and working and moving its body and wings from side to side. Occasionally, where nesting-material is abundant, quite an elaborate nest is built — a pile of grass, seaweed or other drift some six inches high. Other nests are mere hollows sparsely wreathed about with a little beach-grass. Sometimes the nests are more or less concealed under beach-grass or other vegetation. When the eggs or young are destroyed, a second set of eggs is commonly laid, and sometimes perhaps a third. Occasionally, as in 1920 at Nauset, a large number of terns arrive late in the season and deposit their eggs and rear young in late July and August. Probably such late comers have lost elsewhere in some way their eggs or young. Some of the older ornithologists would have us believe that terns leave their eggs in fair weather to be hatched by the heat of the sun, but probably this is an error. I have never seen the slightest sign of such a habit. No doubt there are hours when their eggs can be left safely, for all wild-birds' eggs will bear some neglect and still hatch. But to leave them long exposed to the hot summer sun or to cold wind and rain probably would be fatal, and I have never known terns to desert their eggs in any weather unless driven off by intruders. Let the watcher lie down and remain quiet where terns are incubating, and soon he will see them settle on their eggs all about, coming as near him as they dare. When photographing or camping among them, I have seen them come back to their eggs within a few feet of my (concealed) face. The female usually performs most of the duties of incubation, but she is occasionally relieved for brief periods by the male. Terns that nest on the sand must cover their eggs carefully when the young are hatching, particu- larly if a "sou'wester" is blowing, which often happens during the breeding season. Mr. David Gould, who has guarded the tern colony at Nauset, tells me that he once approached the nests on a windy day when many young were hatching, and the dry sand blown by the strong wind adhered to the wet plumage of the newly-hatched birds so that within fifteen minutes many were buried alive — smothered in drifting sand. Eggs also may be buried at such times ; but some of the birds are intelligent enough to dig them out again and place them in new nests, or to continue to brood eggs dug out of the sand by the warden. On such days people should not be allowed to disturb the sitting terns. The female tern must stay by her eggs to protect them against crows, gulls and other enemies ; and for mutual protection the community sometimes joins forces when all en masse will assail and drive away a hawk or other foe. Some of these birds are so devoted to their eggs and young that they will even strike a human intruder. Many times terns have struck my head with their beaks, and a few times with such force that the effect of the blow was felt for some time afterward. When the young are safely hatched, the parent usually flies off with the empty egg shells and drops them at a dis- tance. On July 6 and 7, 1921, 1 camped in a small shelter-tent in the heart of a colony of several thousand terns at Chatham. The birds became so indifferent to my shelter that they alighted upon it. Fledglings climbed to its top while I helped their progress with my TERNS 111 t ?T-5 fc^zti^^ hand beneath the canvas. All about me males wooed their mates, while parents incu- bated their eggs and fed one another and their young. They were vocal all day, very noisy at sundown and more or less so through the night, with many variations of the com- mon tee' arr, such as a guttural eorrr, which was very common. There were many low guttural rrrs and a faint plaintive pee' -ope which may have been a call of the fledglings. Their notes were in much greater variety than I had supposed and many of them cannot be adequately indicated by the pen. They uttered many hen-like calls, and one resem- bling a note of the cuckoo ; also a fast repeated cack or chuckle, some- times given so rapidly and by so many birds in unison that it sounded almost like a pattering of many feet or the combined fluttering of the wings of a large flock. This occurred mainly at dusk or even after dark. The birds seemed to be quietest about 3 a.m., but with the awakening day they grew noisy again. The male constantly attends the sitting female and brings food to her, largely "sand eels" or similar small, slender fish which are rarely over five or six inches in length. The food-call of the female is recognizable, and is frequently repeated when the supply arrives, for which she begs with uplifted head and wide-open mouth. Sometimes when the male brings a fish, another bird tries to steal it and seizes one end. Then comes "the tug of war." The two pull each other back and forth and sometimes others join in the strenuous struggle, but in the end the owner usually retains his booty. Often he does not feed the female at once, but turning a cold shoulder walks into the grass and drops the much-desired morsel. She follows, begging piteously, and finally picks it up from the ground, and with seeming difficulty swallows it. Now and then as I watched, a male, having fed his mate, stretched his neck to full length, with head horizontal or with bill pointed skyward, and then, with tail jauntily cocked, bowed gravely several times. The males appeared to do most of the fishing. A constant flight of them passed out to sea and returned with fish. Young terns are very precocious and self-reliant and can (soon after hatching) run about and swim and hide in moments of danger. Yet they differ totally from the young of Shore Birds (Limicolce) in that they depend upon their parents for food and have no notion of securing it for themselves. On a hot July day I watched a hatching chick break its shell and emerge into the sunlight. The extreme heat of the sun distressed it almost immediately. It crept three feet away into the shadow of a little plant. After resting there in the cool shade it returned to the nest where the mother came and brooded it. Its down, still bedraggled with the moisture of the egg, had not yet assumed the fluffy appear- ance, even, of the day-old chick. As soon as the young birds become strong, they The Common Tern from Nestling to Last Stage of the Down 112 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS leave the nest and wander at will, except as they are driven about by adults other than their own parents. The young will beg from any tern coming in with food, as they do not seem to be able to recognize their own parents. Apparently, however, every parent knows its offspring, though on account of the frequent wandering of the little ones it may not be able always at once to find them. I noticed that these little strays were chased by adults other than their parents and were buffeted about from one bird to another. In consequence they early became very meek in the presence of an elder, and sneaked self-effacing by or squatted with head held to the ground. Yet when pursued and struck at repeatedly, they seemed to outrun the adult bird which never followed far, seeming to be content with driving the youngling away. I have never seen an adult tern seize or kill a young bird of its own species (as Herring Gulls sometimes do) ; but Mr. Allan Keniston of Vineyard Haven has sent me a photograph of an adult Common Tern actually lifting a youngster from the ground and shaking it. A struggle for existence is waged between terns and gulls in which the terns sometimes attack and kill young gulls. When Herring Gulls are driven off temporarily by visitors terns nesting near them are likely to attack any young gull that strays into their colony. I saw one such beaten down by repeated blows from many irate terns, and it saved its life only by creeping under the sheltering leaves of a low-growing plant and lying there as if dead. Dr. L. B. Bishop reports to Mr. Bent that at Stump Lake, North Dakota, he saw terns strike and kill young Ring-billed Gulls by darting down upon their heads while the young gulls were swimming. He concluded that the adult gulls had been eating the terns' eggs and young and that the terns took opportunity to retaliate.1 Young terns are seen occasionally with heads pecked open, and this may be the work of gulls. An enemy which has been known to attack young terns, as well as the young of some other ground-nesting species, is the ant. In 1922 and 1923 a colony of Common Terns nesting at the mouth of Pamet River, Truro, were beset by this enemy and most of the young were destroyed, being literally eaten alive. The matter was brought to the atten- tion of the Massachusetts Audubon Society by Dr. C. P. Curley of Provincetown, and Mr. Winthrop Packard, Secretary of that society, took protective measures, using ant- poison and tobacco dust which apparently abated the nuisance.2 Professor Lynds Jones, a careful observer, who has watched Common Terns closely be- lieves that they recognize their stray young by the sense of smell. His account indicates that the parent hesitates a moment and touches the youngster testingly with its forehead before feeding it. There is no doubt in my mind that Professor Jones saw exactly what he describes, but I have never seen the slightest hesitation or noted this touching of fore- heads. When the searching tern gets sight of its young, it seems (in my experience) to recognize it at once. Mr. Stanley C. Arthur is quoted by Mr. Bent in an account of an experiment with two well-marked Cabot's Terns which he could easily distinguish one from the other by their differing plumage. During absence of the birds from their nests 1 Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Bulletin No. 113, p. 247. 2 Bulletin Massachusetts Audubon Society, Oct. 1924, p. 5. TERNS 113 he exchanged their eggs; yet on their return each settled upon its own egg without showing "the slightest concern." Again he transposed the eggs with the same result. If in this instance the terns knew their own eggs by sight, is it not likely that they should know their own well-marked young by the same sense? When the parent tern comes in with fish for the family, it utters a peculiar call, somewhat resembling the usual harsh tee' arr but higher in pitch and softer in tone. The young beg for food from any incoming fish-laden bird, and give a harsh rattling cry somewhat like the alarm-note of the adult. When a half -grown youngster sees a parent bird fluttering near with food, it cannot contain itself for eagerness. It dances about, flaps or flutters its wings and begs with open mouth in a most appealing manner. The parent, apparently recognizing its offspring while still in air, alights and proceeds un- hesitatingly and in the most business-like and expeditious way to fill the yawning cavity with a small fish. The late Charles H. Weekes of Harwich once told me that he saw one very tiny young bird fed by regurgitation apparently from the parent's stomach. A watery substance seemed to be running from the beak of the parent into that of the little one. But from the very first day I have seen fish brought to the young. The youngsters soon learn to seek shelter from hot sun or cold wind. When photographing terns on a barren island, I found that two or three downy chicks had crept up under the shelter of my blind and one had ensconced itself comfortably in a hollow in the sand between my feet. As the day advances and the sun's rays strengthen, any object that provides shade or shelter is sought. A bit of driftwood or a dead skate on the beach, a bunch of beach- grass or any weed, will serve. Often under such circumstances I have seen a youngling crowd in between the stems of two plants that afforded it shade and concealment, and then, with flying feet, scoop out quickly a deep cavity for its body in the cooler sand below the surface and lie there hidden and comfortable. As their pinions develop, the young birds frequently stand facing the breeze and flap their wings until gradually, little by little, they become strong enough to raise themselves off their feet. Then it is only a few clays before their wings sustain them for considerable flights. Now they make their way to the shore, and the parents feed them on the beach. A little later a parent passes food to its young while both are on the wing, or feeds the fledglings while the latter sit on the water. It has been asserted that terns rarely rest on the water or swim. Although they do not swim or float as frequently as gulls, the Common Tern is, nevertheless, very fond of dipping, bathing and resting on water (either salt or fresh) on hot days ; and I have seen hundreds flying daily to fresh-water ponds to bathe, during bright hot days and also in dull, foggy weather. Near Muskeget in calm weather great flocks thus seem to enjoy themselves on the surface of the sea ; but when the water is rough, they dip into the waves singly and splash for a few moments only, and then rise again, as they do not seem to care to remain long in choppy waves. On July 17, 1921, at Chatham, I watched terns bathing in a fresh-water pond about half a mile inland from their main colony. Often birds coming in from the sea were so eager for their bath that instead of stopping first 114 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS at the colony, they carried their fish with them, bathed, and then flew to their nests with their prey still held in their bills. They acted like boys out of school "going in swim- ming." Each one plunged in with wide-spread wings, but did not go wholly under, splashed about for a time, then rose, plunged again and splashed some more. I held my eye to individual birds and saw them rise and dive at least six times. As they flew away, they shook themselves like a dog just out of water. Several repeated this shaking two or three times while still in sight. There is great mortality often among young terns. High storm-tides in June or July sometimes rise over the nests, wash away the eggs or drown the newly hatched young. Disease appears sometimes, and occasionally a protracted storm or a violent tempest kills young birds. Again sufficient suitable food is not always to be found within eight or ten miles of a large colony, and then some of the young perish from starvation. In 1921, at the large Chatham colony, there was great mortality among the smallest young. At this age they must have very small fish. As such fish (or "bait," as the fishermen call them) could not be found near the colony, the parents brought fish so large that the young could not swallow them ; or else they failed to bring any. At Monomoy Point, about ten miles away, "bait" was plentiful. Here few deaths occurred. Also at the Nauset colony in Orleans there was no appreciable mortality. But on Muskeget famine pre- vailed. No one knows how far the parent birds will go from the nesting-ground to secure food for the young. While sailing once toward Muskeget in a fog, I saw right ahead a Common Tern dive and pick up a fish, and then start to return on the course we also were making for the island. There was no land nearer than Muskeget in that direction, and the boatman calculated that the bird had eleven miles to go. How the bird knew the direction and could keep it for eleven miles without chart or compass through thick fog is a question for the philosopher. If the parents were compelled to go ten or eleven miles for each fish taken, it is unlikely that they could get enough food to sustain both them- selves and their nestlings. Terns always show sympathy for a wounded comrade and gather about it as if lamenting its fate. Thomas Edward,1 the Scotch naturalist, relates the following incident which, if a fact, shows quite clearly an altruistic tendency among terns. Edward says he shot a tern which fell screaming, with a broken wing, into the sea. The cries of the wounded bird brought together a considerable number of terns which surveyed their wounded comrade round and round, as they fluttered overhead. In the meantime the wounded bird was slowly drifting toward shore where Edward began to make preparations for capturing it. Then, to his utter astonishment and surprise, he saw two of the un- wounded terns take hold of their disabled comrade, one at each wing, lift him from the water, and bear him seaward. The two were followed by two others. The first two having carried the wounded bird about six or seven yards, let him gently down, when the second two took him up in a similar manner, and thus they continued to carry him seaward until they had reached a rock at a considerable distance from the shore upon 1 Smiles, Samuel : Life of a Scotch Naturalist, 1877, pp. 218-219. TERNS 115 which they landed him in safety. When Edward made toward the rock, he was observed by the terns and in a short time a swarm was about him. As he approached the rock, two terns took the wounded bird once more and bore him out to sea. Edward, viewing their devotion, did not molest them further. Early in May practically all the terns of this species have left the coast of South America and a few sometimes appear in April on the coast of Massachusetts. Through- out most of May migrants are passing northward — after our resident birds have assembled at their breeding grounds. Early in August the terns begin to wander from their Massachusetts homes, and by the latter part of September a few have already reached South America ; but they continue to pass in small numbers along the Massachusetts coast, sometimes well into November. The food of the Common Tern varies more or less with locality and circumstance. Along the New England coast small slender fish, never over five or six inches in length, such as the sand-eel or sand-lance (Ammodytes americanus), form a large part of their food. Small herrings or alewives are eaten and even menhaden, together with shrimps and other crustaceans, aquatic worms and insects ; in addition (in times of scarcity) the offal of fish thrown into the water by fishermen. In August and September the species is observed to catch on the wing such insects as flying ants, butterflies and cicadas. Economic Status. The Common Tern, like the other species of this group, is a harmless bird. Its insect food includes species that are regarded as injurious. It never eats marketable fish, and it serves as a guide by which fishermen locate " schools" of bluefish and mackerel — also in times of thick fog to show them the way to and from the fishing-grounds . Sterna paradissea Brunnich. Arctic Tern. Other names: crimson-billed tern; long-tailed tern; short-footed tern; MACKEREL GULL J MEDRICK. Plate 8. Description. — Bill shorter than head ; about equals middle toe and tarsus together ; slender, acute ; feet very small. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Cap (extending well down on sides of head) black ; rest of upper parts mostly light silvery-gray ; tips of secondaries and tertials, upper tail- coverts and greater part of tail (including whole of inner webs) white ; outer web of elongated outer tail- feather deep gray, darker terminally (but white near tip) in strong contrast with white of inner web ; outer web of next tail-feather pale gray ; that of 1st primary dark gray or blackish, lightening at tip ; inner webs of all primaries mostly white, each with stripe of silvery-gray next shaft, this stripe growing gradually wider toward inner primaries, where it extends across tip of inner web and runs near edge for a greater or less distance basally; three or four innermost primaries with inner webs light silvery-gray (like back) edged and tipped white ; under tail-coverts, axillars, and wing-linings white ; rest of under plumage light gray ("pale neutral gray"), slightly paler than color of upper plumage but slightly darker than in Common Tern, and fading into still paler gray on throat and chin and into white on sides of head next to black cap ; bill carmine or nopal-red, rarely tipped blackish ; iris dark brown ; legs and feet intense red. Adults in vrinter plumage: Similar to summer adult, but forehead, crown and fore part of 116 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS space before eye white, crown streaked black, only back part of cap and small stripe in front of eye uniform black; under plumage white, sometimes slightly tinged with gray; long tail-feathers much shorter in female than in male; bill and feet blackish. Young in first winter plumage: Very similar to winter adult but with ju venal wings and tail. Young in juvenal -plumage: Like juvenal Common Tern, but rump and tail-coverts white without gray tinge and tail with more white ; forehead and crown grayish, latter mottled with black which increases over ears and on hind head to practically clear black ; back and wings "deep gull gray," feathers of back, scapulars and wing-coverts edged pale buffy, each with subterminal dusky band and fine dusky sprinkling ; markings most conspicuous on scapulars; tertials, secondaries and inner primaries edged broadly white ; considerable dusky and some pale buff near ends of tail-feathers ; below white, washed pale brownish on sides, throat and breast ; feet reddish-orange ; juvenal plumage worn apparently until birds begin to migrate in September, but probably partially molted in fall to produce first winter plumage. Downy young: "Upper parts very pale buffy-grayish or grayish-buff y to wood-brown or bright ' avellaneous, ' irregularly spotted or marbled with blackish* except on forehead" (Ridgway) ; forehead, space before and below eyes and throat grayish to sooty-black- ish ; dusky frontal space distinguishes downy Arctic Terns from downy young of all other terns (except dark phase of common tern) ; "chest white or brownish-white, passing into very pale buffy-grayish to light buffy-brown or drab on posterior and lateral under parts" (Ridgway). The color of this tern varies so much with age and season that its various phases of plumage have been described from time to time and named as new species, as S. pikei, Lawrence, S. longipennis, Coues, and S. portlandica, Ridgway. Measurements. — Length (variable) 14.00 to 17.00 in. ; spread 29.00 to 33.00; folded wing 10.00 to 10.75; tail 6.50 to 8.50, forked 4.00 to 5.00; bill 1.15 to 1.35; tarsus .60. Molts. — Apparently similar to those of Common Tern (A. C. Bent) ; assumes adult nuptial plumage in spring of second year when nearly one year old, except that some individuals go through that year in immature plumage described erroneously as Sterna portlandica. Field Marks. — Adult in summer : Difficult to distinguish in field from Common Tern ; bill shorter and more acute ; carmine or blood-red (not coral or vermilion-red as in Common Tern), with little or no black at tip; tail often as long and trailing as that of Roseate Tern, extending beyond wing-tips when bird is at rest. Young: Practically indistinguishable in field from those of Common Tern. Voice. — When bird is enraged a rapidly repeated, vibratory tut, tut, or kik, kik, kik, followed by a piercing tdarr (C. W. Townsend) ; shriller than that of Common Tern and ending in a rising inflection like squeal of a pig (William Brewster) ; also a harsh note similar to that of Forster's Tern ; resembles syllables creek, creek, often repeated on wing (Audubon) ; a hawk-like squeal (Practical Handbook of British Birds). Breeding. — In colonies ; sometimes with other Terns on rocky, sandy or pebbly islands or shores. Nest: Not distinguishable from that of Common Tern but usually less nesting-material used. Eggs: 2 or 3, usually 2 ; not distinguished by size or color from those of Common Tern, but seem to average, "a trifle darker in color and more rounded in shape" (A. C. Bent). Dates: June 8 to July 21, Maine and Nova Scotia. Incubation: Period probably about 21 days (Bent), 20 days (Paynter) ; by both sexes. One brood yearly. Range. — Nearly cosmopolitan. Breeds from northern Alaska, Melville Island and northern Green- land south to Commander and Aleutian Islands, northern British Columbia, Lower Slave Lake, northern Saskatchewan, northern Manitoba, mouth of the St. Lawrence, Magdalen Islands, Maine and Massa- chusetts, and in Arctic regions of Europe and Asia ; breeds north to 82° north latitude in both Hemi- spheres; in Europe south to 50° north latitude ; in Asia south to 52° north latitude ; winters on coasts of Brazil, Peru, Chile and South Africa and in Antarctic Ocean south to 74° south latitude ; in migration, on Pacific coast south to southern California, Peru and Chile, and on Atlantic coast south to Long Island, rarely Delaware and eastern Pennsylvania, and in Argentina ; accidental in interior of United States and in Hawaii. TERNS 117 Distribution in New England. — A common summer resident coastwise in Maine and uncommon local summer resident in Massachusetts ; recorded as migrant in Connecticut ; undoubtedly occurs on coasts of New Hampshire and Rhode Island and occasionally inland. Season in Massachusetts. — (March 20) April 1 to October 24 (November 9). Haunts and Habits. The Arctic Tern is one of the most remarkable birds of the world. It is the long-distance champion of avian migration. It nests at least as far north as the most northern Eskimos live, while in winter its tireless pinions beat along the distant shores of unexplored lands of the Antarctic continent. It sees more hours of daylight and of sunlight than any other creature on earth. On the arrival of the species at its northernmost nesting-site the midnight sun is shining and it never sets during the tern's stay; while for two months of its Antarctic sojourn the bird sees no sunset. For about eight months of the year it has twenty-four hours of daylight, and during the other four months more daylight than darkness.1 Says W. Eagle Clarke: "It has the most extensive latitudinal range to be found among vertebrate animals." According to Professor Cooke the Arctic Tern makes a round trip of 22,000 miles between its farthest north and farthest south, and he says that no man knows its path- way on the journey. When it disappears from New England, it seems to be lost in the vast immensity of the Atlantic ; but within about 70 days its flocks are seen in the Ant- arctic Ocean. When summer comes to the Arctic fiords on the coast of Greenland ; when the glacial streams begin to flow ; when Arctic flowers are budding and the Snow Bunting, the Dovekie and the Burgomaster have returned ; then, too, the flocks of Arctic Terns appear at their northern destinations. This species seems to be more of a maritime bird than other common terns. Appar- ently it breeds in the interior less commonly than the others, and in migration keeps much offshore, as it is not commonly recorded on the Atlantic coast of the United States much south of Long Island. The southernmost breeding-place of the species on this coast is Muskeget Island where it bred formerly in considerable numbers. This is one of the birds that was sacrificed to the millinery interests in the latter part of the last century when it is said that about 40,000 terns were killed in a single year on or near Muskeget. Probably at that time the Arctic Tern was nearly extirpated from New Eng- land ; now, happily, it is beginning to come back. In the summers of 1920 and 1921 I saw a few individuals of this species at Chatham and Monomoy, and Mr. A. C. Bent tells me that in 1921 there was a colony on the outer beach at Chatham. Their nests, however, were washed by a high storm-tide and skunks destroyed the eggs so that the birds finally deserted the place. During the same summer there were apparently a few Arctic Terns at Nauset Beach, Orleans ; and I am told that some appear in summer at Penikese and the Wepecket Islands. Arctic Terns breed along much of the Maine coast. Knight (1908) gave Metinic Green Island, Machias Seal Island and Matinicus Rock as probably the bird's chief breeding places there.2 Norton (1924) writes that "the 1 Cooke, Wells W. : United States Department of Agriculture, Bulletin No. 185, 1915, pp. 10-11. 2 Knight, Ora Willis: Birds of Maine, 1908, p. 60. -Qg BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Matinicus Rock Colony thrives, so also apparently that at Machias Seal Island; but from Metinic Green Island they were driven some years ago by the Big Gulls." Arctic Terns also continue at some of the smaller colonies and probably at some of the mixed ones as well ■ they have also established new colonies. The species was found breeding in 1846 at Beverly by Cabot and between 1868 and 1870 at Ipswich by Maynard ; but it is not known to breed now anywhere on the North Shore of Massachusetts. It is difficult to recognize this species among other summer terns. There is a slight difference in flight which may be noted by an expert (but is hard to describe), while the bill is more deeply and entirely red. This species seems to prefer to nest by itself though some- times found breeding in colonies with other terns. Its habits seem to be almost identical with those of the Common Tern. The Arctic Tern usually appears in late April in New England waters, but its arrival has been recorded on March 20 in Massachusetts and on April 12 at Davis Strait, 66° north In early August a few stragglers, possibly returning migrants, appear on the shores of Essex County where the species is gradually becoming more common A few birds remain until the very last of September on the Maine coast and the species has been recorded in October on Cape Cod. m The food of the Arctic Tern is similar to that of the Common Tern in this region, and consists chiefly of small fish and small crustaceans. Economic Status. See page 95. Sterna dougalli Montagu. Roseate Tern. Other name: mackerel gull. Plate 8. Description -Elegantly formed; bill about length of head, quite straight and slender; wings shorter than those of Common Tern; tail much longer and more deeply forked with slender streaming outer eathers. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Ample cap of uniform, deep lustrous black reaching lower border of eye; rest of upper plumage mostly delicate, pale pearl-gray ( 'pallid neutral gray "passing into silvery-white on upper tail-coverts and tail, including both webs of outer ad-feathers which sometimes have a faint pearly tinge ; inner secondaries tipped white, and inner web. , o f other and of primaries broadly edged same; outer web of outermost primary dark gray or blackish-slate , inner websTfTee outer primaries white, with stripe of silvery-gray next shaft, white extending to extreme tip; sides and lower parts of head and neck, lower hind neck, and entire under plumage, including axillars and under wing-coverts, white, usually more or less deeply tinted pink, especially on under parts of body ; bill black, usually more or less red (vermilion) at base (often about .50 of upper mandible and 33 of lower) ; iris dark brown ; legs and feet vermilion-red or scarlet. Adults in winter plumage: Similar to summer plumage, but tail less forked and no rosy tints ; fore part of head white ; crown largely shaded with grayish, and indistinctly streaked darker; eye-region, hind head and nape uniform black; lesser wing-coverts brownish ; bill dull black, base brown, tip yellowish ; feet orange-red. Young *n first ™nt ,r Vlumaae- Similar to winter adult but usually showing on upper plumage some trace of white edges or dusky markings of young bird; wings and tail as in Juvenal plumage. Young m ^ff"™^ Unlike Common Tern; more boldly marked black and white; feathers of back, scapulars and tertials subterminally barred with brownish-black or heavily marked with U-shaped or V-shaped spots of same, Photograph taken at Harwich by the Author Fig. 12. — Young Roseate Tern Passing from the Down to Juvenal Plumage Photograph taken on Marthas Vineyard by the Author Fig. 13. — Nest of Common Tern in Seaweed Page 106 TERNS 119 these feathers at first broadly margined or tipped pinkish-buff, which later fades to white ; buffy areas often sprinkled with dusky ; outer tail-feather unmarked, rest more or less dusky near tips ; breast faintly rosy and feet black or blackish to pale orange-red : (Common Tern at same age has white breast and pale flesh-colored or dull reddish feet — A. C. Bent). Downy young: Variable in color, with at least two color phases, of which the following is one: "Above pale grayish-buff y or buffy-grayish, thickly flecked or irregularly streaked with dusky" (Ridgway), presenting a grizzled appearance unlike that of young of other common species ; differing from young of Common and Arctic Terns by coarse or matted appearance of down, caused by a number of filaments being joined together at tips (Practical Handbook of British Birds) ; front of forehead uniform dusky ; throat and sides of head and neck dull (or pale) grayish ; rest of under plumage dull white ; bill brownish, tipped blackish ; legs and feet dark brown, dusky or blackish. Measurements. — Length 14.00 to 17.00 in. ; spread about 30.00 ; folded wing 9.25 to 9.75 ; tail 6.00 to 8.00, forked 3.50 to 4.50; bill 1.40 to 1.55; tarsus about .85. Female smaller than male. Molts. — Early in autumn partial molt of body-feathers of juvenal plumage leads to first winter plumage; in early spring complete prenuptial molt when most young birds assume adult plumage; adults molt completely in August and September, changing into winter dress ; in early spring complete prenuptial molt makes way for full adult nuptial plumage (A. C. Bent). Field Marks. — Adults in nuptial plumage: Bill largely black, with red base, gives Roseate Tern different appearance from either of its red-billed associates, Arctic Tern or Common Tern ; long, white, streaming, outer tail-feathers extending much beyond tips of closed wings help to identify sitting bird ; on wing with a low sun lighting up under plumage, Roseate Tern shows much whiter below than the others ; rosy tint of under plumage usually not noticeable at a distance and not often at close range (but gives a very creamy tint to under plumage as bird flies) ; when so seen exposed primaries are light, while those of Common Tern are dark. Young : Difficult to distinguish in field from young of Common Tern. Downy young : Grizzled and with dark or blackish feet, while young of Arctic and Common Terns are heavily spotted and have pinkish or flesh-colored feet. Voice. — Notes somewhat unlike those of other terns with which Roseate Tern associates ; a harsh, grating, prolonged, rasping cry, kreck, crack, or kraak, louder and on lower key than cries of other terns (A. C. Bent) ; like sound made by tearing a strong piece of cotton cloth ; also a soft, mellow hew-it (William Brewster) ; a variety of low, cackling, chattering notes; "rather sweet double-note suggestive of the call of the Semipalmated Plover; at times shortened and roughened so that it sounds like chivy" (C. W. Townsend). Breeding. — In colonies ; chiefly on sandy islands, often in company with Common Terns. Nest : Sometimes a mere hollow in bare sand, often lined with grass or seaweed ; more commonly placed amid beach grass and other vegetation than that of Common Tern. Eggs : 2 or 3 ; much like those of Common Tern but average a little longer and slimmer, lighter in color and less heavily spotted. Dates : May 20 to July 30. Incubation : Probably by both sexes. One brood yearly. Range. — Temperate and tropical regions. Breeds from Sable and Noddy Islands, Nova Scotia, lo- cally south to Long Island and islands on the Virginia coast, in Bahamas and Bermuda ; and from Florida (Tortugas) and Lesser Antilles south to Venezuela ; formerly from Maine to Florida ; rare migrant in Central America; winters from Louisiana (occasionally), Bahamas and Cuba south to Brazil, and on Pacific coast from southern Mexico south to Chile; accidental in Ohio and northwestern Indiana; occurs on coasts of large part of Eastern Hemisphere, including parts of Europe, Africa and Asia (the Australian breeding bird has been described as a distinct subspecies). Distribution in New England. — Rare summer visitant coastwise in Maine and New Hampshire ; breeds rarely in Maine ; common local migrant and summer visitor in southern New England ; breeds in Connecticut and Massachusetts ; now increasing in numbers. Season in Massachusetts. — May 1 to October 4. 120 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Haunts and Habits. The Roseate Tern has an elegant form that swells and tapers in lines of grace. Its flight, as it rides at ease upon the gale, exemplifies the poetry of aerial motion. Its lustrous plumage gives back the light in delicate rosy tints. The exquisite blush upon its breast resembles the hue of the inner surface of some rare sea-shell, but it fades and passes as the love season wanes. When, in Maytime, spring breezes blow on the shores of New England ; when migra- tory fishes work up along our coast, then, urged on by the universal instinct of reproduc- tion, and sailing upon the free wind as they speed toward their northern haunts, come the Roseate Terns, loveliest of all the graceful "swallows of the sea." They glide high over the heaving flood, seeking their native isle ; and when Phoebus dispels the mists of morn- ing, they sight the well-remembered shore. Then the glad birds glide gently downward, alight and rest on wave-washed sands. What a picture they make as they stand in glistening rows, or flutter over the shallows, bringing beauty, action and clamor to the hitherto silent isle ! The male birds are a-tremble with amorous ardor — that magic which adds an extra gloss to their plumage, a new fire to their eyes, and fixes the effulgent glow of morning upon their breasts. Soon they begin their wooing. Watch them as they catch little fish which they present to their chosen mates ; as they follow them in graceful, wavering flight over land and sea ; or as they strut proudly about with upstretched necks, drooping wings and streaming tails held high. Craned necks distended, they wheel with mincing steps and, bowing, exhibit all their graces. There is much caressing, billing and preening of one another's plumage. With it all goes screaming, chattering and much animated vocal exchange. Little time is wasted in house-hunting or building ; possessed by the same impulse, hundreds mate and begin their simple nests. At first there are many little hollows made in the sand ; next, lining material is added ; a day later, many nests have one egg ; the next, two ; while a little later some have even three. About three weeks later still we may see hundreds of little chicks. Now all is bustle and activity. Parent birds are continually passing to and fro ; some flying out to sea and others coming in with fish ; while still others remain to brood and shelter the young. Apparently this task falls mainly to the female ; but the male occasionally stands guard, repels intruders of his own race and relieves his mate for a time on the nest. I have watched these doings for days ; have seen the lovely birds fishing, bathing, mating, incubating and feeding and brooding their young. Their habits at the nesting-place seem to be essentially the same as those of the Common Tern, as hereinbefore described. On the wing, however, they are more graceful than the other species. Their wing-strokes seem a trifle slower, while their long, streaming, spotless tails add much to their aerial grace. On land or water their little feet are of no great service, but their perfect pinions make the air their natural home. At the slightest alarm they spring into their favorite element and give them- selves to the winds. They sport tirelessly above the waves and seem fitted for this alone. Often their nests are placed promiscuously with those of the Common Tern, although the tendency of each species seems to be to establish a settlement of its own. Thus in certain parts of a tern colony nests will be mainly of one species ; while not far off the other TERNS 121 will predominate. The Common Tern seems to seek by preference the more open spaces, while the Roseate Tern seems to favor the tall grass or other vegetation. In feeding the young Roseate Terns the fish brought by the parent is sometimes too large to be entirely swallowed. As Professor Lynds Jones says, "A four inch fish could not manage to get wholly inside a four inch bird, so the tail was left sticking out for future consumption ! " When during the last quarter of the 19th century terns were being killed in great num- bers on the Atlantic coast to secure their feathers for women's adornment, the beautiful Roseate Tern barely escaped extirpation. But the few terns remaining on Muskeget were saved, partly by the passage of laws protecting them, but principally by the efforts of Mr. George H. Mackay, who induced the people of Nantucket to elect an officer to guard and protect the birds. Later the National Association of Audubon Societies ap- pointed a warden to guard the terns on the Wepeket Islands where some Roseate Terns settled and bred successfully. In recent years certain tern colonies along our coast have had special protection by wardens appointed by the Massachusetts Commissioners of Fisheries and Game and by their successor, the Division of Fisheries and Game of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation. Since such measures were taken, the species has increased greatly in numbers ; and in 1921 it bred on Muskeget and some of the smaller islands near-by — also on Penikese and Gull Islands, the Wepecket Islands and Pine Island near Woods Hole, at Monomoy Point, Chatham, Nauset, and Ram Island in Buzzards Bay. It is seen occasionally in summer on the coast of Maine ; it bred there formerly and may still do so, though I have seen no recent record. In Massachusetts the Roseate Terns usually arrive during the second week of May and depart in late August when old and young begin to move southward ; sometimes, however, they remain well into September, and a few stragglers have been noted in Octo- ber. "On the Marshfield shore this fine bird has had during the last 10 years a history closely paralleling that of the Laughing Gull," writes Mr. Joseph A. Hagar. "By 1919 they were common from mid-July to early September, and have continued so to the extent that from 20% to 35% of all the Terns along the [North] River at any time are Roseates. They are rare before mid-July, however, and leave a month before the Com- mon Terns, my last records each year falling between Sept. 5 and 10th." So far as my observation goes, the Roseate Tern when nesting in company with the Common Tern (as it does in Massachusetts) feeds on the same sort of food ; but I have never known the former to catch insects on the wing as the Common Tern does. How- ever, as no bird is better fitted to pursue insects through the air, the Roseate Tern prob- ably does this also. Economic Status. As the Roseate Tern often breeds in company with the Common Tern and has similar food habits, its economic importance may be considerable. In New England, however, it is quite inferior in numbers to the latter although apparently increasing under protection. It is believed to be a harmless and beneficial species and its presence on our coasts tends to render them more attractive to summer visitors. See page 115 for economic status of the Common Tern. 122 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Sterna antillarum (Lesson). Least Tern. Other names: little striker; ott; pond tern. Plate 8. Description. — Smallest of American terns. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Forehead and sides of crown extending back as far as middle of eye white ; rest of cap, upper part of nape and narrow stripe from bill to eye uniform deep black; rest of head and entire under plumage, including axillars and wing-linings white ; upper plumage, including hind neck, rump, upper tail-coverts and tail plain, "pallid neutral gray," slightly deeper on back, scapulars and wings; two outer primaries dusky gray or blackish-slate, their inner webs broadly edged white ; remaining primaries "pallid neutral gray" (like coverts, etc.), their inner webs edged white; bill bright yellow, usually tipped black; iris dark brown; legs and feet orange-yellow. Adults in winter plumage: Similar to summer adults but whole front and top of head grayish-white (purer white toward bill) ; crescent across hind head and stripe extending from this to and surrounding eye blackish ; band of grayish-black on bend of wing ; bill black- ish or dusky ; legs and feet dull yellow. Young in first winter plumage : Variable ; somewhat like winter adult, but forehead not pure white and hind head not all dusky ; upper wing (humeral region) with broad space of dusky-grayish ; scapulars and back with V- or U-shaped submarginal markings of dusky ; crown streaked and top of hind head mottled dusky ; primaries and their coverts dark gray ; bill dusky, basally more brownish. Young in juvenal plumage : Top of head, back and scapulars more or less suffused or washed buffy or light brownish more or less covering or hiding light gray of upper plumage ; some black or blackish about eye-and-ear regions, often extending across nape ; a dusky patch around bend of wing ; secondaries mainly white or whitish ; primaries dark gray, growing lighter from first to last with light tips and edges and parts of inner webs white or whitish ; below mainly white with some clouding of buffy and dusky on sides of lower neck and fore breast ; tail very short and gray, darkening toward tip, with light edges and tip. Downy young: Above white to deep pinkish-buff, sometimes nearly immaculate, but with one or more small irregular black spots on top of head, and a few small and indistinct spots or streaks of dusky on rump ; below white or buffy-white, throat usually more buffy ; some individuals rather heavily mottled or spotted on head and back with shades of gray or blackish, much darker than common light phase ; bill pale yellowish-brown, tipped dusky ; legs and feet pale yellowish. Measurements. — Much smaller than any of foregoing terns. Length 8.50 to 9.75 in. ; spread about 20.00; folded wing about 6.60; tail about 3.50, forked about 1.75; bill along ridge about 1.10; tarsus about .60. Female smaller than male. Molts. — Juvenal plumage which follows natal down is succeeded in August by first winter plumage as young bird gets its growth. There is a complete prenuptial molt in spring when most signs of imma- turity disappear ; at first postnuptial molt in July and August, young bird acquires winter plumage of adults and becomes indistinguishable from them; adults have complete prenuptial molt in spring and complete postnuptial molt in autumn. Field Marks. — Adults in summer: Recognized by small size and white patch on forehead, boldly contrasted against clear black of cap. Young: Has been confused with young of Black Tern but is smaller and has dark line around bend of wing where Black Tern has light one ; tail is light where that of Black Tern is dark ; bird is pure white below while young Black Tern has sides and flanks washed or tinged gray. Voice. — A shrill rasping cry zree ee eep; a variety of cackling and whistling notes ; when attacking an intruder a sharp yip or a series of vehement notes like kek, kek, kek, rapidly repeated (A. C. Bent) ; when at ease a musical pidink ; when alarmed a rather shrill cheep. Breeding. — Usually in colonies; on beaches; on sand flats back of outer sea beaches backed by lake, bay or harbor ; also on exposed bars in rivers. Nest : Slight hollow in sand. Eggs : 2 or 3, rarely 4 ; 1.20 to 1.30 by .97 to .99 in. (Coues) ; varying from clear, light bluish-green or olive-buff to dull drab S» \'V . ' fy*". ^*V n wk Marthas Vineyard by the Atu/wr Fig. 14. — Young Least Tern "Hiding" flwtuurauli Photograph taken on Marthas Vineyard by the Author Fig. 15. — Eggs of Least Tern in Situation TERNS 123 spotted irregularly and dotted lightly or heavily with varying shades of brown, drab and lilac or lavender ; markings of ten wreathe about larger end ; smaller end sometimes almost unmarked. Dates: May 29 to July 10. Incubation: Period said to continue 14 to 16 days (A. C. Bent). One brood yearly in New England ; in the South two broods sometimes may be reared. Range. — Tropical and temperate America. Breeds on coast of southern California and on Gulf coast from Texas eastward ; also northward (up Mississippi and Missouri valleys) to Oklahoma, Missouri, southern Illinois, Iowa and South Dakota (formerly), northwestern Nebraska, southwestern Kansas and northern Indiana ; recorded in Wisconsin and in Ohio ; breeds also from coasts of Massachusetts (formerly Maine), Virginia, North Carolina and Florida south to Bahamas, Antilles, British Honduras and Vene- zuela; now mostly uncommon or rare where formerly abundant in breeding season from Florida to Maine; recorded in summer in Labrador, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Minnesota, but some of the records are very doubtful ; in migration on coasts of Lower California and western Mexico ; winters from the Gulf south, down east coasts of Central and South America to Argentina and on Pacific coast from Gulf of California to Peru; reported in winter on Atlantic coasts of Africa. Birds of this species breeding on a part of Pacific coast are now considered subspecifically distinct. Distribution in New England. — ■ Breeding to some extent in Massachusetts (in small colonies) on Marthas Vineyard, Nantucket and Muskeget (formerly), at Falmouth, Chatham (Monomoy), Truro, Cotuit and Sandwich on Cape Cod, north to Duxbury, and on coast of Bristol County ; not known now (1923) to breed elsewhere in New England; formerly summer resident in Casco Bay, Maine, and at Ipswich and Beverly, Massachusetts, and once common resident along southeastern coast of Massa- chusetts; rare migrant and summer visitant on coasts of New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Con- necticut. Season in Massachusetts. — (April 27) May 2 to October. Haunts and Habits. Among the smallest and by far the most delicate and dainty of our sea-birds is the Least Tern. It inhabits sandy islands and barren shores. The south shore of the island of Marthas Vineyard has long been one of its chosen breeding- grounds. Along the stretch of beach extending about fifteen miles from Chappaquiddick to Squibnocket it has reared its young for many years on the "Great Sands" in such exposed places as it finds suitable. Chappaquiddick reeks of the sea. Water-fowl and shore birds loiter along its shores or rest upon or about its inner waters. Flotsam of the sea strews the outer beaches — wreck-timbers, the remains of great blackfish, sharks, skates and other sea-creatures. Cape Poge lighthouse, tall and white, rises from a bluff at the northeastern point of the island promontory to mark for mariners the position of this dangerous cape, and to show them the way to shelter in the harbor of Edgartown. From near Wasque Point, at the southernmost end of Chappaquiddick, the great South Beach stretches west- ward for miles as far as the eye can see until its outline is lost in the misty spray of the distant surf. Here we visited, on July 15, 1908, one of the few breeding-places of the Least Tern then left in the northeastern United States.* My companion and myself sailed from Edgartown across the shallows of Katama Bay, past a little fleet of " quahoggers." Steering our boat carefully over bars and along shallow channels, we landed on the beach. * The beach at this point has now (1923) been swept away by the sea, leaving a wide gap through to Katama Bay ; but probably this opening will be closed again by storm or tide. 124 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS This is, in fact, the outer beach, for it lies open to the mighty seas of southeaster that drive in from six thousand miles of ocean. Here the Least Tern nests usually on the wide, open, sandy beach, on a neck of land or point between the ocean and some stream, bay or pond, in situations exposed to the full fury of the gale. This beach is composed entirely of shifting sand and small pebbles held along its low ridge by beach-grass and other sparse vegetation. Very high storm-tides break clear over it. Here, on the bar- ren, seaward sands, in the blinding glare of the sun, without the least cover and exposed to every enemy, this graceful little bird, about the size of a robin, lays its eggs on the sand and rears its tender young. As we landed that day, a few of the little terns began to fly about, thirty or forty feet above our heads, "cheeping" complainingly ; and by the time we had reached a wide, high, open part of the outer beach, bare of vegetation, fully thirty birds were fly- ing overhead. With angry cries some of them shot down almost to our heads fearful that their eggs and young were in imminent danger. Menaced indeed they were unless we used the utmost care as we walked, for the color of both eggs and young so closely resembled the sandy beach or the scattered pebbles that it was exceedingly difficult to see them. For this reason they are ever in danger of being stepped on when people walk upon the beach. Usually there were but one or two eggs in each hollow, but occa- jy^ w-._-=£= sionally three. The tiny young squatted or lay so flat on the sand that they hardly cast a shadow. Some were yellowish or about the color of the sand, while others were gray and mottled like a beach pebble. This is the simplest form of protective coloration, and as the young ones lie motionless on the least alarm, they are likely Half-grown Least Tern ^ be overlooked by hawks or other winged enemies. Least Terns breed mainly in colonies and a threaten- ing hawk may be attacked by all the enraged parents at once. They follow it in a gyrat- ing, screaming, assailing mob, individuals of which, constantly darting in, strike the enemy from every side. In attempting to photograph these birds, we found that they were afraid of a device used in photographing birds (the umbrella blind) ; so we rigged up a less conspicuous place of concealment — with a camera bag, blind cloth and some sticks — and when they had become indifferent to this, I crept within. Near me were two downy young, just hatched and their down hardly dry, yet able to run about a little. Several other young- sters were near-by. As I lay there propped on my elbows, several of the parent birds flitted back and forth, and soon their cheeping cries changed to a musical "pidink" (somewhat like the tinkling note of the bobolink). Then the mother of the two nearest little ones alighted near-by, and running up settled gently upon them and shaded them from the sun's hot rays. Next she turned her gaze upward and answered softly the tender notes of the male which circled overhead. Later he alighted and took her place in shading the young, while she flew away to fish and bathe. Far out over the sunny sea TERNS 125 Young Least Terns with Their Mother, on Their First Morning she arrested her flight, and for a few seconds remained poised in the air with beating wings ; then suddenly and swiftly she plunged headlong into the waves. Presently she returned with a little "sand-eel" which she gave to one of the tiny ones who ran to her for it. Again she flew away and plunged into the sea and then returned to her nestlings and relieved the male. She stood over them this time with wet, ruffled feathers, and seemed to shake off some drops of water on their little panting bodies, while she raised her wings a trifle to shade them from the sun. I watched this scene from a distance of about seven feet and photographed some of it, the male meantime standing near-by. He took flight, and she nestled over the chick nearest me, coaxing it gently farther away by using her bill and calling the other which finally followed and settled by her side. Again the gentle twittering, and the male bird alighted with a tiny, bright, silvery fish. A little one stuck its head out from beneath the mother's wing, the father bird courteously passed the fish to the mother, and she fed the chick which begged with open mouth for it. Again the pro- vider winged his way over the sunny sea to return with another fish. The little ones were now asleep under the breast of the mother. He offered her the fish ; she refused it ; he flew away, but soon alighted and politely proffered it again, only to be refused again. At last, having full assurance that his family needed no more, he swallowed the fish himself. Where shall we look to find a lovelier picture of happy, harmonious family- relations than that shown here on this sandy beach beside the roaring surf? 1 In the early part of the final quarter of the last century this lovely little bird was abundant in summer on Buzzards Bay and the waters about Cape Cod. It was sacrificed to man's greed and woman's adornment, and now nothing but the most stringent protection can save it from extinction. Continuous persecution by crows, skunks, cats and other natural enemies, besides frequent dis- turbance by mankind, drive it yearly from place to place. For a time, under such protection as the Massachusetts Department of Conservation was able to afford, the species has increased ; but probably there are not now (1923) breeding in New England over 300 individuals of the species. Mr. Joseph A. Hagar of Marshfield Hills, writing of the Marshfield shore, says : "The Least Tern shows a marked yearly fluctuation in numbers, but has certainly Least Tern — The First Meal 1 From an unpublished manuscript. A part of above has been published by Mr. A. C. Bent in Bulletin 113, Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, p. 275. 