The Mammals of Long Island, New York

by PAUL F. CONNOR Scientist

New York State Museum & Science Service

Harbor SBBIS ,., Mont•vk PtJint by Robin Rothman

BULLETIN 416 New York State Museum & Science Service

The University of the State of New York

ALBANY. N.Y. 12224

The State Education Department

The Mammals of Long Island, New York

by PAUL F. CONNOR Scientist

New York State Museum & Science Service

BULLETIN 416 New York State Museum & Science Service

The University of the State of New York

ALBANY , N.Y 12224

The State Education Department

THE L:NJVERSITY OF THE STATE OF' NEW YORK

l!,·;,;,·111~ of tlu- ll11ivnsity ( with rears ,cl,en len11s expire)

l 'JH-1 fosE 1•J1 W. ,\l<:CoviJ<:-;, A.11., LL.I.I., L.H.D., LLD., D.C.L., (.'hrrn,·c//,,r • • • - · New York

19B.S En:JCF.'J'l' J. P1-:;,;:-,y, ru:.~ .. D.C.S., Yi1·<• Chun<'cllor

l'!i!I ,\JF.~A:\l!t:1< J. ,\I.LA:,;, .ln., LI..D., l.itl.ll .

1'17:1 <:11A111.s:s W. \!11.1 .AHll, Jn .. A.11 .. LL.D., L.11.0.

l•J7~ CA111. II. l'i.011z111ol.\1rn . .In .. A.B., c\LD.A., D.C.S .. H.H.D.

1'17:, EuwAnll .\I. \I. \V AJCUIIJ<l;, fl.S., I .. H.J).

1'177 .los,:1· 11 T. Ki:,;c:, LL.JI ..

]<;,·.1 J11si-n1 <:. b1n:1.1cATO, Ill.Tl.

11176 1\lus. llr.1.1::,; B. l'<,11·t;u. A.H., Utt.D .. L.11.D., 1.1..0 . .

1'171J JiuA .~c Js W. ]\\,:(; JN I.LY , ll.S .. LL.fl., LL.I> ..

!<mo \IA~ .I. Hu1u;,;. LL.LL L.H.n. ·

l'JH(, J,,:;:,~,~t:Tll II. CJ.AHK, A.H., 1\1.S., Ph.D., Litt.D.

l'ifl:? Sn:l'nD 1-i.. BA11.Ev. A.II .. Jl.A .. 111.A., Ph.D., 1,1..n . .

l'!lrl I L1now l•:. N 1-:wco~rn, B.A.

111Hl Tm:,JJ!<lllE ~I. B1.A<:K , A.I!.

!'r,•sid,·111 uf I lw I lniwr,ily and Cnmmissiorwr of F:dncaliou 1·'.WAl. ll II. Nv..,i:isT

Exi·,·111i"· llq,u1y I :11111111i,,io111-r of Edn,·u1ion

ConJ>o;,; ,\ !. A~lll Al'.11

.'\-. .. 01·ialt · Commi:-,:-.iorll'r for Cuhur~l F:d1u·ution .foll.~ I,, 1111111'1:HT CIX

Dir ect or. Stall• :--.-iencc Snviee 111'1.o ,\, JA~l:"IIACK

l'ri111·i I'" I Sci<"nl i,t, Biolo;.:i<-al Surl't,y n11:s,11.1, r .. <:111.1.11'~

-"tat,· l.uolor:i,1 R,111·11 :,;, PA T.Mt:JI

White Plains

Troy

Duff a lo

1'11r<'ha,~

New York

Queens

llrooklyn

Hodwstcr

• Glens Falls

New York

Hastinp on Hudson

Syracns<,

- Owei,:o

· Sand, Point

CONTENTS

AC:KNOWJ,EDGMENTS ......................................................................................... iii

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ . DF:SCHll'TION OF RECION ................................................................................ 4

ACCOllNTS OF SPECIES ..................................................................................... 9

O!WEll ~IAHSlll'lAI.IA fl\fAHSUPJALS) Family llid .. Jphiid:11· tOposs11111s)

Opossum f)irlelphis marsupialis ............................................................ 9

ORllEH INSEC:TIVOHA /INSECTIVORES) Family Sori<-ida" (Shrews)

Maskt•d Slm,w SM ex dnereus ............................................................ 9 Shorl·tHil<·,I Shrew 8/nrinn bre1Jirn1ula ................................................ 12

Family Talpida, · t Molt>s)

F:a,t,·rn Moir, Srrrlop11.< aq11atirns ...................................................... 13 Swr•nosrd l\lol« f.ondylura crisl<Jlll .................................................... 15

