Birds and All Nature, Vol. IV, No 5, November 1898

<h2><SPAN name="AMERICAN_GOLDEN_PLOVER" id="AMERICAN_GOLDEN_PLOVER"></SPAN> AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER.</h2> <div> <ANTIMG class="drop-cap" src="images/initial_g.jpg" width-obs="59" height-obs="70" alt="" /></div> <p class="drop-cap">GOLDEN YELLOW RUMP Is one of the names often applied to this most beautiful member of the Plover family, which is thus made conspicuous and easily recognizable. It is found everywhere in the United States, from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains, but is rare on the Pacific coast south of Alaska. They are seldom found far inland, their natural home being on the seacoast, occasionally frequenting marshy or wet grounds, though as a rule they prefer the sandy beach and adjacent flats and uplands. During migration their flight, especially in the spring, is hurried, direct and in the night, only stopping to rest and feed during the day, returning, it is said, in a more leisurely manner and largely along the seashore. When on the ground these birds run about on unbended legs, the bodies in a horizontal position and heads drawn down. While sleeping or resting they usually sit or stand on one leg. Captain Houdlette of the Oceanic Steamship Company caught a Plover that came aboard his ship while on its way from Alaska to Hawaii. These birds are not web-footed, and the captain seems to have solved the problem as to whether they ever rest on the water during their long flights. He says they do. "It was during the run from San Francisco to Honolulu that I saw several Plovers in the water resting. When the steamer came too near they would rise with a few flaps of their wings, but, being very tired, they would soon settle back into the water again. In its efforts to get away one of them came on board and it lived for some time. I always thought the birds made a continuous flight of over 2,000 miles, but I am now satisfied that they rest on the waves when tired."</p> <p>The flight of a flock of Golden Plovers is described by Goss as swift and strong, sweeping over the prairies in a compact, wavy form, at times skimming close to the ground, then high in the air; an everchanging, circling course, whistling as they go; and on alighting raising their wings until the tips nearly touch, then slowly folding them back, a habit which is quite common with them as they move about the ground.</p> <p>Plovers eat Grasshoppers, Beetles, and many forms of insect life; small berries are also a part of their diet.</p> <p>Mr. Nelson, in his "Report Upon Natural History Collections in Alaska," gives a full and interesting account of their nesting-habits. He says the courtship of this handsome bird is carried on very quietly, and there is no demonstration of anger or quarreling among the rivals. When two are satisfactorily mated they quietly go about their nesting, after which each pair limits its range to the immediate vicinity of its treasures. The eggs are deposited the latter part of May in a small depression among the moss and dried grass of a small knoll, and at times a slight structure is made of dried grass. Four eggs are laid, of a pale yellowish ground color, with very dark, well-defined umber brown spots scattered profusely over the shell.</p> <div class="poetry-container"> <div class="poetry"> <div class="verse">Golden Plovers on the ground,</div> <div class="verse indent-1_5">See them rise, and fly, and sing;</div> <div class="verse">Where before was not a sound</div> <div class="verse indent-1_5">Now the very echoes ring.</div> </div></div> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</SPAN></span></p> </div> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />