When these Godwits arrive in the vicinity of New Orleans about the middle of March, they appear in considerable flocks. They retire, however, in the beginning of May, and return about the first of July, from which time they continue there until the end of autumn, some indeed remaining all winter. It seems, that at the period of their disappearance at New Orleans, they retire to the vast marshes near the sea-shore, and there breed, for I have found them abundant near the passes or mouths of the Mississippi in pairs, on the first of April, when the air is warmer than in the interior. They are said to breed in the marshes along the coast of New Jersey, where, according to Wilson, they arrive early in April, and continue until November. It is a curious fact that the Tell-tale Godwit, as well as some other birds of similar habits, is of very rare occurrence along the shores of Massachusetts and Maine. This, however, seems to be accounted for by the absence there of the large spongy marshes, to which these birds are fond of resorting.
Although found in the vicinity of both salt and fresh water, at all seasons, it usually prefers the latter, and the spots which appear to be best adapted to its nature are ponds of which the water is shallow and the shores muddy, so that they can walk and wade at ease upon them. Wherever such ponds occur, whether in plantations or in the interior of forests, or on extensive savannahs or prairies, there you will find them actively employed, wading so far into the water as to seem as if they were swimming. If just alighted after ever so short a flight, they hold their wings upright for a considerable time, as if doubtful of not having obtained good footing. Closing their wings, they then move nimbly about the pool, and are seen catching small fishes, insects, worms, or snails, which they do with rapidity and a considerable degree of grace, for their steps are light, and the balancing or vibratory motion of their body, while their head is gently moved backwards and forwards, is very pleasing to the eye.
I have often observed these birds on large logs floating on the Mississippi, and moving gently with the current, and this sometimes in company with the Snowy Heron, Ardea candidissima, or the American Crow, Corvus Americanus. In such situations, they procure shrimps and the fry of fishes. In autumn, they are extremely prone to betake themselves to the margins of our most sequestered lakes in the interior of Louisiana and Kentucky, where the summer heat has left exposed great flats of soft sandy mud abounding with food suited to their appetite, and where they are much less likely to be disturbed than when on the marshes on the sea-shore, or on the margins of rivers. When they have been some time in the salt-marshes, and have eaten indiscriminately small shell-fish, worms, and fry, they acquire a disagreeable fishy taste, and being at the same time less fat, are scarcely fit for the table. They are social birds, and frequently mingle with other waders, as well as with the smaller ducks, such as the Blue-winged and Green-winged Teals. In the salt-marshes they associate with Curlews, Willets, and other species, with which they live in peace, and on the watchfulness of which they depend quite as much as on their own.
The flight of the Tell-tale Godwit, or “Great Yellow-Shank,” as it is generally named in the Western Country, is swift, at times elevated, and, when necessary, sustained. They pass through the air with their necks and legs stretched to their full length, and roam over the places which they select several times before they alight, emitting their well-known and easily imitated whistling notes, should any suspicious object be in sight, or if they are anxious to receive the answer of some of their own tribe that have already alighted. At such times, any person who can imitate their cries can easily check their flight, and in a few moments induce them to pass or to alight within shooting distance. This I have not unfrequently succeeded in doing, when they were, at the commencement of my calls, almost half a mile distant. Nay, I have sometimes seen them so gentle, that on my killing several in a flock, the rest would only remove a few yards.
I have always found that the cries of this bird were louder and more frequent during the period of its breeding, when scarcely any birds were in the vicinity. I therefore conclude that its cries are then more intended to draw you from the spot where its nest is concealed, than for any other purpose, as on such occasions the bird either moves off on foot, or flies away and alights at a short distance from the place where its treasure lies.
When in Labrador, I found these birds breeding, two or three pairs together, in the delightful quiet valleys bounded by rugged hills of considerable height, and watered by limpid brooks. These valleys exhibit, in June and July, the richest verdure, luxuriant grasses of various species growing here and there in separate beds many yards in extent, while the intervening spaces, which are comparatively bare, are of that boggy nature so congenial to the habits of these species. In one of those pleasing retreats my son found a pair of Tell-tales, in the month of June, both of which were procured. The female was found to contain a full-formed egg, and some more of the size of peas. The eggs are four, pyriform, 2 1/4 inches long, 1 4 1/2/8 in their greatest breadth, pale greenish-yellow, marked with blotches of umber and pale purplish-grey.
The plumage of this bird has a very different appearance in autumn and winter from that which it presents at the approach of the breeding season. This has led some students of Nature in the United States to suppose, that there exist two nearly allied species; but this, I am confident, is not the case. The female is larger than the male, but only in a slight degree.
Dr Richardson has found this species on the Saskatchewan and Dr Townsend on the Columbia River.
Totanus melanoleucus, Ch. Bonaparte, Synopsis of Birds of United States, p. 324.
Tell-tale Godwit or Snipe, Scolopax vociferus, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. vii. p. 57, pl. 58, fig. 5.