ORDER <:lllHOl'TEHA <BATS)

FaJHily Vc,spcrtilioni,fot> (Common flats)

l.ittlr. Brown Myotis Myolis lttr.i/11g11s ................................................ 16 Keen's M yntis Myotis keen ii ................................................................ 18 Silv,•r.Jrnin·d Bat f,llsionyr.teris nnrtimgnns .................................... 20

Eastcm l'i11istrdlt> Pir,istrellri.< s11bfla1ms ........................•............... 21 lli~ Brown Bat t,'ptcsic11.< /1w:11s ........................................................ 21 Jl.,J Bat /,asinrus bMenlis .................................................................... 22 Hoary Rut J.asi11ms .-i11ere11s ................................................................ 24

ORDER 1.Af.OMORPHA (LAGOMORPHS) Family I.,·pnridac ( Hare's and Rabbits)

East,·rn Cottontail Sylr•ilng11s /foridan11s ............................................ 24 Nc·w En!:l:111.t Cottontail Syl,,i/ag11s transitionalis ............................ 25

OHl>EH IWDENTIA rnODENTS) F'1mil y S,·iuri,ta~ t Squirrel s l

\Vonclc·huc-k M1ir11w111 monnx ................................................................ 26 Eu.,lcrn Cl1i)'1111111k Tamu,s striatus .................................................... 26

<:ray Squirrd S.-i1tr11s mrolinensi.< ...................................................... 27

Sonthl'rn Flying Squirrel Glaucomys volans .................................... 28 Family ( :ri,·r1i,la1· ( Mirr., Hats. and Vole~)

\Vhitr•footr,l Mouse Peromys,·11s le11rnp11s ........................................ 29 l\fradow Mons<' Mirrntll., pen11sylmnicus .......................................... 30 PinP Mous,• Pitymys 11i11etor11t11 ............................................................ 33 .Muskr:it Ond11tm .:ibethi,·11s ................................................................ 35

Family l\[uri,luc (01,1 World MirP and Rats)

Honse Mouse /1111s musrnlus ................................................................ 35 Norway Rat Rattus norvegfrus ............................................................ 36 Black Rat RatlilS ratt11s ........................................................................ 36

Family Zapodicfae (Jumping Mire) Mra<low Jurnpini: Mou se lapus hudsonius ...................................... 37

iii

CJlWER CET.\CE.\ «:ETACEA"-Si Pamily lklr ,lii11ida ,· i l)olr,liin, a11d l'nrrois es )

r:ommon Dc,lpliiu Ucl11hinus de/phis .......................... ....................... 38 Strip1:rl llnlpl,in Stendla rocr,,leoall111s .......... ............................ ...... 38 llottJ.,.n,,-ed IJtJlphin T11rsi,,,,s trunrnt/ls ................ ............................ 39 Killer Wli:df'. Or,·irrns 11ff(t ................................................................... . ,39 Grny (~r:•mpu~ Gr<o,,pu ... griseu . .:; ......................................................... , 40 Black fi.,l , (;/,1/11:ceph<lla 1111·/11,:n,1 ........... ..... , •• , .. ... .. ............................... 40 I larhor Poq,oi • c P/w, ·flclu, ,,h,,menfl ................................................ 40

F:,mi ly Mo11111lonti<la,· fWl,itc Whale & Narwh~ll Whit1: Wlrnl1: f!d1,hina111cms /cums .................................................... 41

Fam ii>· l'l,y,r,tNida, · , Sperm Whnlc,J Sperm \Vl,alr· l'hyscler rntod,m ............................................................ 42 l'illmy Sp,-rm Whale .K,,git1 bre, ,ire,,s ................................................ 43

Family Zipl,ii<la,· ( lkak"d Wl,ale_~J l),.11,oi,-hr:1k~rl Whal, · Me.w11lodon. ,l,,rr.,irmtris .................................. 44 A111illca11 lkakr:d Wll(lk Mc.w11lotl,m euro/J<tCus ............................ 44 T,-1w'., lkak,·d Whal<· Me.1op/r,d,m minis ............................................ 44 <:nvin's 11<-akcd W!,ak l.i1,hi11s nwiros1ri., ...................................... 44

Fil111ily llala,•1rnpt('rid:11· I Hon111als I l.ittlr, l'ikrd Whal,· Hri/r,cnnptem qrutomstrata ................................ 45 l-'i11ha,·k Wh:1!1· Halue1w11tem p/tpr,/11.s ................................................ 45 'i~i Wha !,· ll1L/aeno()f1<m lwreali.1 .......................................................... 45 Hlu,, Wl,al,• Rafoerwptcm rrwsr11sl11s .................................................. 46 llumpha<'k Wlwlr ,He1<aptera rwwea11gliae ........................................ 46

