One recent good description of poses, etc. is the Stokes Nature Guides, "Guide
to Bird Behavior", vol. 2.The original Saunders source is Saunders, Aretas
Andrews, "The Summer Birds of Central New York Marshes" Roosevelt Wild Life
Bulletin. vol. 3 , pp. 335-475. 1926Also A. C. Bent's "Life Histories of North
American Shorebirds" part two. Originally from the Smithsonian in 1927, Dover
Publications did a reprint in 1962.
Steve
On Thursday, March 26, 2015 9:47 PM, Marie P. Read <[email protected]>
wrote:
I've seen Killdeer doing this and similar behaviors a number of times early in
the breeding season. Sometimes in pairs, sometimes several birds together. My
impression is that it has both territorial and courtship components.
Pairs do something similar during a "nest scrape display"...the male bows,
spreading his tail and trills constantly when the pair is at one of the nest
scrapes the male makes when the two are deciding on a nest site.
Here are a couple of photos of this behavior:
http://marieread.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Killdeer/G0000u7AkHC8sfg8/I0000ALsXWhF3uvM/C0000zQU3lDkq6SE
http://marieread.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Killdeer/G0000u7AkHC8sfg8/I00006rJaalHoVTk/C0000zQU3lDkq6SE
Cool observation!
Marie
Marie Read Wildlife Photography
452 Ringwood Road
Freeville NY 13068 USA
Phone 607-539-6608
e-mail [email protected]
http://www.marieread.com
Author of Sierra Wings: Birds of the Mono Lake Basin Available here:
http://marieread.photoshelter.com/gallery/Sierra-Wings-Birds-of-the-Mono-Lake-Basin/G0000NlCxX37uTzE/C0000BPFGij6nLfE
________________________________________
From: [email protected]
[[email protected]] on behalf of Lauren Flesher
[[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2015 11:38 AM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Killdeer Courtship at Myers
This morning at Myers Point, the group I was with observed two Killdeer
engaging in what we assumed was a courtship ritual. They stood on the log at
the end of the gravel parking lot, back to back, with tails raised high, and
backed into each other until tails were close to touching. They then began
imitating each other, with flicks and dips. The whole time they were calling
constantly, so that it sounds like one continuous trill. No one in our group
had ever seen the likes of it before, or heard of it. Unfortunately we had to
leave before seeing the end of this display, but my curiosity was piqued.
I came home and checked on Birds of North America for more information, and
found nothing except a small reference to the 1967 paper "Prenuptial courtship
in wintering shorebirds" by J.B. Funderburg. Google searching this paper lead
me to a website describing the ground courtship displays of Killdeer. I find
it quite interesting, so I thought I'd share it with you all!
Found on the website birdsbybent.com. A 1929 bulletin - 146 (part 2: 202-217)
- written by Arthur Cleveland Bent for the Smithsonian National Museum.
"The most noticeable courtship performances of the killdeer are those that take
place in the air--the nuptial flight--but those that occur on the ground,
although less often seen, are also spectacular. Aretas Saunders (1926) thus
describes the display: Two birds would crouch side by side but facing in
opposite directions. Then they would droop the tips of the wings so that they
exposed the ochraceous patch of the lower back, spread the tail, and tip the
breast forward, slowly lifting the wing tips till the came way above the back,
but never covered it from view. All the while they kept up a continual call,
the long-trilled note 't-r-r-r-r-rrrrr.' The displaying birds would often begin
the performance or end it with a little fighting."
Try as I might, I couldn't find the original Saunders source. Have any of you
witnessed this behavior before?
Happy birding!
Lauren
--
Cayugabirds-L List Info:
Welcome and Basics<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME>
Rules and Information<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES>
Subscribe, Configuration and
Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm>
Archives:
The Mail
Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html>
Surfbirds<http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds>
BirdingOnThe.Net<http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html>
Please submit your observations to eBird<http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>!
--
--
Cayugabirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm
ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html
Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
--
--
Cayugabirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm
ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html
Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
--
