Alaska species accounts, part 2, v4404
Page 83
Image from the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Contributed by Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley. | www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Transcription
Cable 1958 Erolia bawdie July - so the bird would break the "meech run" and fly a warp if I got closer. I followed at 30 paces per minute. She held pretty steadily to the alternate sneek-run with greenwing wraps and squeek call and short flights of 10-15 yds up to 175 paces. The bird began to break into "normal" avoidance behaviour for about 25 paces - upright alert, posture-quick but short flights with the two "normal vocalizations" - chit-chit the "oyit-oyit" call and the "alarm" whistle. Then she did some more distraction - still keeping ca 30 yds away, again breaking back into normal behaviour up to 235 paces, at which time she suddenly exploded off into a one mile in sustained flight, mounted to 60-80 feet and flew back' to the area where I had first encountered her. Watched with binoculars. At the end she gained a little more altitude and then suddenly stopped abruptly by dawn - landed to the ground - [illegible] I went back to the area but could not find her immediately. I squeaked like a chick and she immediately appeared from an unseen quarter behind me.