Fa1nily Balal'nidar , Hight Whal <,s) Bla,·k lli~ltt Whal.- [J,./aen<l gl,,, ·iali, ................................................ 47

OHDEH CAHNIVORA /CARNIVORES) l•'amily 1.ani,la,· (Wolvt', and Fox(', )

Hcd Fox Vulpe.s 11ul/Jr~s ....................................... , ................................ 48 Cray Fox {/""·yon cinerenargente11s .................................................... 49

F1111iily Prn<'yoni<la.- ( ll.11:c-oons, etc . ) Haccoon P"ll'yon lotor ..................... ..................................................... 50

F:1111ily !'vlu~tdidat• I \V('ascl,, Sku11k5, etc. l Long•lailctl \V,·asi•I Mllstc/11 frenata .................................................... 50 Short-tailed \Vc,n,,·1 Mu.sle'{a crmi11ea ................................................ 51 I\Iink Mllslclu ,,i.wn .............................................. ................................. 52 Sr, irw<l Skunk Me/lhiti., mepl,iti., ............................ ............................ 52 Hiv,•r Ott,·r l,ulrn mnrulcnsi., ................................... .... ......................... 53

OHIJER PINNll'EIHA (SEALS) Fmnily l'luw.id,lf' ( II air S<'nls)

llnrhor ,<.;,,al !'horn 1•itulim, .......................................... ................ ...... 54 llarp S,·,d PaM011hilus i:r11e11fondirns ................................................ 55 (;ray S<>al llah, ·hocrus ~ryp11s ............. .................................... ............. 55 llon,lc-.1 S<'al (:ystoplwra ,·ristata ........................................... ............. 55

OHDEH ARTIOIJ.-\CTYI.A (EVEN·TOFJ) HOOFED MAMMALS) Fumily Ct·n-idae (Def'r)

Whitl'•lail,·d llr, •r (),/,u·11ifr11s 1•irginiwws .......................................... 55

OTIIF.R MAMMAI.S .................................................................................................... 57

Va11i,l1c,I Rccc11t l\l:1111111al, .......................................................................... 57 I11tro1lm·c,i l\[amm:ils .................................................................................... 58 l\li,.,in~ La11d l\lammals .............................................................................. 59

FIGllRES .......................................................................................................................... 60

LITERATlTRF, CJTF,D ................................................................................................ 73

APPENDTX-Sipho11apt1 ' ra from Lonp: hland, Nnv York,

by Alll'11 H. Benion and Danny L. KPlly ......................... 77

1,·

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The ,lllall uiarnm,d sun<·y j,; und,..- tlw dirn:tio11 uf

Halpli S. l'aluwr. S1a1<· Zo,,lo7ist. Do1111ld II. Mill<·r r·o­"l'"rated a,. fidd ,1.,si,.1;1nt duriu7 tl!C' ,-.urnmer of lfJ(1J.

.'ip<"r:ial tlia11k,.. ar,- 1·xh•ml<·d lo Hoy Latham of Uril'nt who

was <·Xn!,·diugly g<·11,-r,,u.-i11 furoi~l,i11µ- informnlion on

111,1111111;,I,. iu 1..itr,r form. from hi" 1·xt1•11,-;i,·r· nt/lPs 011 the 11al11rnl hi,lory of castr:rn Long Jsh111rl; this vuluable iufor111atio11 is included in the bullet in u11dn the various spPci,·, ,1t'<'1Jlt11t,-;. Hcc('11!1y fin 1 <J(,<)) lw donated hi~ 11111mn1al ,,oll,•cl iu11 to tlw N('w York Stati· Mu!.1·um. Other Lo11g l.,la11d 11alurali,1s m·n· very hrlpful d11rin7 our slay

011 tlw island, a11d Chri .-1opl11·r Mc:Kt•evr•r of \Vatc·r Mill. Chari,·,; Hayuor .,f Sliclt,·r I,.L111d, Cilh<"rt S. Raynor of Manorvill,·, awl LcHoy \Vilrnx of Sp,·onk ki11dly pro· vid,·d iufon11a1ion colHTrni1,7 · 111<' fauna and lucal areas. Stale Co11,crvali1111 Dcpart1111·11l 1wopl,· provided much lu-lpfnl i11fonualio11, ,·.,p,·,·ially r\11tlw11y Taormina nnd .fol111 H<"11kavi11,-ky, l,ut :d,o \Vi111lsor Cow, 0011:ild Gr<"P• Icy, Slnnlt·y Cro111. a11cl olhcr.<.

