Color Key to North American Birds Part 30

=258a. Western Willet= (_S. s. inornata_). Similar to No. 258 but slightly larger. W. 8.5; B. 2.4. In summer above paler, less heavily marked with black both above and below. _Yng. and Winter._ Indistinguishable in color from No. 258.

Range.--Western United States; breeds from Texas to Manitoba; winters from southern California and Gulf States southward. A rare migrant on Atlantic coast from South Carolina to Florida.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 259.]

=259. Wandering Tatler= (_Heteract.i.tis inca.n.u.s_). L. 11. Tail-coverts plain slaty gray. _Ads._ Above plain slaty gray; below white barred with slaty gray. _Yng._ Above slaty gray more or less margined with whitish; breast and sides slaty gray; throat and belly white.

_Winter._ Similar, but no white margins above.

Range.--Pacific coast; breeds from British Columbia northward; winters south to Hawaiian Islands and Galapagos.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 282.]

=282. Surf Bird= (_Aphriza virgata_). L. 10; B. 1. Upper tail-coverts and base of tail-feathers white. _Ads._ Above black, slaty, and rusty.

_Yng._ Above slaty margined with whitish; breast barred slaty and whitish; belly white spotted with slaty. _Winter._ The same, but no whitish margins.

Range.--"Pacific coast of America, from Alaska to Chili." (A.O.U.)

[Ill.u.s.tration: 273.]

=273. Killdeer= (_Oxyechus vociferus_). L. 10.5. Rump and upper tail-coverts rusty. _Ads._ Above grayish brown and rusty; below white with _two_ black rings. _Notes._ A noisy _kilde?_, _kilde?_.

Range.--North America, north to Newfoundland, Manitoba and British Columbia; (rare on North Atlantic coast); breeds locally throughout its range; winters from Virginia, Lower Mississippi Valley and California south to South America.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 274. Foot detail 1/2 Size.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 274.]

=274. Semipalmated Plover= (_?gialitis semipalmata_). L. 6.7. Web between bases of inner and middle toes. _Ads._ _One_ black ring around neck; a white ring in front of it. _Yng._ Similar, but black parts brownish; back margined with whitish. _Winter._ Same as last but no whitish margins.

Range.--Breeds from Labrador northward; winters from Gulf States to Brazil.

=275. Ring Plover= (_?gialitis hiaticula_). L. 7.5. No webs between toes. Similar to 274 but larger, bill yellow at base, black or brown bands wider.

Range.--"Northern parts of Old World and portions of Arctic America, breeding on the west sh.o.r.e of c.u.mberland Gulf." (A.O.U.)

[Ill.u.s.tration: 277.]

=277. Piping Plover= (_?gialitis meloda_). L. 7; B. short, .5. Very pale above. _Ads._ Above ashy, crown and _sides_ of breast black; no rusty. _Yng._ Similar, but black replaced by ashy gray. _Notes._ A short plaintive, _piping_ whistle, repeated.

Range.--Eastern North America; breeds from Virginia to Newfoundland; winters from Florida southward.

=277a. Belted Piping Plover= (_?. m. circ.u.mcincta_). Similar to No.

277 but black on sides of breast meeting to form a breast band.

Range.--Mississippi Valley; breeds from northern Illinois and Nebraska north to Lake Winnipeg, east to Magdalen and Sable Islands; winters from Gulf southward; casual migrant on Atlantic coast.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 278.]

=278. Snowy Plover= (_?gialitis nivosa_). L. 6.5. No complete ring.

_Ads._ Black on crown; ear-coverts and sides of breast black. _Yng._ The same, but no black; above margined with whitish. _Winter._ Same as last but no whitish margins.

Range.--Western United States east to Texas and Kansas; breeds from Indian Territory and southern California northward; winters from Texas and southern California southward.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 280.]

=280. Wilson Plover= (_Ochthodromus wilsonius_). L. 7.5; B. .8. No black on hindneck. _Ad._ [Male]. One black breast-and crown-band; some rusty about head. _Ad._ [Female]. Similar but black areas brownish gray. _Yng._ Same as last, but above margined with whitish.

