Accidents to Spotted Sandpipers
Accidents to Spotted Sandpipers
Of three specimens of Actitis macularius taken along the rocky beach south of Redondo, California, on December 7, 1913, one had the last phalanx of middle toe of left foot gone, with claw hanging by a tendon. Another had the right leg gone at the knee, and the third had last phalanx of outer toe of right foot gone with claw. In every case the amputation occurred at a joint, and the wound had healed in a smooth slightly enlarged knob. Can this be the work of the soft-shell “side-step” crabs so abundant among these rocks? One can imagine one of these crabs catching a toe or leg in its big claw, but unable to subdue a struggling bird, which would finally twist off a toe or leg. Has anyone else noticed similar deformities?
J. EUGENE LAW
Hollywood, California.