Hi,·lianl II. l\1:111villt· and Joli11 L. Parndiso 11f !hi'

V

Bird and Mammal Laboratories at the L.S . National Mu~c-u111 kinrlly made· a\·ailabl,· various records on fik pertaininµ to Lonµ fal:md mammak Richard Van Gelder l11·lp1•cl east• my way throuµh the mammal collection at

the Anwrican Mu:;eum of l\atural His tory, New York City, and also spoke of his t'Xp<-'rirnct·s with various mammals on

tlw i,land. Valuable comments were rt>ceive<l from Robert

Cushman Murphy, ali-o of thl' American Musnun. and a

native Lon!:5 Islander. William J. Hamilton, Jr., was helpful

in coml<'ctiou with a vi~it to the Cornrll University col­

lection, and in other ways. Esprcially infonnative wen·

lellers draling with marine mammals from the following

pl'ftion~: Jos<·ph C. Moore of the Fiel<l MusPum of Natural History, Rubert A. Morris uf the Aew York Aquarium, Carl<'ton Ray of Tlw John~ Hopkins Univrrsity, James

W. Romansky, Jr., of Bay Shore, and William E. SchPvill of Woods llolc Oc<•,11101rraphir Institution. Most helpful

wen • Mrs. Charles E. Gilll'tl<·, who drew thr maps and

l·larold Furlong, who prepared tlw photograph.~.

Tht~ Mammals of Long Island, New York 1

by PAUL F. CONNOR

INTRODUCTION Long I ,land at 1he time ,.f lite fi rsl white 5f'ltlcrs

aho1111d,-,J in ;1 w11nd1•rf11I ntrif'ly of wil,llifr in pl(•asar,L surround i 11µ:s. 'I'll<' va rioa~ woo(!la11•l. j!fa~sland, and mar~h hnhilats prO\• ided horn('~ for most. Hlthou~h not 1p1itr• all, of d11· 111,1111111,d., frn111d 011 llw adj ill'!'nl m,1in­

laml, wliih· in 1hr oc(·,u1 aurl in lh" mn11y sounJ~ and havs of tlw (I n·,1 wt·rt: 1uun,·rn11s wlwlt-s and smaller m;rinf' nuimmak As Ilic i,l,1ml wa!; .,,•It],,(! ;rnd tam;,d

rro111 (Hl<' (•lid 10 ih<' "llwr. all of IIH' l.iqrer spl'cies suf­

frn•d II drn~lir· r<'cllld ion in 11111111,ers. mu! thr large hmd

carnivor,·s wrn· Pxi<-rn1iuatcd. 1 lowcver, 111(111y .small rnam•

mals I i11~<·,·I ivo11~s, huts. r"<l,·nls, ,·tc.) and ~v(•ral sp<'cies in ihP muskrat-to-fox siz,· ran/-(" wliich ~ul'Yived llw houu­li,·!' anrl olh,•r prrs<\<'lllio11s of ,·arly ch1r, ancl y«·ars of fur I rnppin~. an· ;;Lill ~u rp risinµ:-ly common in much of n·n1rnl and ('(l~tl'l"ll r ,Ull/! 1~1a11<L J)('(•r. too, lll"(' l\llll1('TOUS

ng-a111.

Newrllwlr •;;s, I ,nng- bl:rnd today i" i11 a pniod of in­

;,rcdihly rapid l111111au «•xpluila1io11. Ac1:onli11g lo Stout ( 19!)8) all(! ol lwrs. lat](I us<' m1 the iH!and is thr most

swiftly d1a11!-(t11g in the Slait' as Nrw Ynrk Ci1y <'X(·rts a i·onsl.1111 pn ' SSHn' m1 fun11 ,111d fnri·st lurnls for resi1kn1ial tkv1•!op111<•lll: Wtl h 11 ~011 rill:,.'. populnlion and a thick nr•t­

wnrk of ruuds 11111eh nf Ill!' i~ln111l i~ rapidly brcoming a ~11lull'hn11 ,rn·:1. Tl111~ ii ,;1•c·11wd i111pnrtm1I lo exl<'nd lhe .'i1;l!,• Mus<'Ulll 's «•uni i11uinµ; ~111all rn,111,mal ~11rvey to thi" an•a al ;111 ,,arly dat,·. h,,fon• [11rth,·r lo"~ nf 11at11ral :nca~ ,u1<( huhitul~ occurn•cl.