_Winter._ No whitish margins.

Range.--Tropical and temperate America; breeds north to Virginia, Gulf States, and Lower California; winters southward to Brazil; casual north to Nova Scotia.

Order X. GROUSE, PARTRIDGES, BOB-WHITES, ETC.

GALLIN?.

Family 1. GROUSE, PARTRIDGES, etc. Tetraonidae. 21 species, 22 subspecies.

Family 2. TURKEYS, PHEASANTS, etc. Phasianidae. 1 species.

3 subspecies.

Family 3. CURa.s.sOWS and GUANS. Cracidae. 1 species.

The members of the family Tetraonidae are usually placed in three subfamilies as follows: (1.) Perdicinae, containing the true Quails and Partridges of the Old World and with no species in America.

(2.) Odontophorinae, including the Bob-whites and so-called 'Quails'

and 'Partridges' of the New World, and with no species in the eastern hemisphere. (3.) Tetraoninae, the Grouse, with representatives in the northern parts of both hemispheres. All the members of the first two families have the legs bare, while the Grouse have the legs, and often even the toes, more or less feathered.

The application of different names to the members of this family, in various parts of the country, often make it uncertain just what species is referred to under a given t.i.tle. Our Bob-white, for example, is a 'Quail' at the north and a 'Partridge' at the south. As a matter of fact it is, strictly speaking, neither a true Quail nor Partridge but a member of a family restricted to America.

Again, the Ruffed Grouse is a 'Partridge' at the north and a 'Pheasant' at the south, whereas in truth it is neither one nor the other. So far as the application of these local names goes, it is to be noted that where the Bob-white is called 'Quail' the Grouse is called 'Partridge' and that where it is called 'Partridge' the Grouse is known as 'Pheasant'.

All the Tetraonidae are ground-inhabiting birds, and their plumage of blended browns, buffs and grays brings them into such close harmony with their surroundings that, as a rule, we are unaware of the presence of one of these birds until, with a whirring of short, stiff, rounded wings it springs from the ground at our feet. It is this habit of 'lying close,' as sportsmen term it, in connection with their excellent flesh, which makes the members of this family the favorites of the hunter and epicure and only the most stringent protective measures will prevent their extinction as their haunts become settled.

With the Ptarmigan this harmony in color is carried to a remarkable extreme, the birds being white in winter and brown, buff and black in summer; while during the early fall they a.s.sume a grayish, neutral tinted plumage to bridge over the period from the end of the nesting season, in July, to the coming of the snow in September.

The Tetraonidae all nest on the ground, laying usually from ten to twenty eggs. The young, like those of their relative, the domestic fowl, are born covered with downy feathers and can run about shortly after birth.

The Turkey is the only wild member of the Phasianidae in this country, but the family is well-represented in the domesticated Chickens, Peac.o.c.ks, and Pheasants, all of which have descended from Old World ancestors. Our domesticated Turkey is derived from the Wild Turkey of Mexico, which was introduced into Europe shortly after the Conquest and was thence brought to eastern North America. It differs from the Wild Turkey of the eastern United States chiefly in the color of the tips of the upper tail-coverts. These are whitish in the domesticated Turkey, as they are in the Mexican race from which, it has descended, and rusty brown in the Eastern Wild Turkey.

Besides the five races of Wild Turkey described beyond, another species of Turkey is found in America. This is the Honduras or Yucatan Turkey, now largely confined to the peninsula of Yucatan. It is not so large as our bird, but is even more beautifully colored, its plumage being a harmonious combination of blue, gray and copper.

Ring-necked and 'English' Pheasants have been introduced into various parts of the United States, and in Oregon and Was.h.i.+ngton and in the east, on various private game preserves, they have become naturalized.

The true English Pheasant (_Phasia.n.u.s colchicus_) is believed to have been introduced into England from Asia Minor probably by the Romans.