126 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS increased to a gratifying extent, and if it has not already bred here, will surely do so in the near future." Least Terns seldom appear much before the middle of May on the Massachusetts coast and then only in small numbers ; and often they disappear rather early in August on the way to their winter homes. The Least Tern feeds, like other terns along the coast, on small fish, small crustaceans such as shrimps, and on other forms of marine life — also on insects. Economic Status. See page 95. Sterna fuscata Linn.^tjs. Sooty Tern. Other names: egg-bird; wide-awake. Plate 7. Description. — Bill as long as head ; feet stout with short toes ; webs much cut away. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Forehead (including extension on each side of crown as far backward as middle of eye), region below eye, lower half or more of ear-region, and entire under plumage, including axillars and wing-linings white; posterior under plumage (under tail-coverts especially) very faintly tinged pale gray ; cap and broad stripe before eye uniform deep black, latter extending narrowly above eye and below forehead to bill ; rest of upper parts, including hind neck, rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail, sooty-black, feathers of hind neck white beneath surface ; a narrow white margin around bend of wing ; outer pair of tail-feathers mainly white or grayish-white, with inner webs more or less extensively dusky toward end ; next pair with inner web blackish toward end, passing into pale gray or grayish- white toward base ; inner webs of primaries "neutral gray" with definite stripe of dusky next yellowish- white shaft; bill black; iris dark brown ; legs and feet dusky or blackish. Adults in winter plumage : Similar to summer adults but with scattering white feathers in lores and crown. Immature : "Brownish- black above, darker on upper wing-coverts ; outer tail-feathers nearly as sooty-black as the rest, except toward tips; tarsi and toes reddish-brown" (Howard Saunders). "I have seen birds in summer, ap- parently about a year old, with long wings and forked tails, in which the crowns and upper parts are 'fuscous black,' the foreheads white and the under parts white, heavily clouded with dusky." (A. C. Bent). Young in first winter plumage: Above deep sooty-brown, feathers of forehead and between eyes and bill fringed gray giving a hoary appearance; scapulars, tertials, smaller wing-coverts, feathers of back, and rump and upper tail-coverts tipped white or brownish-white, bars thus formed broadest on posterior scapulars, narrowest on back, rump, and upper tail-coverts ; under plumage lighter grayish- brown, passing into much lighter grayish-brown or brownish-gray on region about vent and on under tail- coverts, where feathers are more or less distinctly tipped darker or more brownish ; abdomen with more or less intermixed white ; tail-feathers dusky ; flight-feathers as in adult, but darker stripe next shaft on inner webs less distinct ; bill small, brownish-black or dusky-brown ; tail hardly or little forked. Downy young : Above varying from dark sooty, narrowly streaked pale grayish-buff y or dull buff y-whitish to pale buffy-grayish narrowly and indistinctly, but thickly, streaked dusky ; sides of head and sides of neck and upper breast (usually chin and throat also) light brownish-gray, minutely flecked with paler; rest of under plumage dull white ; bill brownish ; legs and feet brownish or dusky. Measurements. — Length 15.00 to 17.00 in.; spread about 34.00; folded wing 10.75 to 12.00; tail about 7.50, forked 3.00 to 3.50; bill 1.73 to 1.90; tarsus .90 to 1.00. Molts. — I am not aware that the sequence of molts and plumages of this species has been fully worked out ; ju venal body-feathers and some wing-coverts are molted in winter ; in some cases at least it seems to take more than a year to acquire adult plumage. TERNS 127 Field Marks. — Adults: Nothing else like them; larger than Common Tern; white forehead, blackish upper plumage and white under plumage distinguish the species ; head marked somewhat like that of Least Tern. Young : Entirely different ; smoky-brown all over, but lighter below ; white marks on back give bird a peculiar spotted appearance. Voice. — A squeaky quack and a high-pitched ker-wacky-wack ; "nesting birds uttered a sharp, barking note, changing to a long-drawn squawk" (F. M. Chapman); a harsh quanck, quanck (C. J. Maynard) ; its cries are loud, shrill and piercing. Breeding. — In colonies, sometimes of enormous size ; on sandy islands or rocky cliffs. Nest : Sometimes none ; sometimes mere hollow in sand ; sometimes on rocky shelf ; occasionally wreathed about with a few leaves or pebbles. Eggs: 1 to 3; 2.00 to 2.12 by 1.40 to 1.50 in. ; white, creamy or buff, sparingly spotted with light and dark shades of brown, purplish and vinaceous ; very variable in color. Dates: April 10 to June 1, Gulf coast of United States. Incubation: Period 26 days (J. B. Watson). One brood yearly. Range. — Tropical and subtropical Atlantic coasts. Breeds in America from Florida, Louisiana and Texas (formerly) throughout Bahamas and Antilles to tropical islands of Atlantic, at least as far south as equatorial Brazil ; wanders north, usually after storms, on Atlantic coast rarely to Maine and Nova Scotia ; in interior to Lakes Ontario and Champlain ; also to Bermuda ; casual in England, Ger- many and France ; winters from Louisiana south to Patagonia ; other closely allied forms of this species (which have been separated) are distributed widely in Pacific waters, and in Eastern Hemisphere. Distribution in New England. — Rare autumn visitant, but has been taken in every New England state; about 30 reports and records of this species in New York and New England, most of them in September and the latest in October (August 25 to October 29).* Records: Massachusetts : Williams- town (near Hoosic River) September, 1876 ; * Lawrence (Merrimac River) adult male taken October 29, 1876 ; 2 Chatham, 3 seen by W. A. Jeffries September, 1877 ; 3 Dennis, birds seen by Miss J. O. Crowell August 15 and 26, 1921 ;4 Barnstable (Cotuit), 2 birds seen by Bowman Graton September 6, 1924.5 There is a mounted Sooty Tern in the Springfield Museum of Natural History which was shot by C. W. Bennett at Holyoke, probably in 1878.6 Haunts and Habits. In behavior this species is much like the Common Tern, but it may be distinguished from all the native terns by its black and white contrasts. Probably the Sooty Tern rarely, if ever, appears in New England unless it is blown here by one of the cyclonic storms or " West India hurricanes " that occasionally move up the Atlantic coast. Its various appearances here, so far as they are recorded, appar- ently coincide rather closely with these cyclonic disturbances. The fullest account of its nesting habits and behavior at the famous Bird Key in the Dry Tortugas is contained in a paper entitled "The Behavior of Noddy and Sooty Terns" by Professor John B. Watson.7 An excellent history of the species may be found in the Life Histories of North American Gulls and Terns by A. C. Bent.8 Economic Status. See page 95. * Newport, Rhode Island : Immature male taken January 8, 1908, now in collection of Harry S. Hathaway (Auk, Vol. XXX, 1913, p. 547). 1 Tenney, Sanborn : American Naturalist, Vol. XI, 1877, p. 243. 2Deane, Ruthven : Bulletin Nuttall Ornithological Club, Vol. II, 1877, p. 27. 3 Brewer, T. M. : Proceedings Boston Society of Natural History, Vol. XIX, 1878, p. 308. 4 Crowell, J. O. : in litt. 5 Graton, Bowman : in litt. «A. C. Bagg in litt. ' Papers from the Tortugas Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, Vol. II, 1908, pp. 187-255. 8 Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Bulletin No. 113, 1921, p. 279. 128 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Chlidonias nigra surinamensis (Gmelin). Black Tern. Other names: short-tailed tern; semipalmated tern. Plate 8. Description. — Bill shorter than head, very slender and acute. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Head, neck all around, and under plumage, except under tail-coverts and region about vent, nearly uniform sooty-black or grayish-black, varying rarely to deep purple-gray ; under tail-coverts and region about vent white ; back, scapulars, rump, upper tail-coverts, tail and wings "deep neutral gray or purple-gray," wings somewhat lighter than back ; edge of wing, from body around bend, white ; axillars and wing-Unings "light neutral gray"; bill black "suffused with deep red" (L. A. Fuertes) ; angle of mouth "purplish red"; interior of mouth "lavender-pink"; iris dark brown; legs and feet "dusky livid-purplish" ("feet dark red nearly uniform," Fuertes). Adults in winter plumage: Head (in part), neck and under plumage white ; eye- and ear-regions black ; crown and hind head dusky, feathers with paler margins ; upper plumage otherwise generally as in summer. While changing plumage, head and under parts patched with black and white. Young in first winter plumage : Similar to winter adults ; smaller; upper plumage, especially scapulars, more or less washed or marked brown; anterior lesser wing-coverts, crown, back of head and nape dusky ; a dark crescent before eye or a dark patch around it ; a dark patch between eye and ear ; sides and flanks often washed or tinged gray ; feet light brown ; bill blackish, base flesh-color below ; inside of mouth yellow. Young in juvenal plumage : Upper plumage decidedly brown ; beneath often with extensive brownish, drab or dusky wash on sides and flanks, some- times on belly ; back-feathers and scapulars margined clove-brown and tipped whitish ; forehead whitish ; crown and back of head mainly black; ear-region and eye-ring pure black. Downy young: Upper plumage "light sayal-brown, snuff-brown or verona-brown " (Ridgway) ; "cinnamon-drab on throat, neck and sides, shading off to pale 'drab-gray' on belly and cheeks" (A. C. Bent); rump with large irregular spots of blackish ; back and hind head usually with similar but much smaller markings ; under plumage paler brown, becoming much paler (sometimes dull whitish) on breast ; sides of head (sometimes also fore part of forehead, sometimes only region before eye and ear) dull whitish or very pale brownish. Measurements. — Length about 9.00 to 10.25 in.; spread about 25.00; folded wing about 8.25; tail about 3.75, forked .90 to 1.00; bill along ridge 1.00; tarsus .55 to .65. Female smaller than male. Molts. — Natal down disappears in July as juvenal plumage is assumed and young bird learns to fly ; this dress is worn throughout August and September and birds wearing it may doubtless be seen in New England ; the next later change is due largely to wear and fading, and probably there is also a partial postjuvenal molt; at first spring molt practically entire juvenal plumage is usually renewed. "Appar- ently a majority of the young birds acquire at this molt a plumage which is exactly or nearly like the adult nuptial, with more or less white in the black areas. Many birds, however, seem to wear the first winter plumage or a new one closely resembling it until the first postnuptial molt which occurs in June and July. This molt produces the adult winter plumage" (A. C. Bent). Adults have two complete molts — one early in spring and the other in July, August and September. Field Marks. — This species is so small that excepting the Least Tern no other New England tern could be mistaken for it. Adults : In dark breeding plumage are unmistakable, but if seen here in August or September (if molting) may be more or less pied with blackish and white, or may even be in nearly full winter dress ; but they have dark bill and feet while those of Least Tern are yellow. Young: Back and tail darker than those of young Least Tern, and dark patch on either side of head. Voice. — Craik-craik and a soft wheent-wheent-wheent (F. M. Chapman) ; ordinary note krik; when much excited a shrill scream, kreek or craik (A. C. Bent) ; call note Idea (W. F. Henniger). Breeding. — In colonies ; in fresh marshes and sloughs or in wet meadows. Nest : Sometimes well built but often only a few weeds or mere hollow in or on pile of floating rubbish, old muskrat house, old nest of grebe or other waterfowl or on mud of bog or reedy marsh ; sometimes nest is afloat on bit of driftwood TERNS 129 or piece of board. Eggs: 2 or 3, rarely 4 or even 5; 1.35 by .95 in. ; often somewhat pointed at end; brownish-olive, deep olive, buff, ivory-yellow, Dresden brown, etc. ; a great variety of shades ; many spots, dots and bold, large markings of various browns and neutral tints ; tendency to aggregate at or wreathe around larger end. Dates: May 25 to August 4, Minnesota and North Dakota (A. C. Bent). Incubation: Period seventeen days (F. M. Chapman) ; by both sexes (Audubon). Possibly two broods yearly, in South ; one brood in North. Range. — North and South America. Breeds chiefly in interior of North America from central Alaska, Great Slave Lake, northern Manitoba and eastern Ontario south to inland lakes of California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, northern Missouri, Tennessee, northern Ohio, western Pennsylvania and west central New York ; winters from Gulf of Mexico south to northern South America and from Mazatlan, Mexico, along Pacific coast south to Panama, Peru and Chile ; rare spring migrant on east coast of United States, but rather regular locally in autumn ; occasional in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick ; casual in Bermuda, Antilles and Bahamas. Distribution in New England. — Maine : Rare but nearly regular fall migrant August 14 to 28 ("fairly common in fall; very rare in spring" — A. H. Norton). New Hampshire: Rare summer and uncommon fall migrant mainly coastwise. Vermont : Rare migrant. Massachusetts : Rare spring and not uncommon fall migrant. Rhode Island : Rare spring and irregular fall migrant coastwise ("abundant, Pt. Judith, September 3, 1906" — H. S. Hathaway). Connecticut: Uncommon migrant coastwise mainly late in August. Unusual flights may appear rarely in any New England state. Season in Massachusetts. May 8 to June 10; July 19 to September 26 ; most individuals arrive here in August. Haunts and Habits. The Black Tern is a bird of the prairie slough and the inland marsh. It rarely breeds near the sea or approaches it except in migration. It never has been known to nest in New England, though after the breeding season individuals wander to the Atlantic coast. While here it associates more or less with Common and Roseate Terns and has similar habits, but seems to fly about more over the land, espe- cially over coastal marshes and flats wherever insects abound. The species is rare in spring and early summer in New England. Like other northern terns its breeding season normally ends in July, so it may be looked for here after that period. The Black Tern is much more insectivorous than the Common Tern, and in its prairie home lives chiefly upon aquatic and land insects, including dragon-flies, moths, grass- hoppers, locusts and other flying insects, most of which it catches on the wing, pursuing them in zigzag flight after the manner of the Nighthawk ; also it follows the plow to pick up grubs and worms. On the Atlantic coast it often catches insects as they fly over fields and marshes. Fish, small mollusks, crustaceans and other small forms of aquatic life are taken. Economic Status. A useful species where present in large numbers, but not com- mon enough in New England to be of much importance. Family RYNCHOPID^J. Skimmers. Number of species in North America 1 ; in Massachusetts 1. The Skimmers are unique. The bill is extraordinarily specialized. The lower man- dible is much longer than the upper and is compressed laterally. It has somewhat the 130 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS shape of the blade of an oyster knife. Its upper edge is as sharp as its lower and it fits into a groove in the upper mandible. It is believed that these birds get much of their food mainly by sweeping low over the surface of the water, carrying the lower mandible immersed and catching in this way small marine animals floating on or near the surface. Skimmers are more or less nocturnal and their habits are not well known ; at night they fly close to the water with slow strokes of their very long wings. The formation of the bill is such as would seem to make it difficult for them to get their food in any other way than by skimming the sea. Rynchops nigra Linn.-eus. Black Skimmer. Other names: cut-water; scissor-bill ; shearwater. Plate 7. Description. — Bill very thin ; knife-like lower mandible about one-fifth longer than upper. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Forehead and sides of head to ear-region, entire under plumage (in- cluding linings of wings), outer upper tail-coverts, broad tips of secondaries and inner primaries, white; rest of plumage (except tail) including ear-region, chiefly sooty-black ; tail mostly white, middle pair of tail-feathers dark sooty-brown edged white, rest white more or less tinged sooty-brown near shafts or at tips; basal half (approximately) of bill "bright vermilion red," "lower mandible more scarlet, passing into orange or yellow " on cutting edge ; terminal half of bill black ; iris dark brown ; legs and feet "rich orange-vermilion." Adults in winter plumage: Similar to summer adults but upper parts a trifle duller and more brownish, interrupted by a broad white collar on lower hind neck. Young: Bill smaller, thinner and weaker than in adult; mandibles more nearly equal in length; tail shorter, less forked; variable according to season; light buff, each feather with central spot of blackish, sometimes tipped white, black spots largest on scapulars; region before eye and that below it, pale buff or whitish, with dusky space immediately before eye ; greater wing-coverts blackish-gray or grayish-black, tipped white ; secondaries white for most of their exposed part ; primaries blackish, most of them margined light buff or whitish at ends, inner ones dusky, fading into white at tips ; tail white, most of two middle feathers and parts of others grayish-brown, darkest on middle pair ; below white ; bill blackish toward end, dull horn-color at tip, flesh-color or reddish toward base ; legs and feet dull, light or dusky reddish. Downy young: Above "pale grayish-buff" or vinaceous-buff irregularly and rather sparsely mottled blackish; below white. Measurements. — Length 16.00 to 20.00 in. ; spread 42.00 to 50.00; folded wing 13.00 to 16.50; tail 4.00 to 6.00, forked 1.20 to 1.50; tarsus about 1.20 to 1.53; bill, upper mandible 2.20 to 3.00, lower 2.90 to 4.50. Female smaller than male. Molts. — During first winter juvenal plumage changes so as to resemble more closely that of adult, and in spring when bird is nearly a year old it molts and assumes a nuptial dress "practically indistin- guishable from adults"; adults molt in February and March and in August and September; spring molt, however, "is not completed until about June 16-18 . . . only the under parts appear to be re- newed" (Arthur T. Wayne). Field Marks. — Adults (and any Skimmer old enough to fly north as far as New England) should be recognized by their very long wings, large size when compared with Common Tern, reddish feet and peculiar red or reddish black-tipped bill, latter with under mandible longer than upper; at a distance adults appear pure black and white. Voice. — Peculiar nasal barking notes or grunting sounds ; kak, kak, kak, or kuk, kuk, kuk, in a low guttural tone ; also a variety of soft, low love-notes sounding like kow, kow or keow, keow (A. C. Bent) ; a cry almost the exact counterpart of the yelp of a hound (A. B. Howell). SKIMMERS 131 Breeding. — In colonies ; on higher sand-flats near beaches or on shell-ridges. Nest : Slight hollow in sand, pebbles or shells of beach. Eggs : 3 to 5, usually 4 ; about 1.75 by 1.30 in. ; white to pale green- ish-blue or pale buff, spotted, blotched and splashed with dark browns, blackish and light grays or lavender; usually handsomely and boldly marked. Dates: May 15 to July 16, South Carolina; June 2 to July 26, Virginia (A. C. Bent). Incubation : By female mainly if not wholly. One brood yearly. Range. — Tropical and temperate America. Breeds from New Jersey (sparingly) (formerly Massa- chusetts) south to Florida, Gulf coast and Texas ; also summers and probably breeds on coasts of Yucatan and Venezuela; winters from Louisiana west and south along Gulf coast and Florida to Mexico and Costa Rica and along northern and eastern coasts of South America ; straggles rarely to Long Island ; casual north to Bay of Fundy and in West Indies ; accidental inland to Tennessee, and also in Bermuda. Distribution in New England. — Formerly doubtless abundant locally in summer as far north as Massachusetts where it bred on Muskeget Island ; now a mere straggler from the South, mainly on sea-coast after storms, as in August, 1879 and August, 1924. The earlier records are : Maine: Ruthven Deane records that George A. Boardman, of Milltown, St. Stephens, N. B., under date of 31st of August, 1879, wrote to him that there had been a flight of Skimmers in that locality; that seven specimens had been killed off Grand Manan and Campobello Islands, New Brunswick ; and that the birds were seen at St. Andrews, at the head of Passamaquoddy Bay off the Maine coast.1 Everett J. Smith in his "Birds of Maine," published in Forest and Stream, says of the Skimmer in Maine : "Of occasional occurrence only and no record of its appearance so far north as Maine previous to 1879. In the early autumn of that year a number were shot on our coast." He reports a Skimmer shot (one of two seen) August 28, 1879, at Wells Bay and, like Mr. Deane, quotes George A. Boardman to the effect that seven of the species were taken in the Bay of Fundy "where many were seen during the autumn of the same year." He also adds : "Mr. Harry Merrill informs me that a Skimmer was shot by a fisherman near Matinicus (Island), Maine, in the summer of 1881." 2 Massachusetts : Three Skimmers taken August 19, 1879, at Sandwich x ; and another on the same date at Woods Hole by John F. Carleton,3 which was placed in the collection of the Boston Society of Natural History. (There is a second specimen in the collection of the Society which is labeled "Fal- mouth.") Still another was taken on August 20 of the same year in Boston Harbor.1 A Black Skimmer was seen July 16, 1903, at the Wepecket Islands by Lynds Jones.4 "During the prevalence of an unusually severe gale the latter part of August, 1893, a Black Skimmer was found in West Springfield in an exhausted condition and taken by hand." Robert O. Morris in Auk, Vol. XI, 1894, p. 181. Connecticut : A specimen was taken about June 16, 1883, in New Haven harbor. Judge John N. Clark reported to John H. Sage November 8, 1894, that a Black Skimmer was killed at Saybrook a few days before.6 Mr. Ruthven Deane, in his article (already cited) in the Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornithological Club for October, 1879, speaks of seeing August 31, 1879, a Skimmer about 10 miles off Saco, Maine, and says : "Is it not a little strange that a bird that has escaped our observation for years should appear so suddenly and at points along the coast from Cape Cod to the Bay of Fundy?" Note. There is a brief reference to this famous Skimmer invasion of 1879 in "New England Bird Life" (Stearns and Coues) on p. 379 of Part II as follows : "There was evidently an irruption of Skim- mers upon the New England coast in 1879," but no cause is assigned for this phenomenon. The explanation of the 1879 Skimmer incursion is not far to seek. Reference to the records of the United States Weather Bureau and to local newspaper files reveals that a tremendous storm swept up the i Bulletin Nuttall Ornithological Club, Vol. IV, 1879, p. 243. » Smith, Everett J. : Forest and Stream, Vol. XX, 1883, p. 205. » Brewer, T. M. : Bulletin Nuttall Onthological Club, Vol. IV, 1879, p. 243. « Jones, Lynds : Wilson Bulletin, Vol. X, 1903, p. 113. •Sage, John H., Bishop, L. B., and Bliss, P. B. : Birds of Connecticut, 1913, p. 25. 132 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Atlantic coast about August 20, 1879. On Monday, August 18th, 1879, in Boston, it rained heavily (especially from 3 p.m. to midnight) nearly all day, the rainfall for the day being 3.33 inches. At 7.30 p.m. a high northeast wind began blowing which before 11 p.m. had developed into a furious gale, reaching 44 miles per hour at 11.30 p.m. There were "floods of rain." The barometer fell with remarkable rapidity during the evening, touching 29 at 11 p.m. The humidity was nearly 100 all day and the weather was foul. Says the Boston Journal of August 19th: "Yesterday forenoon the weather became com- paratively mild after the rainfall of Sunday ... but the wind after the sun went down blew a furious gale, with incessant rain, which coursed the streets in torrents. . . ." Throughout the night this storm raged with great fury. Chelsea ferryboats stopped running at 10 p.m. and there were over 100 sail in the harbor. The high tide driven in by the wind swept over the wharves so that the next morning (19th) the waters of the harbor floated all manner of material as planks, cordwood, barrels, etc. The rain continued till daybreak of Tuesday, August 19th, making a total fall of almost 5 inches since 3 p.m. of the day before. The wind continued to blow a gale from the northeast till noon when it died down for a brief period only to blow again with increased force, at 40 miles per hour, from the northwest and west. After several hours of this the gale at last gradually blew itself out, the barometer rose rapidly and there was clearing sky by 6 p.m. The weather report for the 19th closes thus : "The gale was one of the heaviest ever known all along the New England coast" ; and on the next day it says : "To-day's (20th) press reports show the storm to have been extremely severe on the New England coast especially on Cape Cod." This storm from the south which swept up the coast on Sunday and hit Boston on Monday probably spent its main force to the south and southeast over the Atlantic where the rainfall must have been unusually great. At Wilmington, N. C, the rainfall, between midnight and 8 a.m. Monday, reached the enormous quantity of 4.38 inches. Says a Wilmington despatch: "A terrific storm of wind and rain visited this section early Monday a.m., the velocity of the wind at 4 o'clock being 68 miles per hour." From this North Carolina point the storm covered the whole eastern coast up to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Despatches from Newport and other points tell of the damage done by the storm. A Cottage City despatch of August 19 speaks of the gale as "the most terrific ever known at this season of the year" ; while Provincetown reported that on August 19th "the storm last night can truly be called an August 'twister' for its like has seldom been seen in this vicinity." The foregoing rather detailed report of the famous August storm of 1879 will apply as well to the various West Indian or southern hurricanes that more or less periodically in autumn strike the New England coast. A notable recent instance was the great storm of August 26, 1924, of tremendous wind- velocity, with the usual accompaniments of shipwrecks (as the bark Wanderer of New Bedford, "the last of the square-rigged whaling fleet"), uprooted trees and overturned or demolished buildings. This last southern hurricane was also notable in that it blew to our shores the greatest number of Skimmers yet known. Very few of these birds have been reported since 1879 in Massachusetts, and the invasion of that year sinks into insignificance when compared to this last case. There were more than 100 Skimmers reported, from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to Nantucket, Long Island and New Jersey, and a number of these were taken, as the bird shot August 27, at Scituate (Fourth Cliff) by Joseph A. Hagar ; the young male shot on the same date at Chatham (Monomoy) by A. C. Bent ; the two immature females secured September 17 at Ipswich, by Charles Hodgkins; and the male taken September 1, at Lubec, Maine, by Spencer Hinson, a female taken September 3 at Jonesport, Maine, by John Wallace and immature bird, also on September 3, at Stonington, Maine, all in the collection of Clarence H. Clark, of Lubec, Maine. The Skimmers remained in numbers on the Plymouth County (Massachusetts) coast for about one month. Two Skimmers were seen September 1, on the Quonochontaug marsh, Rhode Island, and reported by Harry S. Hathaway, a recognized authority on Rhode Island bird-life. This is the first record of the species in Rhode Island.1 1 Hathaway, H. S. : in litt. SKIMMERS 133 The same storm also will doubtless account for other rarities in the bird line, as Forster's and Sooty- Terns, which were seen on Cape Cod after the gale of August blew itself out. The latter species was also taken in Nova Scotia where it is exceedingly rare. Season in Massachusetts. — Accidental; July 16 to October 1. Haunts and Habits. This most remarkable and highly specialized bird, known to ornithologists as the Black Skimmer, was undoubtedly one of the summer birds of Massa- chusetts when the Pilgrim Fathers settled at Plymouth. In 1605 Champlain voyaged to Cape Cod and visited what is now Nauset Harbor in Orleans. He found there in early July many of these unmistakable birds.* Possibly they were nesting there or at least not very far away. My old friend, Henry A. Purdie, who first called attention to this early record, recorded also the breeding of the species up to about 1830 on Muskeget Island.1 This record was given on the authority of William Brewster who got his in- formation from fishermen who claimed to have seen the birds breeding on Muskeget. Mr. Purdie also quoted old natives of the Cape to the effect that "them cutwater or shear- water birds used to be with us summer times" as proof that the species was found early in the century on our shores. . Ebenezer Emmons also, in his " Catalogue of Massachu- setts Birds" (1833), lists the Skimmer as follows : "Regular visitant and breeds on this coast." Since then there is no report of the breeding of the species in Massachusetts. Possibly it was extirpated by eggers. While its plumage was of no great value in the mil- linery market and its flesh was not valued as food, its eggs were prized on account of their large size. As Skimmers deposit their eggs without concealment on the open sands, the same fate overtook them along the northern coast of the Middle States where they have been extirpated within recent times. I have never seen them in the North, but on the estuaries and sounds of the South have witnessed their flights and heard their barking cries, particularly in the dusk or at night. In flight the Black Skimmer is a strikingly individualized bird. Its very long but strong wings give grace and power to its flight and its broad, forked tail lends additional buoyancy. It seems especially adapted for skimming low over the water. The peculiar structure of the bill fits it for picking up fish and crustaceans from the surface while in flight. Mr. Howell asserts that the bird skims over water so near shore and so shallow that its bill strikes the bottom "every 20 feet or so," jerking its head back in a most comical manner.2 If the bird desires to seize anything from the ground, it must turn its head to one side, but it wades into shallow pools and picks up small live fish out of the * Champlain describes the birds as follows : "We saw also a sea-bird with a black beak, the upper part slightly aquiline, four inches long and in the form of a lancet ; namely, the lower part representing the handle and the upper the blade, which is thin, sharp on both sides, and shorter by a third than the other, which circumstance is a matter of astonishment to many persons, who cannot comprehend how it is possible for the bird to eat with such a beak. It is of the size of a pigeon, the wings being very long in proportion to the body, the tail short, as also the legs, which are red ; the feet being small and flat. The plumage on the upper part is gray-brown, and on the underparts pure white. They go always in flocks along the seashore, like the pigeons with us." (Voyages of Samuel de Cham- plain, translated from the French by Charles Pomeroy Oles, Ph.D., with historical illustrations and a Memoir by Rev. Edmund F. Slafter, A.M., Vol. II, 1604-1610, Boston. Published by the Prince Society, 1878, pp. 87, 88.) 1 Purdie, H. A. : Bulletin Nuttall Ornithological Club, Vol. VII, 1882, p. 125. s.Howell, A. B.: Auk, Vol. XXVIII, 1911, pp. 452, 453. 134 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS water. In the young birds the long, projecting lower mandible is not fully developed until after they have reached the flight stage. Therefore, until they are well able to fly, they can readily pick up food from the ground. While it is known that the food of the Black Skimmer consists largely of small fish and crustaceans, I am not aware that any exhaustive study of its food has been made. Economic Status. The Black Skimmer has no known economic value, but it appears to be harmless. Order TUBINARES. Tube-nosed Swimmers. Number of species in North America 40 ; in Massachusetts 6. This order contains two families — Diomedeidce and Hydrobatidce — and more than 100 species. (The Diomedeidce are not represented in New England, see note below.) All birds of the order may be recognized by their tubular nostrils. The wings are long, strong and pointed, with ten stiff primaries and usually numerous secondaries. The tail is short or moderate, ordinarily of 12 to 14 feathers, and the feet have long, fully- webbed front toes, with hind toe small, rudimentary or wanting. Members of this order are pelagic birds and roam the oceans of the world. The order includes birds of many sizes from the giant albatross with a spread of wing unequaled by any other bird to the little storm petrel no larger than a swallow. In long distance flight the Tubinares are perhaps unequaled and certainly unexcelled ; and it is largely by reason of this power that they are enabled to exist upon the sea during the greater part of their lives. Note. Thalassarche chlororhynchus (Gmelin), Pink-footed Albatross or Yellow-nosed Mollymawk. A specimen of this bird, sex not given, was taken near Seal Island off Machias Bay, Maine, on August 1, 1913, by Mr. Ernest O. Joye, and is now in the collection of Dr. L. C. Sanford, in the American Museum of Natural History, New York City.1 Dr. R. C. Murphy says that Seal Island is Canadian territory, that the bird was secured on the international border and that therefore the specimen belongs to the local avifauna of both New Brunswick and Maine. Mr. A. C. Bent says that the bird was killed off Machias Seal Island, Maine, near the entrance to the Bay of Fundy.2 Dr. H. C. Oberholser records the specimen as taken "near Seal Island, New Brunswick." 3 Inasmuch as the locality probably cannot be determined with accuracy, and as the bird seems to have been taken at sea and possibly nearer to New Brunswick, than to Maine, it seems questionable whether it should be recorded as a New England species. This is the first record of the bird in North American waters. The occurrence of this sub- Antarctic species in the North Atlantic is purely fortuitous. Family HYDROBATXDiE. Fulmars, Shearwaters and Petrels. Number of species in North America 35 ; in Massachusetts 6. In the Hydrobatidce as in all the Tubinares the nostrils are united ina" double-barrelled tube" superimposed horizontally upon the upper mandible at the base of the bill. This character distinguishes these birds from all other swimmers found in New England waters. i Murphy, Robert Cushman : Auk, Vol. XXXIX, 1922, p. 58. 2 Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum Bulletin, No. 121, p. 19. 8 Auk, Vol. XL, 1923, p. 678. PLATE 9 PLATE 9 LEACH'S PETREL Page 145 WILSON'S PETREL Page 149 GREATER SHEARWATER Page 140 SOOTY SHEARWATER Page 142 FULMAR Page 135 Dark Phase CORY'S SHEARWATER Page 139 All one-fourth natural size. 4 >>, iff ^tf\#; FULMARS 135 The upper mandible is always hooked at the end and in the shearwaters the lower mandi- ble also. The covering of the bill is laid on in separate horny plates with sutures showing between. The Hydrobatidce rarely visit the shore except to breed and are not known to go inland unless driven there by high winds. They nest chiefly on sea-islands and also on the Antarctic Continent. They spend most of their waking hours on the wing and gather their food largely from the surface of the sea. Nearly one hundred species of this family are distributed over the oceans of the globe. No member of the family is known to lay more than one egg as its nest-complement ; yet these birds are reckoned among the most numerous of the world. Economic Status. Most of the species of this family breed in rather inaccessible regions remote from civilization and are not of much economic importance. In some cases, however, their eggs are used as food and their feathers and down for bedding, etc. Some furnish valuable oil while others are used by fishermen as bait. So far as known they are harmless. Some species as the Storm Petrel and Wilson's Petrel have a certain economic value as foretellers of storms, as they are particularly active before such dis- turbances. Subfamily FULMARINJE. Fulmars. Number of species in North America 5 ; in Massachusetts 1. Bill stout or very stout ; nasal tubes high and prominent ; end of under mandible not turned down nor hooked but with sharp angle near tip. Fulmars are gull-like birds and rather more robust in form than Shearwaters. Fulmarus glacialis glacialis (Linn^us). Fulmar. Other names: noddy; oil-bird; marbleheader ; white hagdon. By John A. Farley. Plate 9. Description. — Bill shorter than tarsus ; shorter and more robust bill in proportion to size of bird than that of any jaeger, gull or shearwater, only about two-thirds as long as head, very stout, with high, prominent nasal tubes and swelling sides, its hook robust, very convex ; folded wings about reach end of tail of 14 feathers, broad to their rounded ends; tail slightly rounded. Adults (sexes alike or different; variable) : Light phase : Head, neck and lower plumage white or whitish (in some birds gray or tinged gray) ; flanks sometimes with a slight wash of gray ; above slaty-gray, flight-feathers darker ; slaty-gray may be restricted to back and wings or may extend more or less on head and tail ; bill yellow, especially at tip, with greenish-dusky tinge on ridge or at its base and on lower mandible (whole bill sometimes olive- brownish ; very variable) ; legs and feet pale-gray (flesh or ash color ; also variable) ; iris brown. There is considerable color-variation in this species — both sexual and individual (some birds are pure white, probably albinos) . Dark phase : Nearly uniform smoky-gray or ashy-brown ; bill dusky-brown. Young : Many are similar to adults in light phase ; others are smoky-gray, much like dark phase, paler below ; primaries as in adult ; bill and feet obscured ; slightly smaller than adult, and bill darker. Downy young : Whitish head and below, bluish-gray above. Measurements. — Length 18.00 to 20.00 in. ; folded wing 12.50 to 13.50 ; tail 4.50 to 5.00 ; bill 1.37 to 1.60; tarsus 1.70 to 2.00. 136 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Molts. — Apparently there is a second down, succeeding the first down, in which the young bird acquires a darker head and upper plumage ; juvenal plumage succeeding the second down is as adult or somewhat paler; no seasonal change in color of plumage; adults have complete postnuptial molt in autumn beginning in July or August. Field Marks. — Though the Fulmar in its light phase somewhat resembles in coloration the Herring Gull, its flight is unmistakable ; straight, stiffly-held, outstretched wings and long glides as the bird scuds along distinguish it from a gull; comparing with shearwaters, P. A. Taverner says (Birds of Eastern Canada) — "its light or grey coloration instead of dark brown as in the shearwaters which approach the Fulmar in size, should usually render the species recognizable in life"; dark phase resembles Sooty Shearwater but is lighter in color with much stouter bill. Voice. — The Fulmar is not usually a vociferous bird though noisy at times ; its note is a "low croon " (Saunders) ; Dixon, in his vivid description of the swarming thousands of the St. Kilda Fulmars, says — "the silence of such an animated scene impressed me ; not a single Fulmar uttered a'cry ; " Rev. Wm. Scoresby, as quoted by Yarrell, in describing the bird's voracity for food at the cutting-up of a whale, speaks of the "curious chuckling noise which in their anxiety for despatch they always make." Breeding. — In large colonies; on cliffs of Arctic mountains, or of sea-islands. Nest: A slight depression or excavation, with or without dried grass lining, in turfy soil or under some projecting tuft on grassy shelves of sea-cliffs ; otherwise egg is laid on bare ledge or even ice-covered rock. Eggs : One ; about 2.85 by 2.00 in.; ovate; white, rough, brittle and chalky, with strong odor of musk; the pure white egg becomes stained by contact with soil and is sometimes partly or wholly speckled with fine dots of reddish-brown. Dates: May 10 to July 1, Iceland; May 6 to June 15, St. Kilda. Incubation: Period said to be 50 or 60 days (A. C. Bent) ; by both sexes. Range. — North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. Breeds in Iceland, on Arctic islands of Europe, south to Ireland and Scotland and east at least to Franz Josef Land ; in America from northern Greenland to Melville Island; ranges in summer to latitude 85° and west to Melville Island; one inland record for North American continent — Arnprior, Ontario, May 3, 1924 ; 1 winters south of Arctic Circle to Georges (fishing) Bank off Massachusetts coast and casually south to New Jersey ; in winter a rather rare straggler on British coasts, except in Scotland where it is frequently observed ; sometimes not uncommon on the southern shores of the British Isles ; rarely as far south as the Mediterranean. Distribution in New England. — The Fulmar comes down in September from its breeding sea- cliffs in high latitudes to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and to Georges Bank off the Massachusetts coast where it is fairly plentiful in winter. It usually leaves the Bank about the middle of March. Strag- glers occur rarely on the New England coast ; there are three definite records : Massachusetts : A fine adult Fulmar was picked up dead (but perfectly fresh and in fine condition) September 23, 1912, at Monomoy Point, Chatham, by Daniel E. Harrington.2 A dead Fulmar was picked up December 28j 1918, on the beach at Sandwich, by Harry Torrey. This bird was not freshly killed, and may have died and drifted in after perishing at sea. Connecticut : A female Fulmar was shot October 10, 1909, off Stony Creek on Long Island Sound, by A. H. Verrill. This is the first really authentic record for Con- necticut, as well as for all New England.3 There is an indefinite record of a Fulmar taken some 12 years ago in Maine which was mounted for the owner by C. Emerson Brown, now director of the park of the Zoological Society of Philadelphia. Unfortunately all data of this specimen are missing. Haunts and Habits. The gull-like Fulmar — beautiful, with its intelligent dark eye set in its pure white head, Its yellow bill, clear gray mantle and snowy underparts — is one of the best known of North Atlantic sea-birds. It is littoral in the breeding season only, when it is extraordinarily abundant, literally in myriads, at some of its favorite i Gormley, A. L. : Auk, Vol. XLI, 1924, p. 471. » Brown, C. Emerson : Auk, Vol. XXX, 1913, p. 105. 3 Bishop, L. B. : Auk, Vol. XXVII, 1910, p. 462. FULMARS 137 nesting-places which are mostly in high latitudes. After nesting is over, the Fulmars scatter far and wide over the gray wastes of the North Atlantic Ocean. Like other pet- rels the home of the bird, except in the breeding season, is the open sea. With great powers of flight, it is a magnificent sea-bird, breasting the gale on sturdy wing or resting composedly on the water, no matter how high a sea is running. Fulmars are seen most often by whalers and fishermen upon whose ships the hungry birds are constant attend- ants. In Arctic and subarctic waters the offal from whalers and sealers attracts them. They crowd about and under the ship's stern, coming in greedy hundreds or even thou- sands from all quarters, when a whale is being cut up. Ravenous and audacious they swarm in the oily wake and come within a few feet of the sailors. Heedless of all else but the refuse, they may be knocked over often with a boathook, while they regard the discharge of a gun so little that their dead fellows float unheeded within a few feet. The Fulmar seems to like above all other food the blubber of the whale. For this it has a prodigious appetite, and sometimes it so gorges itself that it cannot rise from the water. Says Capt. Collins: "In former years many hundreds, if not thousands, of them were caught by the Grand Banks fishermen and used for bait. The voracity of these birds renders their capture by hook and line a comparatively easy task." : Fulmars often associate with Shearwaters and with them " track" tirelessly the trans- atlantic steamships, both in midocean and nearer shore, following in their wakes, day by day, and picking up every bit of floating refuse cast overboard from the galley. The Fulmar usually feeds settled, albatross-like, on the water, though it sometimes "dives wholly beneath the surface to grasp food," a habit unusual among petrels.2 Fulmars have been much observed on their ancient breeding ground, St. Kilda, one of the Outer Hebrides, to which island they resort in vast numbers. Their young are fed with oil by regurgitation. The food of the bird largely consists of mollusks, cuttle-fish material and any animal garbage or other animal food that it can pick up. Economic Status. From time immemorial Fulmars have been an important source of subsistence to the St. Kilda islanders who hunt over their tremendous sea-cliffs for both eggs and birds, dangling far down by ropes along the faces of the precipitous crags. Birds, eggs and oil alike are utilized. Large numbers of birds are taken annually for their oil which is used for lighting as well as for medicinal purposes. In the one month of August some 20,000 fledglings have been taken. Both birds and their eggs furnish much of the subsistence of the St. Kildans, while the clear, yellowish or amber-colored Fulmar oil is one of the principal products of the island. The feathers and down of the birds also are utilized. The Fulmars on their eggs on the cliffs are literally a " sight to behold." An English writer, speaking of the Fulmars taking flight when alarmed, says that it seemed as if the cliffs were "dissolving" into birds. 1 Collins, J. W. : Auk. Vol. I, 1884, p. 238. * MacMillan, Donald B. : Four Years in the White North, 1918, p. 406. 138 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Daption capense (Linnaeus). Pintado Petrel. Other names: checkered petrel; cape pigeon. Fig. 16. Description. — Bill short (much shorter than head) and very stout and wide — dilated toward base , dilated bill distinguishes this species from Shearwaters. Adults in breeding plumage (sexes alike) : Above spotted white and slaty-black (in some specimens brownish-black), the dark spots chiefly dark feather- tips ; wings largely slaty-black with much white on inner webs and base of dark primaries ; tail largely white with broad terminal band of slaty-black; head and neck slaty- or brownish-black, and un- marked or nearly so except throat which is more or less white; below white; iris very dark; "bill and feet black, much white on inner toes" (A. G. Bennett). Downy young: slaty-gray above, paler and sooty below. Measurements. — Length about 15.00 in. ; folded wing 10.00 to 11.00; tail 4.50; bill 1.33; tarsus 1.67. Molts. — Not examined; plumage of juvenal birds appears to be similar to that of adults. Voice. — Distinct cry, strong and raucous cac-cac, cac-cac, cac, increasing in rapidity; it also coos and clucks (F. D. Godman) ; when squabbling for food a grating chatter (J. T. Nichols). Breeding. — On rocky cliffs on sea-islands. Nest : On ledges or in burrows or caves, made of earth and fragments of rock. Eggs: 1, averaging about 2.30 by 1.70 in. ; oval to elongate-ovate — white. Range. — Oceans of Southern Hemisphere. Breeds on South Georgia, South Shetland and Ker- guelen Islands and on islands of Adelie Land ; very rare to casual north of the tropic of Capricorn ; acci- dental on coasts of Maine, California, England and Atlantic coasts of Europe. Distribution in New England. — Maine: One record, Harpswell, 1873. Note. The only New England specimen (now mounted in the collection of the Worcester Natural History Society) bears on its stand the following statement from the late Thomas A. Dickinson, former custodian of the collections of that society : "This bird was bought in Lewiston, Maine, of Levi Woolley, Taxidermist, in 1875. It was shot by Charles F. Nason, formerly of Lewiston, September, 1873, at Mooseluckmeguntic Lake (Rangeley). It was called by Woolley 'Manx Shearwater.' I am now satis- fied that it was wrongly labeled at the time and is not 'Manx Shearwater' but 'Pintado Petrel Daption capensis.'" This label does not state the facts. When the bird was obtained, I, a mere boy, through the kindness of Mr. Dickinson, was allowed the privileges of the museum and spent much time there after school hours in his company and assisted him in his work. He went in 1875 to Lewiston, Maine, where he purchased from Mr. Woolley the mounted bird in question. I was at the museum when the bird came in and saw it unpacked. Mr. Dickinson, who knew Mr. Woolley well, reposed the most implicit confidence in his veracity, and Mr. Woolley then gave Harpswell on Casco Bay as the place of capture, and June, 1873, as the date. The bird was wrongly identified however, and for some years stood in the collection labeled " Manx Shearwater." Finally in 1883 it was correctly identified by Henry A. Purdie at whose request I then wrote to Mr. Woolley, who replied from Sabattus (a suburb of Lewiston), Maine, certifying to the capture of the bird at Harpswell. About fourteen years later, in 1897, Mr. Dickinson wrote to Mr. Woolley in regard to the bird, and received from him the incorrect statement that now appears on the specimen. Apparently Mr. Woolley's memory had become confused after a lapse of 25 years and he had some other bird in mind. The original record giving the locality as Harpswell, appeared in New England Bird Life (Stearns and Coues), Vol. II, pp. 386, 387. Arthur H. Norton, who has made a careful investigation of the case, says "the group of letters at hand from nearly every person connected with the matter show, it is believed, that the original record is correct." (Auk, Vol. XXXIX, 1922, p. 101.) Believing that this record is authentic, I include the bird in the New England list. Fig. 16. — Pintado Petrel or Cape Pigeon From a specimen, in the Museum of Comparative Zoology Photograph by courtesy of Henry W. Osgood Fig. 17. — Black-capped Petrel Page 144 SHEARWATERS 139 Haunts and Habits. The Pintado or Spotted Petrel, commonly known as "Cape Pigeon," is well known to all who have rounded Cape Horn or the Cape of Good Hope. In the seas near these capes it is the most common petrel, is seen constantly and is very active, especially in windy weather. In flight it resembles somewhat the domestic pigeon, but sails much more than the latter, keeping its legs tucked away among its under tail- coverts. Its flight is exceedingly graceful, and at times it flies by night as well as by day. It is fearless and easily taken by means of hook and line, as it seems extremely fond of fat, which in the shape of salt pork is readily supplied on shipboard for baiting the birds. The Cape Pigeon is a mere straggler in the North Atlantic, and it may be long before another New England record will be made. It is believed that some of the European records were those of birds captured on ships in southern oceans and thus carried north where they escaped or were liberated. The Maine bird showed no sign of recent cap- tivity. Economic Status. See page 135. Subfamily PUFFININ2E. Shearwaters and Petrels. Number of species in North America 19 ; in Massachusetts 3. Bill variable in shape from slender and rather long to stout and rather short ; nasal tubes usually short and low, cut off obliquely in front ; both mandibles hooked or turned downward at ends ; tail with 12 feathers. Puffinus borealis Cory. Cory's Shearwater. Plate 9. Description. — Adults (sexes similar) : Above brownish-gray, feathers of back with pale tips, wings and tail darker; first three (or four) primaries often with light ash on inner webs; upper tail-coverts tipped white ; sides of head and neck ashy-gray, softly and inconspicuously mottled against white of throat and similarly barred against white of neck which gradually shades into white of throat — as in P. kuhlii ; no distinct line of demarcation on side of head as in P. gravis ; below white, washed sometimes on breast with grayish ; linings of wings white except on edges of wing where color of upper wing runs over ; under tail-coverts and flanks with ash mottling ; lower eyelid white contrasting with ashy of head ; bill yellowish with dark band and pale tip ; legs and feet yellow or yellowish-flesh color, darker (greenish- black) on outside of leg and outer toes ; iris brown. Downy young : Doubtless uniform, sooty-grayish- brown as with P. kuhlii, of which borealis appears to be a large race. Measurements. — Length 20.00 to 22.00 in. ; spread 40.00 to 49.50 ; folded wing 14.50 ; tail about 6.50; bill 1.95 to 2.28; tarsus 2.20 to 2.25. Molts. — Apparently young shearwaters of all species are colored like the parent birds and probably reach maturity within the first year. Little is known regarding spring molt, but all adults molt com- pletely in summer and fall. Field Marks. — Larger than Greater Shearwater. Lack of sharp contrast of color between white throat and gray head of Cory's Shearwater differentiates it from Greater Shearwater with its bi-colored head. Dark cap of "Greater" does not reach much below eye, while lighter ash mottling of "Cory's" extends much farther down side of head until it fades gradually into white of throat. Voice. — Male, ia-gow-a-gow-a-gow ; female, ia ia ia (Ogilvie Grant). 