Field Survey

'l'IH' [i1•ld ~11n·,·y wa., .,tmt<-d iu tlw (11ll of 1960 and co11ti1111ecl 1h1011!-'.l1 the s11m11wr uf 1963. Thi~ wnrk w:1s

<'llllC<'rnecl mainly with rol1,-.c1i11g :-mall 11wm111als from :;;[11'(·'11 ho squirr('I ,ii,·. ))l'C(J.lri111,( ,;l11dy skin~ 1111d ~keletal

nrnlcl'ial. iind ohtni11in~ i11fonn;11io11 on the loral di~tribu-

ii\tn n11scr i1'it ~ubmittc.t for p11hli,·atinn :\u1'11~t 211. 1970.

1

I 1> r, ~ ,\,.,. I ''\ i~

MAP I. MAP OF I\EW YORK STATE SHOWING LOCATION OF LONG JSLAI\D

tion and habits of thr vari<>us sprcie.s. All ~tudy skins and other prcsf:rved matrrial, and firld-data ~hert~ for most of th<' individuals e,xnmined are at the New York State Museum. Albauy. Concurrently with this su rvr:y, othn fidd work was ;lont· in coopr~ation with thf' Ni,w York

Stalf' Df'partnwnt of Health and otlwr agencies which had initiated a ~un·cy of arthropod-home viruses on Long lsland. This work mninlv involve,d coll('eting migratory

hlackbinl~ and some otl;er com1J1011 verl<·brati·s in Suf­folk C0u11ty. MtilPrial pH·served, such ns bird splMns anrl hloocl smnpl<'s, wm; h'~icd primarily by the Stalf' Dep,Ht·

ment n{ Health anrl th,, information publishrd d~t"where. Small mamntnl ('nllf'<'li11i; wus confiucd almo~l rntirely

lo Suflolk County. n larp:r ,1rea co11si~ting of ap(Jroxi­ni:tlr'ly the f';1sh-r11 two-third~ of Lo11g lslan<l ( mnp 2).

Firlcl lH'adquarl<'rs wns locnted ut Hampton Bay~ during mo,t of the period. Coll<'cling wa~ conc<'ntratrrl in cer­ta i11 rq::ions. <'~J)<'l'talh· .south and soulhet14 pf Riv('rhr·ad, a r,,[o.liw,Jy wild ari·a for Lon~ J.~!and, with n variety of

11,1t11ral habitat.<. ,111<1 in th1· re,!?ion of H ithcr Hill, nnd :\npi•ague Meadows. 1diich an' M·ll oul on th<' soutlwrn

2

fork ,,f Pi.14,•rn Lung ).-land. Trappinµ: wa~ also under­tak,·n at ,·ariou~ point, alonf! lhC' ,:outh shore from Mon­tank 1'111111 lo llalJ\ l011: ,,11 the north ,-)1orc: from Orient lo 111<· \ iss•·<Jl.l"/!'"" Riv,:r: and at som,· CJlhl'r placf"s l'Uch ;is Slwlt.-r l,;laml. and .-r·allo,rc•d i11t1•rinr lo<,alitie;; wc·st t,1 tlw rf"gi1111 ,,f Mirll'ol,1 i11 Na,a.<;au County. Thr,:,• and most 1• f th,· <,tlwr pl,wl'- 1111·11til!111·il i11 thf' l<-xl an· shown on map :t

Other Information

Thi, l,u!ldi11 i, l,a,wd pri111arily 011 tlw ,:1nall mam-111al 1·oll,·1:ti11g prn;.>r:un. hnl I havl' also atll-mpt1•1l lo asiwmld1· i11f11rm;1ti,,11 1111 tllt' 1w1:11nr11cc> of th,· nllwr land mammals and th,. m.irin,· 1n,1111111;d,. for this rPµ:ion of th<, Stalf", rlll'l"I' i,- a rall 1n 1•xt1•11,iv1• and ,-,,atlncrl natural history lit<-rnlur<' g11i11µ J,,ll'k 111a11y y .. ar,-: 1nammal spcci-11w11,-a111I n•,·.onl~ an· lontl("(I in ,·;11iou.- mus,·ums and prival<' ""ll1·d i1111s. I ,1111µ: bland has hc("11 w .. 11 1·11clowed with 111an_1· n:sid,·111 and \'i,-itiuµ: naturnlists, collC'ctors. and "111cl,·11t.,. i\ mun• inl<'11,-iv,· 1<l'arc:h of the~e ~011rcf•s

would rc•v1·:rl ;1dclitio11al i11form:11 iu11 a11d rc,:or<h of i11tcr-1•,,I. II O\\'c'Vl'J'. ii s1·r111,; worth w h ii,· to ;;m1111i:1ri,:r. the pub ­lisli,·.J a11<I m1p11hlishnl i 11f11 rr11nl iun 110w availahl<" lo nw 011 tlw Sl:tlll.• of 1lw varions 111:u11111;1ls, as 11·1'11 ;is our own li11di11gs in t lu- fj"l,!.

