Page:Auk Volume 37-1920.djvu/637

 THE AUK: A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY. Vol. xxxvii. October, 1920. No. 4 LIMICOLINE VOICES. By John Treadwell Nichols. The Limicolse or Shore Birds appeal to the imagation as do few other groups. Their wide migrations, flocking habits, and the uncertainty which attends their movements at all times contribute to the charm of their pursuit. Their calls, usually short, are often ringing and musical, and express well the temper of their haunts, marsh and shore, and so forth. These notes are generally diagnostic and stick well in the memory. With these few introductory words I will say that the voices of these birds have been studied from several different view-points. The first has been to learn the difference between those of different species, as an aid primarily in identifying the species by ear; en- tailing a more or less careful study of the range of calls of each kind. The investigation with the greatest philosophic possibilities has perhaps been to determine, so far as possible, the significance of each note of a given species, the circumstances under which used, what it meant to the individual using it, and more especially to other individuals; in short, to get some idea of the "language" of the species. These two lines of study have led imperceptibly to a comparison of the notes of one species with those of another, and speculation on homologies (identification of the note of one species with the note of like derivation in a related species) and 519