140 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Breeding. — In vast numbers on sea-islands. Nest: A few feathers or bits of seaweed in holes and crevices, in among rocks or in caves, in stone houses built for these birds by the islanders, or in burrows excavated by the Shearwaters themselves. Eggs: 1 ; 3.28 by 1.93 to 2.80 by 1.80 in. ; "ovate to ellip- tical-ovate"; white and smooth. Range. — Atlantic Ocean. Breeds on Azores, Madeira, Salvage and Canary Islands ; in migration south to at least 36° south ; west to the coast of Brazil, and in North America from Newfoundland to North Carolina. Distribution in New England. — Off coasts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island [and Long Island] August to November; not uncommon; sometimes abundant locally; unrecorded from other New England states ; in great numbers from Point Judith to Buzzards Bay in fall of 1886 ; * doubtless occurs off Maine coast as it has been recorded off western Newfoundland.1 Season in Massachusetts. — August 2 to November 1 (A. C. Bent). Haunts and Habits. Cory's Shearwater is the largest of the shearwaters on the New England coast. It does not differ from the Greater Shearwater (the next species) in habits. It flies similarly, is the same greedy bird, and enjoys the same sort of food. Ordinarily it is seen only at some distance from land ; more rarely it appears along shore. Economic Status. See page 135. Note. Small specimens of "Cory's Shearwater" taken in North American waters are referable to the Mediterranean Shearwater P. kuhlii. Consequently the large shearwater described by Cory as Puffinus borealis becomes P. kuhlii borealis, as only a larger race of the Mediterranean bird — or Calonectris kuhlii borealis to be thoroughly up to date. (See H. C. Oberholser, Auk, Vol. XXXV, 1918, p. 201.) The small specimens of "Cory's Shearwater" already noted in collections, with notably small bills, are therefore really representatives of the Mediterranean bird P. k. kuhlii (C. k. kuhlii) that, passing through the straits of Gibraltar, entered the range of the larger race — borealis — and so reached this side of the Atlantic. To quote Dr. Murphy: "The Mediterranean Shearwater should therefore be included in the next edition of the A. O. U. 'Check-list.' " Some of these aberrant "Cory's Shearwaters" (Mediterranean Shearwaters) have been taken so near the New England coast as Long Island waters,2 and probably will be taken off our coast. A good diagnostic feature of the Mediterranean Shearwater (P. kuhlii kuhlii) which is lacking in Cory's Shearwater (borealis) is the large amount of white on inner webs of outer primaries which makes a definite marking. This white on wing of kuhlii varies with the individual as it extends out much farther on the quills in some birds than in others. Puffinus gravis (O'Reilly). Greater Shearwater. Other names: wandering shearwater; haglet; hagdon; hag; gray hag or haglet; COMMON ATLANTIC SHEARWATER. Plate 9. Description. — Adults (sexes alike) : Above sooty-brown, darkest on inner secondaries and rump; feathers of back, rump and wing-coverts with pale edgings of brownish- or whitish-ash ; primaries and tail darker, inner webs of primaries lighter toward base ; top of head and upper neck to below eye on line * Professor S. F. Baird states (Auk, Vol. IV, 1887, p. 71) that toward the end of September, 1886, young sea-herring (Clupea vulgaris) came inshore in large numbers from Point Judith to Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound, and with them the mackerel which were feeding on them — also "enormous numbers of Puffinus and Stercorarius, the former proving to be almost exclusively Puffinus borealis Cory." Toward November 1st the birds were still with the herring, being very abundant off Gay Head, Menemsha Bight, Cuttyhunk and elsewhere. 1 Griscom, Ludlow, and Janvrin, E. R. P. : Auk, Vol. XXXIX, 1922, p. 103. 8 Murphy, Robert Cushman : Auk, Vol. XXXIX, 1922, p. 58. SHEARWATERS 141 with gape uniform dusky, this darker color sharply defined against white of throat which extends around on sides of head to hind neck, forming almost a collar ; longer upper tail-coverts more or less white ; below white, with zone (more or less extended) of smoky-gray spots on belly; flanks and under tail- coverts mostly dark grayish-brown, sides sometimes spotted with same ; under tail-coverts white-tipped ; lining of wings white, with dark mottling on outer border and axillars; bill blackish "yellowish-green" (Audubon) iris brownish ; legs and feet (and webs) yellowish-pink, except outside of leg and outer toe which are brownish ; strength and uniformity of color of upper plumage depend upon age, old and worn feathers being dullest and their grayish edgings less well-defined. Young: Similar to adult but with wash of sooty over white ; a white half-collar nearly meets behind neck in young birds. Downy young : Sooty or gray in color. Measurements. — Length 18.00 to 20.00 in. ; spread 42.00 to 45.00; folded wing 11.50 to 13.75; tail 5.00 to 5.90, graduated 1.00 ; bill 1.80 to 2.00 ; tarsus 2.20 to 2.40. Molts. — See under "Molts" Cory's Shearwater (page 139). Field Marks. — Unmistakable two-colored effect on side of head. Dark cap appears black by contrast with white of throat ; line of demarcation distinct and this, together with white half-collar, contrasting with darker color above, distinguishes this species from Cory's Shearwater ; blackish bill of Greater Shear- water is more slender and shorter, while yellow bill of Cory's is longer and stouter. "Greater Shear- water" is a misnomer ; for Cory's Shearwater is a larger bird in every way, although the difference in size is not enough to be depended upon as a field mark. Breeding. — Conditions almost unknown. Nest: Undescribed. Eggs: 1 ; 3.20 by 1.95 to 2.82 by 1.74 in. ; pointed, oval, without gloss ; white. Range. — Atlantic Ocean ; breeds on Inaccessible Island in the Tristan Da Cunha group in the South Atlantic ; in migration from Greenland to Tierra Del Fuego and Cape of Good Hope ; off east coast of North America June to November ; common on Newfoundland Banks. Distribution in New England. — Common in summer and fall off coast ; least common in Rhode Island and Connecticut waters. Season in Massachusetts. — As in New England ; Essex County coast May 2 to October 12 (De- cember 31) ; usually well outside (10 to 12 miles), but coming in closer to shore during fogs or heavy blows ; summer, fall and early winter ; commonest July to September ; accidental in interior ; August 10, 1887, Wellesley. Haunts and Habits. The Shearwaters live most of their lives upon the sea. On the vast expanse of the Atlantic, where the mariner can see no land, where the sea heaves restlessly even in a calm or tosses and roars in wild commotion in the storm, there in the loneliness and desolation of the waters the Shearwaters are at home. I have never seen one very near land although sometimes they follow the fish near shore or even into some outlying harbor ; but in summer on the banks of Newfoundland and New England, wherever fishing schooners anchor, there the "hags" are almost certain to be found. Notwithstanding the exceedingly great powers of flight possessed by this species, it can- not withstand the terrible, protracted tempests that sometimes occur on the Atlantic. The fierce gusts of a hurricane finally overcome the birds' powers of resistance, crumple them up and dash them into the raging sea. In the great hurricane of August 27-28, 1893, great numbers were cast up dead on the coast of South Carolina.1 The Greater Shearwater breeds in the Southern Hemisphere, and visits the North Atlantic when winter reigns in southern oceans. Anyone cruising in summer a few miles i Wayne, Arthur T. : Birds of South Carolina, 1910, p. 8. 142 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS off isolated points, such as Cape Ann, Cape Cod, Marthas Vineyard or Nantucket, may see a large, rather gull-like bird flapping and sailing near the surface of the water. Its dark brown upper plumage and sharply contrasting white under plumage and its manner of flight at once identify it as the Greater Shearwater. To see these birds in numbers, one should go out to the fishing grounds where great "bottom fish" are hauled from the depths. Wherever the fish bite well, there these birds may be found ; and a few fish- livers cut in pieces and thrown overboard are likely to bring this and other species about the boat, together with gulls and petrels that are also usually on the watch for such op- portunities on the fishing-grounds. Shearwaters are graceful birds on the wing, and in a high wind they scale about close to the water, with their long pointed wings slightly decurved. They circle and glide with the greatest ease. The Greater Shearwater often alights on the surface of the water to pick up floating food, swimming toward it with head erect and wings partially raised but not fully spread. In alighting it frequently strikes upon its breast with some force, but does not commonly plunge directly under water head first like a tern or a gannet. It can dive from the surface and swim well under water, and probably uses its wings beneath the surface in pursuit of sinking food or fleeing fish. Dr. J. E. H. Kelso writes me that he has watched many Manx Shearwaters diving to escape a sail-boat, and though unwounded they invariably used their wings under water. All manner of fish is food for the Shear- waters. They are particularly fond of the "gurry" or waste thrown overboard by fisher- men. On this food they grow fat, and they consume quantities of fish oil. Dr. Townsend says that they are very fond of squids, as a Shearwater that he shot contained in its stom- ach the horny beaks of twenty-four of these animals.1 Captain Collins says that he has opened many hundreds of these birds, and to his recollection never failed to find parts of squids in their stomachs.2 "The hags feed on the squid, the gulls on the herring and the gannets on the mackerel," according to Cape Sable Island, N. S. fishermen. Economic Status. See page 135. Puffinus griseus (Gmelin). Sooty Shearwater. Other names: black hagdon; black hag ok haglet. Plate 9. Description. — Adults (sexes alike): Dark sooty-brown; darker (blackish) on wings and tail; grayer below, palest on throat ; lining of wings mottled sooty-gray and whitish ; bill dusky, tube, ridge and hook blackish ; iris blackish ; feet pale flesh-color, but blackish on under sides and elsewhere out- wardly ; "variation consists of the greater or less amount of light color beneath but this is doubtless due to age." 3 Young in juvenal plumage: Apparently like adult. Downy young: Sooty or gray. 1 Townsend, C. W. : Memoirs of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, No. Ill, The Birds of Essex County, Massachusetts, 1905, p. 108. s Collins, J. W. : Report of United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries for 1882 (1884), p. 216. 3 Maynard, C. J. : Birds of Eastern North America, 1896, p. 35. SHEARWATERS 143 Measurements. — Length 16.00 to 18.00 in. ; spread 40.00 to 42.00; folded wing 11.15 to 12.75; tail 4.00 to 4.50; bill 1.60 to 2.25; tarsus 2.05 to 2.35. Molts. — No material available to trace molts of young ; adults apparently molt completely during spring, summer and early autumn. Field Marks. — At a distance bird looks black; this easily distinguishes Sooty Shearwater from other shearwaters. Breeding. — On sea-islands chiefly. Nest : In hole or burrow of varying depth (several feet) in ground. Eggs: 1; 2.60 by 1.60 in. ; " round oval " or " ovoid elliptical " ; white. Dates: February and March (Buller). Range. — Oceans of both hemispheres. Breeds in New Zealand, on Norfolk, Stewarts, Kapite, Snares, St. Stephens, Auckland and Chatham Islands ; on islands near Cape Horn ; and probably on many others in southern oceans; occurs in summer on Kurile islands, on Pacific coast from southern Alaska to Lower California, and on Atlantic coast from southern Greenland and Labrador to South Carolina ; occasional in British Isles ; accidental in Alabama ; not uncommon on Newfoundland fishing banks. Distribution in New England. — Summer and fall visitant ; generally offshore ; much less common than Greater Shearwater ; accidental in interior (Vermont and New Hampshire) ; not recorded from Connecticut. Season in Massachusetts. — As in New England ; Essex County, not uncommon summer visitor, March to October (Townsend). Haunts and Habits. The Sooty Shearwater much resembles the Greater Shear- water in habits but is not so numerous off the coast of New England. Wherever many of the latter species are seen, however, some Sooty Shearwaters usually will be found. Captain Collins estimated that the numbers of this species did not exceed one per cent of the numbers of Greater Shearwaters on the Grand Banks. These Shearwaters are excessively greedy birds, and are very bold and combative in securing food from other birds. They often follow fishing dories when the fishermen are baiting trawls, and as the gear sinks in the water at the stern of the dory, the birds dive after the sinking bait and frequently succeed in tearing it from the hook. Some are so greedy that they swallow it hook and all. In former times the fishermen retaliated by catching them by means of a floating bait in which a light hook was concealed. Thousands of shearwaters were caught in this way, and their bodies were used by fishermen for bait or for food. Among the thousands thus caught were proportionate numbers of Sooty Shearwaters. Mr. Bent says that this species dives occasionally in pursuit of food "using its wings freely under water." 1 The food of the Sooty Shearwater is similar to that of the Greater Shearwater but no exhaustive study of the food of either species has been made. Economic Status. See page 135. Note. Two subspecies of griseus are proposed — Puffinus g. chilensis, the Pacific bird ; Puffinus g. stricklandi, the Atlantic bird. Following the classification given in the third edition of Check list of the American Ornithologists' Union the full range of the species in both hemispheres is given above. 1 Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Bulletin No. 121, 1922, p. 87. 144 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Pterddroma hasitata Bonaparte. Black-capped Petrel. Other name: diablotin. Fig. 17. Description. — Adults (sexes alike) : Upper plumage sooty, shading to bister-brown on back (where feathers often have lighter margins) and deepening on wings and terminal half of tail ; upper tail-coverts, base of tail, forehead, sides of head and neck white (blackish cap of crown being thus isolated) ; black mark on side of head ; below white, including lining of wings ; brownish-gray wash sometimes on sides of chest; bill black; legs, together with bases of toes and webs, flesh-colored; rest of toes and webs black. Immature: Younger birds have less white on head and hind neck so that dark feathers here coalesce. Measurements. — Length 14.00 to 16.00 in. ; spread about 39.50 ; folded wing 11.40 to 12.00; tail 4.80 to 5.30, central feathers longest, graduation being 1.25 to 2.00; bill 1.20 to 1.40; tarsus 1.40 to 1.45. Field Marks. — In flight and appearance very like Greater Shearwater, but the large, conspicuous white "wedge" of upper tail-coverts is a distinguishing field mark. Range. — Warmer parts of North Atlantic Ocean, straggling to Haiti, southern coast of United States, and to England and France ; casual inland in United States ; not so rare in the Atlantic as was formerly supposed but appears to be a bird of warm latitudes ; formerly bred in Lesser Antilles, but has disappeared from its former breeding haunts there ; present breeding range seems to be unknown ; bird is blown rarely into the interior of the United States by storms ; at least four specimens have been recorded since 1849 in New York ; may occur in Massachusetts at any time, but so far we have no definite record for this State. Distribution in New England. — The only definite record is that of an exhausted male bird, taken August 30, 1893, at Pittsfield, New Hampshire, 40 miles from the sea.1 There is also a record from Ver- mont in late August of the same year, but place and date are lacking.2 Note. On the date that the New Hampshire bird was found, one was taken at Blacksburg, Virginia, 200 miles from the sea ; and another, August 28, 1893, on Oneida Lake, New York.3 Still another bird was taken about this time (September, 1893), in New York, at Cayuga Lake. Undoubtedly all these birds were blown far north and inland by the great hurricane of the last week of August, 1893. There is a late fall record (October 30) in this same year (1893) from Toronto, Ontario. Records of hasitata from several eastern United States localities prove to be diabolica (Lafr.). (Noble : Bulletin Museum of Comparative Zoology, LX, 1916, pp. 370-374.) Haunts and Habits. Nothing is known of the haunts and habits of this bird in our waters. There is quite a full biography in Mr. A. C. Bent's Life Histories of North American Petrels and Pelicans, Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Bulletin 121, pp. 106-111. Subfamily PRO CELL ARIIN^l. Storm Petrels. Number of species in North America 9 ; in Massachusetts 1. Smallest birds of the family ; bill moderate in size, both mandibles well hooked at ends ; tail of 12 feathers ; leg-bones shorter than wing-bones. 1 Allen, G. M. : A List of the Birds of New Hampshire, 1903, p. 69 (see also footnote 3). 2 Allen, G. M. : Fauna of New England, List of the Aves, 1909, p. 24 (see also footnote 3). a Allen, J. A. : Auk, Vol. XXI, 1904, p. 383. PETRELS 145 Oceanodroma leucorhoa leucorhoa (Vieillot). Leach's Petrel. Other names: leach's fork-tailed petrel; fork-tailed stormy petrel; FORK-TAILED PETREL J CAREY CHICKEN ("KERRY CHICKEN"). Plate 9. Description. — Tail forked about 1 inch. Adults (sexes alike) : Sooty-brown, slightly browner below and slightly darker on crown ; primaries and tail brownish-black ; wing-coverts and inner second- aries light grayish-brown, sometimes edged and tipped whitish ; upper tail-coverts white, generally more or less mixed with sooty-brownish ; outer under tail-coverts white basally, and other under tail-coverts more or less so — also some white on adjoining feathers of abdomen and sides, amount of white varying with the individual; probably younger birds have most white; as in case of Wilson's Petrel, white feathers of upper tail-coverts join with (or meet) white lateral under tail-coverts, and thus make prac- tically a zone of white nearly around basal third of tail (but there is never enough white under tail to make a white patch like that above it) ; iris brown; bill, legs and feet black. Downy young: Sooty or grayish ; lighter in color than adults. Measurements. — Length 7.50 to 8.90 in. ; spread 17.00 to 18.50 ; wing 6.00 to 6.50 ; tail 3.00 to 4.00, forked deeply .75; bill .62 to .70; tarsus .85 to 1.00. Female smaller than male. Molts. — So far as known there are no material seasonal differences in the plumage of Leach's Petrel ; the bird seems to pass from juvenal stage to winter plumage without any very material change in coloration (complete molt August to March), and to become fully adult in the summer of its second year when about one year old ; complete annual molt of adults begins in August or September. Field Marks. — If seen close at hand, forked tail and short legs, which in flight do not show beyond end of tail, distinguish Leach's Petrel from Wilson's Petrel (with no forked tail but long legs), the only other common species off the New England coast ; Leach's Petrel is a little larger and a shade browner than Wilson's Petrel; "an observer who once has had the good fortune of watching the two species together can thereafter distinguish them almost as far away as the birds can be seen." * Voice. — "When a nest was being disturbed, they kept up a constant squeaking like mice" (C. J. Maynard, describing a visit by day to a colony) ; at night at the nest a distinctly enunciated call of eight notes, not like the cry of any sea-bird and not to be compared with the notes of any bird "that I have ever heard" (Frank M. Chapman) ; by day at nest — "got any terbacker," or "Johnny get your hair cut" (O. W. Knight). Breeding. — In colonies; on outlying sea-islands. Nest: A slight collection of pebbles, short grasses, weeds, rootlets and perhaps a few feathers at the end of a burrow in the soil or beneath a rock ; the burrows, like rat-holes and only a few inches in diameter, usually from 1 to 3 feet long, extend down- ward, then run along nearly horizontally not many inches below the surface and into a roundish chamber at end, slightly enlarged. Eggs: 1 ; 1.24 to 1.35 by .80 to 1.00 in. ; a very small egg .99 by .78 ; oval, brittle and rough to touch ; white, often dotted finely at large end with lilac and reddish, sometimes arranged in a ring. Dates: June 10 to August 19. Incubation: Period probably not far from 5 weeks (A. C. Bent) ; by both sexes ; male incubates largely if not wholly in daytime. One brood yearly. Range. — North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans. Breeds from Kurile Islands north to Aleutian and Commander Islands, Bering Sea and south along the coast of southern Alaska to Forrester Island,* and from southern Greenland and Iceland south to Maine and British Isles ; "south in migration to the Equator and vicinity of Cape San Roque, Brazil" ;2 east to coast of Africa ; in Pacific south of Equator near Galapagos Islands and west to Hawaii. > Murphy, R. C. : Auk, Vol. XXXII, 1915, p. 171. * Its southern subspecies breeds along the Washington, Oregon and California coasts. s Murphy, R. C. : Auk, Vol. XXXII, 1915, p. 173. 146 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Distribution in New England. — Breeds in numbers on outlying islands off coast of Maine ; common from May to October; "breeds as far west as Muscongus Bay" (A. H. Norton), on Eastern Egg Rock, Lincoln County ; a rather common migrant offshore (Maine, New Hampshire and Massa- chusetts), but uncommon migrant off Rhode Island and Connecticut coasts ; casual inland in migration ; a few strays have been reported in winter from the Maine coast. Season in Massachusetts. — May 12 to June 21 ; September 1 to October 16. Haunts and Habits. In July, 1914, it was my good fortune to join Mr. T. Gilbert Pearson as a guest of Mr. William P. Wharton on the yacht Avocet for a cruise among the sea-bird colonies of the Maine coast. On the evening of the 13th, having found a con- siderable number of Leach's Petrels nesting on a small island, we concealed ourselves by lying on the lowest branches of some of the scattering spruce trees that grew near the shore. A higher layer of spruce limbs served us as cover, while the lower ones kept us off the ground. Herring Gulls which bred on the island were then coming in for the night, and many hundreds were seen winging their way toward us from distant shores. They alighted on the heaving sea in great flocks, and sat in massed array along the dark ledges, their white heads, necks and breasts gleaming immaculate against the background of dun ledge and darkening waters. As we lay concealed, their complaining cries died away in the air overhead, until dark brought comparative quiet, except that a few wakeful gulls kept up intermittent cries ; but the Night Herons were awake, and they broke the silence with raucous croakings. Softly the warm, balmy summer night settled down. Eight o'clock, and still no sign of the petrels. Time dragged on, and we had almost decided that it was useless to wait, when at nearly nine a dark, indistinct shape flitted silently in from the sea, fluttered bat- like back and forth, and then dropped in the shrubbery. Soon another and another came, until the incoming was continual, while others seemed to be going out to sea, but may have been merely flying back and forth. Now queer sounds arose, in the air, on the ground about us, and even in the earth beneath, for these strange birds had burrows in the earth under the tree in which we reclined, and they crept into their holes seemingly beneath our very bodies where we lay across the mouths of their passageways. Tender chucklings, crowings, stammerings and formless sounds that seemed like billing and cooing filled the air. Meanwhile there were Sittings and flutterings, goings and comings, all about us. This went on for a good part of an hour, when apparently the first excitement had passed, and we arose and departed, vastly entertained by the experience. But it seems that we left too early in the evening to get the full benefit of the petrel concert. My friend, Frank A. Brown, who visited the petrels on Machias Seal Island and camped there, writes that he dropped asleep to the monotonous chanting of their "staccato coo- ings," but awoke again about midnight to find these flight notes "succeeded by a differ- ent song apparently proceeding from the ground but probably uttered at the mouth of the burrow. This song was softer, somewhat liquid and nearly continuous." 1 Dr. Chapman says that "such a song might be uttered by elves or brownies," and Mr. Arthur » Bird-Lore, Vol. XIII, 1911, pp. 243-245. PETRELS 147 H. Norton, who probably knows these petrels as well as any man living, thus graphically describes his impressions of their night-life at their nesting place : "Here within Night's dominion, in the midst of a no less funereally garbed throng of flitting forms, seeming to speak most earnestly in a subhuman, unknown tongue, which is answered by their encaverned mates in purring tones and pleading wails, the mind may readily picture a most animated gathering of the black elves of old, hurrying to and fro for the accomplishment of some important mission, ere dreaded Day begins to ride his shining steed through the pathway of the sky. "The wide-ranging birds from the sea have returned to land to relieve their brooding mates, and the air seems full of them, calling on every hand ; the scene seems a hopeless chaos of activity, but soon by careful observation it is resolved to one of orderly purpose. As each flying bird passes over its nest, it calls in a hurried gibberish, to be answered by its brooding mate in an energetic purr often ending in a coaxing wail ; the flying bird dashes on and swings away to leeward again coming up the wind, and again as it passes its nest calls as before to be answered again ; time and again this is repeated, each pas- sage over the nest finding the flying bird lower and lower in its flight, until it finally drops to the entrance of its burrow to meet its anxious mate. Now from the dank weeds and grass, like great June bugs, others are rising or crawling to a convenient place to rise. One is in the very midst of their activities. From one's feet to twenty feet over head they swarm, often dashing against one's person in their haste. "But with the coming of the dawn, calm, damp and chill, this strange vision of the night has faded as a dream." 1 Petrels are peculiar, eerie birds, and their habits are so strange that from time imme- morial sailors have had a superstition that these small fowls are the precursors of storms and wrecks. There is some reason for such superstitions, as at the approach of a storm petrels often gather in great excitement about vessels. Our observations during the cruise of the Avocet seemed to prove that birds several times the size of the petrels have a strange, unaccountable fear of them. We took a petrel from its warm burrow in day- light and released it. It flew at once to the ocean, going toward a great flock of clamorous Herring Gulls sitting on a ledge near the island. Immediately every gull ceased its cries, took wing, and fled silently out to sea. Later we released petrels on other islands on which gulls or terns were breeding, and however numerous or clamorous were the birds immediately about us, the appearance of a petrel on the wing silenced their cries and caused a local exodus. No one has been able to account for this, so far as I know, and it may not be a universal experience ; but it was ours.2 Let a hawk or an owl appear in one of these gull or tern colonies and the war cry is sounded, while the birds swarm from all directions to mob and harry the intruder until it is driven away ; let a cat appear in a colony of Herring Gulls in the daytime, and its appearance is the signal for a general attack ; but the small and apparently inoffensive petrel is avoided as if it were ghost or banshee. » The Maine Naturalist, Vol. I, 1921, pp. 2-3. a See also Mr. T. Gilbert Pearson's account, Bird-Lore, Vol. XVI, 1914, p. 388. 148 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Dr. F. A. Lucas declares that Leach's Petrel stops at home all day in order to indulge in the reprehensible practice of staying out all night. This assertion has some foundation in fact. During the breeding season many Leach's Petrels (largely females) fly by day, and it may be mainly the males that are out at night ; but there is proof that the male does most of the incubating while the female is the gadabout of the family.* Leach's Petrel ranges widely at night. At midnight in July I found a petrel flutter- ing about the wharf-lights at Bar Harbor about ten miles from its nearest breeding- grounds. Travelers tell us that at night petrels often circle about the lights of ships at sea. Lights evidently attract these midnight wanderers. Dr. Joseph Grinnell, who passed a night in June, 1896, on the summit of the island of St. Lazaria, Alaska, says that it was "impossible to keep a fire alight in the middle of the night, as the petrels flew into it in such numbers as to extinguish it." 1 This was a favorite nesting place of petrels. One of the most interesting facts in the life history of this ranger of the wide and stormy seas is that you may find its nest in a burrow under a commonplace barberry bush in an island sheep-pasture. It digs fast. How it disposes of the earth is a ques- tion unanswerable to one who has seen only the long-occupied burrows unless, as the boy said of the chipmunk, it begins at the other end ! But some loose soil is often seen at the mouth of a new excavation. When the bird is disturbed in its unfinished burrow, it can dig itself in very rapidly, apparently using both bill and feet, and as the soil is light, it possibly packs it down with its feet, as it digs onward. During the burrowing and nest-building both male and female may be found in the nest through the day, but after the single egg is laid only one bird, usually the male, remains there in daylight. Like other petrels when disturbed in its burrow, it has a habit of ejecting from the mouth an oily liquid with an offensive odor. This odor often indicates the breeding-places of the birds. From late in May until September we never see a petrel about the breeding-grounds during the day, for while one bird of each nest remains in the burrow, the other probably roams far away over the sea, and the young are fed mainly if not wholly at night. Owing to their nesting habits, petrels must needs nest on islands where there are no small bur- rowing animals, such as minks, rats or weasels, any of which would soon destroy a colony of these little birds. Any of man's destructive satellites, cats, dogs, or hogs, if at liberty, would soon extirpate them. It now seems that Leach's Petrel is doomed to destruction on the Maine islands wherever dogs or cats are introduced. In 1910 Mr. Wilbur F. Smith visited Wooden Ball Island where he found that the entire colony of petrels for- merly breeding there had been destroyed by a wild house-cat and three cats kept by a * "I have lately had quite a number of Leach's Petrels taken on the nests and find some things which are not mentioned in such books as I have access to. In the first place, the males do most, if not all, of the incubating. In a number received the 1st of June, five out of six were males. Thinking that, like pigeons, the males might perhaps all sit at the same time, I had another lot sent me about June 15, and again, of twelve specimens seven proved to be males. A careful examination showed that while the under plumage of the females was in every case perfect, each male had on the lower part of the breast a bare spot large enough to cover the egg." (Brewster, Wm. quoting Manly Hardy : Bulletin, Nuttall Ornithological Club, Vol. VI, 1881, p. 125.) » Mailliard, Joseph : Auk, Vol. XV, 1898, p. 232. PETRELS 149 fisherman. The ground was strewn with the remains of the petrels. On Machias Seal Island, Mr. Frank A. Brown found a dog kept as a pet by a little boy. This dog was digging out and killing about 10 petrels each day. Mr. T. Gilbert Pearson counted on less than an acre the bodies of 147 of these birds killed by this dog.1 Unless these petrels are protected from such destructive enemies, the Maine islands will soon know them no more. As a sea rover this species resembles the Wilson's Petrel, but it is now apparently rare in summer off the Massachusetts coast though still found in numbers on the Grand Banks. Its habits at sea are somewhat like those of the other species, but Dr. Murphy says: "Unlike Wilson's Petrel the Leach's Petrels settled frequently into the water, holding the tips of their wings high while they swam." 2 I have never seen this bird plunge or dive under water. On land it seems to alight only at the mouth of its hole into which it creeps or waddles on its tarsi, and in leaving the burrow it makes use of its wings at once. I find little data on the migrations of the petrels along the Atlantic coast. They pass at night or far from land, and their Sittings are noted only by those "who go down to the sea in ships." Captain Collins says that petrels generally leave the Banks late in October or early in November, and return in April or May.3 The food of Leach's Petrel seems to consist largely of oily matter which it gleans from the surface of the sea, together with small fish, mollusks, crustaceans and other small oceanic creatures found on or near the surface. Like other sea-birds it follows fishing- vessels and other craft for waste or garbage thrown overboard. Economic Status. Leach's Petrel seems to be unimportant economically. Subfamily OCEANITINiE. Long-legged Storm Petrels. Number of species in North America 3 ; in Massachusetts 1. Bill and nasal tubes similar to those of Procellariinge ; only ten secondaries, fewest of any member of the family ; 1st primary shorter than 2d, usually shorter than 3d ; legs and feet very long ; leg bones longer than wing bones. Oceanites oceanicus (Kuhl). Wilson's Petrel. Other names: long-legged stormy petrel; wilson's stormy petrel; sea martin; mother carey's chicken; long-legged mother carey's chicken; stormy petrel. Plate 9. Description. — Bill much weaker than that of Leach's Petrel ; tail not forked. Adults (sexes alike) : Dark sooty-brown, somewhat lighter below; primaries and tail sooty-black; secondary wing-coverts pale gray, tipped with whitish, producing effect of narrow white line ; upper tail-coverts white, shorter feathers marked with sooty; under tail-coverts mixed basally with white (basal third of outer under 1 Bird-Lore, Vol. XIII, 1911, p. 276. ! Murphy, R. C. : Auk, Vol. XXXII, 1915, p. 172. 3 Collins, J. W. : U. S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries, Report of the Commissioner for 1882 (1884), p. 333. 150 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS tail-coverts white) ; also some white at base of tail, amount of white (more or less) depending upon the individual ; iris brown ; bill, legs and feet black, webs varying from dusky to yellow (or orange centrally). Young in first lointer plumage (in which young are seen here in summer) : Similar to juvenal plumage, but entire plumage dingy and threadbare; greater wing-coverts bleached and frayed; "white edgings of ventral feathers and white mottling of lores still discernible" (R. C. Murphy). Young in juvenal plu- mage : Similar to adult, but with conspicuous white edgings (of variable extent) to feathers of belly and whitish spot before eye ; bill weaker than in adult. Downy young : Grayish-black or sooty. Irregular white markings (albinistic or not) often appear in the plumage of this species. Measurements. — Length 7.00 to 7.50 in. ; spread about 16.00 ; folded wing 5.70 to 6.25 ; tail 3.00 to 3.25; bill .46 to .50; bare tibia 1.00; tarsus 1.30 to 1.35. Molts. — An annual molt takes place during summer (between May and October) in the North Atlantic; apparently the species reaches maturity in one year; Dr. Robert Cushman Murphy, whose experience with this species probably is greater than that of any other living ornithologist, expresses the opinion that the bird does not molt during its first year. Field Marks. — Wilson's Petrel may be distinguished from Leach's Petrel at close range by its almost square-ended tail (tail of the latter species is distinctly forked) ; Dr. C. W. Townsend calls atten- tion to longer leg of Wilson's Petrel (a difference of nearly an inch, which causes its yellow-webbed feet to project beyond tail in flight), as a good field mark; this is shown well in Alexander Wilson's plate; a keen eye will note (when both birds are seen at the same time) that Wilson's Petrel is a little darker and a little smaller than the other species, and that the wing beats of Wilson's Petrel are more quick and flut- tering and that the species is more given to short periods of sailing. Voice. — Soft peeping or twittering notes when feeding on fish liver thrown overboard to bait the birds ; cries harsher and more often repeated during boisterous weather (Giraud) ; resemble syllables kee-re-kee-kee and heard more often by night than by day (Audubon) ; a low "weet meet" and a low twit- tering "pe-up" or chirp by day, while at night, when disturbed (by a vessel), a singular guttural chat- tering like kuk kuk k'k, k'k or something similar, ending usually in a low, swallow-like twitter (Nuttall). Breeding. — On sea-coasts and islands. Nest : In a rock-crevice or cleft or under rocks or in hollow made by bird ; either no attempt at nest-making or else a flat structure of twigs and stalks. Eggs : 1 ; average about 1.30 by .90 in. (Nuttall) ; white, marked chiefly around larger end with fine spots of pur- plish or lilac and fine reddish-brown dots. Dates : Eggs have been taken from December to March. Incubation : Period 35 days (A. C. Bent) ; breeding and nesting period approaches 5 months (R. C. Murphy) ; by male. Range. — All oceans except North Pacific ; Antarctic regions north to Davis Strait ; Labrador and British Isles. Breeds on Mauritius and Kerguelen Islands, in Indian Ocean, and on Antarctic islands and Antarctic continent ; known to breed at Cape Horn, on Adelie Land, and Victoria Land and the South Orkney and South Shetland Islands and South Georgia Island ; winters in northern summer mainly in western North Atlantic "between the latitudes of Bermuda and Greenland" ; accidental inland. Distribution in New England. — ■ Common, often abundant, from early May to middle of Sep- tember off Maine coast ; common to abundant from late May to September off southern New England coast ; often in considerable numbers not very far offshore ; casual or accidental inland (Maine and Vermont). Season in Massachusetts. — Late May to late September ; more rarely seen in October south of Cape Cod. Haunts and Habits. Wilson's Petrel was long a bird of mystery. In summer it appeared in the North Atlantic, but it was never known to breed or even to go ashore unless driven there by high winds. Time solved the mystery. This petrel is the small- est of New England sea-birds. Its length is less than that of the Purple Martin. It is PETRELS 151 too small and delicate to withstand severe winter storms, and so times its migrations, therefore, as to live in perpetual summer. But like the shearwaters it reverses the ordi- nary migratory movement of the Northern Hemisphere. It breeds during the Antarc- tic summer in the Southern Hemisphere ; then wings its way far northward toward the top of the world making a journey of about 7,000 miles ; and passes the period of extreme Antarctic winter in the North Atlantic Ocean. It keeps to the wide seas and is rarely seen ashore in our latitudes unless driven in by very severe, prolonged gales. That it cannot withstand such storms even in summer is shown by the fact that during the terri- ble gale that raged on the coast of North Carolina August 28, 29 and 30, 1893, many thousands of these birds were driven ashore on the beach extending from Beaufort harbor to Cape Lookout. In places the beach was covered with their bodies two or three deep, and the shore was littered with the dead, dying or exhausted birds, from the water up to the beach-grass, as reported by Mr. James Davis, a well-known business man of Beaufort.1 Petrels live and die at sea. In company with Mr. A. C. Bent one day in the summer of 1921, 1 picked up from the surface of Cape Cod Bay a petrel of this species that was lying upon the water, apparently in its death struggles and unable to hold up its head. Our boatman said that petrels were sometimes taken in this condition by Banks fishermen. Wilson's Petrel appears in numbers near our coast in June, July and August. Mr. E. P. Bicknell writes that on August 3, 1922, off the beach at Hewlett, Long Island, there was an enormous flock of "thousands and thousands, rising sometimes like a low, black cloud, about 1 mile long." The bird even penetrates into harbors; but commonly it is seen miles from any shore flapping and skipping along on the waves and often using both wings and feet at once, and thus both running (or skipping) and flying on the surface ; hence, according to Dampier (1703), the name petrel (little Peter) after the Apostle Peter who also essayed to walk upon the waves. It seems credible, however, that the petrels were thus named in imitation of the notes of some species which resemble the word "petterel." Some photographs of this species show the bird apparently walking on the water, one foot after another. But usually it seems to hop or jump along with both feet habitually and I have never seen it walk. Dr. R. C. Murphy whose experience with the species is much greater than mine makes a similar statement.2 Wilson's Petrel may be seen during the summer from the deck of any vessel more than ten miles from shore. It is the common "Stormy Petrel" or "Mother Carey's Chicken" that follows steamships from American ports far out on the Atlantic, but unless viewed close at hand it is difficult to distinguish from Leach's Petrel except with a power- ful glass. On a calm sea this species flies along close to the surface, flexing their wings like bats or fluttering almost like butterflies. In windy weather they sail more with set wings, using both feet at once and striking them down hard to leeward. They sometimes hop or bound from the surface of the wave, and appear to be tireless examples of perpetual 1 Pearson, T. Gilbert : Auk, Vol. XVI, 1899, p. 249, and Birds of North Carolina, 1919, p. 44. 2 Bulletin, American Museum of Natural History, Vol. XXXVIII, 1918, pp. 134-137. 152 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS motion as they often fly by night as well as by day ; but Dr. Murphy, who watched them on a whaling voyage, says that at evening the birds dropped behind and he saw some settle on the sea. At about eight o'clock in the morning they appeared in the vessel's wake again. This indicates that the Wilson's Petrel rests at night on the sea. It is remarkable that Wilson's Petrel seems to be unmolested by the Skua, that terri- ble foe of smaller birds, which Dr. Murphy says never attacks the species, though "quite ready to pounce upon or devour a dead or disabled Oceanites." Both species feed together at times and although Wilson's Petrel is much smaller than many of the birds that the Skua attacks and no swifter on the wing than others, it seems to enjoy complete immunity. Now and then one loses a leg, probably to some voracious fish, and one- legged birds are not rare. Sometimes in daylight this species may be seen resting in flocks on the water. While they sometimes alight on its surface to pick up food, they usually gather this while flying and skipping along or while fluttering and stationary. They dance upon the sea, search- ing along the "slicks" and picking up any bits of oily matter that may float, and some- times plunge or dive beneath the surface.1 This Petrel when ashore is not only incapable of perching but even of standing upright unless by the aid of its fluttering wings. It walks on its tarsi ; but by a powerful exertion of its wings it is enabled to run on its toes as it does on the surface of the sea. Apparently Wilson's Petrel leaves its far southern breeding-grounds in March, and in April appears off the coast of Brazil. Early in May its hordes appear in the North Atlantic. The young birds seem to remain nearer the coast than the adults, and do not go so far north as the latter, for in northern regions they are in the minority. During summer the majority of the species seems to be distributed along the coast of North America and west of the Gulf Stream ; but individuals may appear almost anywhere in the North Atlantic and some have been noted off the African coast. In September and October they all move southward toward their breeding-grounds and the Antarctic summer. Wilson's Petrel feeds largely on fish oil and on small oily morsels, both of which it gleans from the surface of the waves. Often when taken in the hand it ejects this rancid oil from the stomach through the mouth or nostrils or both, and it always seems to carry the offensive odor of the liquid. Petrels gather about fishing-boats to feed on offal or bait or about whaling vessels for oil and scraps of blubber, and like other sea-birds may be attracted by throwing out pieces of fish liver for which they will come close to the boat. Dr. C. W. Townsend says that besides oil he has found in the stomachs of these petrels a few small stones and bits of charcoal.2 Dr. Murphy reports fishes, maggots, seaweed, minute crustaceans and traces of algse among the stomach contents of this species.3 Economic Status. See page 135. 1 Murphy, R. C. : Bulletin, American Museum of Natural History, Vol. XXXVIII, 1918, p. 137. See also Spinney, Herbert L. : Auk, Vol. XX, 1903, p. 65. 8 Townsend, C. W. : Memoirs of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, No. Ill, The Birds of Essex County, 1905, p. 111. a Murphy, R. C. : Bulletin, American Museum of Natural History., Vol. XXXVIII, 1918, p. 145. PLATE 10 PLATE 10 CORMORANT Page 158 Young in First Winter Plumage Adult in Nuptial Plumage DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT Page 160 Young in First Winter Plumage Adult in Nuptial Plumage GANNET Page 155 Young in First Winter Plumage Adult All one-sixth natural size. GANNETS 153 Order STEGANOPODES — Totipalmate Swimmers. Number of species in North America 20 ; in Massachusetts 7. Birds of this order differ from all other swimming birds in having four-toed feet fully webbed. The hind toe is large, placed slightly to one side and lower down than in other swimming birds, and is connected to the inner toe by a complete web reaching to the toe- tips. Thus these birds have three complete webs on their large feet, which are powerful swimming implements. The nostrils are very small, rudimentary or wanting. The bill in most cases is hooked, with a nail more or less distinct, and beneath it there is a pouch or sac connected with the throat. All the species are believed to feed chiefly on fish, which they pursue beneath the surface of the water, plunge for or scoop up with the bill. In some of the families the air-receptacles of the interior of the body are connected with air-cells situated beneath the skin of the breast and the abdomen. This pneumatic arrangement is seen at its best in the Pelicans and Gannets. When these pectoral air- cells are inflated, the birds ride very lightly on the water, and the air-cushion thus formed may serve as a "shock absorber" to deaden the force of the blow when these heavy birds plunge into the water from a height. The order Steganopodes contains six families and not over seventy species (Coues). Two of the families — Anhingidce, Darters, and Phaethontidce, Tropic Birds — are not represented in New England ; the other four families are the Sulidce, Gannets, Phala- crocoracidce, Cormorants, Pelecanidce, Pelicans, and Fregatidce, Man-o'-war-birds. Family SULIDiE. Gannets. Number of species in North America 6 ; in Massachusetts 2. The Sulidce include the birds generally known as gannets or boobies. Gannets are sea-birds but do not ordinarily wander so far at sea as the Tubinares. They seem to prefer coastal waters. All have a small, naked gular sac or throat pouch. The Sulidce are large, goose-like, long-winged birds, but unlike geese in flight they alternately sail and flap, and they secure their prey by diving into the sea, usually from a height, some- what in the manner of terns. The bill is rather long, straight and tapering, with sharp, irregularly serrated edges, but is not hooked. The short, stout, serviceable legs are placed near the center of the body. The feet as in all this order have three full webs. Birds of this family are gregarious and breed in large colonies. Eleven species have been re- corded ; one northern and the others distributed along tropical and subtropical coasts. Economic Status. Birds of this family feed almost entirely on fish, and fishermen generally believe them to be detrimental to the fisheries. No thorough investigation of their food has been made. It is very evident, however, that where gannets are numerous, fish also are abundant. The eggs and flesh of gannets are utilized for food in some parts of the world. 154 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Stila leucogastra (Boddaert). Booby. Other names: brown booby; booby gannet. Fig. 18. Description. — Adults (sexes alike) : Dark brown above ; below white from base of neck backward ; lining of wings dark brown and white, varying; axillars usually white; a grayish wash sometimes on breast and belly ; head and neck of some individuals streaked brownish and white ; bill and bare parts of head light colored or flesh-colored, bill varying to yellowish toward base ; feet usually yellow ; iris white. Young : Grayish-brown ; lower breast and abdomen grayer ; axillars lighter or whitish. Downy young : Born naked but soon clothed with white down. Measurements. — Length 28.00 to 31.00 in. ; spread 50.00 or more; folded wing 14.50 to 16.50; tail 6.50 to 9.50; bill 3.25 to 4.00; tarsus 1.50 to 1.90. Molts. — The molts of this species have not been carefully worked out ; apparently the juvenal plumage is worn through the first winter and until the postnuptial molt of the second year, at which time the bird may assume adult plumage. Field Marks. — Easily known by small size and brown, unspotted upper plumage ; adults show sharp contrast between dark neck and white breast. Voice. — Comparatively silent ; when quarreling or alarmed utters hoarse, harsh screams. Breeding. — In large colonies ; on islands in tropical seas. Nest : On ground ; usually a slight lining of dry grass in a little hollow ; rarely on bushes and made of sticks ; sometimes no nest. Eggs : 2 ; 2.25 to 2.50 by 1.50 to 1.75 in. ; chalky-white. Dates: January 14 to June 12, Bahamas. Incubation: Shared by both sexes ; "sitting or brooding birds spend the night upon the nest, with their mate standing at their side" (Chapman). One brood yearly. Range. — Atlantic coast of tropical America, and Pacific and Indian oceans. Breeds on Bahamas, some of West Indies and islands off coasts of Honduras, Costa Rica, Venezuela and Brazil and on St. Paul Rocks and Ascension Island in the tropical Atlantic ; casual on south Atlantic and Gulf coasts of United States from South Carolina to Louisiana ; accidental on Long Island and in Massachusetts (doubtfully) ; a rather irregular visitant to coast of United States. Distribution in New England. — Two records are the doubtful one recorded by Linsley at Guilford, Connecticut,1 and the male estray from Cape Cod, recorded by Dr. T. M. Brewer in the Pro- ceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, Vol. XX, 1879, p. 277. This bird was found Sep- tember 17, 1878, in the Boston market with some ducks from Cape Cod, by the Messrs. E. A. and Outram Bangs, and was supposed to have come from the same locality. But exact time and place, as well as name of gunner, are lacking in the record. Haunts and Habits. The nearest breeding-place of the Booby is the Bahama Islands, and it is merely a casual visitant even to the coasts of Georgia and South Caro- lina. It gets its name from its apparently foolish habit of standing by its nest and defending its young. Therefore on its breeding-ground it can be killed with a club. Extermination will be its fate unless it is stringently protected on some of its breeding- grounds. It fishes like the gannet but does not fly so high. Often it sails along very low in the trough of the sea. Dr. Frank M. Chapman gives an excellent description of its nesting habits in "Camps and Cruises of an Ornithologist," pp. 210-217. Economic Status. See page 153. 