Th,· 11111,1 i111p11rla111 p1d1lislwd a1·1·ou11ts of Lonµ: Island 111,mm111ls i11 i!<'!H'ral art' hy H,•lrn,• ( 1902) aJHI llarnilt.,11 I 11) 11,1)). l'11l,!iC'alio11;: dC'aliriµ 1·xcl11siv<'ly with tlll' l,als of thi" :rn•a ;rn• l,y M11q1liy and Nichols (1913)

a11cl l\'idwb and i\'i,·h11l, ( I ').~11 I. i\ rrc,·111 puhlit:ation of Ilic· :\/atun· Co11M·n•arwy ( A11n11 .. l1Hilla) has int!'rcs1in,:! Ii rsllrn11d m·c•um1t" of th,· larger la111l nuunmak Other Long (,.;land 11at11rali,-1, whn h:1,·c· 1·011,.;idC'rahl<" k11owlC'd,:?:1· of tlw s11bj(•d mu! wlw ha1•1· 111:ul,• rollr.ctio11s of mammals i11rl11cl,· William T. ll,·l111111h of E.is1 llamr,tnn (dC'Cc·a~C'd). Hoy Lath.un of Oric·nl, 111111 (;iJl,nt S. Raynor of Manor• ville.

Tlw :1cco11111., of "l)<'Cic's i11 tlw prr.~nl paper dC'al 111aiuly with tlw 11;1ti\'1' nnd 11at11raliz1·d wild mammals whil'.h 111111· rn·1·11r 011 Ln11µ-(,-land and in its adjacent wat,·r:-, or for whic-1, 1111'1"<' an• at kast occasional recent n 'corcls. i\ vailahh• n•r·ord11 of intrre5t concernin!!: mam­mals on 0111lyi11µ: isl:md~ surh ;1s Gardinrn- Island. Fislwrs l.•b11d, and Stnt,·11 bland, havP h('('n worked into the .•pcr,il's a('CllU11ls. M~-i11funnatio11 t111 thr status of most sprd,·s iu tht'S<' periph1•1·,1l arr.al' is lrss romplet<' than for Lonµ lslaud proper. Ad,lit ion;tl ;;prcics. such ns some which liav(' lH't'll ,•x1 i rpated on the isbnd. introduced forms ,,£ temporary or local occurrenn•, aud certain small 111a111111nl,-of lhe 1warhy mainland whirh ha,•1· not beC'n

found on Lon;.> J,-Ju11d, arc di~r,ii0 .-nl hri,·lly under ··Othl'f Mammals" following the sp.,cil"s aceou11ls. Extinct spC'Cies. such as th,• ma,todon, an• not discussed.

Map, of rastem l)nited Stal('S and :'forth America in sr·vcral honks which show ranges of species of mammals l,y shadin~ are decepliv<" as for as Loni!: lsbnd i;; con­r:,·rned and ar,· puzzling to many people . Such maps may he largr i>nouµ:h to ~how Long Island as a discrete area, yd tlw island may be incorrectly shaded in or left blnnk for cntain sprcies. This probably happenl' from lack of loc:al information, through oversi,ght. or becau~e th<" art>a sef'm,; insignificant in siz('.

Most of thr mammals livinf! on Long hland al the 1m·s1·nt time prnhably were on hand to greet the first white sdtlers from Europr in thf' I 600'~. Denton (1670), for example, lists muskrats, foxl"s, raccoons, skunks, ot· lrrs, and dec·r among the "wilde be.i~ts" of Long Island. Al ;.evernl lnJian archaeoloµical site~ on Long- Island, with radiucarhon datrs ran~in1 b,·tW<•en 1043 B.C. and 763 B.C., bo1H'~ of woodchuck, gray fox, raccoon, mink, white-taih~d derr, and various small rodents have been found, and at later prl'historic sites, muskrat, raccoon, whale, nnd <leer have bre11 reported (Ritchie, ]969).

