Game Birds and Game Fishes of the Pacific Coast Part 13

(Order, LIMICOLAE)

The order =Limicolae=, which is composed of the sh.o.r.e birds proper, is abundantly represented. They are seen wading in the shallow waters, carefully watching for worms, insects and other species of food upon which they live, boring in the soft mud, scurrying in flocks from place to place, or running along the beach as the surf recedes, picking up the jetsam of the sea, then taking wing or running back like a playful child to the higher ground as the foaming crest of the next breaker rushes up the sandy s.h.i.+ngle. Or, as is the case of the phalaropes and some others, they may be seen riding lightly upon the restless billows far out at sea. Modest in coloring and plain in plumage, the sh.o.r.e birds seem to belong to the plebeians of the avafauna, for they are constant workers, always busy, always plying their slender legs rapidly as they hurry from one spot to another, never idle, never resting for a moment.

Of the sh.o.r.e birds there are six families and twenty genera represented on the Coast. Most of them are quite abundant from Was.h.i.+ngton to Mexico on their respective feeding grounds.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WILSON SNIPE, OR JACK-SNIPE DOWITCHER (Gallinago delicata) (Macrorhamphus scolopaceus)]

THE WILSON, OR JACK SNIPE

(Gallinago delicata)

Of all the sh.o.r.e birds the jack snipe, English snipe or Wilson snipe as it is variously called, is the most highly prized as a table delicacy and furnishes the best sport with the dog and gun. Usually lying well for the dog, erratic in its flight and quick on the wing, the Wilson snipe is one of the most difficult birds to bring to bag.

It is not only erratic in its flight, but it is erratic in its nature as well. One day it will be found on a given feeding ground in abundance and on the next not one is to be seen, while possibly the day following they are there again in great numbers. To this uncertainty and the corkscrew flight, peculiar to it alone, is due much of the charm that jack snipe shooting affords. While these birds are commonly called jack snipe or English snipe, their proper name is Wilson snipe, but like the rose, no matter what the name, they are just as gamy and just as delicious. The Wilson snipe migrates here to but little extent, and these migrations are alt.i.tudinal rather than lat.i.tudinal. They breed commonly in all the mountain valleys and even as low down as on the Sacramento marshes south of the city of the same name. I found a pair breeding a few years ago in the low hills of San Luis Obispo county not half a mile from the ocean beach.

=Color=--Head, black, with a central stripe of brown; back, a mixture of dark brown, pale brown, yellow and dull white; greater wing-coverts, dark brown, tipped with white; throat, dull white, barred with brown; a dark stripe running from the base of the bill across the eye to the occiput; under parts of the wings, dull white, barred with black; tail feathers, dark brown, tipped with white, and with a sub-terminal bar of black. No web between the toes.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is a very crude affair made on the ground and with but little lining of any kind. It contains from three to four grayish eggs, blotched with brown.

=Measurements=--Total length, 11 inches; wing, 5-1/2; bill, 3 inches.

THE DOWITCHER, OR RED-BREASTED SNIPE

(Macrorhampus scolopaceus)

Though not of the same genus, the closet relative to the Wilson snipe is the dowitcher or red-breasted snipe. By many who are not accustomed to the Wilson snipe and its many vagaries, the red-breasted snipe is often mistaken for the former. The red-breasted snipe may easily be distinguished by the small web between the outer and middle toes. This species of the dowitcher is a western bird, breeding well to the north and migrating south to Mexico.

=Color=--Head and back, more of a gray than the Wilson snipe, with the feathers edged with a pale buff; light gray stripe running from the base of the bill over the eye to the occiput; chin, dull white; breast, gray, with a tinge of cinnamon red; tail, banded with dark brown; a small web between the outer and middle toes, extending about one-fourth down the outer toe.

=Eggs and Nest=--Nest made on the ground and containing from three to four dull white eggs.