1 American Journal of Science and Arts, Vol. XLIV, 1843, p. 271. *r* - - ,/!-•.- k • Courtesy of Dr. Frank M. Chapman Fig. 18. — Booby Male, female and young. From Camps and Cruises of an Ornithologist Fig. 19. — Man-o'-War-Bird From a specimen in the Museum of Comparative Zoology Page 171 GANNETS 155 Moris bassana (Linnaeus). Gannet. Other names: white gannet; solan or soland goose. Plate 10. Description. — Bill longer than head, very stout at base, tapering but not hooked ; wings very long ; tail short and pointed. Adults (sexes alike) : White ; head and hind neck washed with pale straw- yellow or cream color ; primaries and spurious wing blackish ; primary shafts white darkening toward tips ; bill pale grayish, tinged with bluish or greenish ; nasal groove, bare skin before eye and gular pouch blackish ; mouth black (young as well as adults) ; legs and feet brownish-black ; claws pale gray ; iris white or very pale yellowish ; a bright blue ring around eye ; pale yellow of head varies in intensity with individuals — most intense in spring and summer, sometimes nearly wanting in winter. Young in first winter plumage : Dark brown above, including entire head and neck, feathers with small triangular white spots; below grayish-white, feathers with grayish-brown margins; flight-feathers and tail-feathers blackish, shafts of latter white ; bill darker than in adult ; feet dusky ; iris pale brown, greenish or gray- ish ; this dusky, spotted plumage gradually grows white, head, neck and under plumage changing first, while back still remains dark and more or less spotted ; at 16 months of age a captive specimen had an unspotted dark back and white head and neck ; at 22 months more white appeared on lesser wing coverts, back and scapulars ; color of iris changes with age, through pale gray to purplish-gray at 12 months until at 24 months it whitens like that of adult ; at 7 months ring about eye turns blue, but not so bright as in adult. Downy young : Newly hatched nestlings are black and almost bare, with mouth dark bluish-gray and a "sprinkling of powder-like down" (Gurney) ; twenty-four hours later more down begins to show, but a fortnight is required before it clothes the young bird with a thick white or pale yellowish coat. Measurements. — Length 33.00 to 40.50 in. ; spread 72.00, more or less ; folded wing 17.00 to 21.00 ; tail 9.00 to 10.00; bill 4.00 to 4.30; tarsus 2.00 to 2.25. Female smaller than male. Molts. — "The prenuptial molt takes place in March, April and May, and the postnuptial molt in August and September" (Gurney). At least three years are required for the Gannet to attain its perfect plumage, and some individuals may take a longer time ; European authorities differ on this, and estimates range from two years to six years ; Gurney believes that the complete plumage is attained in two and one-half years, although "some individuals take three years." The Practical Handbook of British Birds describes progressive plumages up to the fourth winter. Field Marks. — Gannets when diving may be distinguished from gulls as far as the eye can see, for gulls do not habitually dive in the perpendicular manner of gannets ; also the adult Gannet — a great white bird with black wing-tips — is unmistakable, while the equally unmistakable "shape" and habits will serve to identify the dark young or the pied immature bird. Voice. — The harsh call of the Gannet resembles the syllables "gor-r-r-r-rok" (Chapman); loud harsh cries of "carra-carra-carra" (Dixon) ; " karrack-kurruck " (A. C. Bent) ; there is also a softer note, "grog-grog." Breeding. — In large colonies; on precipitous sea-islands. Nest: Of seaweed chiefly (sticks also used in some cases), ranging from a bulky and well-made structure to practically no nest at all; usually on cliffs or summits. Eggs: 1 ; 3.00 to 3.30 by 1.80 to 2.10 in. ; bluish-white overlaid with calcareous matter, more or less stained and soiled. Dates: May 5 to July 20, Bird Rock, Gulf of St. Lawrence. Incubation: Period 38 to 42 days, usually 42 days (Gurney), 39 days (Newton); by both sexes. One brood yearly. Range. — Coasts of North Atlantic. Breeds on Bird Rock and Bonaventure Island in Gulf of St. Lawrence, on a rock off south coast of Newfoundland (near Cape St. Mary's), on an island off Ham- ilton Inlet, Labrador (54° 30' N.), also on another island farther north, on various British islands and north to the Faroes and Iceland — in all not over a score of known breeding-places ; winters from Vir- ginia coast (irregular, rare to casual in winter to Maine) south to Gulf of Mexico, and on coasts of North 156 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Africa, Madeira and Canaries ; in migration off eastern United States coast ; occasional in summer, off New England coast ; casual north to Greenland, and in Indiana, Michigan and Ontario. Distribution in New England. — Common fall and spring migrant off coasts of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island ; sometimes in summer ; in winter off Massachusetts and (rarely) Connecticut coasts ; accidental in interior. Season in Massachusetts. — March to June; September to December; commonest in fall; various summer dates ; seen sometimes in winter off Cape Cod in mild seasons ; said to be not rare in winter along south shore of Marthas Vineyard — "very common during onshore storms when they pass continually just out of gunshot feeding as they go and diving from considerable heights" (Allan Keniston, Vineyard Haven). Haunts and Habits. In fall and spring, rarely in summer, and sometimes in winter, great white birds with long, black-tipped wings may be seen fishing off our coasts. They sail high over the sea, and at the right moment nearly close their pinions and shoot down like barbed arrow-heads into the waves with a resounding splash that sometimes tosses up spray eight or ten feet like a fountain. To see such fishing is worth a trip to Cape Cod, Cape Ann or some other outlying point of the coast. These birds are Gannets from the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Captain Collins says that the height of their flight above the surface when they are fishing varies according to the depth at which the fish are swimming. By noting the elevation from which the Gannets plunge, expert fishermen can tell how deep to set their nets. These birds often dive from a height of about one hundred feet, but a plunge of about 60 feet is more common. Mr. W. Eagle Clarke says that in no case has he seen a Gannet drop more than 140 feet.1 The bird plunges from a height to get sufficient impetus to carry it to a considerable depth below the surface. When the fish are near the surface, it sails close to the water and glides down diagonally upon them. But when small fish are at the surface, it sometimes rests on the water and pursues its prey on the waves, snatching them up with the bill. We have little knowledge of the manner in which it chases its prey under water, but Mr. Booth says that his tame Gannets when diving used their wings beneath the surface after the manner of the guillemot.2 If a bird with wings as long as a Gannet's can use them to advantage under water, it seems probable that all birds that dive use their wings on occasion for propulsion beneath the surface. • No one knows how far down beneath the waves the Gannet pursues its prey. Mr. William Thompson records in Charlesworth's Magazine of Natural History (1838, p. 19) that he learned from the postmaster of Ballantrae, a fishing village on the coast of Ayr- shire, Scotland, that Gannets were commonly caught there in fishermen's nets which were set at depths of nine to twenty fathoms and sometimes at thirty fathoms (180 feet). Gould, in his "Birds of Great Britain" (Vol. V), tells the same story, which he had inde- pendently from some boatmen at Ballantrae.3 That a Gannet could force its way to a depth of 180 feet is, however, generally regarded by most naturalists as improbable. » Studies in Bird Migration, Vol. I, 1918, pp. 302-303. * Booth, E. T. : Rough Notes, 1883, pt. V, p. 14 s Gurney, J. H. : The Gannet, 1913, p. 409. GANNETS 157 Gurney gives statements of competent witnesses to the effect that Gannets were taken at a depth of ninety feet.1 Considering the buoyancy of a Gannet, increased as it is by great subcutaneous air cells, it would seem impossible for it to force itself down even ninety feet without using both wings and feet for propulsion. Certainly the impetus of its plunge would never carry it to such a depth. The Gannet, it is said, cannot fish in a perfectly calm sea. Probably it is difficult, if not impossible, for so heavy a bird to rise from the water without help from the wind. Gannets have been washed ashore in numbers during a dead calm with a heavy swell running. The young leave the nest long before they are able to rise on the wing. They nutter or sail down from the cliff to the surface of the sea and there they remain until able to shift for themselves. Probably there is great mortality among them before the survivors gain full power of flight. They must keep at sea until they reach maturity as they do not appear on the breeding-grounds until in adult plumage. From the deck of a coasting steamer in winter I have watched numbers of these great birds fishing far over the sea. The feet are not used for steering in flight as in the short- tailed sea-birds like loons, grebes and auks but are carried under the tail. Gannets are active before a coming storm, and their snow-white forms contrasted against a murky sky as they sweep over the sea, now plunging, now rising again, always enliven the scene. Both sexes of the Gannet participate in the "mating dance," which consists largely of bowing, with wings raised and partly open and tail raised and spread. This per- formance is described in detail by Dr. Charles W. Townsend in Bulletin 121 of the United States National Museum, prepared by Mr. A. C. Bent. When the migratory fish begin their southward movement, the Gannets move with them and often between the middle of October and the 15th of December they may be seen in numbers by anyone walking on New England shores. Wherever fish on which the Gannets feed are abundant, there the birds may be found. They move southward slowly, following the fish. In January or February, in mild winters, some may be seen off Cape Cod, Block Island, Long Island, Nantucket and Marthas Vineyard, but usually they keep rather far from shore. From the latter part of March to early May, according to the season, they again become common on our coasts as they move slowly toward their homes in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Writing of the Gannets on Bird Rock in 1860, Bryant says : "The birds were feeding principally on herring but also on capelin filled with spawn, some fine looking mackerel, a few squids, and in one instance a codfish weighing at least two pounds." 2 Gurney, in his monograph of the Gannet (which see for a full account of this species) gives the follow- ing list of fishes eaten by this bird in European waters : Herring, Mackerel, Coal-fish, Pollock, Codling, Whiting, Haddock, Power Cod, Sand Eel, Salmon, Smelts, Sea Trout, Gurnards (any species), Garfish, Pilchard, Anchovy and Cuttlefish. He also mentions the Sild of Iceland and the Sardine of the Mediterranean. Gannets in captivity will eat i Gurney, J. H. : The Gannet, 1913, pp. 410-411. 2 Bryant, Henry : Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, Vol. VIII, 1862, p. 69. 158 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS almost any fish and even fresh liver. They have been known to catch and eat sparrows.1 Rev. J. H. Linsley in his "Birds of Connecticut" states that in the stomach of a Solan Goose killed at Stratford, Connecticut, there was a bird "and in the stomach of the latter was also a bird." 2 Economic Status. Though the Gannets have been accused of doing considerable damage to the fishing interests, these harmful effects have been much overestimated (P. A. Taverner). No exhaustive study of the food of the Gannet and of its economic status has been made. Family PHALACROCORACID^E. Cormorants. Number of species in North America 6 ; in Massachusetts 2. Cormorants are among the most powerful of swimming birds as the legs are short and very strong and the feet large, strong and fully webbed. There is an apophysis of the tibia, shorter than in grebes, and a large free patella, both of which give extra points of attachment for powerful swimming muscles that move the legs. In under-water progression cormorants use their large wings as well as their feet, in case of necessity, and they dive to great depths. The bill is almost as long as the head, stout or slim, with upper mandible strongly hooked at the end. Adults have no external nostrils but breathe through the mouth. The nostrils of the young close as they near maturity. There is a small naked gular pouch under the bill and naked skin about the eyes. Unlike other birds of this order the cormorant's legs are set far back on its body so that the bird is forced to stand nearly erect or lie on its breast, thus resembling somewhat the Pygopodes in structure and standing position. The tail is strong and stiff, forming with the legs a tripod for the support of the body when the bird is standing on earth or rock. (In this case, however, the tail is not always used.) Cormorants are chiefly dark (although some are white below) and densely feathered. Economic Status. Cormorants feed voraciously on fish, but their food and food habits have not been fully investigated, and their economic status is not yet known. The Chinese make use of cormorants by training the birds to catch fish. Phalacrocorax carbo (Linnaeus). Cormorant. Other names: shag; common cormorant. Plate 10. Description. — Feathers of throat run up to a point in center almost reaching bill and so dividing bare skin of throat-pouch as to make its posterior outline heart-shaped ; tail of 14 feathers. Adults in nuptial plumage (sexes alike) : Glossy greenish or bluish-black ; most of upper back, scapulars and wing- coverts bronze-gray, feathers with glossy black edging ; flight-feathers and tail grayish-black ; conspic- uous yellow pouch beneath bill bordered behind by broad encircling patch of white feathers ; large white patch on flank ; numerous long, white, linear, filamentous feathers scattered on head and neck ; black 1 Gurney, J. H. : The Gannet, 1913, pp. 386-393. * American Journal of Science and Arts, Vol. XLIV, 1843, p. 271. CORMORANTS 159 feathers on hind head and hind neck elongated into slight crest ; bill dusky, yellowish-white along edges and yellow at base of lower mandible ; iris green ; skin about eye dull greenish, beneath eye orange ; legs and feet blackish ; white patches on flanks sometimes begin to appear in January and disappear in July. Adults in winter plumage: Similar, but no crest and no white feathers on head and neck or on flanks; white of flanks well developed sometimes by March. Third year (May) : Similar to adult but color of upper plumage less brilliant and under plumage not so rich glossy black ; birds of this age (prob- ably about 26 months old), do not breed but assume a partial breeding plumage; white, hair-like feathers on head and neck indicated, and white flank-patches partially acquired. 2nd year (September) : Upper plumage like that of adult but less brilliant and mixed here and there with feathers of first plumage ; white feathers of breast and belly widely tipped brownish-black, presenting a mottled appearance. Young in first plumage (September) : General color above dull brown, somewhat glossed on head, neck and back with bluish-green ; feathers of back, scapulars and wing-coverts with wide dark margins ; throat, front of neck, breast and belly white ; sides, flanks, thighs and under tail-coverts dark brownish-black ; as age advances, front of neck and chest become brown.1 Downy young: Blackish although hatched naked with livid-slatish skin; feet dusky; legs yellowish-brownish; throat-pouch and mouth inside, flesh color. Measurements. — Length 34.00 to 40.00 in.; spread 60.00 to 62.00; folded wing 12.00 to 15.00; tail 6.00 to 7.75 ; bill 2.60 to 3.10 ; tarsus 2.25 to 2.50. Female a little smaller than male. Molts. — The molting of the Cormorant seems not to have been fully worked out ; Ogilvie-Grant says that among the birds of one or two years old, molt appears to be continuous throughout greater part of a year; immature birds probably assume adult nuptial plumage after prenuptial molt in spring of 4th year when about 3 years old ; adults undergo a partial prenuptial molt in spring (beginning in Feb- ruary or March) and a complete postnuptial molt (July to November) ; the white neck-feathers are molted in May and June or July. Field Marks. — Size of a small goose ; usually swims with bill pointed upward ; distinguished from goose or loon in winter by much longer tail and darker coloration ; difficult to distinguish carbo from auritus at a distance unless the two species are seen together, when carbo is known by greater size ; white throat of adult carbo usually conspicuous and in spring white patch on flank may be seen ; young carbo usually has belly much whiter than duller immature auritus ; this may be noted when birds are sitting but not when they are on water except as one rises to flap its wings. Voice. — "A harsh croak" (C. W. Townsend) ; a craw reiterated, hoarse. Breeding. — In colonies ; usually on precipitous sea-islands. Nest : Of sticks and seaweed ; gen- erally on shelves or in crevices of cliffs near sea ; rarely in trees. Eggs : 4 to 6 ; 2.40 to 2.60 by 1.47 to 1.75 in. ; bluish-green or bluish-white, with a chalky deposit. Dates : June 1-30, Labrador. Incubation: Period 28 or 29 days (Evans) ; by both sexes. Range. — Northern Hemisphere. Breeds from central Greenland south to Nova Scotia, formerly Grand Manan and (probably) Maine ; now rare or absent over much of its former range in North America ; breeds also in Iceland, Scandinavia, North Russia and the British Isles ; (European continental birds now regarded as subspecifically distinct) ; winters from southern Greenland south to Long Island, casually to Lake Ontario and South Carolina, and from the Mediterranean south to Canary Islands ; a regular fall transient in small numbers off shores of Long Island. Distribution in New England. — Maine : Uncommon migrant and winter resident ; Vermont : Rare migrant; Massachusetts: Uncommon migrant and winter resident coastwise; Rhode Island: Uncommon migrant and winter resident ; Connecticut : Rare migrant and winter visitor coastwise. Season in Massachusetts. — (September 22) ; November to April; (May 14). Haunts and Habits. If in the dead of winter one sees off our coast a large, dark bird flapping slowly along close to the water with outstretched neck and alighting on a 1 Ogilvie-Grant, W. R. : Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum, Vol. XXVI, 1898, p. 346. 160 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS spindle or a ledge where it stands nearly upright, probably that bird is the Cormorant. Once it was the "Common Cormorant." It is the common Cormorant of Europe and was common here also in winter long ago. Today it is rather rarely seen as it has been nearly extirpated from its Canadian breeding-grounds ; and as it is a hardy bird, it is probable that those breeding in Arctic regions rarely reach the latitude of Massachusetts. A cormorant seen in spring or autumn is much more likely to belong to the next species. The Cormorant may be looked for in late autumn, winter or very early spring on outlying ledges such as the Salvages off Rockport, and the Cormorant Rocks off Newport, Rhode Island ; but often it may be looked for in vain. Cormorants usually assemble in small numbers toward night to roost on such ledges. There are several such islets of sea- washed rocks off the Maine coast where these birds formerly gathered in numbers, and where between October and May some still may be found. The habits and food of the Cormorant are similar to those of the next species. Economic Status. See page 158. Phalacrocorax auritus auritus (Lesson). Double-crested Cormorant. Other names: shag; taunton turkey. Plate 10. Description. — Hinder edge of throat-pouch nearly straight ; tail of 12 feathers; tufts of elongated, narrow, curved feathers on head probably shed during nesting, as seldom seen after breeding season. Adults in nuptial plumage (sexes alike) : Glossy greenish-black ; upper back, scapulars and wing-coverts bronzy-gray, feathers with glossy black margins and black shafts; flight-feathers and tail black; two lateral tufts of curly, black feathers on top of head, behind eye (double-crest) ; few (if any) white fila- mentous feathers over eye; bill dusky with yellowish markings; iris green; lores and throat-pouch orange ; intense bluish-green dottings around eye ; eyelids and mouth blue ; feet black. Adults in winter : Similar, but no crests ; eyelids dull ; bill yellow, dusky along ridge ; throat-pouch red in front, yellow-ochre behind. Young in first winter plumage: Top of head and adjoining hind neck brown; back, scapulars and wing-coverts dull, grayish-brown; feathers with brownish-black margins; rump black ; sides of head and fore neck grayish ; breast whitish darkening to blackish on belly ; throat-pouch and base of bill yellowish ; some young much whiter on fore neck and breast than others. Downy young : Dark brown or black, but hatched naked, black and shiny ; down assumed in a few days. Measurements. — Length 29.00 to 35.00 in. ; spread 50.00 to 53.00; folded wing 12.00 to 13.00; tail 6.00 to 7.00 ; bill 2.06 to 2.55 ; tarsus 2.25 to 2.55. Female rather smaller than male. Molts. — First winter plumage is completed in September, having gradually succeeded natal down, and is worn through winter with little change ; molting begins in some cases in February but mostly not until late spring or summer; postnuptial molt begins probably in summer followed by second winter plumage, often not completed until late in winter when bird resembles adult but lacks double crest ; molt and change have been almost constant until now the bird is ready to breed ; adults have in late summer a complete postnuptial molt and in early spring a partial prenuptial molt followed by nuptial plumes or crests on sides of head (A. C. Bent). Field Marks. — Longer than any duck or brant ; adult Double-crested Cormorant never has a white patch on throat like the common Cormorant, and its young has a light gray breast shading to black on lower belly while young of latter has a nearly white lower breast and belly ; a cormorant on the water looks somewhat like a loon, but the adult is dark below (where loons are white) as well as above ; does CORMORANTS 161 not fly like a loon but flaps like a heron ; often alternates its flapping with brief sailing ; its long tail and neck are then quite distinctive ; a large, dark bird flying singly or in flocks of varying size — to quote Dr. Townsend (Birds of Essex County) — "in single file, in a perfect V, or in an irregular bunch" ; when perched, the cormorant's shape — figure upright, neck long and slightly curved and tail used as a prop — is unmistakable ; when sitting in "spread-eagle " style, with wings held out as if to dry, it may be recog- nized as far as the eye can see ; on wing the dark cormorants have a general resemblance to geese or large ducks. Voice. — "Except for an occasional hoarse grunting croak when alarmed, I have never heard the Double-crested Cormorant make any vocal sound whatever and believe it is usually silent" (A. C. Bent). Breeding. — In colonies; chiefly on rocky sea-islands or on islands in lakes in the interior; some- times in woods. Nest : Of sticks and weed-stalks or sticks and seaweed ; sometimes large and well built ; on ledges of cliffs, on ground or in trees or bushes. Bggs : 2 to 5 ; (many sets of 5 and 6 and several of 7 at Lake Winnipeg) ; 2.25 to 2.52 by 1.35 to 1.59 in. ; greenish-blue overlaid with a chalky deposit. Dates : May 26 to June 19, Labrador ; July 2, Maine coast ; May 7, southeastern Minnesota ; May 12 to July 11, North Dakota and Minnesota. Range. — North America east of Rocky Mountains. Breeds from central Mackenzie (Great Slave Lake), south central Alberta, central Saskatchewan, southern Manitoba, James Bay, northeastern Quebec, Labrador and Newfoundland south to northern Utah (records here may mean albociliatus or two forms may intergrade), central northern Wyoming, South Dakota, southern Minnesota, central Illinois, northeastern Arkansas, west central Ohio (formerly?) and Penobscot Bay, Maine; casual in summer on Long Island ; winters from New Jersey (casually north to Maine) south to Gulf coast ; casual in Ber- muda. (There is a southern subspecies floridanus and two western subspecies — cincinnatus and albo- ciliatus.) Distribution in New England. — Common fall and spring migrant coastwise ; rare or casual in interior or in midsummer; along Maine coast most numerous in fall and spring, but during summer individuals in numbers may be seen east of Rockland and a less number west of this point ; a few have bred on Black Horse Ledge near Isle au Haut — the southernmost known breeding-place on Atlantic coast and the only known breeding-place in Maine ; flocks of cormorants northward bound have been seen late in May in Long Island Sound off the Connecticut shore ; there is a New Hampshire midsummer record — bird shot July 10, 1891, at Kingston. Season in Massachusetts. — April 4 to June 18 ; casual in summer ; August 22 to November 24. Haunts and Habits. The Double-crested Cormorant is now (1923) the only com- mon cormorant of the New England seaboard. In spring, late summer or autumn long flocks of dark birds larger than Black Ducks may be seen almost anywhere along the New England coast, flying "in single file" close to the water with slow-flapping wings and out- stretched necks. When seen passing diagonally at a distance close to the waves, the long wings of each seem to overlap those of the next in line, all rising and falling very nearly together. Often in the shimmering summer haze, which operates to deceive the eye, this spectacle will almost delude the credulous into the belief that they have seen the folds of a sea serpent rolling along the waves. Now and then one of these birds may be seen sitting erect on a spar-buoy ; and the inexperienced young sometimes are tame enough to alight on a spile near some wharf or bridge unconcerned by passing vehicles or people. Usually when a cormorant flies off from such a perch above the water, it descends nearly or quite to the surface before it gathers headway. From this habit has arisen the southern superstition that the "shag 162 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS must wet its tail before it can fly." When resting on the water this bird somewhat re- sembles a loon, but unlike the loon it has no pure white fore neck and breast. The cor- morant's tail is longer than that of a loon and the bird has a hooked bill. This cormorant is a remarkably expert swimmer and diver, and often uses its wings as well as its broad paddles in the pursuit of swift fish in the depths. I have never seen the submarine activ- ities of this species in its natural environment, but Dr. Hatch who had abundant oppor- tunity to watch the bird in its breeding-grounds in the clear lakes of Minnesota says : "Being principally fish eaters they spend most of the time in the water where their move- ments in pursuit of their prey are simply marvellous in velocity. With their totipalmated feet folded flatly into mere blades while earned forward and when struck out backwards opening to their utmost and the half -spread wings beating with inconceivable rapidity, they seem to fly through the waters at various depths in pursuit of their favorite food, the fish." i That eminent ornithologist and close observer, Dr. Coues, says of the whole cormo- rant family : " They also, like the birds just mentioned (Pygopodes), dive and swim under water in pursuit of their prey, using their wings for submarine progression." 2 I have published evidence from several well-known ornithologists who have seen these birds use their wings in subsurface progression and have more of such evidence not yet published. Doubtless both wings and feet are used for propulsion in deep diving or when in pursuit of swift prey ; but where the bird is not hurried as when searching for food among rocks or in artificial tanks, the feet only are so used.3 It is thought that cormorants build (in part at least) their nests with seaweed that they obtain by diving. A statement by Dr. Charles W. Townsend in his "In Audubon's Labrador" (p. 113) lends color to this belief. Referring to a trading-schooner which was sunk off the Labrador coast, he says : "This summer, when some fishermen visited a cormorant island near by, they found that the birds had decorated their nests with pocket-knives, pipes, hairpins and ladies' combs — objects which they had obtained by diving to the wreck." When Double-crested Cormorants have a good breeding season in the North, they sweep past the New England coast in great numbers in the autumnal flight. At times large flocks may be seen flying high overland. This was the case in the autumns of 1905 and 1921. The flight of 1921 was the greatest that I have ever seen. The birds began to come in late August and by early September there were days when many flocks were flying. There were enormous numbers in September and October, and the flight contin- ued until winter set in. In migration these birds fly high, sometimes in very long lines and often in the "V" formation like Canada Geese, the "V" at times being very short on one side and long on the other. Sometimes such flocks are mistaken for geese but their dark color, longer tails, smaller size and silence in flight, while geese are vociferous, 1 Hatch, P. L. : Notes on the Birds of Minnesota, 1892, p. 28. 2 Coues, Elliott : Key to North American Birds, Vol. II, 1903, p. 960. 3 Massachusetts Department of Agriculture, Bulletin No. 8, 1922, pp. 25-29. PELICANS 163 should differentiate them at once. In the return flight numbers usually appear coastwise between the middle of April and the middle of May. Mr. George A. Tapley of Revere shot in winter one of three cormorants which were eating a sculpin. Mr. George H. Mackay took in April, 1892, five of these birds at Cor- morant Rock off Newport, Rhode Island. All of them had eaten small eels. On the flat top of the rock he saw a large number of curious balls which appeared to have been ejected by the cormorants. He collected fourteen of these balls which were composed almost entirely of fish bones, "chiefly those of young parrot-fishes (Labroids) and drums (Scicenoids) firmly cemented together with gluten." One of the largest of these balls was 5.25 inches in circumference and " contained three crabs." Economic Status. "The danger of jumping at conclusions based upon superficial observation or common report was well illustrated by the outcome of a study of the food of these birds in the neighborhood of the Gaspe salmon rivers. Though commonly accused of damaging the salmon fisheries by devouring the small fish and fry, careful examination of about thirty specimens showed that the hundreds of birds present were eating fish of no economic value and no salmonoid remains were found in them. Probably the eels, sculpins and other fish taken by the Cormorant make the species beneficial rather than harmful to the salmon, and probably more than compensate for the few valuable fish that it occasionally takes. This is a good example of the caution that is necessary before condemning any species of birds." * Family PELECANID^!. Pelicans. Number of species in North America 3 ; in Massachusetts 2. Pelicans are large, long-necked birds, with long, large, straight bills, rather broad at base and toward the end, sharp-edged, with the upper mandible strongly hooked at the tip. They have very long wings, short broad tails, short, stout legs and large, fully webbed feet. Below the lower mandible and connected with the throat is a large, naked gular pouch capable of much expansion. The stomachs of pelicans are comparatively small. They feed mainly on small fish and the pouch is believed to be used as a dip-net and as a receptacle for storing or retaining an oversupply of fish until appetite prompts their consumption. Pelicans, like gannets, have layers of air-cells between the body and the skin of the breast and abdomen. Pelicans are gregarious birds and breed in large colonies. Economic Status. Pelicans are commonly regarded as harmful because they eat fish, but such investigations of their food habits as have been made indicate that they are not injurious to the food-fisheries. Their bodies, eggs and feathers have furnished material of considerable economic value in times past. 1 Taverner, P. A. : Memoir 104, Canada Department of Mines, Geological Survey, Birds of Eastern Canada, 1919, pp. 61, 62. 164 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Pelecanus erythrorhynchos Gmelin. White Pelican. Fig. 20. Description. — Tail of 24 feathers ; wings very long. Adults in nuptial plumage (sexes alike) : General plumage white; primaries, primary coverts, spurious wing and many of secondaries black; shafts of quill-feathers white, darkening toward tips ; feathers of hind head (a crest), breast and some of lesser wing-coverts, lengthened and pale yellow (hind head sometimes white) ; center of scapulars and tail-feathers salmon, this coloring very transient and varying in intensity with the individual ; bill and pouch mostly reddish (lower mandible redder than upper and pouch paling terminally from red at base through orange and yellow) ; iris white, whitish or light bluish-gray (brown or dusky at times) ; eyelids red ; bare skin about eye orange ; feet intense orange-red ; bill with horny elevation on terminal half ; following the nuptial season (soon or late) horny appendage and crest are shed ; hindhead has now a patch of soft, gray feathers which in their turn are lost, following (or at close of) breeding season ; many breeding birds (possibly not fully mature) show no yellow on head but gray in its place throughout the breeding season. Adults in winter plumage : Similar, but hind head white ; paler yellowish on breast and lesser wing-coverts ; much less vivid color on face, bill, pouch and feet, all being yellow ; iris brown. Young in first winter plumage: White; bill, face, pouch and feet pale yellowish; iris brown or dusky. Downy young : White ; down soon appears on chicks, which are ruddy and practically naked when hatched, and clothes them completely in a few weeks' time. Measurements. — Length 54.00 to 70.00 in. ; spread 8 ft. to almost 10 ft. ; folded wing 20.00 to 25.25 in. ; tail 6.00 to 7.10; bill 11.05 to 15.00; tarsus 4.50 to 4.75. Molts. — First winter plumage, succeeding down, is acquired in autumn and resembles that of adult ; in spring young birds do not have special adornments of nuptial season ; heads and breasts are pure white and feet and bill duller colored than those of adults ; at first postnuptial molt young become almost indistinguishable from adults but probably do not reach full maturity until 3d or 4th year ; adults have incomplete prenuptial molt and complete (or nearly complete) postnuptial molt. Field Marks. — Size, shape and color of White Pelican make bird unmistakable ; it is conspicuous at a great distance. Voice. — "A deep-voiced, not loud, murmuring groan" (F. M. Chapman). Breeding. — In colonies; on islands in lakes of interior. Nest: On ground; of sticks, reeds and grass, or mere depression in slight heap of sand or pebbles ; eggs sometimes laid on beds of reeds with small attempt (or none) at nest-building. Eggs: 2 to 4; 3.15 to 3.45 by 2.20 to 2.30 in. ; white, chalky, more or less stained and soiled. Dates: May 1 to June 25, Utah and Nevada. Incubation: Period "29 or 30 days" (Burns). Range. — North America. Breeds from central British Columbia, and Great Slave Lake south to southern Manitoba, central North Dakota, northwestern Wyoming, northern Utah, western Nevada, southern Oregon and California ; formerly to Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota and Colorado ; an outlying colony lies south of Corpus Christi, Texas ; the White Pelican nested in 1904 40 miles north of Aitken, Minnesota, but there is no record of the species ever having bred east of the Mississippi ; winters from southern California, southwestern Arizona, the Gulf States, Florida and Cuba south through the Antilles and on both coasts of Mexico and Central America, as well as in the interior, to Panama ; casual east in migration to Atlantic coast, north to New Brunswick ; has wandered in migration to nearly every Canadian Province and nearly every one of the United States ; one was taken in June or July, 1900, by an Eskimo at Liverpool Bay on the shore of the Arctic Ocean, in Lat. 70° Long. 128°. 1 Distribution in New England. — Very rare or accidental straggler. Records: Maine: One shot May 28, 1892, on Passadumkeag Stream near Saponic Lake, Penobscot County ; two seen during a heavy storm, June 8, 1897, at Eliot ; 2 there is in the mounted collection of the Boston Society of Natural History i Fleming, J. H. : Auk, Vol. XXIII, 1906, p. 218. 2 Knight, O. W. : Birds of Maine, 1908, p. 75. From Bird-Lore, Courtesy of Dr. F. M. Chapman Fig. 20. — White Pelican Photograph taken at Pelican Island, Florida, by Harry G. Higbet Fig. 21. — Brown Pelican Ceremony of changing places on the nest Page 166 PELICANS 165 a White Pelican in breeding plumage with "centerboard." It came from Matinicus Light and was shot by Francis Dana. The date of its accession is December, 1913, but other details are lacking. (There are one or two other more or less doubtful Maine records, as one seen at Calais (Geo. A. Boardman). Massachusetts : Adult male shot October 5, 1876, by Mr. George Pratt at North Scituate ; l one taken in 1886 at Gloucester ; 2 male in full nuptial plumage, with well-developed "center-board," found dead May 13, 1905, in beach-grass not far back from water's edge at Sandwich.3 Haunts and Habits. The White Pelican is a majestic bird. Awkward and gro- tesque though it be in captivity, it is, nevertheless, a master of the air and its aerial evolutions at great heights exhibit a power and dignity which can be equaled only by the eagle. The Pelican is a curious survivor of an age that is gone. Dr. Frank M. Chapman well says : " We must accord to pelicans that respectful attention which is the due of extreme age. Pelicans became pelicans long before man became man." A study of the distribu- tion of the eleven existing species leads to the conclusion that as late at least as the latter part of the Tertiary Period, our White Pelican presented much the same appearance that it does today. In former days when Pelicans were abundant in North America, when the early settlers reported flocks on the Hudson River, there may have been many stragglers in New Eng- land ; but now the White Pelican is a vanishing race and a mere accidental visitant to our section. In the spring of 1878 in Florida, I saw great flocks of these gigantic birds. When seen in the distance and magnified by the mirage, they presented the appearance of fleets of stately ships under sail on the calm lagoons. I never saw these birds, like the Brown Pelican, plunge from a height or dive for their food. On the coast they sat on the sands at low water, and as the tide flowed in, they sailed calmly and majestically out over the shallows, formed long lines at a distance from the shore and parallel to it, and then beating the water with their great wings, closed in toward the beach, driving before them the little fish, which they scooped up in their capacious pouches. Then after sitting slug- gishly for a time the great white birds, with heads drawn backward on their shoulders, rose into the air in flocks and sailed grandly, sweeping in wide circles up into the blue dome, rising to enormous heights and floating there for long periods apparently to enjoy the cooling breezes of those high altitudes. In 1878 White Pelicans might be seen almost anywhere along the east coast of Florida. Now some birds perhaps may still be found about the Mosquito Lagoon near the Government Reservation, but the species is slowly disappearing. Some of its great feeding-grounds in the northwestern states have been drained ; from others it has been driven away ; and there seems little hope that the species can be saved to North America unless a number of its principal breeding-places can be made bird reservations and guarded for all time. The best opportunity for protection now is in the Canadian Northwest where Pelicans breed on some of the islands in large lakes. Dr. Chapman has immortalized the White Pelican in the account that he 1 S. K., Jr. : Forest and Stream, Vol. VII, 1876-77, p. 186, and Howe and Allen, Birds of Massachusetts, 1901, p. 60. 2 Allen, G. M. : Fauna of New England : The Aves, 1909, p. 28. 3 Brewster, Wm. : Auk, Vol. XXVI, 1909, p. 185. 166 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS gives of his visits to several of its colonies, and by the excellent photographs that he took of young and old.1 Mr. William L. Finley secured a fine set of moving pictures of the Klamath Lake Colony in Oregon before the lake was ruined by a drainage project. Because of the enterprise of these two naturalists, future generations may have their only opportunity to realize how these wonderful birds appeared in life when they bred abundantly in the United States. In March, April and May the White Pelicans move northward to their breeding- grounds ; and in September, October and November they wing their way slowly south- ward to their winter homes. It is during these migrations that rare stragglers reach New England. Mr. John F. Ferry states that inside the pouches of both old and young pelicans in a colony in Saskatchewan were clusters of parasites — "beetle-like insects with bodies striped with black and white." He further notes that some of the young pelicans disgorged from their pouches masses of salamanders (necturus maculatus) ; also occasion- ally a "jock-fish" and some brook sticklebacks (Eucolia inconstans) .2 Dr. P. L. Hatch says that whether the Pelican takes a minnow or a pickerel weighing three and a half pounds, the fish is grasped transversely, tossed in the air and received head first into the pouch.3 Economic Status. No exhaustive examination of the food of the White Pelican has been made. The species being accidental in New England is of no economic conse- quence here. Pelecanus occidentalis Linn^us. Brown Pelican. Other names : common pelican ; American brown pelican. Fig. 21. Description. — Tail of 22 feathers. Adults in nuptial -plumage (sexes alike) : Head chiefly white with yellow tinge on top, white extending down neck and coming to a point on either side below pouch ; rest of neck and hind head dark chestnut-brown, often lightening on hind neck ; a small crest on nape ; bristly feathers on forehead ; rest of upper plumage dusky-brown or ashy-gray, many of smaller feathers with pale centers, the paler gray prevailing on wing-coverts ; primaries black with white shafts blackening toward tips ; secondaries dark, pale-edged ; tail silvery-gray ; below dark grayish-brown, with narrow white streaks on sides, flanks, axillars, wing-linings and under tail-coverts; lower fore neck chestnut, yellow and blackish ; feathers here and of breast lengthened and narrow ; bill with light and dark mottling, in places tinged carmine ; iris white ; eyelids red ; bare skin around eye bluish ; pouch dusky ; feet slaty- black. Adults in winter plumage (after breeding season) : Similar, but hind head and neck white, with more or less yellowish mainly on head and lower fore neck ; iris brown ; colors of bill and soft parts vary with age or other condition. Young in first winter plumage : Much duller than adult ; head mainly dark brown or brownish ; elsewhere above brownish-gray, feathers with paler edges and tips ; neck plain brownish ; below white, gray-tinged on sides. Downy young : White ; down appears in about 12 days on 1 Chapman, Frank M. : Camps and Cruises of an Ornithologist, 1908, pp. 367-388. See also Sennett, George B. : Auk, Vol. XL, 1923, p. 629. 2 Ferry, John F. : Auk, Vol. XXVII, 1910, p. 190. 3 Hatch, P. L. : Notes on the Birds of Minnesota, 1892, p. 31. PELICANS 167 young bird which has hatched black and bare, and in about a week clothes it completely ; brownish flight- plumage which appears first on wings is complete when chick is about 10 weeks old — i.e., at flying period, Measurements. — Length 44.50 to 54.00 in. ; spread 74.50 to 84.00; folded wing 18.50 to 21.00; tail 5.50 to 7.00; bill 9.40 to 12.50; throat-pouch extends about 1 ft., more or less, along neck; tarsus 2.50 to 3.00 ; middle toe and claw 4.50. Molts. — Complete molt ("first postnuptial") follows first-year plumage which probably has been worn for about a year ; in second winter silver-gray feathers of adult above show in part ; head and neck are similar to adult but with dusky mottling ; brownish under plumage has still more or less white of immature ; next dress, following partial molt of winter and spring, has under plumage still browner and head whiter while dark brown begins to appear on hind neck ; following next complete molt (second post- nuptial) adult winter plumage apparently is assumed ; adult's partial molt in late winter and early spring is followed by nuptial plumage while a complete postnuptial molt is succeeded by winter plumage ; probably highest plumage, with yellow crown and breast-patch, is not assumed until bird is three years old or more. Field Marks. — Size of a large goose; long bill carried down front of neck; may be distinguished from White Pelican by its dark color and smaller size. Voice. — "The voice at first a choking bark passes through a rasping k-r-r-r-ring stage to a high piercing scream in the down-covered bird to a dignified groan in the bird in flight-plumage . . . the high scream is largely a feeding-note which the fledged young utter at least as long as they receive food from the parent " (F. M. Chapman) ; young Pelicans are very noisy but the adult is practically a silent bird. Breeding. — In colonies ; usually on island in lake or lagoon ; frequently in mangrove growth. Nest: In bushes or on ground; in latter case, of grasses almost wholly; in former, of sticks and grass. Eggs: 2 or 3; 2.80 to 3.10 by 1.80 to 2.15 in. ; white and chalky. Dates: Pelican Island, Florida, December ; Gulf coast, Florida, April 4 ; Louisiana coast, February ; South Carolina, May 8 to 23, and extends even to August ; November 5 (first eggs), Florida, in exceptional year of 1907-08 ; season begins December 1 practically, although some Pelicans on east coast of Florida begin laying in November; dates of incubation periods on east and west coasts of Florida differ widely ; sometimes a few hundred Pelicans lay late in April on Pelican Island ; whether this is a second brood is not known ; egg dates ordi- narily vary from December 1 to July 1. Incubation: Period about 4 weeks; by both sexes. Range. — Atlantic coast of America, from South Atlantic and Gulf coasts of United States to coasts of Central and South America. Breeds in United States from South Carolina and Louisiana to southern Texas ; probably breeds in Greater Antilles ; said to breed in Bahamas, and on South American coast as far south as Brazil ; regular in small numbers off North Carolina coast ; has been observed in Virginia ; accidental in Bermuda, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, New York, New Jersey, New England, Ontario and Nova Scotia. Distribution in New England. — Accidental. Records: New Hampshire: Immature bird shot May 1, 1907, off Great Boar's Head, Hampton Beach.1 Massachusetts : Bird shot out of flock during a heavy storm in 1867 by Mr. C. S. Martin near Brant Point lighthouse, Nantucket ; two birds seen about the same time at Ipswich.2 (The Ipswich record is in C. J. Maynard's "Naturalist's Guide," 1870 (Rev. ed. 1883, p. 149) viz. : "Mr. J. F. LeBaron is confident of having seen two of this species at Ipswich some years ago.") ; four seen June 7, 1922, at Ipswich Beach by C. J. Maynard. Rhode Island: Bird taken April 17, 1921, at Block Island.3 Connecticut: Bird caught alive, June 6, 1902, off Guilford Harbor, by Mr. Levi Thrall.4 Haunts and Habits. In appearance Brown Pelicans are strange, weird creatures. Such peculiar birds have a great educational value. They seem like relics of a hoary past, alone in a modern world. They remind us of the flying reptiles of early ages, and 1 Allen, G. M. : Auk, Vol. XXX, 1913, p. 22. " Allen, J. A. : American Naturalist, Vol. Ill, 1870, p. 640. 3 Dickens, Miss Elizabeth : in litt. 4 Sage, Bishop and Bliss : The Birds of Connecticut, 1913, p. 28. 168 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS should be preserved to perpetuate their curious forms and habits for the benefit of future generations of mankind. But it is only by dint of the strictest protection that they can exist side by side with modern civilization. The Brown Pelican is a mere straggler in New England. In the hot summer months following the breeding season some Pelicans wander northward. They are not now known to breed north of South Carolina, but many appear in summer in North Carolina and occasionally some are seen farther north. Thus one now and then may casually reach New England. Brown Pelicans would be seldom seen by New England people were it not that many of our citizens pass the winter in Florida where some of the breeding grounds of this species have been guarded through the good offices of the National Asso- ciation of Audubon Societies and the United States Biological Survey. Dr. Frank M. Chapman tells us in his "Camps and Cruises of an Ornithologist" that when Pelican Island in Indian River, Florida, was first set aside as a Government Bird Reservation, the warden erected a great sign on the island which warned visitors not to land without permission. This was in 1904. Immediately the birds forsook the island and bred elsewhere that year. The next year the sign was taken down and the birds came back. But a second time the Pelicans left their Island where they had been recorded, with but one absence, for 65 years. Disturbed, doubtless, by the new houses built on the nearby beach-ridge that divides Indian River from the ocean, they (many of them at least) went over 50 miles north, to an island in Mosquito Lagoon, on this same east coast of Florida. Here they met shocking treatment. Their new rookery was promptly raided (1924) by human beings, and at least 80 per cent of the young birds were killed (mostly clubbed to death), adding, to quote from Bird-Lore's editorial, "another black chapter to the history of bird-destruction in Florida. " (See Bird-Lore, Vol. XXVI, 1924, p. 207.) Many years ago our camping-party landed by moonlight on Pelican Island. The birds rose with a great uproar but one failed to awake, and my friend, the late C. K. Reed, walked up to the "sleeping beauty" and grasped it by the bill. To all appearances he had captured a live traveling windmill that was bound to escape. The antics performed by that bird and that man in the "mix-up" that followed were so ludicrous that the rest of the party became helpless with uncontrollable merriment. In Florida Pelicans fish largely in the sea and in lagoons near the coast. Often a long line of the great birds, each with a wing-expansion of more than six feet, may be seen flapping along over the waves of the incoming tide, flying parallel with the shore as they pass on the way to their fishing grounds. With stiffened wings the leader sails low over the heaving sea, flaps a few strokes to get greater speed, and then sails again. One bird after another in regular succession follows his example, sailing with wings wide- spread and heads drawn proudly back, the line falling and rising over the waves and just clearing their summits. Usually in fishing the Pelicans scatter and fly from twenty to thirty feet above the surface. When a Pelican sees a fish to its liking, it falls into the PELICANS 169 Water with a splash like a barrel tossed from a ship's deck. The pneumatic cushion on its breast no doubt deadens the shock, but it also adds to the buoyancy of the bird which thus requires a great momentum to carry it well below the surface. The motions of the bird seem clumsy in the extreme. I saw one plunge, turn slightly in the air, catch its bill in the water and, tripping itself awkwardly, turn a complete somersault, but it landed right side up, and when the commotion had subsided, it had the fish. The Ancients had a high opinion of the maternal qualities of the Pelican. One of the old chroniclers spake thus (freely translated) : "The Pelican is the lovingest bird that is, for she feedeth her young on her heart's blood." This refers to the well-known habit of the young — that of reaching down the mother's throat for its food. Dr. Chapman explains that sometimes a Pelican's pouch is lacerated by the spines of fish and bleeds internally ; and in such a case the young bird might well appear to partake of the blood of the devoted parent. He thus describes the feeding scene : "With the utmost ease the croaking, wobbly little creature helped itself to the pre- digested fish, which, regurgitated by the parent into the front end of its pouch, was brought within reach of its offspring. This method is followed until at the age of about three weeks the young are covered with down, when, evidently requiring a larger supply of food than their parents can prepare for them, and no longer needing predigested nour- ishment, they extend their feeding excursions into the throat of the patient parent, find- ing there entire fish, which in some inexplicable manner they generally swallow before withdrawing their head. Two and even three young will thus actively pursue their search for food at the same time, and only their extended and fluttering wings seem to keep them from disappearing in the depths of the cavernous parental pouch. Not for a mo- ment do they stop their high-voiced squealing, and the rise and fall of their partly muffled screams indicate the nature of their success in getting food. Occasionally the poor judg- ment of the parent allied to the greed of the young, leads the latter to attempt to swallow too large a fish, when the old bird saves its young from choking to death by forcibly pull- ing the fish from the throat it refuses to go down. More frequently the young Pelican secures a fish not too large, but too long for it, when it swallows it as far as it will go, and, with the tail sticking from its pouch, quietly waits for the head to digest before it can en- compass the whole prize." 