Roy Latham ( p<'rsonal communication) has records from about 100 1·xcavnted Indian camps and village sitrs frnm Montauk aml OriPnl to RiverlH'ad. At these sites he> found the ~amc spccil's mentioned by Ritchie, and also discovC'rC'd thf' remains of cottontail (Sylvilagus sp.) , F:astern chipmunk, gray squi rrd, flying squirrel (River­head only), red fox, wcnsel (Muslela sp.), striped skunk, and l1arbor ~eal. This material was idmtified by Roy Latham and authoritirs at thC' Unitt-d States National Museum, Washington, D.C., and other museums. Also small hones of mice, moles, and hats were collected but no attempt was made to name them. Evidently only a very frw of the established species, as mentioned ehewhere, have arrivc•cl ~ince the lime of tlw first Europeans settlers.

Marine Mammals

The acC'ounts of marine mammals arr, based mainly on a brief surv<'y of the literatUrl' and museum collec­tio11s, and corrl'spondenc(• with a frw obsl'rvcrs. But it is hoped that all sprcies known from Long Island an<l its offshore waters have been iuclucl,·d. Cetaceans travel wide­ly, and additional sp<'cies may eventually be recorded from the area. Str,mding records includt> species which rC'gularlr frequent coastal waters and those which nor­mallv livr farther out. Sonw strand alive for 011<' reason or another, but CC'rtain specif's seem more careful in avoidin~ this; some float in aftrr death or disriblemrnt.

but ma11y >'J'f'f•i,·s :.H•· lik,·ly t<J sink when 1li-aJ. All strand­i11gs <1ff• mnsid,·n·d local n-c:ords. hut I have ind icated. wlwn k11ow11, if the 011i111al~ wnr· adually aliv,· when

found 011 llu~ ,-;/ion·. Then· ,m• n" s,·paral1· sp1·c:ies accounts for those

u1ariJH: 111:1111111:d,-which liav1· h,·1·11 n•p1Jrlnl ,mly ll•Hth 1Jr ~outli 11f l,u11/.! (,-;laud. l>11I ,-.;01111· which approad1 tlw area quit,· dw,..J) arl' 11w111ioiwd 1111dcr a1:c11unts of rdakd sp1·1•if'.-. A f,·w '("''' i,·s for which I have 110 firm Lonµ Island n·1·11nl,, l,11I which k1v1· bce11 1Tconkd nea rby tu 1111· 111,rt/1 ;111d ""111h of 1h1: island, or Wl'il offshon\ haw· lw,:11 inclmll'd as r·ompll'l1· al'.cotmls; for 1hes1·, the Long

1,-laml coast is 1:1111sid1·n·d lo (,,, al kasl 011 1\w ediec of I lwir ran;.;,. 01 occasio11ally vi;;itr·d. Mari111· mammals in µ1•111·ral; i • .,., all tl11· brgi, whale~, dolphin,-;, porpois1·s, anrl tlw seals, \\'1·n· v1ery n1111u:ro11s oriµ;inally. hut have lwcn µn:atly d,·,·i111a1,·,I i11 thi,- an,;1 a11d occut· al 011ly a Yl'ry

Slllall fraclio11 of llw pop1dalio11 1m·~1·11I hcfor(' th1' !wavy sPI tl,·111<·11I of the cua~I a11d the l'l'il of whaling. S,·vcral of 1111· ,-;111all. lit1l,·-k1111w11 wlwl,·,. lww,,vcr. lrav<· 1J1•H,r

lic,·11 1·111111111111. i\,- far "" I know, tlicn• has tH>t [wen a g<·11n;tl rnp11rt Oil Iii<· , ·l'!ilCC',1111' of Long Islaml since Lh\' l,rid s1a1,-111,·111,-1111 a few ;.p,·i,i1·s l>y Millc·r 11899) and I lch111· ( I <Jfl2 J.

Checklist

Th,, .,p,•r·i1·~ ,wr •11u11h. as li.,tnl i11 Llw C11nlcttls, may

lw ,·011sidn1·d :i ch,•i,klisl ,,f k11ow11 [Ht'Sl'lll•dar 11ative

and 11aluwlizl'd mammal~ of Long Island, with certain <1ualificaLio11s iu th,. ca,w of th,~ tllarine ,p,·ci,,s. Thi:; list

totals .19 :;p1·cies. Of th,·.,e, 35 arc land mammals, col­lcctcd ,rn thi~ ,-unr••y or <'Xat11irw<l as museum specirnt>11s ,~xu·pt for .~ray fox and shorl-laikcl weas,·l (publi~]l('d rr·cord~ 1•xi,1 f,Jr tlwsc). Marine ~peci1·s total 24, and at l1•a5l 14 of thc~c .in· r,·pn•.s1•11ted i11 musc·ums ln· Long Island specimen~ f "tranding" or kill('(l 11,-.ar shore). I WilS unabl,· to locate spPcimens of the other I 0. as follows -- killer whale, little pikPrl whal1·, blue whale, and hump•