=Measurements=--Total length, 10-1/2 inches; wing, 5-3/4; bill, about 2-1/2 inches, and with a considerable swelling at the end.

[Ill.u.s.tration: GREATER YELLOW-LEGS (Tota.n.u.s melanoleucus)]

THE GREATER YELLOW-LEGS

(Tota.n.u.s melanoleucus)

The greater yellow-legs migrates throughout the entire region, being common on the beaches of Was.h.i.+ngton, Oregon and California during the fall and early winter as it works its way to Lower California and Mexico. It somewhat resembles the G.o.dwit in coloring, but it is more of a grayish tinge. Its shorter bill--not over two and a half inches in length--will always distinguish it from the G.o.dwit. So, also, will its sharp whistling note. It is nearly as delicate a table bird as the Wilson snipe.

=Color=--Top of head and neck, brown, with whitish streaks; back, brown, with the feathers edged with white; chin, white; breast, white, lined with narrow streaks of brown; bill, black, and legs, yellow.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nests are built close to the water's edge, containing four light buff eggs, spotted with brown.

=Measurements=--Total length, 14 inches; wing, 7-3/4; bill, 2-1/4, to 2-1/2 inches.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MARLIN OR G.o.dWIT (Limosa fedoa)]

THE MARLIN, OR MARBLED G.o.dWIT

(Limosa fedoa)

The marbled G.o.dwit, or marlin as it is also called, is one of the largest birds of the =Scolopacidae= family. It ranges from Alaska to Central America. This species is seen in large numbers in the early fall along the sea beaches of California as they are working their way south. They spend the winter in great quant.i.ties in Lower California and Mexico. There should be no difficulty in distinguis.h.i.+ng the G.o.dwit from any of the other sh.o.r.e birds, its long upward curved bill and brownish-barred back being features by which it may always be known.

=Color=--Top of head and back of neck, brown, streaked with paler brown; feathers of the back, brown, with ochreous edges; throat and forehead, pale buff, with faint markings of brown; bill slightly turned upward.

=Nest and Eggs=--Nest a crude affair on the ground, containing four eggs of an ash color, mottled with a dead brown.

=Measurements=--Total length, 19 inches; wing, 8-3/4; bill, about 4 inches.

THE RED-BACKED SANDPIPER

(Tringa alpina pacifica)

The red-backed sandpiper, or American dunlin, is one of the larger members of the genus and quite plentiful on the Coast marshes, but it is seldom seen in the interior valleys except during its migrations.

In its winter plumage, in which our sportsmen see it, it is of a dull light gray color. A diagnostic feature of this species is the slightly downward curved bill.

=Color=--Head and upper parts, light gray, with a white stripe over the eye; shafts of the feathers are dark brown, producing a streaky appearance. In its summer plumage the head and back are reddish brown, wings brownish and abdomen black.

=Nest and Eggs=--Nests on the ground without lining. Eggs, bluish white, with brown spots.

=Measurements=--Total length, about 8-1/2 inches; wing, 4-3/4; bill, 1 5/8.

THE WILLET

(Symphemia Semipalmata inornata)

The willet, or stone curlew as it is sometimes called, is a resident species, breeding from Was.h.i.+ngton to Mexico. It is a western bird, ranging eastward to the Mississippi valley, where it is but a straggler. In size it is nearly as large as the marlin. Its black wings, with broad, white patches, and feet webbed for about half the length of the toes, are distinguis.h.i.+ng features, easily recognized. It is generally found on the salt marshes.

=Color=--The general color of the plumage is ashy white or light gray, usually with some light buff markings on the breast. When flying it shows a broad, white patch on the wings, caused by the upper part of the primaries and part of the secondaries being white. Its smoky black axillars will always distinguish it.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is any place on the ground where it can deposit three or four pale buff eggs, spotted with dark brown.

=Measurements=--Total length, 15-1/2 inches; wing, 8-1/2; bill, 2-1/2 to 2-3/4 inches.