1 Sometimes the spines of fish are dangerous to fish-eating birds. A Pelican was once found dying on Pelican Island with a cat-fish lodged in its throat, held there by the spines. Heavy fatalities among the young have occurred in the past on Pelican Island. Deaths have sometimes resulted from unfavorable weather conditions, while in other cases starvation has been the apparent cause. Dr. E. W. Nelson, Chief of the United States Biological Survey, examined the remains of many hundreds of fishes dropped by Pelicans on Pelican Island. About 90 per cent were small menhaden, a few were anchovies, four or five were small fish known as "river menhaden" and two were known locally as "butterfish." He also visited the 1 Chapman, Frank M. : Camps and Cruises of an Ornithologist, 1908, pp. 97-98. 170 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS reservation at Bird Key at Tampa Bay on the west coast of Florida where he found the Pelicans feeding "almost entirely on menhaden and anchovies." l Economic Status. Claims have been made by the commercial fishermen of Florida that Pelicans eat enormous quantities of food fishes. One estimate placed the daily damage to the fisheries at the ridiculous sum of $900,000. Dr. Nelson's examination noted above seemed to show that the quantity of food fish destroyed by the Pelicans was immaterial, and that they fed almost entirely on small fish not used for human food. Mr. T. Gilbert Pearson, President of the National Association of Audubon Societies, was requested by the Federal Food Administrator to investigate the food of Brown Peli- cans on their breeding-grounds. He made this investigation in the spring of 1918. Following is an extract from Mr. Pearson's Report : "Regarding the food of the pelican at this season Dr. Hugh M. Smith, Chief of the United States Fish Commission, reported that every specimen sent him that was collected between Rockford, Texas, and Tampa, Florida, was the Gulf menhaden, a fish never used for human consumption. Neither the writer nor the state's representatives with me could find one single food fish. In south Florida menhaden were not so plentiful as farther west, and this may account for the fact that the fish collected there were of seven varieties, viz., common mullet, pigfish, Gulf menhaden, pinfish, thread herring, top- minnow and crevalle. Of the 3,428 specimens taken in Florida waters only twenty- seven individual fish were of a kind ever sold in the markets for food, and not a single specimen of the highly prized varieties, such as trout, mackerel, or pompano, could be discovered in the possession of any pelican. These large, grotesque-looking birds afford winter tourists much interest as they flop about the docks or scramble for fishheads thrown overboard, and many post-cards bearing pictures of pelicans are sent north every year. It is quite possible that the profits made on pelican post-cards at Florida news- stands exceed in value the total quantity of food fish captured by the pelicans in the waters along its charming coast. The Federal Food Administration has felt constrained to say that the charge against the brown pelican has been disproven." 2 Family FREGATID^I. Man-o'-war-birds. Number of species in North America 1 ; in Massachusetts 1. The Man-o'-war-birds are unique among water birds in that they have the greatest spread of wing in proportion to their size, a forked tail of extreme length and extremely small feet. The primaries are very powerful with stout squarish shafts. The long, pelican-like bill has both mandibles hooked downward at their ends, the pouch is com- paratively small but capable of great distention and the long middle toe has a toothed or pectinated claw. The air is the element of these birds and they are seen often at sea, hundreds of miles from land. Few birds can even approach them in their command of 1 A Defense of the Pelican, issued by the Florida Audubon Society, 1918, pp. 3-4, 2 Pearson, T. Gilbert: American Review of Reviews, Vol, LIX, 1919, p. 511, PELICANS 171 the power of flight and they soar at astonishing heights. They normally inhabit the warmer regions of the globe, but sometimes wander far into the temperate zones. Economic Status. The food of the Frigate Pelicans is not well known and we have little information regarding their economic position. Fregata aquila (Linnaeus). Man-o' -war-bird. Other names : frigate bird ; hurricane bird ; frigate pelican. Fig. 19. Description. — Adult male: Black, glossed on head, lanceolate scapulars and interscapulars with greenish-bronze and purple ; belly duller colored ; usually gray or brownish on some wing feathers from wear; iris brown; legs and feet dusky or blackish. Adult female: Similar but less glossy; dull or brownish-black ; lesser wing-coverts grayish-brown with pale edges ; hind neck brownish ; feathers of head, scapulars and interscapulars shorter and less lanceolate ; fore neck, breast and sides white ; iris brown ; feet pink ; bill varies with age and sex — of various shades of whitish, flesh-color, bluish or dusky (livid-bluish or dusky in old male) ; skin around eye livid ; throat-pouch of male (inflated in nuptial season) orange-red or scarlet ; mouth carmine. Young in first winter -plumage: Similar to female but head and neck (sometimes mottled), together with most of under plumage, white; tail shorter and not so deeply forked ; iris, bill, feet and face darkish-colored, livid-bluish. An immature male had "bill and feet bright blue." 1 Downy young : White ; young hatch naked but become clothed with very fluffy, white down ; interscapulars precede wing- and tail-feathers and cover back like black mantle ; secondaries precede primaries. Measurements. — Length 37.50 to 41.00 in. ; spread 84.00 to 96.00; folded wing 22.00 to 27.10; tail 14.25 to 19.25, forked for more than half its length; bill 4.25 to 6.00, tarsus 1.00 or less. Molts. — Juvenal plumage which is practically continuous with first winter plumage appears to be worn with little change during first year after which the birds molt and the sexes become dissimilar ; but date of this molt varies greatly ; in third year, probably at second postnuptial molt when bird is a little over two years old, adult plumage is assumed (A. C. Bent). Field Marks. — Very deeply forked tail (like that of gigantic swallow), immense spread of long, pointed wings and dark coloration render the Man-o '-war-bird unmistakable; when soaring the long tail-feathers are held parallel and close together, but when the birds are fighting in the air, or courting or playing, they often open and shut like scissors. Voice. — Usually silent; utters "a loud grating cry" when fighting in air; "a clucking note" in mating season; also has a "rough croak." Breeding. — In colonies; on sea-islands. Nest: Of sticks, often flimsy and frail, slightly hol- lowed, in low trees or bushes, usually within a few feet of the ground (but sometimes high in mangroves), or on rocks. Eggs: 1 to 3, usually 1 ; 2.65 to 2.90 by 1.80 to 2.00 in. ; white. Dates: February 3 to May 11, Bahamas (A. C. Bent). Incubation: By both parents. Range. — Tropical and subtropical American seas and coasts ; north to southern California, Texas, Louisiana and Florida ; regular in Gulf states ; north on Pacific side casually to Humboldt Bay, California, and on Atlantic side to Nova Scotia and Quebec ; in interior to Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Wis- consin and Ohio ; accidental in Bermuda ; breeds from Florida, Bahama Islands, Antilles, Greater and Lesser, south to Venezuela. Distribution in New England. — Records : Maine : Bird recorded in Boston Evening Transcript for October 19, 1893, as having been shot "some time ago" at Machias, but date and other facts are lacking ; another incomplete Maine record is that of a specimen taken but not preserved, "about 12 years i Bowdish, B. S. : Auk, Vol. XIX, 1902, p. 359. 172 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS ago" [1871] at Boothbay.1 Massachusetts: Young bird taken October 17, 1893, at New Bedford.2 (This bird was undoubtedly blown north by the fierce West Indian hurricane that swept up the Atlantic coast a few days earlier — the second hurricane of the fall of 1893, the first being the famous August "blow.") Connecticut: Female shot in fall of 1859 at Faulkner's Island.3 Note. When the dates of the "Frigates" noted in the Province of Quebec (August, 1884) and at Halifax are compared with the foregoing New England dates, it will be seen that this species is a late summer and fall wanderer to this section, driven here probably by severe southerly gales. A specific annotation to the effect that it was driven there "by a strong southwest gale," it being "very warm weather for the time of year," accompanies the date of the adult male shot October 16, 1876, outside Halifax Harbor.4 Haunts and Habits. Of all the birds that sweep the skies none can excel the Man- o '-war-bird. Here is a bird with body about the size of that of a Red-tailed Hawk, but with wings spreading seven or eight feet ! Its flight is wonderful. It has a marvel- ous capacity for sailing at great altitudes, and so calmly and easily does it ride the winds that it is even said to sleep on outspread wings above the storm. Walt Whitman, with a poet's license, has "somewhat exaggerated" its powers in these lines : "Thou who has slept all night upon the storm, Waking renewed on thy prodigious pinions, Thou born to match the storm (Thou art all wings), At dusk thou look'st on Senegal, at noon America." On the coast of Florida I have seen these birds circling majestically up into the sky until they seemed like tiny specks in the blue, barely visible to the naked eye, and there they soared without apparent effort, up-borne by the passing gale. Sometimes they sail thus for many hours even after twilight falls. Scott says that at the Dry Tortugas he saw five of these "wonderful flyers" at eleven o'clock at night soaring in the moonlight, high above the lighthouse tower.5 The Frigate Bird is sometimes called the Hurricane Bird, as it appears outside its usual range chiefly when it comes riding on some great tropical storm. At such times it has wandered to New England and Quebec, and far into the interior of the United States. It frequents tropical and subtropical shores and islands where gulls, terns, cormorants, boobies and pelicans, fishing for their own needs or for their young, frequently are obliged to give up their booty to this merciless marauder. Its mastery of the air enables it to overtake them, and it easily swoops down and snatches any falling fish, relinquished by a terrified bird. It does not hesitate to attack even the Osprey, a bird heavier, more powerful and better armed than itself, but not so swift nor so skilful in flight. The Man-o'-war-bird is so absolutely a "fowl of the air" that it is rather helpless on land. It seems to be unable to rise from the deck of a ship. Mr. H. H. Bailey, who visited Isabella Island in western Mexico where there is a colony of Frigate Birds nesting 1 New England Bird Life, Vol. II, 1883, p. 342. 2 Boston Evening Transcript, October 19, 1893, p. 10. 3 Grinnell, George Bird : American Naturalist, Vol. IX, 1875, p. 470. * Deane, Ruthven : Bulletin Nuttall Ornithological Club, Vol. IV, 1879, p. 64. 6 Scott, W. E. D. : Auk, Vol. VII, 1890, p. 307. PELICANS 173 in low bushes, found that numbers of the birds in alighting on their nests or in trying to rise from them became entangled in the bushes. Many remains of birds which had become thus entangled were hanging by wings, feet or head.1 The wings are so long and the legs so short that the bird rises from such nests with difficulty. Mr. A. W. Anthony found a Frigate Bird with one withered useless wing on the sum- mit of the precipitous island of San Benedicte, Lower California. This bird, alone, at a distance from its fellows and unable to fly, had never left the top of the island, but it was fat and its stomach was well filled with flying-fish. Mr. Anthony believed that it must have been fed through all its life by its fellows.2 On the other hand, this species has been known to eat the young of its own kind. The old males are pugnacious ; they fight desperate battles in the air ; and their evolutions at such times are astonishing. Some of the Polynesian natives take young Man-o'-war-birds from the nest, tame them and use them as we use carrier pigeons to convey messages from one island to another. Dr. Charles H. Townsend quotes Mr. Louis Becke, who says that these birds carry messages from 60 to 80 miles. When taken away from home and liberated, they soon return.3 Apparently this species does not migrate regularly. After the breeding season it goes where its favorite food abounds, or wherever it may be carried by the winds. Professor Homer R. Dill has published a good description of the habits of this species in the Wilson Bulletin for 1916, pages 153-157. The Man-o '-war-bird does not depend altogether on other birds for its supplies. It swoops down and picks up flying-fish and catches fish from the surface, but it is no diver. It will pick up dead fish and has often been caught by hooks baited with them. Evidently it subsists mainly on fish of which it consumes a great variety. Economic Status. See page 171. Order ANSERES. Lamellirostral Swimmers. Number of species in North America 57 ; in Massachusetts 42. This order includes all swimming birds with lamellate bills. Both mandibles are fitted along the edges with series of tooth-like flutings or projections. These opposing lamella? alternate and fit together forming a strainer through which a surplus of water and sediment may escape, while particles of food are retained. The tongue is fleshy and provided with serrations or papilla? along the edges, which correspond to the lamella? of the bill. 1 Auk, Vol. XXIII, 1906, p. 383. 2 Auk, Vol. XV, 1898, pp. 314-315. 3 Bird-Lore, Vol. X, 1908, p. 124. 174 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Family ANATIDiE. Ducks, Geese and Swans. Number of species in North America 57 ; in Massachusetts 42. The order Anseres contains but one family, Anatidce in which are comprised five sub- families — Mergince, Mergansers, Anatince, River Ducks, Fuligulince, Sea Ducks, Anse- rince, Geese, and Cygnince, Swans. In all these subfamilies the bill is more or less flat- tened and lamellated, except in the Mergansers which have the bill slender, rounded and toothed. In all species the bill has a membranous covering with a hard tip or nail at the end of the upper mandible. The body is flattened, tail usually short, wings moder- ately long, legs short and far apart but not placed quite so near the center of the body as in gulls and terns ; toes four ; front toes webbed, hind toe slightly elevated and free ; neck usually long, plumage dense with a heavy undercoat of down. The family includes about 200 species and is represented in every habitable part of the globe. In most species of the ducks the male has an incomplete postnuptial molt in midsummer which gives it for a short time a temporary dress much like that of the female, called the "eclipse" plumage. During a part of the summer while the flight feathers of the wings are molted most ducks, geese and swans are unable to fly. The increase of down in the nest as the eggs are laid is characteristic, more or less, of ducks. Hybridism among ducks is well known ; there are many records of hybrids of different species; "some of them between different genera, some even between birds we are accustomed to place in different subfamilies ; and in these cases fertility of the mongrel progeny is the rule" (Coues). Economic Status. Economically birds of this order are important. Wild-fowl, which swarmed in countless multitudes in America when the settlement of the country began, formed a very important part of the animal food of the early settlers, and still help to sustain life in the aborigines of far northern regions who in some measure depend upon the supply of flesh derived from these birds, preserved by salting or freezing to ward off starvation during the cold of winter. As game birds, wild-fowl help to maintain an immense trade in guns, ammunition and sporting goods, furnish employment to guides and boatmen, and bring custom to country hotels and boarding-houses ; while their bodies supply a vast quantity of nourishing food. In the past in this country and even now in other countries great sums of money have changed hands annually in buying and selling these birds. The Fish and Game Commission of California estimated that in 1911, 250,000 wild ducks were sold in the San Francisco market, and that a million were killed in the same year in the state. The value of the ducks sold in 1911 in San Francisco is estimated at $125,000, while the value of those killed that year in the state is put at $500,000. The food value of water-fowl taken in the United States annually reaches the sum total of several millions of dollars.1 1 Palmer, T. S. : Bulletin No. 1049, United States Department of Agriculture, p. 9. PLATE 11 Ph o ^ 3 <5 p s Ph fan ,_, a" 0 00 1—1 CD p P Q <5 g, GO MERGANSERS 175 The business of rearing ducks for sporting purposes is a large one in the British Isles and employs many gamekeepers. In the United States many wild ducks are now reared and sold, but as a business this has not proceeded much beyond the experimental stage. All domesticated ducks and geese are descended from a few wild species. The rearing of domesticated ducks and geese for the market is a business which amounts to millions of dollars annually and will increase as population increases. The eggs and the flesh of ducks and geese form a large part of the annual poultry product from which the people of the world derive a portion of their food. Wild ducks are destructive to certain insect pests such as locusts and army worms, and domesticated ducks in large numbers have been utilized to keep such pests in check. Ducks are very destructive to mosquito larvse, eating them in untold numbers. Mos- quitoes carry the germs of such diseases as malaria and yellow fever and with these germs infect human beings. These diseases cause the death of many people, also a great eco- nomic loss of labor, owing to intermittent illness. Millions of dollars are thus lost to the world every year. Wild ducks, if in sufficient numbers, greatly reduce the mosquito pest. Subfamily MERGIN2E. Mergansers. Number of species in North America 4; in Massachusetts 3. This family comprises a small group of fish-eating ducks having the bill constructed especially for seizing and holding living, active and slippery prey. The mandibles are narrow and slender as compared with those of other ducks, the nail at the tip of the upper mandible overhanging and the lamellae modified into tooth-like projections, sharp pointed and often turned backward like the teeth of a shark. (See figure.) The ducklike Bill of Merganser form is modified to give exceptional ability to pursue fish under water. The feet are placed farther back than in river ducks but not so far as in loons, grebes, auks or cor- morants, and are broadly webbed. The free hind toe is lobed. Nine species of this subfamily have been recognized, chiefly in the Northern Hemisphere, but some are found in South America. The head is more or less crested, although not always noticeably so ; all species show some white in the wing in flight. When in the air the long, slim neck, head and bill give these birds a long, narrow, rakish appearance in marked contrast to that of scoters or golden-eyes. They seldom fly very high and when once they have attained their altitude for horizontal flight, the head, neck and body are held in a straight line. 176 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Mergus americanus Cassin. Merganser. Other names: American merganser; buff-breasted merganser; fishduck; sawbill; sheldrake; fresh-water sheldrake; pond sheldrake; swamp sheldrake; bracket sheldrake; goosander; breakhorn. Plate 11. Description. — Bill toothed, with recurved or hooked serrations ; nostrils nearer middle than base ofbill, less than 1.50 inches from tip ; tail of 18 feathers. Adult male in winter plumage : A short, rounded, bushy, single crest on top and back of head (not apparent unless erected) ; head and upper neck black, glossed dark green on top and sides of head and back and sides of neck ; upper back and scapulars glossy black with purplish reflections ; rump, upper tail-coverts and tail ashy-gray ; outer surface of closed wing largely white, crossed on greater coverts by a bar of black ; several inner secondaries edged black, primaries and outer secondaries brownish-black; axillars and under wing-coverts mainly white; middle secondaries white; inner secondaries and scapulars black and white; lower neck all round and under plumage creamy-white to salmon-buff (after death the salmon fades) ; iris carmine ; bill red, its ridge and nail blackish ; feet deep red. Adult male in eclipse plumage : Similar to that of female but without long crest ; may be distinguished by white wing-coverts ; chin white, throat brown, and usually some dark feathers on upper back ; lower neck bluish-gray mixed with creamy-white ; flanks with a few white or whitish feathers vermiculated with brownish-gray. Adult female : Slender feathers of single crest longer than in male, crest prominent and pointed; head and upper neck "tawny-brown or cinnamon," lightest on sides of neck ; chin and throat white or whitish ; above chiefly ashy-gray ; lower hind-neck and sides of neck gray; sides and flanks faintly barred or mottled with whitish; middle secondaries white with sooty- brown border; below creamy-white to salmon-buff, except under wing-coverts and axillars which are mainly white ; iris, bill and feet red, but duller than in male. Young in first winter plumage : Similar to adult female except that in juvenal plumage white of throat extends down nearly or quite to gray of upper breast ; young male in first winter shows less crest than female and head slightly darker ; some- times there is a little dark edging about the neck and the salmon tint on under parts is deeper. Downy young: Above clove-brown, "bister" or "warm sepia" (mainly), with four prominent white spots — a white patch on hind border of each wing and one on each side of rump (sometimes a small white patch on either side of back) ; top of head and hind neck reddish-brown ; face whitish with two dark stripes, one from bill to eye, another from gape below eye ; below mainly white. Measurements. — Length 21.00 to 27.00 in.; spread 34.00 to 39.00; folded wing 9.22 to 11.00; tail 4.60 to 4.73; bill along ridge 1.74 to 2.30; tarsus 1.65 to 2.09. Weight — male averages 4^ lbs., female \ lb. less (Walter H. Rich) ; two males weighed respectively 3 lbs. 15 oz., and 3 lbs. 7 oz. (John C. Phillips). Female smaller than male. Molts. — In juvenal plumage young are alike ; during fall and winter molting is almost continuous ; in spring tail is renewed; in late October young male, now nearly full-grown, shows an area of white passing nearly around lower neck, and some black feathers appear on back; in winter many whitish feathers vermiculated with brownish-gray appear in flanks, and black feathers on back increase; in spring tail is renewed and some black feathers come in on chin ; young male probably has a partial eclipse plumage much like that of adult male but with gray wing-coverts ; a molt takes place (August to Novem- ber) after which, at about 17 months of age, young male becomes as adult; young female assumes adult plumage somewhat earlier — in 15 or 15a months ; A. C. Bent says that adult males have "a post- nuptial molt of contour feathers early in summer" in going into eclipse plumage, "a molt of the flight feathers in August or September," and a complete molt of contour feathers in going out of eclipse in the fall ; "females," he says, "probably do not make the double molt of the contour feathers but have a complete molt late in summer." Field Marks. — Mergansers in short flights do not use the V-formation, but fly in long lineis in single MERGANSERS 177 file one after the other or in elongated flocks ; in flight Merganser shows more white especially in wing than Red-breasted Merganser. Adult male : Largest New England duck ; as long as a Brant or longer ; at a distance looks black and white (white sides and neck, black head) ; crest not often noticeable ; white lower neck and white breast, sides and flanks distinguish it from Red-breasted Merganser, which has a reddish, striped band on breast ; Merganser has a lower forehead and longer bill and is larger, longer and slimmer than Golden-eye which has a large head, short neck and chubby shape. Female and young: Usually distinguishable at some distance from corresponding plumages of Red-breasted Merganser; head and neck of Merganser slightly darker than that of Red-breasted ; also grayish above where the other is relatively brownish ; where throat can be seen, Merganser shows white contrasting sharply with color of head, while female and young of Red-breasted Merganser have whitish or pale brownish (on upper throat) shading gradually into deeper brown on sides of head and throat next to it ; at close range single crest of female may distinguish Merganser from double-crested Red-breasted Merganser ; young or female Merganser may be distinguished by long, slim bill from brown-headed female of Redhead or Golden-eye. Voice. — Female: A coarse, masculine quack (J. B. Law). Both sexes (Goosander): A harsh karr-karr (J. G. Millais) ; an unmelodious squawk (H. S. Swarth) ; hoarse croaks (Audubon). Breeding. — About woodland lakes and rivers. Nest : Usually in hollow tree or in top of broken stub ; sometimes in hole in cliff or under rocks, in an uninhabited building, in a thicket or on ground ; grasses, twigs, leaves, lichens, etc., lined with very light grayish-white down, mixed usually with white feathers and straw ; when sheltered, nest may be entirely of down, as in case of Wood Duck and Hooded Merganser. Eggs: 6 to 17; 2.50 to 2.80 by 1.70 to 2.00 in., average 2.51 by 1.75; elliptical; pale creamy buff. Dates: Late May and June in northern Maine. Incubation: Period "28 days" (Burns and Evans) ; by female. One brood yearly. Range. — North America. Breeds from southern Alaska, southern Yukon, southern Mackenzie, central Manitoba, southern Ungava (Northern Quebec), central Labrador and Newfoundland south to central Oregon, South Dakota, southern Minnesota (Cooke), central Michigan, central New York, Ver- mont, New Hampshire, Maine, formerly at least to Ohio, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts and in moun- tains south to central California, north central Arizona and northern New Mexico ; winters at Aleutian and Pribilof Islands (rarely) and from British Columbia, Idaho, northern Colorado, southern Wisconsin, Great Lakes, southern Ontario, Maine, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island (rarely) south to northern Lower California, northern Mexico and Gulf states ; casual in winter in Canadian Labrador (southeastern Quebec). The Old World Merganser, Mergus merganser, which is practically identical with the American form, breeds in Europe and Asia and in one or other of its forms migrates south to northern Africa, India, China and Japan. Distribution in New England. — Maine : Common migrant and winter resident ; less common summer resident. New Hampshire : Common migrant, winter resident in quick water of open streams south of White Mountains, and rather uncommon summer resident from White Mountains north. Vermont : Not uncommon migrant locally ; occasional local winter resident ; summer resident in northern parts. Massachusetts : Rather common migrant, less common winter resident ; said to have bred for- merly and may rarely breed still.* Rhode Island: Rather uncommon migrant and winter resident. Connecticut : Rather common migrant and less common winter resident. Season in Massachusetts. — October 10 to April 15; (May 25) ; (summer). * My son, Lewis E. Forbush, saw, during the summer of 1907 in Westborough, three ducks which he describes as Mer- gansers. In June he saw one of these birds on a pond with her downy young. (Game Birds, Wild-Fowl and Shore Birds, 1912, p. 63.) Capt. A. W. McGray of Brooklyn, New York, in a letter to Mr. Albert A. Cross of Huntington, states that during the last days of May, 1921 (and later) he and his family saw on three occasions at a pond in Huntington a mother sheldrake with a flock of nine young. By the "use of wings and legs the young birds were able to travel fast over the water," but by using a boat Captain McGray was able to get within 30 feet of them. He is positive that the mother was not a Red-breasted Mer- ganser. 178 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Haunts and Habits. Few New England ducks are handsomer in life than an adult male Merganser. After death the evanescent rich salmon tint of the breast fades and disappears. The Merganser is a fresh-water fowl. It is likely to appear in migration on any of the larger bodies of fresh water in New England. The large black and white male is conspicuous, and therefore the species is better known to the country people than any other wild duck except the Black Duck. It seldom is seen on the surface of the open sea unless it has been driven out of fresh water near the coast, but it frequents estuaries and backwaters where the tide runs in and out. Wherever the species may be met with, individuals of both sexes usually are seen together, and the females and young are readily identified when in company with the unmistakable adult males. They frequent fresh-water ponds and lakes near the sea, and some, if not molested, often remain in such bodies of water all winter or as long as the sur- face remains unfrozen. They are seen commonly on the larger rivers and sometimes are the most numerous ducks on the Connecticut and the Merrimac. They are vigorous, hardy, stout-hearted fowls. Ice, snow and cold have no terrors for them. Sufficient food and open water are enough to insure their presence in New England in the severest winters. An experience of my own may be related to exemplify the speed which these birds can attain at need when in flight. Riding northward on a train in winter alongside the Merrimac in southern New Hampshire, I saw a small flock of Mergansers rise from some unfrozen rapids and fly upstream. Their course was parallel with that of the train, which probably did not much exceed a speed of 30 miles an hour, and the birds main- tained the exact speed of the train for some time and so kept nearly opposite my window. Suddenly the whistle of the locomotive sounded a loud blast. At the sound those ducks shot forward at such a speed that they distanced the train immediately and soon disap- peared from view. Their startled flight must have carried them forward about twice as fast as the speed of the train. In winter some of these birds frequent open reaches of swift water here and there, as on the Connecticut River and the Merrimac below Manchester, New Hampshire, the Winnipesaukee River, and between Haverhill and Lawrence. In mild winters they remain in many open streams and ponds in southeastern Massachusetts. The Merganser is an excellent swimmer and diver. Like the grebes it can dive almost with the flash of a gun. It either springs forward clear of the water, dips under with hardly a ripple or sinks quietly out of sight, employing the method that seems best suited to the occasion. Sometimes in under-water swimming its wings are not used, but in pursuit of swift fishes it uses both its strong, webbed feet and its powerful wings to force it through the water, much in the manner of the fast-swimming loon. Sometimes in shallow water it follows fish on the surface, using both wings and feet in the chase. At times it rises into the air, flies along over the water and flies down again into and under the water possibly in continued pursuit of swift fish. Mergansers sometimes swim slowly on the surface with necks extended and heads partially submerged in the manner observed MERGANSERS 179 in surface feeding ducks, but whether they take in food in this manner or merely drink thus is still unknown. Mr. Miles D. Pirnie writes that in February, 1916, while standing on a high bridge over a narrow channel at Pulaski, New York, he watched an unwounded male Merganser swimming under water to escape from a pursuing hunter. The bird was using both wings and feet to make headway against the current. Mr. Walter H. Rich writes of this species : "Seen under the water in pursuit of a breakfast or dodging about to escape capture when wounded the resemblance to some finny dweller of the sea is very marked ; head and neck outstretched, every feather hugged closely to the body, the half-opened wings like large fins aiding the feet in their work, he goes shooting through the water like a flash." l The Merganser is shy and is an expert in eluding the gunner. Also it possesses great vitality and often when severely wounded will escape by diving. In such a case it may hide in aquatic vegetation or may even seize in its bill grasses or weeds on the bottom and hold on until death.2 When rising from the water the Merganser has to use both wings and feet in running or pattering on the surface before it gets impetus enough to launch itself in the air. Dr. Townsend thus graphically describes the courtship display of the male Merganser : "The courtship of the Merganser ... is fairly spectacular and differs widely from that of its red-breasted cousin, M. serrator. . . . "A group of five or six male Mergansers may be seen swimming energetically back and forth by three or four passive females. Sometimes the drakes swim in a compact mass or in a file for six or seven yards or even farther, and then each turns abruptly and swims back. Again they swim in and out among each other, and every now and then one with swelling breast and slightly raised wings spurts ahead at great speed by himself or in the pursuit of a rival. . . . They frequently strike at each other with their bills, and I have seen two splendid drakes rise up in the water breast to breast, and, amid a great splashing, during which it was impossible to see details, fight like game-cocks. The pursuit is varied by sudden, momentary dives and much splashing of water. "The smooth iridescent green heads, the brilliant carmine bills tipped with black nails, the snowy white of flanks and wing patches and the red feet, which flash out in the dive, make a wonderful color effect, contrasting well with the dark water and white ice. The smaller females with their shaggy brown heads, their neat white throat-bibs, their quaker blue-gray backs and modest wing patches, which are generally hidden, are fitting foils to their mates." The male frequently raises himself up almost on his tail and displays the beautiful salmon-yellow tint on the whole under surface of his body. "Most of the time he keeps his tail cocked up and spread, so that it shows from behind a white centre and blue border. Every now and then he points his head and closed bill up at an angle of forty-five degrees or to the zenith. Again he bows or bobs his head nervously and 1 Rich, Walter H. : Feathered Game of the Northeast, 1907, p. 405. 2 Grinnell, Bryant and Storer : The Game Birds of California, 1918, p. 81. See also Department Bulletin No. 8, Massa- chusetts Department of Agriculture, 1922, pp. 40 and 44. 180 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS often at the same time tilts up the front of his breast from which flashes out the salmon tint. From time to time he emits a quickly repeated purring note, dorr-dorr or krr-krr. "The most surprising part of the performance is the spurt of water fully three or four feet long which every now and then is sent backwards into the air by the powerful kick of the drake's foot. . . ." l Sometimes when the male is indifferent, the amorous female takes the initiative and pursues him with head and neck laid along the surface and half submerged. Naumann asserts that the European Merganser carries the young to the water in the bill if the nest is in a tall tree and far from water ; and Oswin Lee (Among British Birds in Their Nesting Haunts) says that he saw nine ducklings carried from the tree to the water by the female Merganser which held them partly in her bill and partly between the bill and breast.2 Sometimes when the nest is placed on the top of a very high stub, it may be possible, as Mr. W. L. Dawson suggests, that the mother carries the newly hatched young to the water in her bill, but I am not aware that this habit has been observed in this country while on the other hand the young have been seen to tumble into the water from nests high above it. Although many Mergansers still breed in northern New England, probably most in- dividuals that are seen here in migration come from much farther north. Apparently most of them leave northern Canadian inland waters by November 1. Rarely a bird of this species may appear on the Massachusetts coast in summer, but the average date of arrival is October 5. The first October arrivals are early birds, as Mergansers are late migrants and pass south only when forced by ice and cold storms. They do not usually become common in Massachusetts until late October and November. Even in December many may remain in the interior until ice closes most of the fresh waters and the ducks are driven south or to the sea. As soon as the ice begins to break up in March the Mergansers follow closely. In spring they migrate in numbers through Massachusetts in March and early April according to the season, resting for a time on the large ponds or streams as they go. In migration they usually fly very high in wedge-shaped formation, but in mov- ing from place to place and especially up stream they commonly fly low over the water. Mergansers feed on fish, destroying many small minnows, but are not confined to an exclusive fish diet. They feed also on shell-fish and nobody knows to what extent they may eat vegetal matter. Knight says that along the coast in winter they consume many mussels and other mollusks, swallowing shell and all. He finds that the shells are soon ground up in the stomach and in the process of digestion are reduced to "impal- pable mud" at the end of the digestive tract.3 Dearborn found a bullfrog in one that he examined. The frog was so large that while its shoulders were in the bird's stomach its toes were still extended into the neck.4 i Auk, Vol. XXXIII, 1916, pp. 11-12. 2 Millais, J. G. : British Diving Ducka, Vol. II, p. 97. 3 Knight, Ora Willis : Birds of Maine, 1908, p. 78. 4 Dearborn, Ned: A Preliminary List of the Birds of Belknap and Merrimac Counties, New Hampshire, 1898, p. 5. MERGANSERS 181 Dr. E. Hartert (in a footnote) says of the European form of this bird that in summer at their breeding places they "eat caterpillars, cockchafers and burying-beetles." l Probably the American bird also eats insects. Captain McGray in the letter to Mr. Cross hereinbefore mentioned relates that on De- cember 2, 1921, Mrs. McGray scattered two or three pounds of yellow field corn in about three feet of water. Three days later the Mergansers found this corn and there was an "under- water scramble " for it. Captain McGray says that the submerged birds were so eager that they shouldered one another out of the way. The surface of the lake was glassy, and the movements of the birds under water could be plainly seen through the open window almost directly above. The birds carried their wings half open. While the corn-feast was in progress, two more flocks flew in and joined in the under-water meal, making nineteen birds in all. The Mergansers were drawn to the McGray shore in the first place by the many minnows which lay beneath a wharf. Economic Status. No exhaustive investigation of the food of this species has been published ; therefore no conclusive statement regarding its economic status can be made. It is said to eat small trout, but apparently it devours many more minnows and the latter destroy the spawn of trout. Also it feeds on crayfish which are believed to destroy spawn. If we could see what goes on under water among the fishes and could know how many of their enemies fish-eating birds destroy, we might cease to regard birds as enemies of food- fish. Fish are cannibalistic. Possibly the trout itself may be the greatest enemy of young trout. Mr. A. C. Bent says that many sportsmen feel justified in killing the Mergansers on account of the large numbers of trout which they consume, but that this is hardly justifi- able, for they destroy many predatory fish such as pickerel and thus help to preserve the balance of nature.2 As an article of food the Merganser which has a fishy flavor does not rank high. However, all fish-eating birds, if not too aged, are eatable and sometimes are excellent food, provided that the stomach and intestines are removed immediately after death. If this is not done, especially in warm weather, the fishy contents of the viscera, no longer subject to the processes of digestion, soon decay and the rank flavor quickly penetrates the flesh ; then parboiling and other expedients must be resorted to in order to remove the taint and often with indifferent success. Mergus senator Linn^us. Red-breasted Merganser. Other names: shell-bird; shelduck; sheldrake; salt-water sheldrake; saw-bill; fish duck; sea robin. Plate 11. Description. — Nostrils near base of bill, more than 1.50 inches from tip ; hind head with a rather long two-pointed crest, in both sexes; tail of 18 feathers. Adult male in winter plumage : Head and a little of upper neck black, with metallic green reflections on sides ; neck widely collared all round with white, 1 Vogel Mitteleuropas, Vol. X, p. 296. 2 Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Bulletin 126, 1923, p. 11. 182 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS except a narrow black stripe down hind-neck; most of back and scapulars (except outer) and tertials black, outer scapulars white, some marked black ; rump, upper tail-coverts and tail brownish-gray, with fine, broken black bars ; outer surface of closed wing mainly white, crossed by two narrow, diagonal black bars ; wing-coverts around bend of wing black ; primaries and outer secondaries brownish-black ; inner secondaries lighter ; patch of white black-bordered feathers on each side of breast overhanging bend of wing ; sides and front of lower neck and upper breast pale cinnamon, mottled black and streaked nar- rowly with fine, wavy lines of same ; elsewhere below mainly white ; bill red, dusky along ridge ; inside of mouth orange ; iris and feet red. Adult male in eclipse plumage : August 20. Head, neck and upper breast similar to adult female but distinguished by white wing-coverts and much less white on chin; upper plumage otherwise mostly blackish-brown with gray feather-edgings; wings like winter males; rump a mixture of ordinary plumage of male and female ; breast dull brown ; flanks and sides brownish- gray like those of female. Adult female in winter plumage : Head and neck cinnamon-brown on sides, darker on top of head and back of neck, growing blackish around eye, fading into whitish on chin and throat ; elsewhere above mainly ashy-brown, feathers with darker centers, giving a slaty-gray appear- ance ; flight-feathers largely blackish ; closed fore wing like back, wing patch or speculum white, bor- dered in front by narrow diagonal black bar and crossed by another ; sides and flanks dull grayish-brown ; elsewhere below mainly white ; bill and iris red ; legs and feet dull red. Young male in first winter plumage: "In first plumage the young male resembles the adult female, but the crest is less, the bill much shorter, and the plumage of the upper parts more slaty and not nearly so brown, and the cheeks more red with less white. The ends of the tail are also worn. By the end of October young males are easily recognised by their superior size and bill. It is not until December that much change takes place. The red-brown crest is then abundant, and black feathers begin to appear on the sides of the crown and cheeks, chin, mantle, and scapulars. The tail and rump also begin to moult to blue-grey, and many vermiculated feathers mixed with slaty-brown ones come in on the thighs and flanks. By the end of March some white feathers appear on the scapulars and the first white broadly black-edged feathers come in on the sides of the breast overlapping the wings. These prominent feathers are, however, never complete as in the case of the adult males, but are always divided in colour, the lower halves being red and vermiculated with black from the broad black edge to the white above. The nape is now very dark brown edged with worn blue-grey, and not a clear rich red-brown as in the female. The long inner secondaries, similar to adult males, now also appear." l Young male in eclipse plumage : Similar to eclipse plumage of adult male except wing which is "brown and slate on all its upper parts." "The young male does not come into full dress until the end of November." (Millais). Young female: Similar to adult female but crest shorter ; less black around eye ; colors not so bright ; feathers of upper plumage and tail worn and faded. Downy young: Above "hair brown," with "a large yellowish white spot on each side of rump and a whitish mark along hind border of each wing" ; sides of head and neck rusty, a pale space before eye bordered by two dusky stripes ; lower eyelid whitish ; below whitish. Measurements. — Length 20.00 to 25.00 in.; spread 31.00 to 35.00; folded wing 8.50 to 9.50; tail 3.80 to 4.40 ; tarsus 1.60 to 1.90; bill 2.18 to 2.50. Weight 2 lbs. to 2 lbs. 8 oz. (Walter H. Rich). Female smaller than male. Molts. — In young birds molt is most noticeable in male ; in December partial molt occurs and change of plumage continues until end of March, after which tail is renewed; during May and June bird molts again and passes into eclipse similar to that of adult male, except wing ; in August, September and October of second year complete molt occurs, succeeded by adult plumage ; adult males begin to molt in March and seem to molt almost continuously and slowly until late in July ; again they are molting from September to January ; adult females have complete molt (August to February) . Field Marks. — At a distance in flight (which is usually swift, noiseless and direct) males look black and white, females brown and white, both with white patches on wings, and white bellies ; in flight their long, slim, outstretched necks, slim red bills and narrow heads distinguish them from Scoters, Golden- » Millais, J. G.: British Diving Ducks, Vol. II, 1913, p. 101. MERGANSERS 183 eyes or Old-squaws; head, neck and body in flight held in straight line; the "build" differentiates the rakish Sheldrake (Merganser) from the short, stout "chunky" Whistler (Golden-eye) almost as far as eye can see. Male (on water) : Black head with long, thin double crest, slim bill, white neck and streaked reddish-brown breast ; flying overhead, reddish band between white neck and white belly is conspicuous (male of larger Merganser or "Pond Sheldrake" has no markings on breast) ; white on wing very notice- able, but when compared with more extensive white on wing of Whistler, is a restricted space which has appearance of being framed. Female and young (on water) : White in wing sometimes not evident ; less contrast between color of head and back than in female and young of Merganser ; the latter have bluish- gray backs while the backs of females and young of Red-breasted Merganser are browner. (See also " Field Marks" under Merganser, pages 176-177.) Voice. — When alarmed, several low guttural croaks (D. G. Elliot) ; female with young, a low, distinct, husky kha-kha-khd (E. W. Nelson) ; nuptial "song," aloud, rough, purring, slightly double note (C. W. Townsend). Breeding. — Near lakes, rivers, small ponds, or even pools, often near sea-coast ; usually near marsh or on island. Nest : Hidden by grass or sheltered by bushes, bank, rock or trees ; sometimes in thick growth of coniferous trees; of grass, weeds, seaweed, fibrous roots, etc., lined with gray down and white feathers from female. Eggs: 6 to 12, sometimes as many as 16 ; 2.48 to 2.65 by 1.65 to 1.82 in. ; elliptical ; dull, creamy-buff, darker than those of Merganser. Dates : In northern United States and Maritime Provinces eggs have been found from mid-May until late June. Incubation: Period 26 to 28 days (Burns) ; 28 days (R. M. Strong) ; by female. One brood yearly. Range. — Northern parts of Northern Hemisphere. In North America breeds from Arctic coast of Alaska, northern Mackenzie, Baffin Island and central Greenland south to southern Washington, central Alberta, Saskatchewan, southern Manitoba, Minnesota, northern Illinois, Michigan, southern Ontario, northern New York, Massachusetts (casually) and Maine; winters (mainly on coast) from southern British Columbia, northern United States, Great Lakes, Ontario and Maine south to Lower California, Florida and Gulf coast ; casual in Bermuda, Cuba and Hawaii ; in Eastern Hemisphere breeds commonly in northern Europe and northern Asia ; winters in Europe and central Asia and from northern Africa to Japan. Distribution in New England. — Common to abundant migrant and winter resident coastwise ; rare migrant in interior; breeds in Maine on offshore islands and sparingly on inland lakes in thinly settled regions; breeds very rarely on coast of Massachusetts; a few non-breeding birds summer off New England coast. Season in Massachusetts. — Rare, irregular, local summer resident, breeding on coasts of Essex, Plymouth and Barnstable counties ; migrant and winter resident from September 23 to May 30. Haunts and Habits. The Red-breasted Merganser is one of the most abundant water-fowl that migrate along the coast of Massachusetts. Nevertheless it is almost unknown to the inland people of southern New England. On the Atlantic coast it breeds mainly about fresh-water ponds and streams near the sea and as soon as the young are able to fly (if not before), they seek salt water on which they spend the greater part of the year. Sometimes in Maine several pairs breed on one of the sea-islands. In the interior of that State this bird nests usually on islands in the lakes. I am not aware that the nest of the Red-breasted Merganser has been found in Massachusetts, but along the south shore of Cape Cod small young have been seen occasionally for many years ; also on the coast of Essex County where apparently one brood at least was hatched in 1922, as downy young were seen and one was caught by a dog.1 1 See Townsend, C. W. : Memoirs of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, No. V, Supplement to the Birds of Essex County, Massachusetts, 1920, p. 49 ; and also Game Birds, Wild-Fowl and Shore Birds, Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, 1916, p. 66. 