. Birds of America;. Birds -- North America. ORDER OF SHORE BIRDS. Order Limicolw HORE birds include seven closely related families — so closely related that no suborder has been established within this order. The various species frequent open areas, usually along watercourses, ocean beaches, or marshes. They average small in size, the largest North American species being the Long-billed Curlew, and the smallest being the Least and Semipalmated Sand- pipers, or Peeps, so abundant in the spring, summer, and fall everywhere in the maritime districts. In color they are generally brown or blackish
. Birds of America;. Birds -- North America. ORDER OF SHORE BIRDS. Order Limicolw HORE birds include seven closely related families — so closely related that no suborder has been established within this order. The various species frequent open areas, usually along watercourses, ocean beaches, or marshes. They average small in size, the largest North American species being the Long-billed Curlew, and the smallest being the Least and Semipalmated Sand- pipers, or Peeps, so abundant in the spring, summer, and fall everywhere in the maritime districts. In color they are generally brown or blackish above, mottled and streaked with buf? or whitish. The wings are long and pointed, the primaries graduating rapidly from outer to inner, the secondaries reversing this order — this giving a V-shape to the open wing. Many species are capable of sustained flight, and perform almost incredible journeys during migration. The tail is short. The legs are long and thin with long, slender, usually unwebbed, toes. The food of the Shore Birds is the mollusks, crustaceans, and insects, found in the mud or along the moist strand of their habitat. They nest on the ground, usually laying four eggs, which are so well spotted or blotched with dark colors that they are quite inconspicuous among the grass or pebbles. When hatched the young are covered with down of a gray or brown color marked with blackish. At the approach of an " enemy " these downy chicks lie fiat on the ground in an endeavor to escape detection. Shore Birds have mellow, piping or whistling, voices, which can be heard for some dis- tance. They are greatly prized as game birds and have been hunted to such an extent that it is not uncommon to hear them spoken of as " our vanishing shore ; PHALAROPES Order Limicolcc; family Phalaropodidw ITTLE swimming Sandpipers " the Phalaropes were aptly called by Dr. Coues. They are essentially birds of the northern hemisphere, and all of the three species o
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Keywords: ., bookauthorpearsont, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookyear1923