184 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS As these cases of breeding occurred on the coast where many of the species are shot each year, it seems possible that one of the parents in each case may have been slightly crippled and so unable to fly farther north or east, and that its mate remained to breed with it. Nevertheless one breeding bird that I had an opportunity to examine showed no old shot marks. Cripples or non-breeders may be seen in summer on the coast as far south at least as North Carolina. Along the New England coast this Merganser, unless driven inland by heavy gales, keeps largely to salt water. It may be found in the open sea, in sounds, bays and estua- ries. It may seek shelter under the lee of islands or in ponds, but it seems to prefer sea water. Like the loon it must be able to drink both salt and fresh water, for it breeds far in the interior in many northern lakes. The Red-breasted Merganser is a skilful, rapid diver, at times using its half spread wings as well as its feet for progression under water when pursuing swift fish, but seems not to be able to swim quite so fast or so far in this manner as the larger and more powerful Merganser. Often on coming to the surface it rises erect and flaps its wings as if to shake off the water. It is wary and if wounded uses all manner of stratagems to escape from the gunner. It dives and conceals itself in submerged water-plants, swims away with only the bill above water and sometimes clings with its bill to some object on the bottom. Mr. Stanley C. Jewett asserts that in May, 1915, at Netarts Bay, Oregon, a wounded bird of this species dived to a submerged root in about three feet of water and died while clinging there. Several hours later when the tide had ebbed, the dead bird was found on the bare flat with its bill still fastened to the object that it had seized. Mr. Allan Kenis- ton, Superintendent of the State Reservation for the Heath Hen on Marthas Vineyard, tells me that "twenty years ago," while hunting the Red-breasted Merganser in a flat- bottomed boat, fourteen feet long, one of this species was shot which went to the bottom in three feet of water. The water was clear and the bottom pure sand. The boat passed completely over the bird which was seen lying motionless, flat on the bottom, with neck outstretched. It stayed there until the boat had passed over when it "bobbed up like a cork," alive. In mild days in March and early April the male Red-breasted Mergansers display their charms before the females. All seek some quiet bay and there in the sunlight under the lee of the shore, the bright males in their best feather gather with the females and pay them court. The male birds stretch up their heads showing their long, white necks, and then bob about with partially submerged breasts and widely opened beaks exhibiting their red bills and mouths to the best advantage. They rush back and forth, splashing the water with their flying feet and dashing sparkling jets three or four feet behind them. A male swims toward a female, throws his head out, forward and upward, with bill ele- vated, working his feet rapidly and sometimes flapping his wings, until under the urge of wings and splashing feet he rises upright in the water with head held proudly high and bill drawn in, turned down and resting upon his neck. The females often retreat and seem indifferent to their ardent lovers, but in time they grow more responsive and begin MERGANSERS 185 to bob and call in apparent excitement. This response often stirs up mad rivalry among the amorous males which rush at each other with open bills in mimic war and sometimes seize their rivals, but I have never seen any resultant bloodshed. The female assumes the entire care of the young, while the male in his eclipse plumage either goes to sea or skulks amid rank water vegetation during the time when the flight feathers of the wings are growing and he is unable to fly. The mother is very devoted to her young, and often in case of danger takes them on her back to insure their safety. In late August or September, on their chosen breeding-grounds, the young Red- breasted Mergansers gather into large flocks led by some old female, and in October the main southward migration begins. The birds that appear in early fall seem to be all females and young, but probably some of them are adult males in their eclipse plumage as usually they do not assume full adult winter plumage until November or later. By the second week in October this species usually is common locally on its chosen winter feeding-grounds either in shallow water near shore or over some outlying shoal. In October and November vast numbers pass along our shores. In December the numbers grow less but they are abundant locally all winter. Where they are much disturbed by gunners and power boats, they keep well offshore, where hundreds and sometimes thou- sands of them may be seen until midwinter, but usually they are found along the coast in small parties, often diving through the surf or feeding in secluded bays or estuaries. Sometimes in the dead of winter the males of the species seem to predominate along the coast, but I am told by natives of Nantucket that most of the birds seen there in midwinter are females or young, and Mr. J. A. Farley informs me that at Plymouth, even in some of the coldest winters, the numbers of females and young are equal to those of the males, while old gunners on Marthas Vineyard have given him information to the same effect. In spring there seems to be a double migration. In February and early March large numbers appear off Cape Cod while in April another great flight passes the Massa- chusetts coast. This flight, decreasing, continues into May. Mr. J. A. Farley gives me the following notes on the feeding habits of this species in winter at Plymouth : "The winter of 1912 was very cold in Plymouth County, especially from the last of January. Plymouth Inner Harbor was frozen 'tight as a drum' from January 7, and often the ocean itself was frozen from a quarter to half a mile out. This was often the case after a bitter night, but the waves would break the ice up in good season in the forenoon. "The first two weeks of January were very cold and rough. Ducks were driven to Town Brook on account of the ice. " Feb. 3d, 1912. Saw three Ducks in Town Brook. Watched them from the foundry bridge. They were only a little way off. There were two Red-breasted Mergansers (an old male and a brown bird) and a Whistler. The Mergansers were diving. The male got a young eel, probably 8 inches long. He slapped and twitched it. The brown Mer^ ganser swam very fast to the male and got the eel away from him and the male in turn 186 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS got the eel, and so on, first one and then the other. It was quite an exciting 'mix-up' for five minutes, but finally the brown bird gave up and swam away and left the male in possession of his catch. While they were snatching the eel from each other, they made the water boil, and showed much swimming ability — both as to speed and power of turn- ing quickly. The male finally swallowed his eel and then went through the usual shaking and stretching of his neck. "The Mergansers drink water after getting an eel down. "Feb. 13. After 4 p.m. watched the Ducks in Town Brook. There were thirteen in all — two male Whistlers and at least four females ; two male Red-breasted Mergansers (one, a fine fellow) ; several brown Mergansers ; and one Scaup. They were in the water or on the ice. A male Merganser dived and came up with an eel, and a Herring Gull, which had been standing on the ice, flew, and in a trice got away with the eel. It was done so quickly that I did not see the actual second of the robbery. The Merganser swam very fast and there was another Merganser in the ' mix-up' but the Gull was off with the eel in a twinkling. He went back on the ice and swallowed the eel without any ado. A brown Merganser dived and got an eel (about one foot long, I should say) and another 'female ' seized one end of the eel while the first bird kept the other, and how they pulled ! The eel seemed to stretch and how the water boiled ! They swam around ; it was almost like ' Snap the whip ' ; but the captor kept the prize and the other bird gave up and swam off. The captor seemed in a great hurry to swallow her eel before any more interference, and gulped it down quickly ; but afterwards seemed to have quite a time with it, for she stretched and twitched her neck for some time. The crests of the Mergan- sers after coming up would be so wet that only a wisp was left of the feathers. "Feb. 15. This a.m. watched for twenty minutes the Ducks in Town Brook. There were Mergansers and Whistlers. A male Merganser dived and came up with a small eel, and a Herring Gull which was on the watch flew at him but he immediately dived. The Gull floated on the water, looking around coolly on all sides, and when the Merganser came up with the eel still in his bill, went for him again. This was done twice again (making four times in all), a shorter and shorter interval elapsing between dives. At the fourth time up, the Merganser dropped the eel, but the Gull got it quicker than a flash, although I think the eel had got under the water. "These Mergansers were seen distinctly to swim under water and thrust their bills into the bank and pull out their prey." The food of the Red-breasted Merganser appears to be similar to that of the Mergan- ser, consisting largely of fish and other aquatic animal life, with a small percentage of shell-fish (periwinkles, etc.) ; but it takes a much larger toll of marine life than does the former species. Also like the Merganser it appears to collect food of some kind from the surface of the water by swimming with the neck stretched along the surface and the bill opened and immersed. Economic Status. See page 174. MERGANSERS 187 Lophodytes cucuUatus (Linnaeus). Hooded Merganser. Other names: hooded sheldrake; wood sheldrake; pond sheldrake; pickaxe sheldrake; spike-bill; hairy-crown; hairy-head; saw-bill diver; water pheasant; kokus sheldrake. Plate 11. Description. — Bill shorter than head, nostrils in basal half ; frontal feathers extending much beyond those on sides of bill ; a high, compressed crest, in both sexes ; male opens and shuts crest like a fan. Adult male in nuptial plumage: Head, neck and upper plumage mainly black, changing to dark brown on flight-feathers, rump and tail ; broad, snow-white patch extending from back of eye backward each feather black-tipped, these tips forming a black border ; this white patch when erected fanlike forms the greater part of the semicircular crest, when lowered becomes a narrow, white triangle, flattened and extended backward ; two black crescentic bars extend from upper back before wing down sides of white breast ; fore-wing gray ; white wing-patch on outer secondaries and ends of greater coverts crossed by black bar; inner secondaries and tertials black, rayed with sharply-defined attenuated stripes of white ; sides and flanks reddish-brown, finely cross-waved with black ; below, neck to tail, including axillars and under wing-coverts, mainly white, sometimes tinged cream or salmon color; under tail- coverts brownish waved with dusky bars ; bill black ; iris yellow ; legs and feet light yellowish-brown. Adult male in eclipse plumage: Strictly only a partial eclipse; head and neck mottled with brownish; breast and flanks similar to those of female. "The full plumage is assumed early in fall, much earlier than in young birds, and is usually complete in October" (A. C. Bent). Immature male: In March, head and neck light brown ; more or less sprinkled with new black feathers ; crest brownish-white with broad, brown margin; upper plumage dark brown, lighter feather-edges; upper breast dusky-gray; lower breast and abdomen white ; in May and June these traces of winter feathers are lost and a semi- eclipse is assumed, similar to adult male (J. G. Millais) . Adult female : Head and neck grayish-brown, darker on top ; crest cinnamon, smaller than in male and more bushy ; back dusky-brown ; sides and flanks lighter dusky-brown or dark ashy-brown with lighter feather edges ; throat paling toward whitish chin ; lower neck and upper breast a mixture of brown and whitish, giving a grayish-brown effect ; lower breast, belly and wing-patch white, latter crossed on its fore part by a dusky bar ; white of wing (both patch and rays on secondaries and tertials) restricted or impure ; bill dusky or black above, its edges and most or all of lower mandible yellow or orange ; iris brown ; feet brownish or dusky. Young : Similar to adult female but chin and throat whitish ; crest smaller or wanting (especially in young female) ; back, sides and under tail-coverts browner ; colors more subdued. Downy young : Above brown, paling to cinnamon or buff on cheeks, darkening on back and rump ; small white spots in 3 pairs on back, hind edge of wings and rump ; below from chin to tail white or dingy whitish except a brown or gray band across fore neck. Measurements. — Length 16.00 to 19.25 in. ; spread about 24.00 to 26.50 ; folded wing 6.50 tc 8.00; tail 3.50 to 4.00; bill along ridge 1.50 to 1.70; tarsus 1.15 to 1.90. Weight : 1 lb. to 1 lb. 7 oz. (Audubon). Female smaller than male. Molts. — Young birds have slight partial molt in early spring and apparently partial summer molt, but there is no great change in appearance during first year ; in November and December of second winter male begins to assume plumage resembling adult ; in spring this is nearly complete but duller than in fully mature bird ; partial eclipse plumage occurs in the following summer and apparently male assumes full adult dress in ensuing fall and winter when nearly two years and six months old; immature female apparently assumes adult plumage in November of second year or soon afterward when about 17 months old ; adults (both sexes) have a summer molt as in other species but this has not been fully worked out ; in early autumn adults begin another molt, which is succeeded by winter (nuptial) plumage. Field Marks. — Male: Smallest of Mergansers; smaller than Wood Duck; black and white; narrow, fan-shaped (when erected) white-patched head-crest ; two black bars in front of wing, and brown 188 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS sides; male Buffle-head has a white-patched head-crest but no black border like that of this species. Female: Much smaller than other Mergansers; breast darker; her short, slim, narrow, rounded bill separates her from other ducks. Voice. — A hoarse croak like a small edition of Red-breasted Merganser (D. G. Elliot) ; female surprised with young, a guttural, chattering cry (E. A. Samuels) ; a variety of guttural, chattering notes (J. H. Bowles) ; a rough grunt "resembling the syllables croo crooh crooh" (Audubon). Breeding. — In forests near water ; often in wooded swamps. Nest : In hollow tree or stump ; sometimes in nesting-box ; often high above ground or water ; very rarely on ground under tree roots ; built of grasses, weeds, etc., lined with down from breast of female. Eggs: 5 to 12; 2.05 to 2.15 by 1.70 to 1.75 in.; nearly globular; ivory white. Dates: March 15 to August 10 in United States. Incuba- tion: Period 31 days (W. Evans) ; by female. One brood yearly. Range. — North America. Breeds locally in wooded regions from southeastern Alaska, central British Columbia, Great Slave Lake, Northern Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick (probably in central Ungava (northern Quebec), southern Labrador and Newfoundland) south to Oregon, north- western Nevada, northern New Mexico, southern Louisiana, southern Tennessee, Alabama and central Florida; winters from southern British Columbia, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Penn- sylvania and Massachusetts south to Lower California, southern Mexico, the Gulf states and Cuba; uncommon to rare in northeastern part of range. Recorded from St. Michael, Alaska, also Ireland, Wales and Bermuda. Distribution in New England. — Rare migrant and summer resident in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont ; uncommon migrant and rare winter resident in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Con- necticut ; probably bred formerly in southern New England but not known to breed now. Season in Massachusetts. — March 18 to May 2 (August 11) ; September 28 to December 28; winters locally and irregularly from Boston southward. Haunts and Habits. The cold and privations of winter have passed, and now in the solitude of small secluded pools, streams and ponds in swamp and forest the Hooded Mergansers disport themselves. Returning spring with its annual awakening kindles anew in their breasts the glowing fires of reproduction. The males, in all the splendor of their elegant spring plumage, seek and pay court to their prospective mates. Gal- lantly they dash back and forth, rippling the dark waters, expanding and contracting their flashing fan-shaped crests, now proudly rising erect on the water with bill pointed down- ward and head drawn back, now speeding in rapid rushes to and fro. The ardent males chase the females, pursuing them on the surface and even following them under water. I have lain prone amid grass and underbrush watching the kaleidoscopic changes of such a scene where several males, two of them in splendid nuptial plumage, were coursing over the dark water in full display before an appreciative group of the other sex. The Hooded Merganser is not ordinarily, like the Merganser, a frequenter of swift waters but seems to prefer slow streams and quiet, shaded pools. Nevertheless when wintering in the north, it goes by necessity to fast running streams, river rapids or open spring-holes, and probably rarely seeks salt water, for I have never seen it in water more salt than brackish lagoons near the sea. It is not quite so wary as are the other mer- gansers and this lack of caution has led to its decimation. It is fond of decoy ducks which when employed by the gunner readily lead it to its doom. It is attracted readily to park ponds in which ducks are kept and may be seen occasionally in such ponds in Boston. MERGANSERS 189 It was formerly a common bird throughout a large part of the American continent. Now it is uncommon or rare over considerable areas. It is a swift and almost noiseless flier and easily threads its way among the branches of trees in its swampy woodlands. Estimates of its flight-speed, however, running up to 90 or 100 miles an hour probably are excessive. It lives in haunts similar to those of the Wood Duck and as it also nests in hollow trees, it is known as the "Wood Duck" to many people on the Pacific coast. Mr. J. H. Bowles has sent to me two photographs showing nesting-boxes which he fastened on trees near Tacoma, Washington, and in which Hooded Mergansers have nested. Its nesting cavities often are very high above the ground. In many cases the young climb out of the nest soon after they are hatched and jump, scramble, fall or flutter to the ground or water below. It is said that sometimes the mother takes them, one at a time, and flies with them to the nearest water. Spreadborough records a case where a pair nested for four years in an elm stub in Ontario. The "old bird," he says, "carried her young from the tree to the water in her bill." The nest was about thirty feet from the ground and the nesting tree was on the bank of the river.1 Dr. Hatch states that while rowing on a lake with a lady, his companion saw what both supposed was a Wood Duck carrying her duckling by the neck. He says that, lying in wait with a field glass, they saw the bird "resume the loving task" and identified it as a female Hooded Mer- ganser.2 In early September when the young are well grown and fledged, they gather in small companies, and soon their travels begin. In Massachusetts, particularly near the coast, the species in migration is most common in October. Very few adult males appear, but often the females and young are common locally at this season. In winter an occasional bird or two may be seen in favorable seasons in small ponds near the coast or on open water in the rivers of Massachusetts. In spring the main northward flight passes through Massachusetts in late March or April. During the seasons of migration they frequent the haunts of the Wood Duck and the Black Duck but do not often associate with them. The Hooded Merganser is not at all dependent on fish, although, like its larger con- geners, it eats them. It remains for considerable periods in ponds where there are no fish. It takes small frogs, tadpoles, insects, seeds and even the roots or bulbs of water plants, and has been known to eat corn. Its food is not well known but it appears to be a harmless bird. It should be protected sufficiently at least to allow it to increase in numbers. It is considered a table delicacy as compared to other mergansers, but it is too small to have great food value. Economic Status. See page 174. 1 Macoun, J., and Macoun, J. M. : Catalogue of Canadian Birds (Canada Department of Mines, Geological Survey Branch), 1909, p. 763. 8 Hatch, P. L. : Notes on the Birds of Minnesota, Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota, 1892, p. 27. 190 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Subfamily ANATIN.ffi. River Ducks. Number of species in North America 15 ; in Massachusetts 12. Ducks other than the mergansers have rather broad, flat bills. They fall naturally into two groups — the fresh-water, surface-feeding ducks, and the diving or bay and sea ducks. River ducks differ from both mergansers and sea ducks in having no lobe or flap on the hind toe. River ducks get their food mainly in shallow water by tipping up, head downward, which enables them to reach bottom, or by dabbling along the margin. All of them, however, can dive in case of necessity and sometimes they do so, but not commonly. Most of these ducks have a note- worthy marking, a brightly colored, iridescent patch on the secondary feathers of each wing known as the speculum. All male surface-feeding ducks of North America (and ap- Foot of River Duck parently females also) undergo a double molt beginning in the season of reproduction. After the first of these molts in summer the male has assumed an inconspicuous plumage (called the eclipse plumage — which is rather brief), usually very similar to that of the female, and after the second molt (out of the eclipse plumage) takes on the usual adult winter or nuptial plumage. In species where the male and female are alike and in females of most species the changed plumage of summer is so much like that of winter that it is not noticeable. During the entire year most of the feathers are shed twice, but "the long scapulars, wings and ventral feathers are renewed only once," being molted among the last of all; young males of the second year molt in a similar manner. The dates of these molts vary much according to the age of the birds or the latitude of the locality. The males usually begin to molt into eclipse plumage in May or June but do not shed all their flight feathers until August. They then are unable to fly. This is often (but perhaps not always) the case with females, though usually they are flightless (if at all) for a shorter period. Anas platyrhyncha Linnaeus. Mallard. Other names : gray mallard ; greenhead ; gbat duck (female) ; wild duck ; domestic duck ; ENGLISH DUCK. Plate 12. Description. — Adult male in winter and nuptial plumage: Head and most of neck iridescent green with some purple gloss ; a white ring almost entirely around neck, broken only behind ; front and sides of lower neck, and breast chestnut ; center of back brown (finely cross-waved with whitish) , graying over shoulders, scapulars and tertials and blackening toward tail ; wings mainly brownish-gray ; wing-patch or speculum violet, bordered in front and behind with black and white ; tail dark gray, outer feathers paler gray; outer webs of all tail feathers bordered white or whitish; upper and under tail-coverts black, glossed bluish-green ; rest of under plumage silver-gray, finely cross-lined with darker, most heavily on sides (flanks end in white) ; axillars and under wing-coverts pale cream ; a tuft of up-curled tail-coverts PLATE 12 Ph h-> OS P - r? us M o P Q M O Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. LVI, No. 32, 1912, pp. 11, 12. RIVER DUCKS 211 find the Green-winged Teal breeding on the Aleutian Islands and every full-plumaged male teal taken there by his party proved to be a so-called European bird. It is not improbable that the species may breed elsewhere in Alaska. It is less rare in North America than the records would indicate as there is little likelihood that the females or 3roung (which are in the great majority in winter when the birds migrate southward) will ever be recognized, and it is only when a full plumaged male is seen at close range or taken that there is a probability of an authentic report. All specimens of the Green-winged Teal taken should be carefully examined. Haunts and Habits. The European Teal resembles the Green-winged Teal closely not only in form and plumage but also in habits. It frequents the same shallow fresh waters, and estuaries and marshes near the sea. Wherever the Green-wing is found the European Teal may be looked for along either coast of North America. In time it may be found to be only a very rare visitor in some American regions where it is now regarded as accidental. The European Teal is chiefly vegetarian. It feeds more on the seeds of many plants than on their leaves or stalks. In spring it eats old waste grain; but snails, worms, slugs and insect larvae form a considerable part of its food (J. C. Phillips). Economic Status. See page 174. Nettion carolinense (Gmelin). Green-winged Teal. Other names: green-wing; mud teal. Plate IS. Description. — Bill nearly as long as head, longer than tarsus, narrow and parallel-sided. Adult male: Head sub-crested ; head and upper neck chiefly chestnut ; chin black; a broad patch from just before eye to hind head metallic green, running into black below on its lower edge (bordered below and sometimes in front by a narrow buff line which may extend to bill) ending in a black tuft on nape and hind neck ; rest of hind neck, sides of breast, upper back, scapulars, sides and flanks very light brownish- gray, finelj7, cross-waved with black lines ; some long outer scapulars widely edged outwardly with black ; a white bar before wing (sometimes wanting) ; lower back, rump and upper tail-coverts brownish-gray ; some black on outer upper tail-coverts ; wings grayish-brown or gray ; speculum or wing-patch metallic- green, edged in front light chestnut, below black and behind white; upper breast reddish-buff, with roundish black spots ; rest of lower plumage whitish, sometimes tinged brown ; under tail-coverts black, a triangular creamy patch on each side ; bill black ; iris dark brown ; legs and toes dark bluish-gray or olive-gray, webs brownish-black. Adult male in eclipse plumage: Similar to female, but quite variable ; older males are likely to have fewer and more distinct spots below and some cross-lined or vermiculated scapulars and to be more uniformly colored above with few light edges ; older females commonly more mottled below. Adult female: Top of head and back dusky-brownish, feathers of back and scapulars edged buff, ashy or whitish ; chin and throat light buff y or whitish ; wing much like that of male, but wing-bar before speculum sometimes white; breast buff, spotted blackish; sides and flanks heavily marked dusky and buffy ; rest of under plumage largely whitish ; iris, bill, legs and feet much as in male, bill not so dark. Young in juvenal plumage (sexes practically alike) : Similar to female but tail feathers more blunt at tips; largely white below with more spotting on belly of female than in adult female; young female has colors of wing a trifle duller than male; young male has concealed black spots on breast (J. C. Phillips) ; "the anterior buff wing-bar is usually of a richer color" in Green-winged Teal, at all ages and in both sexes, than in European Teal (J. C. Phillips). Downy young: Above grayish- 212 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS brown ; top of head, line through eye, spot on ear-region, and back of neck dark brown ; sides of head yellowish ; back with four spots (paired) of straw-yellow, two on either side above wing and two near tail ; "below dull light buff" or yellowish. Measukements. — Length 12.50 to 15.75 in.; spread 22.00 to 24.00; folded wing 6.25 to 7.50; tail 2.61 to 3.60; bill 1.35 to 1.60; tarsus 1.07 to 1.25. Weight 10 to 14 oz. Female slightly smaller than male. Molts. — Bent states that the young male becomes lighter below and that "the red plumage of the head appears in October"; also that in December the bird is practically indistinguishable from adult male ; young male, however, is not as perfect in plumage as adult ; adult male begins molting in June or July, shedding all contour-feathers and scapulars, and in August is in full eclipse plumage ; flight-feathers are shed and renewed in August, and in next three months another molt of body-feathers is followed by adult winter or nuptial plumage ; adult female has similar double molt. Field Marks. — Smallest of our River Ducks ; Adult male in winter or spring : Chestnut head, green patch on side of head and (usually) white bar in front of wing. Female and young : Readily dis- tinguished from Black Duck or other large ducks by small size ; from Blue-winged Teal by absence of blue fore-wing ; most of wing, however, including green wing-patch or speculum, of Green-wing is often covered by body-plumage, but shows in flight or when wing is flapped ; in early fall both this and the Blue-winged Teal are in a similar dull plumage with exception of green and blue of wing, respectively. Voice. — Peculiar chirping, almost twittering, as they fly (E. T. Seton). Male, short mellow whistle ; "a sound like the low soft whine of a little puppy" (A. F. Warren) ; a low rolling whistle (Allan Brooks). Female, a quack like Black Duck but fainter, high-pitched and more often repeated (E. H. Eaton); "when surprised kup-kup-kup, when curious ek-ek-ek" (F. Harper). Breeding. — On dry ground in or near marsh, near water, or on higher land at considerable distance from water; often in edge of bushy timber. Nest: Of grass, sedges, weeds, feathers and much down, usually in hollow, in dense growth of grass or other vegetation or under bushes. Eggs : 7 to 12 or even more ; 1.60 to 1.90 by 1.20 to 1.36 in. ; bluntly ovate ; pale olive-greenish buff or pale dull buff. Dates: May 28, North Dakota; May 20, northern Ontario. Incubation: Period 21 to 23 days (H. K. Job); by female. One brood yearly. Range. — North America. Breeds from northwestern Alaska, northwestern Mackenzie, Great Slave Lake, northern Manitoba, northern Ontario, northern Quebec, Labrador and Newfoundland south to south-central California, northwestern Nevada, northwestern Utah, northern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northern Nebraska, southern Minnesota, central western Iowa, Wisconsin (formerly), north- eastern Illinois, northeastern Michigan, southern Ontario, casually, western New York and Pennsylvania, southern Quebec, New Brunswick and the Gulf of St. Lawrence; winters from southeastern Alaska, British Columbia, central Montana, northern Nebraska, southern Iowa, the Great Lakes (irregularly), central Illinois, northern Indiana, Ohio, western New York (irregularly) and Massachusetts and Nova Scotia (both casually) south to southern Lower California, Lesser Antilles and Honduras ; occasional in Bermuda ; accidental in Hawaii (extremely rare migrant), Japan, Greenland, Great Britain, and Bermuda, and occurs in Marshall Islands. Distribution in New England. — Generally an uncommon migrant, perhaps more common in Maine and Vermont than in other New England states (may breed in northern Vermont) ; winters casually or irregularly on coasts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. Season in Massachusetts. — (August 30) ; September 3 to December 13 (has been observed about Boston all winter) ; March 23 to April 23. Haunts and Habits. The lovely little Green-winged Teal is one of the swiftest fliers among game-birds. Its speed has been estimated at 160 miles an hour, but to reach this rate it would have to be borne on the wings of a hurricane. It often flies in compact flocks, its line of flight either definite and direct or else vacillating, with quick turns in exact concert. In the water it is a buoyant swimmer and an excellent diver but RIVER DUCKS 213 does not ordinarily dive except to escape some enemy. Mr. T. Gilbert Pearson relates an instance which shows how the teal may even attach itself to objects on the bottom when wounded and attempting to escape. A fine male teal had been shot from a passing flock and had fallen and disappeared beneath the water of a pond thickly grown with vegetation. Mr. Pearson says: "It was easy to determine the exact spot so I waded out and looking down into the water saw it holding to the stem of a submerged plant, its tail pointing toward the surface. Lifting it in my hands, the plant came up, still tightly clasped in the bird's beak." l Mr. Charles B. Morss of Bradford tells me that he has known two Green-winged Teals to cling to objects on the bottom until death.2 Much of the food of this teal is procured in very shallow water or on land. It is fond of wading and "puddling" in a few inches of water in muddy places or on bare mud flats, in company with the sandpipers. It is particularly active on its feet, walks and runs well and often travels on foot for some distance on land either in search of food or in passing from pool to pool. When alarmed by the hunter, it springs direct from the water into the air and is soon out of danger ; but if some members of a flock are shot down, the rest are likely to circle about and return and may even alight among their dead or dying comrades. This habit and that of gathering in close companies have given the market hunter his oppor- tunity. Skilful gunners often have destroyed a whole flock. Teals come readily to decoys in compact flocks but "flare" and scatter when the gunner rises to shoot. The Green-wing is naturally tame and unsuspicious, and old people on Cape Cod have related often how the teal formerly fed with the barnyard ducks. The natural tameness of this species has been its undoing. Excellent as a table bird it was in great demand in the market, and now in New England where formerly it was common and even abundant at times in migration, it has become uncommon or rare. The Green-winged Teal begins to leave its northern breeding-grounds in October (although a few stragglers move southward in September), and until late in November it may be seen in its favorite waters in New England. It frequents the fresh water by preference ; but if the ponds and rivers freeze, it goes to salt water estuaries until the fresh waters are freed from ice. In New England the species goes north earlier and south later, although it is an early autumnal migrant in the west. The Green-winged Teal like other surface-feeding ducks often feeds in shallow water by thrusting its head down to the bottom. Mr. T. Gilbert Pearson found by experiment with a small flock of these birds that when seven heads were under water and only four pairs of eyes were watching, a sudden motion on his part started all the ducks into the air "with the quickness of thought." How is it possible for birds with heads under water and tails in the air to sense the alarm and spring up as quickly as those with heads in the air? This is one of the wonders of bird life. The food of this teal includes flies, dipterous larvae, grasshoppers, locusts and many other land and aquatic insects, but these seem to form less than 5% of its normal food. Mollusks including snails, also crustaceans and other animal food, bring the total animal » Bird-Lore, Vol. XXIV, 1922, p. 181. 2 Massachusetts Department of Agriculture, Bulletin No. 8, 1922, p. 46. 214 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS quota up to 9.33%. The rest of the food is of a vegetal nature and is largely composed of seeds of water plants such as pondweeds and bulrushes or sedges, smartweeds and grasses. It feeds on the succulent parts of these plants, also on duckweeds and many other water plants, wild rice, wild oats and some grain — mostly scattered waste grain.1 At times it takes chestnuts, acorns, wild grapes and berries, and when driven in winter to the salt water it feeds on marine life. At such times its flesh, ordinarily a delectable viand for the epicure, becomes rank and unsavory. This is often the case in British Columbia where the bird gorges itself on putrid salmon.2 Economic Status. See page 174. Querquedula discors (Linnaeus). Blue-winged Teal. Other names: blue-wing; summer teal. Plate IS. Description. — Adult male in winter and nuptial plumage : Head and upper neck dusky-leaden-gray, more or less tinged with faint gloss of purplish or lavender ; chin and top of head from bill to nape black or blackish ; a large white, black-edged crescent in front of eye, extending down to throat ; upper plumage mainly dark brown, feathers more or less edged or otherwise marked buff or light rusty-brown; outer surface of fore wing light blue, this color extending over some of outer long scapulars, blue fore wing with posterior border of white separating it from glossy green speculum, which also is posteriorly (but very narrowly) edged white and bordered above and below by black ; flight-feathers dark brown ; most of linings of wings and axillars and a spot on each side at base of tail white ; under plumage and sides light brown or buff, spotted black, except that lower flanks are sometimes barred in curved lines ; under tail- coverts brownish-black, under side of tail ashy ; bill bluish-gray or bluish-black, black on ridge ; iris dark brown or hazel; legs and toes dull yellow to yellow orange with dark webs. Male in eclipse plumage: Similar to female but retains some trace of white face patch, and wing is much as in winter plumage, with blue larger and brighter and speculum brighter than in female. Adult female in winter and nuptial plum- age : Top of head dusky, throat whitish, an indistinct dusky stripe before and behind eye ; rest of head and neck pale brownish or brownish-white streaked dusky ; back, wings, rump and upper tail-coverts dusky, with V- or U-shaped buff edgings on back ; breast, sides and flanks pinkish-buff or grayish-white, marked blackish ; flanks with dusky V-shaped marks ; belly whitish-gray, with obscure mottling ; wing much as in male, but with less blue, no black, little white and speculum duller ; bill greenish-black ; legs and feet duller or darker than in male ; iris hazel. Young in juvenal plumage : Like female, but lighter below, often with nearly immaculate white belly and gray speculum ; young female more uniformly gray on back ; "feet very pale or flesh tinted" (Coues) ; young male has speculum more prominent and richer than young female. Downy young : Top of head and upper plumage brown, darkest on top of head and rump ; a buff or yellowish spot in front of each wing, one across each wing and another at each side of rump ; forehead, stripe to eye, and under surface of body and neck pale buff or corn-yellow with local shadings of deeper tints; sides of head, and hind neck " ochraceous-buff " ; dark line through eye, and in some cases another below it. Measurements. — Length 14.50 to 16.00 in.; spread 24.00 to 31.25; folded wing 7.00 to 7.50; tail about 3.50 ; bill 1.40 to 1.65; tarsus 1.16 to 1.30. Weight 10^ oz. to 1 lb. Female smaller than male. Molts. — In August young have acquired juvenal plumage; during fall, winter and early spring more or less molting takes place until first nuptial plumage is assumed, which is much like that of adult « Mabbott, D. C. : TJ. S. Department of Agriculture, Bulletin No. 862, 1920, pp. 17-22. 2 Millais, J. G. : The Natural History of British Surface-feeding Ducks, 1902, p. 90. RIVER DUCKS 215 but somewhat duller and without long blue-edged scapulars ; first eclipse plumage is assumed in summer, and after autumnal molt birds appear in adult plumage. Autumnal molt in adults seems very variable in time, some assume nuptial plumage in winter and others not until spring. They have the usual double molt beginning in July. Field Marks. — Adult male: Sky-blue fore wing and broad white crescent in front of eye ; in flight, blue of wing is conspicuous in both sexes and all ages. Female and young: May be distinguished from blue-winged female Shoveller by smaller size and shorter, narrower bill ; female and young of Cinnamon Teal closely resemble those of this species but have never been recorded in New England. (See Field Marks under Green-winged Teal, page 212.) Voice. — Male, whistling peep repeated five or six times; "call-note of male a high-pitched tseef, tseef, tseef, entirely different from notes of other male teal with which I am familiar" (Alex. Wetmore). Female, quack similar to that of Green-winged Teal (E. H. Eaton). Breeding. — In open prairie, marsh or field not far from water, or on a small island. Nest : Usually on dry ground in or near meadow or marsh ; sometimes on a muskrat house ; usually concealed by over- arching grass, and eggs covered with a blanket of down when female is off the nest ; a hollow lined with grass and dark-brown, mottled down larger and lighter-colored than Green-winged Teal's ; the typical nest neat and basket-like, set either into rank grass or the ground. Eggs: 6 to 15, commonly 10, 11, 12; 1.71 to 1.93 by 1.25 to 1.40 in.; bluntly ovate; pale olive-buff or buffy-white, averaging slightly lighter than those of Green-winged Teal. Dates: June 3, North Dakota; June 13 to July 9, Saskatchewan. Incubation : Period 21 to 23 days (H. K. Job) ; by female. One brood yearly. Range. — Western Hemisphere. Breeds from central British Columbia, southern Mackenzie, northern Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, probably Quebec and casually Labrador and Magdalen Islands south to central Oregon, northern Nevada, central Utah, northern New Mexico, Oklahoma, central Kansas, Missouri, southern Illinois, southern Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, western New York, Rhode Island (formerly) and casually Maine ; reported as breeding in Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina, New Jersey, Long Island, Iceland, the Antilles and Honduras ; winters from southern California, Arizona, southern Illinois, southern Indiana, Maryland, Delaware and casually Rhode Island south to Bahamas, Antilles, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Chile ; recorded on Clipperton, Cocos and Galapagos Islands ; acci- dental in Bermuda and western Europe. Distribution in New England. — Common to rare migrant ; much rarer in spring than in autumn in three southern New England states; "very rare in spring but occurs regularly in fall migration in Maine" (A. H. Norton) ; bred formerly (Boardman) and may breed still, in Washington County, Maine ; bred formerly in Rhode Island and possibly in Massachusetts (Arlington Heights and Marthas Vineyard). Season in Massachusetts. — (July 27) August 15 to November 26 ; (March 21) ; April 9 to May 31 (June). Haunts and Habits. Fleeing first of all wild ducks from the frost king and following the retiring sun toward the equator come the Blue-winged Teals. In the waning summer or with the full September moon they come ; and swinging low out of the northern sky they sweep along the sedgy banks of some marshy river where wild rice and pickerel weed grow. Borne on swift whistling pinions, careering swiftly back and forth, they turn and return, and, as they swing and shift, show alternately light breasts and dark backs with flashing azure wings. Back and forth they rush reconnoitering the landfall until, suspicions allayed, and satisfied at last, they check their speed with wings, feet and tail and alight all together on some still, marsh-bordered pool, the haunt of rails, musk- rats, tortoises and frogs, where blackbirds tunefully emit their throaty notes and swallows flit on still summer evenings until the bats come out. 216 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS The Blue-winged Teal is fond of still waters and slow currents. It frequents small ponds and pools where it dabbles among the lily pads or the marshy borders of slow- running streams. Its flight, like that of the Green-winged Teal, is remarkably swift. It comes readily to decoys, particularly if live birds are used, and is normally tame and unsuspicious. "Quite curiously it is often associated singly with one or two Black Ducks" (J. C. Phillips). In wet seasons it often alights in pools of rain-water. For- merly its flights were immense. As it flew and swam in close flocks, it offered an excellent target for the "scatter gun." Audubon tells of a gunner who reported that he had killed 120 at one discharge. Audubon himself records that he saw 94 killed by the simultaneous discharge of both barrels of a double gun. In the first half of the nineteenth century this teal was abundant in migration in New England but its numbers gradually lessened until it became rare. Now under protective laws it seems to be slowly increasing. It is one of the most prolific of all ducks and is said sometimes to hatch 15 to 17 young. If given reasonable protection its increase may continue. Though this teal migrates southward very early and does not linger here long, a few sometimes may be seen in October and November in Massachusetts and rarely a bird or two may be recorded in winter. Miss Elizabeth Dickens informs me that a pair spent the greater part of one winter at Block Island, Rhode Island. I have never seen the species in spring in Massachusetts, and at that season it probably passes rapidly through the state, having learned by sad experience during the winter that a closely settled coun- try is unsafe. As it is more often seen in spring in the wilder parts of northern New Eng- land, perhaps it remains there longer while waiting for the ice to leave more northern waters. It is most likely to appear here on its way north in late March or early April. In reporting on the food of this teal, Mr. Douglas C. Mabbott found that 10.41% of its stomach contents consisted of insects chiefly caddis-flies, beetles, dragon-flies, other flies and bugs. The larval forms of these insects chiefly were taken. There were also soldier-flies and midges and other miscellaneous insects, grasshoppers, locusts, moths and a few ants. Insects' eggs are eaten. About seven-tenths of the Blue-winged Teal's food is vegetal matter, including sedges, pondweeds, grasses, smartweeds, algae, water- lilies, rice, corn, water milfoils, reeds, etc.* A few small crustaceans, such as shrimps and sand-fleas, are taken by this bird ; also some snails.1 Economic Status. See page 174. * Mabbott, Douglas C. : U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bulletin No. 862, Bureau of Biological Survey, 1920, pp. 23-28. 1 Whether shell-fish form a part of the diet is doubtful, but a bird of this species was caught in Ware with a fresh- water clam attached to its foot. Fig. 22. — Sheld Duck From a specimen in the Museum of Comparative Zoology Fig. 23. — Nest of Black Duck. Page 196 ■\ PLATE 14 < i— i M P3 Cm 0 fc ^-^ tf H H Ed S3 J S H EM H O o w GO fcdO ED H 3 § i-H o p p 0 o o p S5 RIVER DUCKS 217 Tadorna tadorna (Linn^us). Sheld Duck. Fig. 22. Description. — Both sexes with rounded carpal spur, most prominent in adult male ; tail of 14 feathers, nearly even at end ; bill broader toward tip than at base, considerably upturned. Adult male in winter and nuptial plumage : (A high knob above base of upper mandible appears only in breeding season and not then on non-breeding male) ; head and upper neck dark green with some tinge of amethyst, small white mark below eye, point of chin sometimes white ; lower neck encircled by wide collar of white, below which a light chestnut or tawny band surrounds base of neck, upper back and breast ; rest of back white; scapulars, part of secondaries, and primaries mainly black; wing-patch or speculum green; rest of upper plumage, including part of scapulars, wing-coverts and tail mainly white, latter rather broadly tipped black ; upper tail-coverts sometimes tipped blackish ; a broad band, black or dark brown in middle and in its upper part merging into tawny belt on each side, runs down center of breast and belly and widens toward vent; under tail-coverts "cinnamon-rufous"; other under plumage white; bill, including basal knob, bright red ("carmine or blood red"), nail dusky ; legs and feet flesh colored. Adult male in eclipse plumage: Much like adult female. Head largely blackish, feathers faintly edged dusky- brown, tipped greenish, and showing whitish mottling on face and throat ; lower neck white, but white feathers on back of neck next body tipped blackish ; back tawny with broad blackish feather-tips ; scap- ulars mainly dull black with faint white tips, some partly white and some white with wavy black cross- lines ; feathers of sides and flanks white, but more or less speckled and suffused with tawny ; black line in center of breast more or less broken up by tawny feather-tips ; wings and tail as in winter ; bill paler than in spring. Adult female in nuptial plumage : Similar to male but head and neck usually (not always) duller ; some show more or less white in face and forehead ; tawny breast band narrower and black of breast and belly duller than in male ; bill as in male, but duller ; legs and feet about as in male. Young in first winter plumage : Male : As adult, but green of head and upper neck usually duller ; lower scapulars gray instead of white as in adult ; tawny band on breast and black area in its center narrower ; wing still largely as in juvenal; easily distinguished by white tips to inner primaries and secondaries. Female: Similar to adult female, but feathers of head largely tipped dusky-brown ; wing much as in male at this stage ; breast and under plumage show signs of immaturity. Young in juvenal plumage : No tawny nor black coloration ; general appearance ashy-brown and white above, white below ; forehead, chin and face about to eyes white ; top of head blackish, feathers with buffy-brown tips ; nape, cheeks and sides of neck blackish, feathers with narrow white tips ; upper back generally dark brown, more or less mottled or edged white ; some scapulars brownish-gray ; lower back, rump and upper tail-coverts white, latter in part tipped blackish and in part cross-waved with brownish-gray ; tail blackish-brown, edged and tipped whitish, outer feathers more or less white ; wing as in adult, but primaries narrowly edged white, and some tipped broadly same ; speculum less brilliant than in adult ; inner secondaries gray with chestnut outer webs ; greater coverts gray, and median coverts white tipped gray ; bill grayish-pink ; iris brown ; legs and feet pale grayish-white. Downy young: Forehead and face including cheeks white ; elsewhere above mainly sooty or chocolate-brown ; small patch on center of upper back and streak on sides of back and rump white ; below white. Measurements. — Length 19.00 to 22.00 in. ; folded wing 11.25 to 13.50; tail 3.75 to 5.60 ; bill 1.87 to 2.40; tarsus 1.85 to 2.16. Molts. — In August young birds begin to molt juvenal body-feathers and tail and sometimes some of wing-coverts; this molt may last until March and sometimes is much prolonged and incomplete; some birds retain many juvenal feathers in spring while some young males have black band on breast and belly as fully developed as adult ; in July and August most of under plumage and part of upper plumage is molted, followed by wings and tail as bird goes into eclipse ; in autumn young birds molt again and either in winter or following spring most of them become as adults ; adults molt in July and 218 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS August when wings, tail and much body-plumage is shed, and again in autumn (August or September to December) when body plumage is renewed. Field Marks. — Size of Mallard or Black Duck ; at a distance looks black and white and poses like a goose ; near at hand red bill, white neck and tawny or chestnut breast-band are conspicuous. Voice. — Male : Deep korr korr; in spring, whistles a low, clear wh'chee-you. Female, loud harsh quack. Breeding. — Mainly along sea-coast and about estuaries. Nest: Usually in a rabbit hole or other deep burrow. Eggs : 8 to 15, but many more have been found, due to two or more females ; 2.80 by 1.80 to 2.46 by 1.20 in. ; white. Incubation: Period variously given as 24 to 26 and 28 to 30 days; chiefly by female. One brood yearly. Range. — Europe, Asia and northern Africa. "Breeds in British Isles and in northern Europe from about latitude 70° in Norway and 51° in Ural Mountains to France and Spain and on salt lakes of southern Siberia and central Asia; also in eastern Asia" ; migrates south to Mediterranean and northern Africa, northern India, Burmah, China, Formosa and Japan ; casual in Iceland and Faroe Islands ; accidental in Massachusetts. Distribution in New England. — A female in first winter plumage was brought to me in the flesh by Deputy Carl E. Grant of the Division of Fisheries and Game of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation. This bird was shot October 5, 1921, near the mouth of the Essex River in Ipswich Bay, Essex County, Massachusetts, by Capt. Howard H. Tobey of Gloucester. The bird was shot over decoys about one-half mile from shore and was very shy. Its plumage, beak and feet were in excellent condition showing that it had not been recently in captivity, and it was apparently a wild bird. This is the first and only record for the species thus far in North America. The specimen is now in the Peabody Museum at Salem. This seems to be a wanderer from Europe. Its occurrence was recorded by Mr. Albert P. Morse 1 and by myself.2 Haunts and Habits. This species frequents mainly the shores and estuaries of the sea and salt lakes but is often found at some distance in the interior. It feeds largely on mollusks and crustaceans and also to some extent on vegetal matter such as algae and fragments of graminece and occasionally eats some insects. Its occurrence on the western side of the Atlantic is purely accidental. Spatula clypeata (Linnaeus). Shoveller. Other names: spoonbill; broadbill. Plate 14. Description. — "Bill much longer than head or tarsus, twice as wide at end as at base, broadly rounded at end ; nail narrow and prominent, laminae very numerous and protrusive ; tail of 14 acute feathers" (Coues). Adult male in winter and nuptial plumage: Head and most of neck dark, glossy, metallic-green, with some violet and purple reflections, dullest on top of head, on throat and around base of bill, where it becomes brownish or blackish ; lower neck all round and whole breast white except a narrow dark line down back of neck to back (some adult males have black or dark semicircular markings on breast, probably feathers retained from eclipse plumage) ; middle of back mainly slaty-black, feathers edged light brown or whitish ; rump and upper tail-coverts slightly darker with some metallic-green luster ; tail centrally blackish, its outer edges white ; fore part of wing including all coverts, except tips of greater coverts, light blue, most scapulars white, longer ones light blue — a continuation of the blue of fore wing but streaked white and blackish toward tips; speculum brilliant metallic-green bordered in front by 1 Bulletin of the Essex County Ornithological Club of Massachusetts, 1921, p. 68. 2 Auk, Vol. XXXIX, 1922, p. 104. RIVER DUCKS 219 white tips of greater coverts, above by black, and behind by a very narrow white line ; inner secondaries black with a metallic light greenish tinge and streaked narrowly white toward ends; rest of flight- feathers dusky with slight greenish reflections ; abdomen " purplish chestnut " or " rich cinnamon " ; sides and flanks lighter along upper edges than abdomen, flanks finely vermiculated with blackish ; a white patch on each side of base of tail ; vermiculation of black and white behind vent ; under tail-coverts greenish-black and under surface of tail white or whitish ; axillars and wing-linings mainly white ; bill black or bluish-black, paler below; iris orange or yellow; legs and feet orange-red or "vermilion." Molting male (as seen on Atlantic coast in autumn or early winter) : Similar but very variable ; dark head and neck finely spotted white ; white and dark markings on breast and back ; dull brownish tint on abdomen ; adult males are barred on white upper breast where young birds are spotted. Male in eclipse plumage : Similar to adult female but under plumage largely brown, also some white may remain on breast, and wing markings are brighter than those of female and much as in nuptial plumage. Adult female: Above mainly warm brown, feathers on head, neck, back, rump and upper tail-coverts edged with ashy or light pinkish-buff; head and neck usually somewhat grayer than other upper plumage, finely streaked (except chin and sometimes throat) with dusky ; wing with little if any black, with much duller blue than in male and much less greenish luster on speculum, which is bounded before and behind by narrow white bar ; flight-feathers lighter than in male ; scapulars with large U-shaped buff marks; tail edged white or whitish; sides and flanks lighter or grayer than back; under surface of body varying from buff to whitish, often mottled more or less ; bill variable in color — "olive gray," "olive brown," "yellowish, shading to greenish at tip" or greenish-brown; edges of man- dibles orange, upper finely spotted with black which disappears after death, under orange ; iris hazel ; legs and feet orange, paler than in male. Young injuvenal plumage: Male: Similar to adult female but of a lighter shade ; breast with tinge of chestnut ; belly pale chestnut. Female : Similar but fore wing dull slate and speculum dusky, with little metallic-green. Downy young : Above mainly brown ; whole top and back of head dark brown ; dark stripe through eye and a pale brown stripe above it ; narrow dark mark under eye and another over ear ; spot on each side of back, stripe on each wing and spot on each side of rump whitish ; below mainly grayish-white, breast tinged brown, and chin and throat buff ; bill not very noticeably different from that of other ducklings at first but develops as young grow. Measurements. — Length 17.00 to 21.00 in.; spread 29.50 to 35.00; folded wing 9.00 to 10.00; tail 3.00 to 3.50; bill 2.50 to 2.80; tarsus 1.33 to 1.50. Weight 1 lb. 1 oz. to 1 lb. 10 oz., rarely 2 lbs. Female smaller than male. Molts. — Young female ; molts juvenal plumage and acquires during late autumn and first winter months a first winter plumage in which head, body and tail-feathers are renewed, but not wings; in spring another molt occurs followed by new feathers on top of head, upper body, scapulars, innermost secondaries and some tail-feathers — the first nuptial plumage ; like male, female molts again after breeding season. Young male; begins a series of similar molts, in early autumn, but feathers of first winter plumage have no more than reached maturity when those of first nuptial plumage begin to appear ; this molt lasts until spring when first nuptial plumage has been assumed, showing, as a rule, but not always, less glossy green head than adults and some dark horse-shoe markings on white fore-neck and breast ; first nuptial plumage is followed by eclipse (when wings are molted the first time) and this by second nuptial [or winter] plumage (E. Lehn Schioler) ; there seems to be nearly a continuous molt and feather change from the time young male sheds the down until it goes into first eclipse ; Millais says that young male gains in 17 months "a plumage dull and incomplete, yet resembling that of the adult male" ; also he says: "His plumage, so far as my experience goes, is never absolutely perfect until the third season"; apparently no American river duck is more variable in color pattern than the male of this species in its progress to maturity ; adult male begins molting into eclipse plumage (late May to July) and before end of August has undergone an extensive but incomplete molt ; another molt (out of the eclipse) (apparently complete with exception of wings which are molted in August) occurs in autumn and winter ; adult female has similar molts. 220 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Field Makks. — Hardly as large as Wood Duck, but its rather slender neck, long bill and large, long, pointed wings give it in flight a deceptively large appearance. Male : Unmistakable ; seen from below at a distance head and neck seem black ; from neck to front of wing, bird is white ; chestnut lower body coming next seems dark and is separated from black under tail-coverts by narrow belt of white; thus five alternating areas, dark-white-dark-white-dark. Female and young: Might be mistaken for Blue-winged Teal (though somewhat larger) except for length and shape of bill — this so long that in flight wings seem to be set too far back ; Shoveller also usually flies less swiftly and in a more hesitating desultory manner than Teal. Voice. — Usually silent except when a startled flock rises ; male in breeding season a low, guttural woh woh woh, or took took took; female, a few feeble quacks (A. C. Bent). Breeding. — In open grassy or bushy lands as marshes, meadows, prairies or on islands in lakes. Nest : A hollow in dry or moist ground, near or far from water, usually hidden in grass or under bushes, lined with grasses, rimmed with down, eggs often covered (as incubation advances) with it. Eggs : 6 to 14 ; 2.00 to 2.38 by 1.38 to 1.50 in. ; nearly "elliptical ovate" ; indistinguishable from Mallard's in color but smaller. Dates: May 9 to July 3, Minnesota and North Dakota (A. C. Bent). Incubation: Period 21 to 23 days; by female. One brood yearly. Range. — Northern Hemisphere, in temperate regions and northern parts of Southern Hemisphere. Breeds in North America from northwestern Alaska, northwestern Mackenzie, and eastern Manitoba, south to southern California, central Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, northern Texas, Kansas, north- eastern Missouri, northern Illinois, northern Indiana and casually west central New York ; winters from southern British Columbia, Arizona, New Mexico, southern Texas, southern Missouri, southern Illinois, northwestern Indiana, Maryland and eastern Virginia south to Antilles, Colombia and Hawaii; occa- sional in migration north to Prince Edward Island ; accidental in Bermuda and Labrador ; in Eastern Hemisphere breeds from Great Britain and European and Asiatic regions near Arctic Circle south to southern Europe and central Asia ; winters south to Canary Islands, Senegambia, Arabia, the Philippine Islands and Australia. Distribution in New England. — Rare migrant growing rarer in eastern Maine ; seen mostly about fresh water or in brackish ponds near coast; recorded principally from seaboard; formerly less rare. Season in Massachusetts. — March 20 to April 23; September 3 to November 20 (Winter). Haunts and Habits. The Shoveller stands alone. No other duck in North America carries about such a long, broad, extremely specialized spatulate bill, and no other ex- hibits in the full plumage of the handsome male so peculiar an arrangement of striking colors. It bears no close resemblance to any other bird. It may be looked for occasion- ally anywhere in these states where muddy ponds and pools are found, especially near the sea-coast, where it is rarely seen in salt water. Its bill with its many comblike processes is used to dabble in the mud from which the bird sifts out much of its food, and for this reason it frequents the small ponds or shallow mudholes which supply it with its favorite food. The Shoveller is one of the first ducks to flee before the coming of winter, and the first severe frost will usually send it southward ; but as its chief American breeding- grounds are in the western part of the continent, comparatively few ever reach New Eng- land. It comes singly, in pairs or in small companies and seeks the society of other ducks, such as Blue-winged Teal, Baldpate and Lesser Scaup. It should be looked for among other wild-fowl in September and early October. Those seen later than the latter RIVER DUCKS 221 date are usually cripples or belated stragglers. By December the vanguard has reached South America. (A young bird of this species remained about Boston through December, 1924, and January, 1925, but such occurrences are rare.) They are a little later than most of the ducks on the return trip, for I find no Massachusetts records before early April ; and this seems to be about the average time of their arrival near the northern border of the United States, though there are some March records. The Shoveller is regarded as a rather "slow" bird, comparatively unsuspicious and easily taken. It comes well to decoys and often seems slow and vacillating in flight, but in reality when aroused or frightened it is one of the most active and swift of water- fowl. When startled it springs quickly from the water with an audible flapping of its long wings and goes away with a rush. Its speed when alarmed and under full headway is difficult to estimate. The only full plumaged adult male that I have taken passed by me in full flight riding high on a strong wind. Swinging the muzzle of my gun far ahead I killed him instantly at perhaps 50 yards, but the impetus of his headlong, hurtling flight carried him on and he fell 90 paces from the place where I stood. I have enjoyed watching the feeding habits of the Shoveller. At times there are no ducks more active on land or water. They dart about in pursuit of insects, splash in play and chase each other round and round. The great, peculiar bill is an excellent trap for both land and water insects and more than any other duck, the Shoveller uses the long comb-like pectinations of the spoon-shaped member to sift from water or ooze the food it most desires. I have watched many surface-feeding ducks swimming low in the water with head and neck extended and bill partially immersed. In this way they often drink but perhaps still more often secure food which is retained by the sensitive tongue or the lamellated mandibles while the water and inedible residue passes out on either side ; but no species that it has been my good fortune to observe practises this so often and so con- tinuously as the Shoveller. Three or four Shovellers will form in line following one after the other and then the leader will swing round in an ellipse, turning and following the hindmost, each one apparently straining through its bill the water stirred by the paddling feet of the one before it. Thus round and round they go with chattering bills, each one apparently enjoying the guttering exercise and getting some sustenance from the disturbed and turgid element. The male and female also circle about in this manner during courtship. A bird so highly specialized as the Shoveller might be expected to subsist to some extent on certain minute objects not so readily separated from the ooze by ducks with ordinary bills unprovided with so fine a straining apparatus. An examination of the food of the Shoveller tends to confirm this theory. It is well known that some ducks under certain circumstances, as when starving in winter, swallow considerable mud and that many, by straining mud and water through the lamellated edges of their bills, are able to separate from the elements thus strained certain animal and vegetal foods. At times the Shoveller's feeding exemplifies this process. Mr. W. L. McAfee has published the most authoritative account of the food of the 222: BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Shoveller.1 It is based on examinations of the stomach contents of 70 birds collected in 12 states. These contained 65.76% of animal food and 34.24% of vegetal food. The largest animal items consisted of fresh-water snails ; aquatic insects were next in quan- tity ; while small fishes made up 3%. Evidently most of the animal food is taken from mud and water. Among the crustaceans found were crawfish and eight species of ostracods. Large numbers of these tiny creatures, also copepods and diatoms (the last vegetal), were taken no doubt as a result of the thorough straining of the "bottom ooze" through the specialized bill of the birds. Much debris of a vegetable origin is taken also from the mud. The leading items of the vegetal food are not dissimilar to those taken by other fresh-water ducks, for sedges, pondweeds, grasses, algae, water-lilies, duckweeds and smartweeds are given among the stomach contents. The Shoveller is especially fond of widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima) and for this reason it may be that the bird is found most commonly in ponds near the coast where this plant grows. It eats the seeds and other parts of many land and aquatic plants, also small frogs, tadpoles, leeches and many land insects. Prof. Aughey obtained in May a specimen in Nebraska which had in its stomach 37 locusts, 22 other insects, some small, fresh-water mollusks and some seeds. Economic Status. Mr. McAtee finds that so far as known the Shoveller damages no crop nor feeds on animals of pronounced value to man. It devours various enemies of fish such as dragon-fly nymphs, giant water bugs, water scorpions, water-tigers, back- swimmers and crawfish, the last of which are also destructive to crops, dikes and levees. If we add to this the fact that the bird feeds to some extent on grasshoppers and locusts and recall that it is one of the best ducks for the table, when feeding on vegetal food, it would seem that the Shoveller is a bird to protect and preserve. Dafila acuta tzitzihoa (Vieillot). American Pintail. Other names: sprig tail; pheasant duck; gray duck; picket-tail; sea widgeon. Plate 14. Description. — Neck unusually long and slender ; form more slender than that of most ducks ; tail of 16 feathers ; adult male has middle feathers much longer than the rest and slightly upturned at ends ; tail tapering and pointed at end ; female and young have tail short, tapering and pointed without elon- gation of middle feathers. Adult male in winter and nuptial -plumage: Head, chin and throat, including upper fore neck, dark rich olive-brown with green and purplish gloss, top of head darkest ; hind neck (narrowly) black or blackish, graying toward its juncture with back, and separated from brown of upper neck and throat on each side by a long, white stripe extending upward from neck to back part of ear- region ; under plumage mainly white ; fore part of folded wing gray ; primaries darker ; a light rusty- brown or cinnamon bar on tips of greater wing-coverts precedes the iridescent speculum or wing patch which is changeable metallic-green to bronzy-purple, crossed by a narrow subterminal bar of velvety black and tipped white, a stripe of black frames its upper edge ; inner secondaries, tertials and long pointed scapulars striped lengthwise with sharply contrasting black and silver-gray or whitish, the latter color largely marginal ; a conspicuous wide black scapular stripe reaching back above speculum ; rump and 1 Auk, Vol. XXXIX, 1922, pp. 380-386. RIVER DUCKS 223 upper tail-coverts mainly gray or grayish ; outer tail-coverts largely blackish, their inner edges whitish ; tail-feathers dark brown above, edged whitish, pale gray below, two long middle feathers black or blackish with iridescent reflections ; lower neck, upper back, sides and flanks narrowly cross-waved or vermicu- lated with blackish and white or whitish, producing a gray effect ; on flanks gray changes into white or yellowish-white toward tail, contrasting sharply with deep black of under tail-coverts, outermost of which have outer edges white; wing-linings and under surface of wings grayish-brown, axillars very variable, gray, edged whitish or dull white with some dark shaft-streaks and more or less finely mottled dusky ; bill blackish-gray on ridge and nail, lead color or bluish-gray on sides of upper mandible ; iris brown or hazel; feet olive-gray, joints dusky (Grinnell, Bryant and Storer), "legs and toes pale bluish- slate (about color of sides of upper mandible), with dark dusky or blackish webbing" (J. A. Farley). Adult male in eclipse plumage: Somewhat similar to plumage of female but back browner, tail darker brown and generally darker above ; fore wing and speculum much as in winter male ; variable, some birds broadly barred above, others coarsely or finely vermiculated above and mottled below. Adult female in winter and nuptial plumage : Top of head reddish-brown, heavily marked blackish ; sides of head and neck all round lighter brown, more buffy and more finely streaked blackish ; chin and throat lighter or less streaked ; other upper plumage and sides dark brown, each feather with U-shaped marks or irregular bars of light reddish-brown or whitish ; upper tail-coverts widely edged white ; tail dark brown or dusky narrowly barred light brown or whitish, each feather edged whitish ; wing not nearly so bright as in male, with no black marks, speculum much lighter and duller, brown or brownish-gray with faint greenish and purplish reflections, tertials and scapulars not much striped; below dingy-white but feathers of lower neck usually show U-shaped brown markings ; other under plumage slightly mottled, with some grayish feather centers ; under wing-coverts fuscous, edged whitish ; axillars barred or mottled with black ; iris dark brown ; bill blackish, feet grayish-blue (Coues) ; bill and feet similar to those of male (Ridgway) ; "bill dark bluish-slate, tarsus and toes light slate, webs darker" (J. A. Mann). Adult female in eclipse plumage : Much like adult female in winter except lower plumage is not white but spotted much like that of juvenal plumage. Young in juvenal plumage : Closely resemble winter female though much more streaked with gray or dusky below ; later young male becomes larger and grayer than young female and by December resembles adult male more or less, long middle tail-feathers being about the last to appear. Downy young : "Grayer and browner than other young surface-feeding ducks and thus easily recognized " (A. C. Bent) ; above grayish-olive or brown, darker on top of head and on rump ; dull white spot or stripe on each side of back ; white space across end of wing ; sides of head variable, but usually whitish stripe over eye, brown stripe behind eye running to hind head and spot or stripe of brown in ear-region ; lower part of cheeks, sides of neck and all under plumage white or grayish-white, darker on lower fore neck, with yellowish or brownish tinge on under surface of body. Measurements. — Male : Very variable ; length 26.00 to 30.00 in. ; spread 33.00 to 36.00 ; folded wing 9.80 to 11.20; tail 5.00 to 9.50; bill 1.85 to 2.25; tarsus 1.55 to 2.15. Female: Much smaller; length 20.00 to 24.00 in.; spread about 24.00; folded wing 9.60 to 10.42; tail 3.80 to 5.00; bill 1.75 to 2.10; tarsus 1.56 to 1.70. Weight 1 lb. 2 oz. to 2 lbs. 12 oz. Molts. — Young female acquires juvenal plumage after natal down, and first winter plumage succeeds partial postjuvenal molt; this molting sometimes continues until February or even March and is followed by partial spring molt and an incomplete first nuptial plumage (still consisting in part of first winter plumage) in which new inner secondaries are acquired ; this plumage becomes much worn and abraded during summer and is replaced in late summer or early autumn by first postnuptial plumage which is grayer than that of adult female ; adult nuptial plumage is acquired after a molt in following spring when bird is about 22 months old ; molts of young male similar, except that there seems to be only trace of first winter plumage, feathers of which are soon lost and are succeeded before spring by a nuptial plumage which resembles that of adult male though showing signs of immaturity ; in summer young male goes into first eclipse plumage (molting in August, as usual flight-feathers) which begins to disappear in September and October but "not completed usually until November or December" 224 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS (A. C. Bent), after which bird assumes its second winter or nuptial plumage — that of adult male; there seems to be considerable variation in the molting period and in the time required to reach maturity, and some birds may not become fully adult until the third year ; there are two adult molts annually, one (in summer) incomplete, the other (in autumn and winter) complete except wings, which were molted previously (in August). Field Marks. — Size of Black Duck. Male: Readily recognized when close at hand by its gray coloring, long, pointed, cocked-up tail and long white streak running up from white neck and breast into dark sides of neck and head ; at a distance long, slender tail-feathers are invisible but if bird is flying, its long, thin neck, white under plumage and general slenderness are conspicuous. Females and young: Readily mistaken for female Mallards, Baldpates or Gadwalls, but more slender in shape and sitting high on water ; at close range and when speculum can be seen with a good glass (often it is covered by feathers of sides), Pintail shows but one narrow white bar in wing where Mallard has two; unlike Gadwall, Pintail has no white speculum and it has a light buffy bar before speculum where Mallard has a white one and Baldpate a dark one ; in flight the long, slender neck is as noticeable as in male, also long, narrow, pointed wings. Voice. — A loud quack, a mellow whistle and a harsh rolling note (E. W. Nelson) ; quack usually attributed to female and whistle to male, but Mr. Benjamin F. Howell relates that he heard a male on the wing utter two syllables qua qua resembling a quack but not so loud as that uttered by Mallard ; in spring males have low, soft notes "that seem to flow from deep down in the throat" (E. H. Eaton). Breeding. — On islands, prairies or tundra ; usually in the open. Nest : Sometimes but seldom in marsh land, more often on dry ground, sometimes a mile from water ; usually in grass or under a bush, often near water but not always, a slight hollow in ground lined with rushes, straw, grass or stubble and dark down. Eggs: 5 to 12; average 2.00 by 1.51 in.; closely resemble those of Mallard in shape and color but slightly smaller ; covered with down when bird leaves nest. Dates : Breeds early. April 28 to July 16, California to Alaska (A. C. Bent). Incubation: Period "22 or 23 days" (A. C. Bent) ; by female. One brood yearly. Range. — North America. Breeds on coast of Bering Sea and on Arctic coast from Alaska to Kee- watin, along west coast of Hudson Bay, on both coasts of James Bay, rarely east of Lake Michigan, as in Ontario and New Brunswick south to southern California, northern Utah, northern Colorado, west central Nebraska, western Missouri (possibly), central Iowa, northern Illinois (now or formerly) and New Jersey casually (1908) ; winters from southeastern Alaska, British Columbia, northeastern Colorado, southern Kansas, central Missouri, southern Illinois, southern Indiana, southern Ohio, Pennsylvania, Connecticut (rarely), New Jersey and Massachusetts (casually), south to Porto Rico and Panama, and in Hawaii ; said to winter casually in southeastern Nebraska ; in migration occasional on Atlantic coast to Labrador and northern Ungava and on Pacific side to Marshall Islands; casual in Greenland and Bermuda. The Old World form completes the distribution of the species over the Northern Hemisphere. Distribution in New England. — Rare migrant, perhaps less rare in southern New England than in northern part ; occasionally common locally ; winters casually in Massachusetts and in Maine (at least a part of winter) ; rarely in Connecticut. Season in Massachusetts. — September 11 to December 21 (winter) ; February 22 to April 3. Haunts and Habits. The Pintail is one of the finest and most widely distributed water-fowl of the world. Elegant in form, beautiful in plumage, fleet, intelligent, cau- tious, and excellent upon the table, it has all the desirable qualities of a game bird. It is so suspicious and swift, and when alarmed gets away so quickly that it taxes the skill of the sportsman to the uttermost. Any unusual object or the slightest motion of the hunter is enough to cause it to disappear instantly on the wings of the wind. It is regrettable that this splendid bird is not more common in New England. If RIVER DUCKS 225 seen at all here it is generally alone, in pairs or in small parties, although in occasional seasons it appears in greater numbers. It is normally a fresh- water bird frequenting rivers, lakes and ponds, but it often feeds on flooded salt-marshes. Along the coast when much pursued it will go to sea to rest during daylight but returns to its favorite inland feeding grounds when night has fallen. Occasionally during mild winters the very few Pintails wintering in the ponds near Boston will be driven to the salt water when the ponds are closed with ice. Even in the hard winter of 1922-23 one bird was reported in the neighborhood of the city practically all winter ; it left the fresh water only when no open spot could be found. This is one of the earliest of the water-fowl to appear in spring. Even in late February while the rivers are still locked in ice, it may be seen sometimes in rain-water pools and unfrozen spring-holes, and usually it is here in March while floating ice still blocks the streams. We see little of its courting here. In safe retreats it seems to delight in leaving the water during the warm hours of the day and resting and dressing its plumage on some bar or open strand. When on the water it rides buoyantly and gracefully, its long tail held high, and when alarmed it springs into the air as readily as a Black Duck. There is no dragging or pattering along the surface with the active, clipper-built Pintail. Although a surface-feeding duck it can dive and swim readily under water, and like several other species it has been known when wounded to cling fast to some object on the bottom. The Pintail is one of the earliest of the ducks to return southward in autumn and some- times comes along with the Blue-winged Teal, the first of the early ducks. This bird is fond of pondweeds and the seeds of sedges and grasses including the culti- vated grains, especially rice, but it seems to get little but waste grain. It takes the seeds of common weeds, especially many of those growing near the water, and eats various succu- lent parts of many water-plants. It also destroys small mollusks and crustaceans and many insects such as beetles, flies, grasshoppers, dragon-flies, mosquitoes, water-bugs, etc.1 Economic Status. Possibly this bird might rank close to the Mallard as one of the most beneficial ducks. Its size, beauty and adaptability are such that it is a wonder that it has not long ago been commonly domesticated. Apparently it would make a great addition to our domestic poultry as it is a native of those temperate regions best suited to the great civilized races of mankind. Aix sponsa (Linnaeus). Wood Duck. Other names : summer duck ; wood widgeon ; acorn duck ; tree duck. Plate 14. Description. — Head full-crested ; bill shorter than head, very high at base, few lamellae, nostrils large, oval, set well back near feathers of head ; nail large, long, decurved, occupying whole end of bill. Adult male in winter and nuptial plumage : Head metallic-green and blue on upper part with a long profuse crest of purple, and marked with two lines of narrow white feathers ; sides of head deepening to purplish- *. See Bulletin 862, United States Department of Agriculture, Contribution from the Bureau of Biological Survey, by Douglas C. Mabbott, 1920, pp. 32-36. 226 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS black below eye ; throat white, the white running a spur up side of head and another across side of upper neck ; upper body rich greenish-brown, bronze-green and purple ; closed wings show velvety black, purple and white, with a purplish, steel-blue speculum succeeded by a white bar ; exposed inner webs of primaries steel-blue; outer webs silvery-gray toward tips; tail long and dark with bronzy green reflections; upper breast rich reddish-chestnut, with small white markings, a white bar or crescent edged with black before bend of wing ; flanks light buffy-brown, finely cross-lined, and bordered above and behind by black and white ; rest of under plumage white, except under tail-coverts, which are dusky ; bill pinkish-white, red and black with a yellow basal line ; iris and eyelids red ; feet orange. Adult male in eclipse plumage : Similar to female in summer plumage but like juvenal male has white side markings on head similar to those of male in nuptial plumage ; wing much brighter than in female. Adult female : Less crest ; head grayish ; chin, throat, line about base of bill, ring around eye and patch behind it white ; rest of upper plumage brownish, dark or grayish-brown with greenish-bronzy re- flections on upper tail-coverts and tail ; wings somewhat as in male ; neck, upper breast and flanks streaked and mottled with gray or brown and buff, breast spotted with whitish, flanks with white ; belly white, with here and there a dusky spot; bill dusky or "dark lead color" with large white spot on each side; legs and feet yellowish- brown. Young in juvenal plumage: Similar to female but much mottled on belly. Downy young: Colors variable; above dark brown, darker on top of head and tail; bar on back edge of each wing and spot on each side of rump whitish or pale yellowish ; side of head generally yellowish-buff, often varied with cream or yellow; a wide blackish-brown stripe from back of eye to back of head ; below whitish or dingy white, becoming brownish on sides and crossed on flanks by a whitish bar. Measurements. — Length 17.00 to 20.50 in. ; spread about 28.00 to 29.00 ; folded wing 8.35 to 9.50 ; tail about 4.50 ; bill 1.10 to 1.40; tarsus 1.25 to 1.44. Weight 1 to If lbs. Female smaller than male. Molts. — Young begin to molt juvenal plumage by September; abdomen of young male now grows white ; in October head resembles that of adult and in November bird appears much like adult, but its plumage is not perfect until following year; in early summer molt into eclipse plumage begins and in July or August flight-feathers are molted ; in August and September bird molts again and assumes winter (nuptial) plumage which is usually complete before winter sets in; adults molt into the eclipse plumage in summer, lose flight- feathers in July or August, and complete the molt in autumn. Field Marks. — Smaller than Black Duck (which is the common New England duck in summer) ; in flight overhead Wood Ducks show a white or whitish belly where Black Ducks are dark ; in migrating flocks, among other ducks in flight, it would be difficult to pick out a female or young Wood Duck from a female or young of Baldpate or Pintail ; but where markings can be seen at close range, the crested male with its unmistakable marks and the female with her white eye-ring and the white patch or line behind eye are recognizable. Voice. — A frightened plaintive whistle, oo-eek, oo-eek (Chapman). A note of the drake is peet, peet, uttered at intervals; the duck when startled, cr-r-e-ek, cr-r-e-ek, cr-r-e-ek (Eaton). The shrill little whistle of the male is very distinct from the louder and comparatively hoarse quack of the female (Wright and Harper). Breeding. — Usually near water but sometimes far from it. Nest : In hollow trunk or limb from 3 feet to 50 feet from ground or water, rarely on ground or in a building, also in nesting boxes, of Downy Young Wood Duck About i natural size. UlVER DUCKS 227 grayish-white down (sometimes profuse) on punky wood of hole (normally). Eggs: 8 to 15, variable in number; (the largest set of which I have record is the nest of 19 eggs found in Rochester by Mr. J. A. Farley); 1.98 to 2.20 by 1.45 to 1.61 in.; "short elliptical"; pale buff, buffy-white or creamy-white. Dates : Late February and March, Florida ; April 1 to 25, South Carolina ; April 20 to June 14, Massachusetts; May 14 to July 2, Connecticut; May 10, Rhode Island. Incubation: Period 28 to 30 days (H. K. Job) ; by female; young remain in nest from 24 to 30 hours (Dixon). One brood yearly. Range. — Temperate North America. Breeds from southern British Columbia, northwestern Montana, Great Slave Lake (rarely), southern Manitoba, southeastern Ontario and Labrador south to southern California (probably Nevada and Utah), southwestern Colorado (very rare), south central Texas, Florida and Cuba; winters (chiefly in United States) from southern British Columbia, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan (casually), Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts (very rarely) south to southern California, central Mexico and Gulf of Mexico ; accidental in Bermuda and Jamaica. Distribution in New England. — Uncommon migrant and summer resident on fresh water during the first twenty years of the 20th century in most parts of New England, rare as a summer resident in Connecticut and very rare in summer in Rhode Island ; now increasing in numbers and a rather common breeder in some of the well-watered woods of northern New England, especially in Maine, and sometimes locally abundant in migration in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut ; rare on salt water. Season in Massachusetts. — March 1 to November 30 (winter — a number of scattered records). Haunts and Habits. Loveliest of all water-fowl the Wood Duck stands supreme. Deep flooded swamps where ancient mossy trees overhang the dark still waters, secluded pools amid the scattered pines where water-lilies lift their snowy heads and turtles bask in the sun, purling brooks flowing through dense woodlands where light and shade fleck the splashing waters, slow flowing creeks and marshy ponds — these are the haunts of the Wood Duck. See that mating pair on the dark and shaded flood of a little wood- land river ; they seem to float as lightly as the drifting leaves. The male glides along proudly, his head ruffled and his crest distended, his scapular feathers raised and lowered at will, while his plumes flash with metallic luster wherever the sun's rays sifting through the foliage intercept his course. She coyly retires; he daintily follows, exhibiting all his graces, the darkling colors of his plumage relieved by the pure white markings of head and breast and the bright reds of feet and bill and large lustrous eye. What a picture they make, as, intent on one another, they glide along close together, she clothed in modest hues, he glowing and resplendent. He nods and calls in low sweet tender tones and thus, she leading, he pursuing, they disappear into the shadows where the stream turns upon another course. I have lain concealed beneath the foliage, and watched a flock of these exquisite creatures disporting themselves upon a woodland pool. Such a picture no pen can adequately describe. The changing colors of the water reflecting sun, sky and foliage, all are reproduced in the plumage of the active birds as they pass, turn and repass upon their favorite element. The Wood Duck is a part of Nature's heritage vouchsafed to the American people. It lives and migrates mainly within the United States. It breeds more generally through- out the land than any other duck. How have we kept that heritage ? Once this beauti- 228 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS ful bird was common to abundant throughout New England, wherever there were wooded river valleys and swamps, along all the water-courses, about the margins of lakes and ponds and all over our well-watered terrain. In heavily timbered regions they were even more abundant than the Black Duck. Within fifty years they were so numerous that at sunset in the season of migration they came by hundreds into some of their favorite wooded swamps in northern Worcester County. Their former abundance in suitable regions in the northern United States is thus described by Dr. Hatch who wrote about 1887: "Arriving simultaneously with the other earlier species, none other braves the last rigors of the departing winter in the closing days of a Minnesota March with greater spirit, and when they come, like the rains of the tropics, they pour in until every pool in the woodlands is deluged with them." This should have been written in the past tense as Dr. Hatch was writing then of experiences of earlier years — years when the Wood Ducks were as familiar to the country people as were robins and blackbirds. These ducks often built their nests in the hollow trees of the orchard or in the shade trees that overhung the farmhouse. Spring shooting which went on merrily even after the ducks had laid their eggs brought the species nearly to extinction in the early part of the twen- tieth century. At that time there were said to be more Wood Ducks in Belgium than in the United States. The Belgian pigeon and poultry fanciers, recognizing the value of the Wood Duck's peerless beauty and the danger of its extinction, imported them and reared them artificially in large numbers, and the time came when Americans who desired live Wood Ducks were forced to buy them from the Belgians at exorbitant prices. State and National laws were passed protecting the bird at all times and now at last its numbers are beginning to increase. Nevertheless many are shot by mistake. A New England sportsman awaiting ducks in his blind need not mistake the Wood Duck for any other bird. It is the only white-bellied river duck in New England except the Baldpate, which it does not otherwise resemble. The wing action of the Wood Duck is unlike that of any other duck. Mr. A. J. T. Grant tells how to recognize it as it comes in over decoys : "... it never careens to face the wind in alighting as is so often noted in other water-fowl. He comes rolling from afar, little change in style of flight, and never hits the water without giving that weakish, peeping call for many rods before preparing to alight. Though he may be with other ducks, they will sight the decoys and give warn- ing, then take to their queer antics before settling, but never the Wood Duck — he comes direct, sure, and peeping to the water." * No doubt lumbering had something to do with the decrease of this duck, as it nests normally in the hollows of forest trees or in holes made by Pileated Woodpeckers. These great woodpeckers decreased with the cutting away of the primeval forest and the increase of hunters. The destruction of old hollow trees also greatly reduced the nesting places for Wood Ducks. In their search for domiciles the females have been entrapped in chimneys and stovepipes ; they have even been known, where suitable trees were lacking, to nest upon the ground. Many years ago such a nest was found in Carver, always a 1 The Michigan Sportsman : September, 1919, pp. 32 and 33. RIVER DUCKS 229 famous Wood Duck town, near a pond where the trees were mainly scrub oaks and small pines, and there is more than one case on record (elsewhere as well as in Carver) where a female has entered a barn through a hole in the boarding and made her nest in a haymow ; in Carver also a Wood Duck once laid her eggs in a vacant hen-house. The Wood Duck may become as abundant as in the past only by perpetual protection and by supplying it with artificial tree nesting-boxes simulating the hollow limbs of the forest. Young Wood Ducks when hatched are well equipped for climbing as they are provided with exceedingly sharp, pin-pointed, hooked claws and with hooked nails at the ends of their bills ; so expert are they that in many cases when confined in a box or keg, they have been known to climb out, going up the perpendicular sides like flies walking on a wall. When the eggs begin hatching, the young remain quiescent in the nest for a day or two ; but when the female alights on the ground or water and calls them, they quickly climb out of the nest. If the trunk of the tree leans, they may scramble down the bark back- ward or roll and tumble to the ground. If not, they fall fluttering lightly to the ground without suffering any serious injury, and the mother leads her brood proudly to the near- est water. As is the case with most ducks, the male leaves the female when the duties of incubation begin, but occasionally a male has been seen with his family before or after it has reached the water. The evident fitness of the ducklings for going to water as above described, and the fact that in zoological parks in Europe they get to the water in the same way, have inclined certain European ornithologists to the belief that the parent bird never carries them. There is incontestable evidence, however, that the young often are conveyed to the water by the parent not only when the nest is at a considerable distance from water but sometimes when the tree almost overhangs it. When the Wood Duck was in danger of extinction, I endeavored to secure for the benefit of posterity the statements of eye-witnesses in many parts of the United States who had seen how this was accomplished in the days when these ducks were abundant. Since the recent increase of the species I have been able to learn of such observations, made within the past few years. Some of these already have been published, and others will be, but the lack of space precludes their appearance here. The many accounts of these occurrences now in my possession indicate that the rules laid down by Audubon for the behavior of the duck- lings and their parents on these occasions are more honored in the breach than in the observance. He asserts that if the nest is situated directly over the water, the young scramble to the mouth of the hole and with feet and wings spread drop "into their favor- ite element ; and when the nest is thirty or forty yards from the water, the mother allows them to fall on the ground and leads them to it, but whenever their birthplace" was at some distance, the mother carries them to the water in her bill. Three observers who have reported to me from different parts of the United States assert that while in an excellent position to watch, they saw the mother bird carry the young on her back. In each case the nest was almost directly over the water, and in each case the bird flew downward, and the young fell from her back either before she reached the water or as she alighted. In other reported cases nests were either near or far from the water, in 230 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS one case two miles from the lake to which year after year the duck flew carrying her young, one at a time. In nearly all these cases the young were carried in the bill. Two ob- servers could not see how the young were carried, but saw them placed in the water ; while two believe that they were carried in some way between the legs. On the other hand several observers report that they have seen the mother leading her young over long distances to water. It seems therefore that we can lay down no rule for the behavior of the mother bird, nor can we describe the circumstances under which she will invariably proceed in a certain way. We must allow something for individuality. But at least we must admit that the Wood Duck at times carries her young from nest to water. In three cases the bird was seen to carry more than one young at a time. In one case the nest was in a tree on the bank of the Penobscot River in Maine and the bird flew down with the young clinging to her in some way. As she struck the water, several ducklings fell off into the stream. In support of this tale told by an accurate observer (and cor- roborated by others), may be cited the fact that young Wood Ducks reared by bantam hens seem often to take delight in mounting the hen's back and riding on her. The sharp claws and hooked bill which assist the ducklings in climbing out of the nest may be equally effective in mounting the mother's back and clinging there. The young birds thrive in shallow water along the edges of sloughs, weedy ponds and slow running streams. They are especially fond of the larvae of mosquitoes of which surface-feeding ducks destroy great quantities. Many of the ducklings are killed and eaten by snapping turtles and large frogs and no doubt the fishes and hawks take their toll, but usually a good part of the brood is safely reared. In September the migration of the Wood Ducks begins. They move at first in small flocks or family groups and during late September or October quite large companies may be seen in favorite swamps and ponds or along the larger rivers of New England. After October their numbers decrease and a winter Wood Duck in southern New England is a rarity. In spring when the ice has left the ponds and streams and when the chorus of the wood frogs and hylas is heard in the land, the main flight of Wood Ducks appears. They continue to pass northward through late March and early April. The late Douglas C. Mabbott (1920) gave the following summary of the food of the Wood Duck : "More than nine-tenths (90.19 per cent) of the food of the Wood Duck consists of vegetable matter. This high proportion of vegetable food is very similar to that taken by the mallard. With the Wood Duck it is quite evenly distributed among a large number of small items, chief among which are the following : Duckweeds, 10.35 per cent ; cypress cones and galls, 9.25; sedge seeds and tubers, 9.14; grasses and grass seeds, 8.17; pond weeds and their seeds, 6.53 ; acorns and beechnuts, 6.28 ; seeds of water-lilies and leaves of water shield, 5.95 ; seeds of water elm and its allies, 4.75 ; of smartweeds and docks, 4.74 ; of coontail, 2.86 ; of arrow-arum and skunk cabbage, 2.42 ; of bur mari- gold and other composites, 2.38 ; of buttonbush and allied plants, 2.25 ; of bur reed, 1.96 ; wild celery and frogbit, 1.31 ; nuts of bitter pecan, 0.91 ; grape seeds, 0.82 ; and SEA DUCKS 231 seeds of swamp privet and ash, 0.72 per cent. The remaining 9.4 per cent was made up of a large number of minor items. . . . "The Wood Duck's animal food, which amounted to 9.81 per cent of the total con- sisted chiefly of the following items : Dragonflies and damselflies and their nymphs, 2.54 per cent ; bugs, 1.56 ; beetles, 1.02 ; grasshoppers and crickets, 0.23 ; flies and ants, bees and wasps, 0.07 ; miscellaneous insects, 0.97 ; spiders and mites, 0.63 ; crustaceans, 0.08 ; and miscellaneous animal matter, 2.71 per cent. Thus nearly two-thirds of the animal food consisted of insects." * Economic Status. The Wood Duck is a harmless bird, a destroyer of pernicious insects, a splendid game bird and in every way desirable — a bird to be protected and fostered. Subfamily FULIGULIN.ffi. Sea Ducks. Number of species in North America 22; in Massachusetts 17. Ducks of this subfamily have the hind toe free and lobed. The large flap on this toe at once distinguishes ducks of this group from the Anatinae which have no such lobe. Also the feet of the sea ducks are larger and placed farther back and the tarsi are shorter, and therefore these birds are better fitted for diving and less so for walking or running than are the river ducks. Like the mergansers, the sea ducks are all diving birds and get most of their food by diving to the bottom or to plants or animals that grow or live beneath the surface — in contradistinction from the river ducks which do not habitually dive for their food. Most birds of this subfamily along the Atlantic coast are regarded as sea-fowl by the gunners, although several Foot of Sea Duck species are known to breed far in the interior of North America. Of the sixteen species regularly seen on the coast of New England, all but two, the Ruddy Duck and the Lesser Scaup, habitually winter here. The latter are mainly transients, although they may be seen sometimes in winter. Marila americana (Eyton). Redhead. Other names: American pochard; red-headed raft duck. Plate 15. Description. — Greatest width of bill much over one-third its length : profile of its ridge concave; forehead bold and comparatively high ; head fluffy. Adult male in winter and nuptial -plumage : Head and upper neck reddish-chestnut with purplish gloss ; rest of neck, breast, fore part of back, upper and under tail-coverts and tail all black or blackish, tail paling toward tip ; most of upper surface of body (including scapulars), sides and flanks barred with fine wavy black and white lines of nearly equal width, giving a gray effect ; wing-coverts leaden-gray, speculum pale bluish-gray bordered narrowly by white behind, with lines of black on outer edges of three upper feathers ; flight-feathers pale slaty-gray, dusky » United States Department of Agriculture, Bulletin 862, 1920, pp. 166, 167. 232 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS at tips ; axillars white, wing linings gray ; fore part of abdomen white, hind part with wavy white and blackish bars as on scapulars ; bill dull grayish-blue or slaty, tip of upper mandible black ; whole bill sometimes "black" (A. Wilson); iris lemon-yellow; legs and feet bluish-gray or "dark ash," webs blackish. Adult male in eclipse plumage : This is a partial eclipse in which head and neck become browner, breast and under plumage mottled as in breeding female; many brown feathers appear in back "and the crissum is veiled with light edgings" (A. C. Bent). Adult female in winter and nuptial plumage: Head and upper neck pale "grayish-brown," "reddish-brown" or "brownish-gray" darkening on crown and lightening to grayish-buff or whitish about base of bill and on chin and contiguous parts of throat ; upper plumage, lower neck and upper breast, sides and flanks mainly brown, with light feather edgings, which are most conspicuous on lower neck, sides and flanks ; wings much as in male ; lower breast and belly mainly white, shading into brownish-gray behind ; bill and feet similar to those of male but duller ; iris brown (some authorities say yellow). "There is a very frequent tendency to albinism in the female redhead, not in the male"; head and back of neck sprinkled with white feathers; head of some birds almost white and under down on lower surface of body the same (Allan Brooks). Adult female in eclipse plumage : Becomes more mottled both above and below. Young in juvenal plumage : Somewhat similar to adult female ; head reddish-brown ; scapulars and back gray, edged brownish ; belly mottled brown and white (A. C. Bent) ; a slight, very narrow, white border both before and behind speculum. Downy young: Above olive-brown; spot back of base of each wing (sometimes one on hind border of each), and one on each side of rump, yellow ; below deep buffy-yellow, paler behind ; no distinct markings on side of head; "color of downy young exactly the same in both birds" [i.e., Ring-necked Duck and Redhead] (Allan Brooks). Measurements.— Length 17.00 to 23.00 in.; spread 30.00 to 33.00; folded wing 8.50 to 10.00; tail 2.50 to 3.00; bill 1.70 to 2.25; tarsus 1.50 to 1.60. Weight 1 lb. 12 oz. to 3 lbs. Female smaller than male. Molts. — Apparently the Redhead shows little if any trace of first winter plumage ; by November young male shows signs of first nuptial plumage, when black, brown-tipped feathers appear in breast and neck and by mid-winter plumage resembles that of adult male, but probably never acquires full perfection until a year later; adults molt in summer as well as in autumn, assuming partial eclipse plumage in breeding season, with renewal of much body plumage. Field Marks. — Male: With high forehead, black lower neck and gray back should never be mis- taken for male Canvas-back (although with similarly colored head) with low forehead, brown neck and whitish back ; nor for brown-headed female Golden-eye with whitish ring on neck just below head ; in flight Redhead looks darker and shorter than Canvas-back. Female : Is more like female Canvas-back but low forehead and long bill of latter are as distinctive as in male ; Redhead closely resembles the smaller female Ring-necked Duck ; also females of these two species may be indistinguishable in the field. Voice. — A hoarse, guttural, rolling sound (D. G. Elliot) ; a hollow rapid croaking (F. M. Chap- man) ; male, a deep-toned me-ow like the "voice of a large cat" (J. H. Langille) ; a peculiar qua quaa (E. H. Eaton) ; female, "sounds like a growl . . . r-r-r-r-wha, r-r-r-r-wha, given rather deliberately in pairs" (Ludlow Griscom) ; a loud, clear squak higher than that of Mallard or Black Duck (Langille). Breeding. — ■ Near shallow, marsh-bordered lakes, in sloughs or cattail swamps. Nest : Usually deep, well made, of reeds or flags, lined with whitish down, often found covered with a downy blanket ; often canopied with rushes bent over by bird. Eggs : 6 to 22, usually 10 to 15 ; 2.64 by 1.79 to 2.47 by 1.70 in. (sometimes smaller) ; hard and glossy; "pale olive buff to cream buff." Dates: May 18 to June 28, Minnesota and North Dakota. Incubation : Period 22 to 24 days (A. C. Bent) ; by female. One brood yearly. Range. — North America. Breeds from central British Columbia, central Alberta, Great Slave Lake, central Saskatchewan, southern Manitoba, southern Minnesota, southern Wisconsin, southeastern Michigan, Maine (formerly) and Newfoundland (probably) south to southern California, central Nevada, northwestern New Mexico, southwestern Utah, southern Colorado and central western Nebraska; PLATE 15 PLATE 15 CANVAS-BACK Page 234 Winter (Nuptial) Plumage Adult Male Adult Female REDHEAD Page 231 Winter (Nuptial) Plumage Adult Female Adult Male LESSER SCAUP DUCK Page 241 Winter (Nuptial) Plumage Adult Male Adult Female RING-NECKED DUCK Page 243 Winter (Nuptial) Plumage Adult Female Adult Male SCAUP DUCK Page 237 Winter (Nuptial) Plumage Adult Female Adult Male All one-sixth natural size. •■/: 'agStUSS^ SEA DUCKS 233 winters from southern British Columbia, southeastern Arizona, northeastern Colorado, northern Ar- kansas, Illinois, Lakes Erie and Ontario, Maryland, Delaware and Massachusetts south to central Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, Cuba and Jamaica; in migration casual in Alaska and Labrador, regular on Atlantic coast north to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Distribution in New England. — Generally an uncommon to rare and local migrant but sometimes locally common, particularly near Maine coast (bred formerly near Calais (Boardman)); irregularly common to abundant locally in the cold months in southeastern Massachusetts ; common winter visitor in Rhode Island. Season in Massachusetts. — March 6 to April 3; September 21 to December 27; wintering irreg- ularly about Marthas Vineyard ; one noted in a Boston pond, winter of 1909-10. Haunts and Habits. There is no place in New England where Redheads can be seen during the fall, winter and early spring in such abundance as in some of the larger ponds on the south side of Marthas Vineyard where wild celery and pondweeds attract them. There in October and November hundreds may be seen in company with Blue-bills riding the white-capped wavelets driven by the strong sea wind. Along the low, sandy lee shores of the pond rows of white froth gleam. The sun shines brightly on the sparkling waves ; fleecy clouds race across the blue sky ; gulls wheel and call over the beach ridge which divides the pond from the sea ; and the long rafts of ducks lend added interest to the animated scene. Some are diving, some preening their feathers, others resting with heads on their backs. Occasionally one rises erect in the water with flapping wings. In New England Redheads vary much in numbers from time to time. On Marthas Vineyard they were abundant for a long series of years ; then they suddenly became much less numerous for a few years ; and now (1922) they are again abundant. On Nantucket they are comparatively scarce. Redheads in flight may not be known by any definite flock formation. Although they sometimes move in wide V-shaped flocks, they are quite as likely to fly bunched in dense flocks or in irregular formations. Like most ducks they like to swing about and recon- noiter before alighting ; they then set their wings and sail down to the water, or, as Doctor D. G. Elliot says, they sometimes fall rapidly from the sky in a zigzag course. Dr. Alexander Wetmore well describes the mating display of the Redhead.1 The female jerked her head up and down or bowed to the male. The male extended his neck, holding his head erect or throwing it back until it touched his back while he gave his peculiar groaning or mewing call or "sank down with his head drawn in while the female bowed before him." On Marthas Vineyard some of the market hunters of the old days were adepts in the art of "wafeing." The concealed hunter waved a red cloth in a way which attracted numbers of Redheads and Scaups within easy gunshot. Ordinarily these birds keep well away from the shore but their curiosity is great and they come in readily to the sports- men's decoys. They feed largely at night and rest much during the day, though they often fly about in flocks from pond to pond especially early in the morning and late in the afternoon. i Auk : Vol. XXXVII, 1920, p. 243. 234 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS From what we know of the Redhead's migration, it seems probable that the birds of this species that reach southern New England come from the northwest by way of the Great Lakes on a line of flight running a little south of east. We shall know more about this when a few thousands of these birds have been marked on their breeding grounds with the aluminum bands furnished by the Biological Survey at Washington. Red- heads usually arrive in Massachusetts in October, are abundant in November and stay as long as the ponds are open. There are many winters during which they can remain on Marthas Vineyard with its relatively mild climate, but a severe cold wave that covers ponds and flats with solid ice will send them southward. In spring a few begin to move toward their summer homes before the ponds of the interior are clear of ice and often by the middle of March the movement becomes general. As the Redhead is an excellent diver, its food is obtained largely beneath the surface and well away from shore, though it sometimes dabbles in very shallow water near the margin. Evidently it prefers to feed in fresh water where it dives to obtain the foliage, bulbs and roots of aquatic plants. Its vegetal food consists largely of wild celery, pondweeds and in fact the succulent shoots of almost any nutritious aquatic vegetation. It also includes some seeds and according to Audubon beech nuts and acorns. Its animal food is almost equal in variety but less in quantity. It eats fresh-water clams, snails, leeches, small fish, tadpoles, frogs, lizards and insects. Economic Status. As a table duck, the Redhead ranks second to none. In autumn, when fatted on wild celery and other vegetal food, it may equal in flavor the famous Canvas-back and formerly it was sold in the markets under that name. Though it can no longer be disposed of legally for cash, its importance as an object of food and sport is very considerable. Marila valisineria (Wilson). Canvas-back. Other names : can ; white-back. Plate 15. Description. — Bill longer than head, narrow (sometimes barely widened toward end), and high at base, in profile almost wedge-shaped ; forehead sloping gradually backward in line with outline of ridge of upper mandible ; head feathers short ; eye very small ; tail very short and pointed, of 14 feathers ; feet very wide and large. Adult male in winter and nuptial plumage: Head and neck chiefly dark reddish- chestnut, darkening to blackish around base of bill and on top of head (rarely a small triangular white spot on extreme feathers of chin) ; base of neck encircled by wide black collar, which extends on fore part of body in front of wings; upper surface of body, sides, flanks and belly mainly white, with very fine wavy cross-lines of dusky ; slightly thus marked (penciled) below, cross-lines increasing toward vent ; wing-coverts gray with many small blackish spots ; rump dusky or black ; upper tail-coverts same, tail blackish-slate ; speculum grayish or pale bluish-gray bordered behind by white, its uppermost feather- edged black ; region about vent and under tail-coverts black ; flight-feathers mainly slaty-brown ; wing linings light gray, axillars white; bill blackish or greenish-black; iris carmine; legs and feet "grayish- blue" or "pale ash," webs dusky. Adult male in eclipse plumage: This plumage is only partial; head and neck more or less mottled and obscured with dusky and dull brownish feathers ; black of breast more or less obscured by brown and gray, and belly somewhat mottled. Adult female in winter and nuptial SEA DUCKS 235 plumage: Head, neck and breast dull dark reddish-brown, darkening on top of head and lightening to nearly white on chin, upper throat and in a rather indefinite stripe behind eye ; back generally light slaty- brown with traces of fine, wavy white barring ; rump blackish ; upper and under tail-coverts and tail dusky-brownish; closed wing mainly slate-gray; flight-feathers, speculum and under surface of wing including axillars, much as in male ; sides and flanks somewhat lighter than back, with some wavy white and dusky bars ; under plumage mainfy whitish, mottled with grayish-brown ; bill shaped as in male, blackish; iris hazel; legs and feet much as in male. Young in first winter plumage: Male somewhat resembles adult male, but back, wings and sides still show many brown feathers ; female similar to adult female. Young in juvenal plumage : Resembles adult female. Downy young : Above (top of head, hind neck and most of back) varying from "greenish-brown" or "sepia" to " buff y-olive " ; sides of head "deep straw- yellow marked with dusky ' ' ; yellow spots in pairs — on hind edge of wing, behind wing and at base of tail, latter inconspicuous; sides of neck and under plumage "deep yellow." Measurements. — Length 20.00 to 24.00 in. ; spread 34.00 to 36.00 ; folded wing 8.50 to 9.50 ; tail 2.35 to 3.40 ; bill 2.10 to 2.75 ; tarsus 1.60 to 1.81. Weight, male about 3 lbs. ; female about 2 lbs. to 2 lbs. 6 oz. Molts. — Young birds begin to molt from down into juvenal plumage when hardly half size, but flight-feathers do not appear until young are well grown and about 10 or 12 weeks old ; young male then begins to assume reddish head and upper neck, and continuing to molt the juvenal plumage during fall and early winter, assumes in spring nearly adult dress ; in late July or early August the young duck molts partially, assuming in late August an incomplete eclipse ; in early October another molt is in prog- ress, as a result of which young bird acquires adult winter plumage ; adults have usual partial summer molt in late July and August, followed by molt of wing- and tail-quills, and an autumnal molt of the rest of the plumage in October. Field Marks. — Adult male: May be distinguished always by reddish-brown head and neck and canvas-colored body, whiter (as a whole) than that of any other native duck ; large size, large head, low forehead and long, wedge-shaped bill, at once distinguish either sex from Redhead or female Golden-eye or Scaups, all of which have high foreheads (see also field marks under Redhead) ; in flight Canvas-back, with its long, slender neck and bill all carried with a slight downward curve, gives impression of wings placed far back, something not so apparent in either Scaups or Redheads ; flocks fly in lines or V's like geese. Voice. — A harsh, guttural croak (D. G. Elliot) ; "a peeping or a growling note" ; female, a quack or a screaming currow (E. H. Eaton) ; while mating a low cooo, a rather sharp high-pitched ick ick (A. A. Allen). Breeding. — Usually among reeds or flags in prairie sloughs ; rarely on open prairie near water. Nest: On bed of dead reeds, in clump of marsh vegetation, surrounded by water, built of surrounding vegetation and lined with gray down. Eggs: 7 to 15; "greenish-drab" or grayish-olive, usually less buffy and darker than those of Redhead and averaging about same in size or a trifle larger ; as in case of other slough-nesting ducks, eggs of other species (Redhead, Ruddy Duck, etc.) sometimes found in nest with those of Canvas-back. Dates: May 9 to June 25, Minnesota and North Dakota (A. C. Bent). Incubation : Period 28 days ; by female. One brood yearly. Range. — North America. Breeds from central Alaska (infrequently), northern Mackenzie, Saskatchewan and western Manitoba south to central Oregon, western Nevada, northern Utah, northern New Mexico, central western Nebraska, southern Minnesota and southern Wisconsin (casually) ; winters from southern British Columbia, northern Montana, northern Colorado, northeastern Arkansas, southern Illinois, southeastern Michigan, western New York, eastern Maryland and Massachusetts south to central Mexico, Gulf coast and Florida; in winter more or less abundant in Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina ; casual in Pribilof Islands, West Indies, Bermuda and Guatemala ; in migration north rarely to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. * * Numbers of Canvas-backs are said to pass the Marshall Islands northeast of New Guinea both spring and fall. These islands lie over 2200 miles southwest of the Hawaiian Islands (Phillips, J. C. : Auk, Vol. XXXIII, 1916, p. 22). 236 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Distribution in New England. — Considered a rare migrant in three northern New England states ; occurs in Vermont on Lake Champlain but not recorded from New Hampshire ; less rare in three southern New England states and growing more common (since 1904) in southeastern Massachusetts and southern New England generally where sometimes locally common ; winters rarely in Massachusetts. Season in Massachusetts. — October 19 to December 18 (winter) ; March 11 to 31 (April 22). Haunts and Habits. On March 19, 1919, a southerly storm swept the south coast of Marthas Vineyard. Through all the preceding night the surf beat upon the sands with a sound like distant rolling thunder. In the morning the wind shifted to the northward while the sound of the surf lowered to a sullen rushing roar which filled all the air, and the sea was obscured by drifting mist. Gulls wheeled along the shore, wild- fowl flew singly or in pairs across the misty sky, while the rain fell in great drops or drove in sheets and clouds like spray before sharp gusts from off the land. The sea had thrown upon the beach a windrow of sea-moss, kelp, rock-weed, sponges and all the flotsam of the tide. A flock of sheep attracted by the sea-wrack nuzzled along the beach. Toward night as the wind swung to the northwest, the sky began to clear and the wester- ing sun threw his slant rays over the tumultuous waters. All along down toward Squib- nocket the great rollers charged the shore, each like some great sea-monster boring in toward the beach, its high mane of white sea-foam towering at its forefront and its spray streaming backward like white smoke. The scene was magnificent as, lighted by the setting sun, Niagaras of foam were poured upon the beach. On Watcha Pond hundreds of ducks, with heads to the wind, rode the waves in security. They were largely Scaups and Redheads, but here and there was a lordly male Canvas-back, his great white body standing out conspicuously among his darker and lesser companions. Here if anywhere in Massachusetts we shall find the Canvas-backs. In the ponds of southeastern Massachusetts they appear more generally in fall than in spring; and in some winters may be seen in Waquoit Bay, rarely on Nantucket, and occasionally in Boston, Plymouth and other harbors, and in the ponds about Boston. The Canvas-back was formerly considered a very rare straggler in Massachusetts but early in the present century its numbers apparently increased, as recorded by Mr. S. Prescott Fay.1 Although its numbers fluctuate from year to year, it is no longer a great rarity in Massachusetts but is locally common at times, especially on Marthas Vineyard. However, it may again become rare as it has in the past in some other regions, and as it usually does wherever its favorite food gives out. I have never seen any signs of its courtship antics here but the males are said to throw the head over on the back as Golden-eyes and other ducks do at such times. Dr. A. A. Allen has described some of this behavior in Mr. Bent's Life Histories of North American Wildfowl.2 The Canvas-back with its very large feet and large wide webs is a powerful swimmer and an excellent diver. It goes to the bottom and there grubs up roots and shoots of 1 The Canvas-back in Massachusetts, Auk, Vol. XXVII, 1910, pp. 369-381. 2 Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Bulletin 126, p. 190. SEA DUCKS 237 aquatic plants. It is the most celebrated of American ducks for the epicure and is supposed to acquire delectable flavor from feeding on the "eel-grass" known as wild celery (Vallisneria spiralis). It is now well known that Great Pond and Watcha Pond on Marthas Vineyard, where the Canvas-back is most commonly seen and taken, are fresh-water ponds which support much wild celery and succulent pondweeds. Never- theless, the Canvas-back is said to have its best flavor when it first comes to the Atlantic coast from the West where it is supposed to feed to some extent on grain, of which it is very fond, and also on quite a variety of vegetal and animal food. On the Pacific coast it sometimes feeds on dead decaying salmon and so becomes unfit for human food. It is by no means a superior table bird except when feeding on its choicest vegetal aliments. The Redhead, Shoveller and some other ducks are in some circumstances fully its equal on the table. Economic Status. This is one of the most important American ducks because of the fact that very large sums of money change hands during its pursuit. When market- ing of wild-fowl was legal in this country, the Canvas-back brought high prices in the market, as it was considered by epicures the finest table duck that the world has pro- duced. See also page 174. Marila marila (Linnaeus). Scaup Duck. Other names: greater scaup; blue-bill; blue-bill widgeon; broad-bill; raft duck; big black-head; troop fowl; green-head. Plate 15. Description. — Bill as long as outer toe with claw, broad, and wider at end than at base. Adult male in winter and nuptial plumage: Head, neck, breast, shoulders, a little of upper back, lower back, rump, all tail-coverts, tail and ventral region black or blackish ; most of head and upper neck with irides- cent green gloss; (some individuals have a brownish ring around neck, and rarely a small triangular white spot on chin) ; scapulars and middle back, together with most of under plumage, white ; scapulars, most of upper back, sides, flanks and lower belly cross-waved with fine, zigzag lines of blackish, giving a light gray effect (sides and flanks whiter and only faintly waved) ; greater and middle wing-coverts much darker but similarly though more finely and obscurely marked, blackish predominating ; three or four outer primaries, and tips of all, chiefly brownish-black, inner primaries showing a strong tendency to white on parts of both webs; tertials blackish and greater wing-coverts tipped with same which frames front border of white speculum or wing-patch formed by secondaries ; this white extends across secon- daries but their ends are more or less black ; axillars and most under wing-coverts mainly white, marginal wing-coverts with more or less dark gray mottling ; bill pale grayish-blue, "dull blue" or lead color with black nail; iris yellow; feet "leaden gray" or "dark slate" with blackish webs. Adult male in eclipse plumage: Variable; head and neck dull brownish-black, with a few white feathers near base of bill, grayish cheeks and more or less whitish mottling on face and throat ; nape and upper body darker than in nuptial plumage and sprinkled with gray feathers cross-waved with black; breast dark with white feather edgings ; wings, scapulars and tail as in winter ; flanks brownish-gray ; white of under plumage somewhat obscured by brownish mottling. Adult female in winter and nuptial plumage: Head dusky or dark brown, which color replaces black and grayish elsewhere of male ; region around base of bill, includ- ing chin, white, sharply contrasted with dark head ; black and white cross-waving or vermiculation either 238 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS wanting or faintly indicated ; general plumage more obscure than in male ; wings much as in male ; bill dull blue or bluish-gray with black nail; iris dark yellow; feet lead color with blackish webs. Adult female in eclipse or breeding plumage : Variable ; head much lighter than in winter and plumage generally lighter or more faded above and on breast, sides and flanks. Young injuvenal plumage: Similar to adult female in winter; but young male's wing more like adult male's and its head darker than female's. Downy young : Above deep, rich, dark brown which lightens on sides of head, and shades gradually on neck and sides into light brown, yellowish-white or buff of throat and fore neck ; some indistinct dark shading on sides of head; belly, light brown, dull yellowish or cream-buff; dull dark band encircles lower neck and fore breast ; scapulars and rump lack light-colored spots. Measurements. — Length 17.00 to 20.75 in. ; spread 29.00 to 35.00 ; folded wing 8.00 to 9.00 ; tail 2.80 to 3.00; bill 1.64 to 2.20; breadth of bill 1.00; tarsus 1.30 to 1.57. Weight 2 lbs. to 2 lbs. 12 oz. Female smaller than male. Molts. — Duckling becomes duller as it grows older, and is nearly full grown before the faded down disappears wholly from its neck ; wings develop last, and the flightless stage continues through August and part of September while adults also are flightless ; in September young resemble adult female, but lack white forehead and white face is mottled ; grayish-white vermiculation of lesser wing-coverts usually distinguishes male from female at this age ; in October young begin to resemble adults which resemblance progresses through winter and spring ; in October first greenish-black appears on head and neck of male, gray vermiculation begins to replace brown on back, while black and white waving appears on scapulars ; in November black adult feathers begin to show on breast and by February the head is practically as adult ; before summer rest of plumage is much like that of adult ; young Scaups apparently do not breed in the spring after their first winter but flock by themselves while completing molt ; both adults and young molt in July or August but eclipse plumage is not complete; following this summer molt adults and young are practically indistinguishable, but another year is needed for young to acquire fully adult dress ; in October nuptial plumage begins to show and while some birds (probably oldest) are in full plumage practically by November or December, this plumage may not be attained by others until April. Field Marks. — Male: Dark head, neck and breast, blue bill, pure white speculum, together with light gray back and white belly which last, contrasting sharply with black breast, may be seen in flight, easily distinguish male Scaup from almost any other duck except Lesser Scaup ; (young scoters sometimes resemble scaups when seen from below) ; the two scaups resemble each other so closely that under usual conditions they cannot be distinguished readily, if at all, in the field, where greater size of the present species is rarely noticeable ; metallic-green of head in male Scaup is usually replaced by purplish on head of male Lesser Scaup ; "white flanks of male scaups make them appear almost as white as Canvas-backs but from above their darker backs quickly dispel the illusion" (A. A. Allen). Female: Differs from any other American duck (except Lesser and in some cases Ring-necked Scaups) in having a distinct white area around base of bill (but much less sharply defined in Ring-neck) ; seen through a good glass this white face is conspicuous in the field even at a distance ; females of Scaup and Lesser Scaup are separable only by size, but both differ from female of Ring-neck in having speculum white, while latter's is gray ; but this "difference is too slight when bird is moving to be reliable" (Ludlow Griscom). Voice. — A harsh, loud, discordant "scaup"; rarely heard by a flock in chorus; a soft purring whistle when excited or calling to their mates (E. H. Eaton). Breeding. — In grassy sloughs or near marshy ponds. Nest : Above water level, as on a hummock ; often more or less hidden in clumps or tufts of grass or flags ; built of grass stems, broken flags, rushes, etc., with lining of fine grass usually, and down ; no down generally in new nest with eggs, but mixed in as incubation advances; down soft and compact, dark brown or gray, with obscurely paler centers; some small breast-feathers white or grayish, mixed with down. Eggs : 5 to 22, usually 7 to 10 ; largest sets are probably laid by two females ; 2.50 to 2.70 by 1.68 to 1.75 in. ; elliptical-ovate ; greenish-gray or greenish-brown, "deep olive-buff" or "olive-buff" to "yellowish-glaucous" — "a much darker olive-buff than in other ducks' eggs" (A. C. Bent). Dates: June 14 to July 5, Alaska and Arctic America; May SEA DUCKS 239 25 to July 6, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta; May 30 to July 10, Iceland. Incubation: Period 3 to 4 weeks ; by female. One brood yearly. Range. — Northern parts of Northern Hemisphere ; practically circumpolar. In North America breeds from Aleutian Islands and northern Alaska, along Arctic coasts of Canada, in southwestern Ungava (central western Quebec) and casually east to northern New Brunswick and Gulf of St. Lawrence south to central British Columbia (rarely), central and eastern Alberta, southern Manitoba (probably), Min- nesota and North Dakota (formerly, but rarely now if at all), northern Iowa (formerly) and southeastern Michigan (casually) ; has bred casually in northern New Jersey ; rare east and south in its breeding range ; winters mainly on coasts of United States — on Atlantic side from Maine to Florida, chiefly from southern New England and Long Island to North Carolina ; on Gulf coast — Louisiana and Texas — almost to Mexico ; on Pacific side from Aleutian Islands to southern California ; fewer winter in interior — Great Lakes and Southwest (Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico) ; rare in mi- gration in Newfoundland, eastern Labrador and Greenland ; in Europe, breeds in Iceland and Faroe Islands, and in northern Europe and Asia, from Scotland to Bering Sea, southward from about 70° ; winters south to the Mediterranean ; northern Africa, Black and Caspian seas, Persian Gulf, northern India (rarely), China, Japan and Formosa. Distribution in New England. — Common to abundant migrant along coast, becoming more abundant south of Cape Cod, in Narragansett Bay, Long Island Sound and lower Connecticut and Housa- tonic rivers ; less common or uncommon in interior where it visits the larger lakes ; winters occasionally in Maine and in numbers at certain points on coast, as Boston and Lynn harbors, — and especially south of Cape Cod and along coasts of Rhode Island and Connecticut where it appears locally in numbers in late winter and early spring. Season in Massachusetts. — September 18 to May 12. Haunts and Habits. The Scaup is known to most of the gunners of New England as the Blue-bill or Broad-bill. It is generally regarded as one of the uncommon ducks of these states, but nevertheless through the cold months it is often common and even abundant locally in Massachusetts. It is often numerous in Boston Harbor and still more so in Nantucket and Marthas Vineyard waters and at other points on the coasts of the three southern New England states. It frequents salt-water ponds, bays, estuaries and large harbors as well as brackish or fresh-water ponds near the sea. Like the Red- head and the Canvas-back it is an excellent diver, and is attracted particularly by wild celery and certain pondweeds ; therefore it may be found in places where these plants grow. The habits of the bird are much like those of the Redhead, with which species it may be often found in flocks. It feeds mainly by diving in deep or shallow water at some distance from the shore, though it sometimes dabbles along the margin. In diving it usually keeps the wings close to the body, though if wounded and pursued, it may at times use them to accelerate its speed beneath the surface. In its anxiety to escape it has been known to seize with its bill vegetation under water and hold on tenaciously until death (or even after death) , an act which as a last resort is common to many water- fowl. In courtship the male lifts his head very high, and points the bill upward at an acute angle. When the female becomes responsive, she bows repeatedly. The Scaup is nor- mally an unsuspicious duck, possessed of great curiosity, and can be tolled close to the shore by one who is skilled in the process ; but the birds learn by experience and soon 240 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS become gun-shy. Nevertheless they usually come well to decoys. Scaups are gregarious birds. On the water they flock close together ; and if only two are seen at one time, they will usually approach each other so that the concealed gunner who has patience can secure both with one shot. In rising they do not spring into the air like a Black Duck but must tread considerable water with many wing-flappings before they leave it. They fly usually in a compact flock, although if the flock is excessively large, it may string out to great lengths, bunching in places. There is no regular formation, though occasionally a small flock may assume the shape of a wedge. When set in their course, they fly direct and fast and occasionally turn from side to side. In Massachusetts Scaups arrive in some numbers from the north during October, especially in the latter half, though a few may appear even in September. Their numbers increase until November, but decrease much in hard winters when many go south, while others starve and freeze. In spring the species seems to push up early from the South along the coast to Massachusetts, while the lakes and rivers are still frozen ; and there- fore the birds often seem more abundant in early spring than in autumn on the southern coasts of New England. From these coasts, however, many apparently turn toward the interior, and they are much less numerous in northern New England than in the three southern states. In the latter part of March or by April most of them usually disappear from the New England coast. The Greater Scaup feeds much at night, and at about sunset on winter evenings the flocks may be seen leaving their resting places in harbors and estuaries and passing out over the sea to their feeding places on the mussel-beds where they eat small mollusks and crustaceans. In summer they take some insects. Among their food materials while with us are wild celery and eel-grass and its seeds. Mr. Bent says that Mr. Arthur H. Norton found the stomach of a Scaup Duck killed in winter on the coast of Maine well filled with the shells of Macoma balthica, and that Dr. J. C. Phillips reported that the stomachs of Scaup Ducks killed in autumn in Wenham Lake held bur-reed, pondweed and bivalves (Gemma gemma). He also quotes Dr. Henry F. Yorke as having identified among the food materials of this duck plants of the genera Lymnobium, Zizania, Piper, Elymus, Iris, Nuphar, Nymphcea, Myriophyllum, Callitriche and Utricularia. Economic Status. As an article of food the Scaup is not equal to the celery-fed Canvas-back, but people who are accustomed to the taste of scoters and sheldrakes find the Scaup palatable even in winter when it feeds largely on " fishy" bivalves. When feeding much on vegetation, wild celery especially, it is regarded as a good table bird ; and owing to its great numbers it is an important object of food and sport over a large part of the United States. Appearing as the Scaup does, often in large numbers, in Narragansett Bay and Long Island Sound and in some of the estuaries contiguous to those waters, it is, in the esti- mation of the sportsman, one of the chief waterfowls of Rhode Island and Connecticut. In the latter state especially, many gunners engage in the pursuit of the " Broad-bill," as it is known, along that coast. SEA DUCKS 241 Marila affinis (Eyton). Lesser Scaup Duck. Other names: little black-head; little blue-bill; raft duck; creek broad-bill; river blue-bill; cove blue-bill; blue-bill coot. Plate 15. Description. — Similar to Scaup Duck but smaller, averaging nearly 2 inches shorter and propor- tionately less throughout; width of bill of Lesser Scaup ranges from .80 to .95 inch (average .89), while that of Greater Scaup ranges from .85 to 1.05 inch (average .97) ; bill relatively narrower at base and wider at widest part (toward tip) than that of Greater Scaup. The two species (except adult males) must be carefully examined to distinguish them. The females can be separated only by the relative width and shape of bill and by size, but M . affinis sometimes measures up to the minimum measure- ments of M . marila. Adult male in winter and nuptial plumage : Head usually with a purplish gloss (which may appear greenish when viewed from the front) instead of a greenish gloss as in marila; also sides and flanks usually more strongly waved with blackish than in marila; in some individuals a dull brownish ring, not chestnut as in Ring-necked Duck, around neck ; no white on outer webs of inner primaries. Adult male in eclipse plumage : This plumage is partial and resembles that of female, but head is darker, with little or no white about face, and back and scapulars are grayer. Adult female in winter and nuptial plumage: Exactly like female of Scaup. Adult female in breeding (eclipse?) plumage: ". . . a distinct breeding plumage which is much browner than the winter plumage and in which the white face wholly or partially disappears" (A. C. Bent). A female in this plumage, from the collection of Allan Brooks, taken June 21, 1901, on the nest at Cariboo, B. C., is generally lighter and browner above than female in winter, with scarcely a trace of gray vermiculation on back, scapulars or interscapulars ; white of under plumage less extensive than in winter and mottled with brown ; head lighter and browner ; throat whitish, thickly mottled with brown ; a little whitish on face and chin (so mottled with brown as almost to conceal or veil it) and no white on forehead; light brownish and grayish feather-edgings on upper plumage, sides and flanks. Major Brooks notes on label : "Bill dark gray, iris brownish-yellow." Some breeding birds have under parts lighter than this specimen. * Young in juvenal plumage : Young male and female are much alike and resemble superficially the adult female. Downy young: Above dark rich brown, lightest on shoulders, darkest and most lustrous on lower back ; dark color above fades into dusky band around lower neck and encroaches on region about vent ; below buffy, brightest on cheeks and breast ; head markings indistinct usually, but dusky stripes on buffy sides of head ; yellowish spot usually on each shoulder region. As the young duck grows older it becomes duller and lighter. Measurements. — Length 15.00 to 18.00 in. ; spread under 30.00 ; folded wing 7.50 to 8.25 ; tail 1.90 to 2.70 ; bill 1.55 to 1.90 ; tarsus 1.27 to 1.50. Weight 1 lb. 12 oz. to 2 lbs. Female smaller than male. Molts. — Apparently the sequence of plumages to maturity and seasonal molts of adults are sub- stantially the same in both species of scaups. Like the Scaups, young Lesser Scaups do not breed in their first spring. Following their first complete summer molt (when they are a few months over one year old) they become practically adult in plumage. Field Marks. — Female and young of the two species of scaups are very much alike. They are often confused, as they vary much in size. (See Field Marks of Scaup Duck.) Voice. — Similar to that of the Scaup Duck. Breeding. — About shallow lakes or ponds or in swamps ; sometimes on sea-islands near fresh- water ponds. Nest: Usually on dry ground though not far from water; concealed (more or less) in * Major Brooks says, however (Auk, Vol. XXXVII, 1920, p. 355), that adult breeding females are very variable in color and that in some the head is very dark brown with a conspicuous white patch on face ; these dark birds often have the back speckled with white. 242 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS grass or reeds, etc., in a depression or hollow ; of dry grass stems and lined (more or less) with very dark down, "'clove brown' or 'bone brown,' in color with inconspicuous lighter centers" (A. C. Bent) ; some small white or grayish breast feathers mixed in occasionally. Eggs: 6 to 15, commonly 9 to 12 ; 1.97 to 2.38 by 1.40 to 1.62 in. ; elliptical-ovate to nearly oval; shell smooth and a little glossy; like Scaup's eggs in color, but "decidedly smaller" (A. C. Bent). Dates: June 17 to July 18, Alaska and Arctic America ; May 20 to July 14, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta ; May 1 to July 10, Minnesota and North Dakota (A. C. Bent). Incubation: Period probably 3 to 4 weeks; by female. One brood yearly. Range. — North America. Breeds from central Alaska and northern limit of trees in northern Canada (Mackenzie and Anderson River regions), as far east as west shore of Hudson Bay, and south- eastern Ontario south to northern Ohio, northern Illinois, southeastern Iowa, northern Nebraska (pos- sibly), northeastern Colorado (not commonly), northwestern Montana, southern British Columbia and southern Alaskan coast ; has bred casually near San Francisco, in southern Louisiana and North Caro- lina; winters from southern British Columbia, southeastern Arizona, northeastern Colorado, north- eastern Arkansas, southeastern Michigan, Illinois, Massachusetts (irregularly) and Long Island Sound south to the Bahamas, Lesser Antilles, Panama and Pacific coast of Central America ; winters in large numbers in South Atlantic and Gulf states ; accidental in Bermuda and Greenland ; rare in migration in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Distribution in New England. — Rather uncommon migrant in Maine ; generally rather rare in New Hampshire and Vermont; common autumnal transient in the three southern New England states, October and November ; rarer in spring ; very rare in winter in Maine, less rare in Massachusetts but not uncommon in Connecticut (or on Long Island Sound) ; more common migrant in interior than Scaup, but less often seen in migration in salt water. Season in Massachusetts. — March 2 to April 21 (May 5) ; October 8 to December 6 ; (winter). Haunts and Habits. The Lesser Scaup is so like the Scaup that in the field it is difficult to distinguish one from the other. In some cases even their measurements overlap, and the usual difference in the shade of the gloss on the head of the male is not always evident. Possibly the two may interbreed. The Lesser Scaup, however, is an American bird, while the Scaup (if we disregard the recent separation of the American bird from that of the Old World) has a much wider distribution. In winter the Scaup frequents mainly the larger unfrozen lakes and the sea-coasts, while the Lesser Scaup is at all seasons more distinctly a fresh- water bird. Nevertheless at times both species may be seen together on salt, brackish or fresh water. The Lesser Scaup being more southerly in its winter range is the most numerous duck in winter on many of the lagoons and lakes of the Gulf states, where it is often called the "raft duck," because of its habit of collecting in enormous dense flocks or "rafts" on such waters. In the winter of 1877- 78 in Florida I saw one such "raft" that extended a mile in length. When a boat approached such a gathering, only those nearest rose and flew over the "raft" and settled on its farther side. The approach of any craft was followed by a continual thunderous roar of wings as the birds successively shifted their position to a place of greater safety. At night these great flocks were sometimes drifted by the wind to one shore or another which gave the crafty fox or the sneaking lynx an unusual opportunity. Gunners also after such a night crept to the shore in the early morning light to take advantage of such a chance for a raking shot. The flight of the Lesser Scaup is swift and often very erratic. It is an excellent SEA DUCKS 243 swimmer and diver, diving usually with closed wings. When wounded, it employs every artifice to conceal itself, keeping mostly under water and in some cases forcing itself under aquatic vegetation where it sometimes becomes entangled and drowns ; or if all else fails, it may even seize some under-water plant with its bill, and as a last resort hold on until death ensues in its anxiety to escape its pursuer.1 On its autumnal migration the Lesser Scaup arrives in small numbers in Massachusetts usually during the second week in October, though in the ponds of the interior it is more common than the Scaup ; and there during its stay it is sometimes second only in numbers to the Black Duck. In November most individuals of the species pass on to the south- ward. Returning in March in much fewer numbers they pass northward, and in April and May reach their northern breeding-grounds. The Lesser Scaup feeds on water insects, fish-fry, tadpoles and other small aquatic animals, including crustaceans, on snails and mollusks, such as mussels, also on pond- weeds and the seeds of many water plants. Economic Status. This species is not less important as an object of sport or as food than the Scaup ; although a smaller bird, its numbers apparently exceed those of the Greater Scaup in America. Marila collaris (Donovan). Ring-necked Duck. Other names: ring-necked scaup; ring-necked blackhead; ring-billed blackhead; RING-BILL. Plate 15. Description. — Feathers of top of head elongated to form a dense, more or less erect, crest. Adult male in winter and nuptial plumage : Head and upper neck above ring or collar lustrous black, with green, purple and violet gloss; chin white (a small triangular patch);' inconspicuous ring around neck rich chestnut or orange-brown ; lower neck, chest, upper plumage and under tail-coverts mainly black or blackish ; scapulars and parts of back slightly waved or finely dotted with grayish, sometimes minutely sprinkled with white ; a white crescentic bar, an extension of white of under plumage, runs upward on each side in front of wing into the black upper plumage ; below mostly white, including axillars and most of lining of wings ; ventral region black ; sides, flanks and lower belly finely vermiculated with dusky and white (a gray effect) ; white of breast contrasts sharply with black of chest but passes gradually behind through wavy marks into black of ventral region; under wing-coverts mixed white and gray; wings sooty ; speculum or wing-patch bluish-gray, formed by outer webs of some secondaries which are either uniform or a little darker at ends where sometimes tipped narrowly white ; primaries dark gray except for blackish on outer webs and tips ; tail blackish ; bill dark slate with black end, base, edges (narrowly) and wide band near end of upper mandible, white in life, pale blue after death ; iris yellow ; legs and feet grayish-blue, with dusky or black webs, but variable, "greenish-ash, bluish-ash, or pale yellow-ochre dashed with black"1 (G. Ord). Adult male in eclipse plumage: Plumage of a male taken September 27, by Maj. Allan Brooks at Okanagan, B. C, indicates that in eclipse it resembled winter female but was darker; much grayish-brown or brownish-gray on head, neck, breast, sides and flanks and some on 1 Samuels, E. A. : Birds of New England, 1870, p. 506. Elliot, D. G. : Wild Fowl of North America, 1898, p. 166. Todd, W. E. Clyde: "The Birds of Erie and Presque Isle, Erie County, Pennsylvania," Annals Carnegie Museum, Vol. II, No. 3, Feb., 1904, p. 521. 244 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS scapulars and interscapulars ; no indication of white about face except on chin ; ring about neck iden- tical in color with rest of neck but showing light grayish feather-tips ; back, wings and tail as in winter male and under surface of body resembling same plumage but ventral region grayer. "Adult male (taken from captives on Dr. A. A. Allen's pond at Ithaca, N. Y., September 15, 1923) when bird had come into full eclipse : Head, dark umber on crown and malar regions, shading off to light brownish- gray on throat and neck ; area at the sides of base of the bill and large chin-area white ; a few darker feathers scattered through throat region, but not as much so as is usual in adult females ; hind neck and upper back region uniform fuscous, or dark, grayish-brown, lacking the rich ochraceous color of these parts in female ; breast feathers tipped with ashy, but otherwise like the neck and upper back feathers, flanks and region at the front of bend of wing brownish-gray, all the feathers with many fine white flecks ; the black back and scapular feathers show fine white specks over distal third of feathers, but not as much so as in breeding plumage ; bill is blackish in eclipse, except for the light gray or nearly plumbeous subterminal ring which persists. In breeding plumage tip of bill is black, the two rings china white and the intermediate area plumbeous. (Another male in eclipse at the present time is nearly identical but has perhaps a little less white at base of bill.) "The plain brown flanks of young male and his unflecked back seem to be characters that will tell him from an adult in eclipse plumage. An eclipse male is much grayer than female and lacks the ochraceous- brown of back, breast and sides of the female ; light head markings of the female are more abrupt and conspicuous than in male (eclipse) and have more blackish feathers scattered through face and throat regions." (Miles D. Pirnie.) Adult female in winter and nuptial plumage: Wing and speculum much as in male ; no collar ; head, neck, most of breast and upper plumage generally dark brown where male is black (feathers light-edged), darker on crown and back of neck, and paling gradually to grayish or soiled white about base of bill ; cheeks and throat mottled grayish-brown and whitish ; a narrow white ring around eye ; lower back and rump black ; outer webs of outer tertials metallic-green ; upper tail- coverts and tail pale brown, feathers tipped yellowish-brown ; white below less extensive than in male and less pure, with none of fine vermiculation of male ; a space only on breast and belly white or whitish ; upper breast, sides, flanks and lower belly and region about vent grayish-brown with a rusty tint ; under tail-coverts white speckled with brown ; bill blackish, with obscure markings similar in shape to those of male (usually with indistinct cross-bar of light blue or whitish near tip) ; iris brown ; feet variable as in male. Adult female in breeding plumage (June) : Top of head lighter and more rusty than in winter; no white face but chin and throat much whiter than in winter ; under plumage much more mottled with brownish; "iris brown or yellowish-brown" (Allan Brooks) ; otherwise much as in winter. Young in juvenal plumage : Young male and female in early fall much alike ; above dull dark brown or blackish- brown, with lighter edgings; below mottled with dull, light brown and whitish; wings like those of adult female ; speculum dull gray and secondaries dusky near ends and very narrowly, if at all, tipped white ; sides of neck and head mottled with brown and whitish ; crown dark brownish-black, brown- mottled ; chin broadly white (A. C. Bent). Downy young: Forehead, sides of head and neck and under- plumage yellowish or dingy buff, darkening to brownish on flanks and lower belly; a dusky, narrow streak or spot behind eye; top and back of head and upper plumage warm grayish-brown; a short, narrow streak in middle line of upper back, two shoulder patches, two rump patches and two narrow wing stripes, cream-buff or "pale straw-yellow"; iris hazel; bill lead color above, flesh color below; feet lead color, toes tinged yellowish ; young in down very light colored, resembling young of Canvas-back and Redhead, and quite different from dusky, unspotted young of Lesser Scaup (Allan Brooks, Auk, Vol. XX, 1903, p. 277). Measurements. — Length 15.50 to 18.00 in. ; spread 25.00 to 30.00 ; folded wing 7.00 to 8.50 ; tail 2.75 to 3.40; bill 1.75 to 2.00; tarsus 1.25 to 1.45. Female smaller than male. Molts. — In autumn young (male and female, molting) differentiate rapidly so that by last of December young male often is nearly full plumaged, though chestnut neck-ring is scarcely in evidence, wings are still immature and all colors dull ; during winter and spring further advance toward maturity is SEA DUCKS 245 made ; after new wings are acquired, at next complete molt, young becomes as adult. Adults have usual double molt and eclipse plumage. Field Marks. — Rather like Lesser Scaup with which species it is often seen, but head more puffy or crested and speculum bluish-gray instead of white. Male: Back blackish instead of grayish as in Scaup; white "crescent" in front of wing continuous with white of under surface (upper part of this white bar between black of breast and of wing, lower part between black of breast and barring of side) ; close at hand, narrow dark bill of male with light or white band near tip may be seen ; chestnut collar is of no value as field mark as it can be made out only at close range when neck is stretched up. Female: Less easily recognized ; resembles closely larger female Redhead but has browner body ; if near enough ringing of Ring-neck's bill, together with white eye-ring and light cheeks, may be seen; both species have bluish-gray speculum — hence, in case of female or immature plumage, size only can be relied upon to distinguish the two species at any distance in field ; amount of white feathering at base of bill in female or immature plumage varies greatly in both species, some having almost none ; in female Ring-neck white is less sharply defined than in Lesser Scaup ; chin and throat of Ring-neck are often continuously whitish. Voice. — Said to resemble that of Greater Scaup (Grinnell, Bryant and Storer) ; in courtship this species emits "a note resembling the sounds produced by a person blowing through a tube" (Audubon). Breeding. — In wet places usually such as marshy borders of shallow lakes or wet meadows. Nest: In marsh grass or rushes (often a clump) over or near water ; of grass, finer inside, with lining (sometimes thick) of dark gray down; breast feathers mixed with down, white or grayish, tipped white. Eggs: 8 to 12; like Lesser Scaup's in shape, size, texture and color. Dates: May 31 to July 6, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta ; June 1 to 18, Minnesota and North Dakota. Incubation : By female. Range. — North America. Breeds in interior from south central British Columbia, central Mac- kenzie Valley, northern Alberta, northern Saskatchewan and northwestern Ontario south to south central Oregon and northeastern California (one record), northern Utah, northern Nebraska, northern Iowa, southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois; said to have bred near Calais, Maine; winters from southern British Columbia, Nevada (probably), New Mexico, northern Texas, northeastern Arkansas, southern Illinois, Chesapeake Bay, southeastern Massachusetts (rarely), south to Porto Rico and through Mexico to Guatemala; in southern United States chiefly along Gulf coast from Texas to Florida ; east to Bahamas ; accidental in Bermuda and Nova Scotia (Sable Island) . Distribution in New England. — A very rare migrant along coast of Maine and New Hampshire, most rare in spring; Vermont, one record, a bird shot November 9, 1908, at North Ferrisburg, Lake Champlain, by George L. Kirk ; rare winter visitant or winter resident on coasts of southern Massachu- setts and southern New England but chiefly a migrant in fall or winter. Season in Massachusetts. — Late March and April ; October 4 to November 30 ; casual in winter north to Boston ; rare winter resident or visitant in parts of Barnstable and Dukes counties. Haunts and Habits. The Ring-neck is one of the rarest ducks of the Northeast. Though not so rare as the Gadwall or the Shoveller, it seems to occur less often than the European Widgeon. However it may be less rare than the general belief would indicate. The males may easily escape notice in a flock of scaups ; while the females and young resemble female scaups or Redheads, and so may be overlooked or mistaken for one or the other. The Ring-neck is usually classed with the scaups, which it superficially resembles, but its affinity with the Tufted Duck of the Old World seems to be closer. Like the Lesser Scaup it appears to prefer fresh to salt water, and is much more abundant in the interior of the country than on either the Atlantic or the Pacific coast. It commonly haunts rivers and small shallow waters in preference to the open water of large lakes. 246 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS Its flight is extremely swift and like that of the Scaup is accompanied by more or less whistling of the wings. The Ring-neck flies in small and rather scattered flocks or parties and in feeding does not mass in great companies on the water as do the scaups. Like affinis, "when diving, the tail is always spread, and is deflexed as the head is dipped under water." 1 In its migrations in New England the Ring-neck is most likely to appear in October. On its nesting-ground it takes many aquatic insects, tadpoles, small frogs and snails and the seeds, roots and tender shoots of aquatic plants. Economic Status. See page 174. Glaucionetta clangula americana (Bonaparte). Golden-eye. Other names : whistler ; American golden-eye ; brass-eye ; great-head ; garrot ; QUANDY (FEMALE). Plate 16. Description. — Height of upper mandible at base less than distance from front edge of loral feathers to front edge of nostril and usually little or no greater than distance from nostril to tip of bill ; head moderately puffy. Adult male in winter and nuptial plumage : Head and upper neck black with green gloss or very dark metallic-green with violet reflections in life, appearing black at a distance ; a good- sized, rounded, white spot before eye — at base of bill near gape ; lower neck all around (in strong contrast to dark head) , under plumage, middle and greater wing-coverts, nearly all secondaries and some scapulars (largely), white; greater wing-coverts with dark bases; axillars and lining of wings mainly dusky or sooty brown ; under greater wing-coverts "leaden gray" ; some dusky mottling about vent and sides of belly ; scapulars (in part), inner and outer secondaries, edge of wing, primaries and their coverts and back, black; flank-feathers edged sharply with black; tail, ashy-gray; bill black, "bluish-black" or "greenish-dusky"; iris bright golden-yellow; legs and feet orange or yellow with black claws and dusky webs. Adult male in eclipse plumage: Variable; similar to adult female in winter but no white collar ; much more white in wing (coverts) ; head and upper neck paler brown, darkening between eye and bill and on nape ; belly as in adult male in winter ; some specimens show indications of the white spot near bill. Adult female in winter and nuptial plumage: Variable; head less puffy than in male, plain snuff or cinnamon-brown ; no white spot before eye ; fore neck white, with faint gray tinge, making incomplete collar ; in general, brownish, grayish-brown or bluish-gray where male is black ; upper back- feathers edged bluish-gray ; upper tail-coverts with brownish tips ; white of wing not so extensive nor so complete as in male ; scapulars not white as in male but color of back ; speculum and under plumage white, former sometimes crossed by a dark bar ; chest, flanks and sides grayish or brownish ; axillars and under surface of wing dark brown; iris dull or pale to bright yellow; feet orange or brownish- yellow, webs chiefly blackish; bill dusky, usually with "dull orange," yellow or yellowish-olive band near end in spring, nail black. Adult female in eclipse plumage : Similar but without ring or collar on neck and no white in scapulars ; nail and tip of lower mandible more or less black (later entire bill becomes dark). Young in first winter plumage: Similar to adult female (see progress under molts). Young in juvenal plumage : Also like adult female but male larger than female and usually has larger light patch on wing-coverts; iris — male, bright yellow, female, dull yellow; eyes of "4 nearly fully-fledged young still unable to fly" were "gray-blue and inconspicuous" (C. W. Townsend) ; bill olive or dusky-olive; feet duller than in adult. Downy young : Head and hind neck dark brown ; throat and cheeks white ; back and sides dark sooty-brown with white spots in pairs ; below white ; fore neck shaded with light brown ; bill blackish, tip of lower mandible flesh colored ; iris brownish ; feet olive. i Smyth, Ellison A., Jr. : Auk, Vol. XXIX, 1912, p. 512. PLATE 16 >* I P o o