ha<"k whale. for whiC'h there an· published f<'cord~ of occurrcnc(:; white 1diale. with 011e probahlP sight rec• ord, not prrviously publishf'CI; gray grampu~. sci whale, hooded ,<·al. harp -~•·al, and gray ~eal, specirs wh ich have uccn found both north nnd ,outh of this nrea, and also

within a v1•ry fe11 miks of our coast or directly offshorl' f detail~ given in 11•xt). The author would be VN)' pkasr<l

to rccciv,· additional n·cord;; or i11 formaiiou eoncerning land and mari11c mammals i11 the Lon,'! bland area.

Littl, · attention wa,s µ:ivrn to the quPstio11 of sub­sper:i<•;;, and mo,l of thl' subsp,·cic·s nam,·s usNl are mer('ly

tho:-1· of th,, forms which would, 011 gcoµ:raphical ground~, lie expcct, ·d lo occur: in some f'~pecially do11b1ful cas,·s 1111 subspccifil' 11ame il; g:iven.

Accounts of various "]Jl'Cil's have bf'c•n hmull<·d mm<'•

what diflt-renlly; for exarnplt>, i11formation 011 the ornall

mnmm::rl~ wr collected is arranged under subheadings for convc11ie11cc, a11d the 111ari1w mammals hav1• vt>ry brief, )!f'm•ral descriptive· infor111atio11 for tlw bPnefit of readers unfamiliar ll'ilh these animals.

41

DESCRIPTION OF REGION Location

Lon)! l,laml, approximat,·ly I 18 rnilPs Ion)! and 12

to 20 mile s widt· for most 1,f its lr-11[!lh, is tlw lar;! •·st

island .1dj,1ct·11t 111 th• ' 1·uslr·rn roast of the Unit1·<I States. A c;oaslal-plai11 1·xt<;11sion of ,\ew York Stale south of Con11ccti1:ul, Long lslarnl is surrourukd hy ~alt water,

primarily tlw i\tlanti1e (k<·a11 a11d Lnn;! Island Sound. At its w<·sln11 nul it is nan11wly sq1an1tccl fmm other por­

tions of N,·w York: from t!w Bronx muinbnd and Mnn­

lwl.ta11 by the !•~1st H iwr. a tidal d1amwl or tidal strait

pnrtly ,wr.upyi11;! a pas~ag1· cul in rock, and no more

than unc-half mile wid<· i11 places, arul from Stat<'n Island J,y The Nurrow.~. about l mill' witk. New Jcrsc·y b ahout

2 11Jil1•ii nw,1y a<.TO:'~ 1111' w,1tns of l:pper New York Thy.

Tlw princ: ipnl political units of Lung !~Janel /HP th<' coun ­li1·~ of ;\assau and S11IT11lk, and the~ NPw York City

h11m11; . .d1s of Brooklyn a11d Qu,·c•ns. Suffolk County, the

laq!eHt u11it, al~o i11c:ludl's variouH islaucl s off the easl <'n<l

of Lung Island; tlH' mm;L rem11LI' is Fi:shcrs Island. which is doi-n lo Hhoclc· lsla11cl awl Co1111<'clicut than to Long-

7 0

ORANGE ' PUTNAM _j -------: --- --- l,

~. WESTCHESTER'\ \ //

C 0 N-

~ ✓-

\ I

73°

lf'land. Staten Island /borough of Richmond), the least

d eveloped part of Kew York City, togrther with Long

Island and its small outlying islands, mak r up the coastal ­

plain portion of !\cw York State.

Topography and Geology

Long Island is mostly flat and elevations are low. High Hill, south of Huntington, about 420 feet above sea

level, is the hi;!hest point. Asid e from a few small out­

crops of ancient hl'clrnck near the East River in Queens,

the island is composed of unconsolidated materials. The

basal layrrs arc Cretaceous in origin, but these are cov­

errd nearly everywhere by glacial depo sits of gravel, sand, day, boulders, and till. Long Island was built primarily

by the glacier; that is, without the extensive deprn;its

left by the· ice, the area above sea level today would

be much smaller.

Long Island and Staten Island mark the so uth ern limit on the coast of the Wisconsin stage, the most recent

advance of the Pleistocene ice. Two distinct terminal

~ NEW YORK CITY

01111--•1Qc::===::::2:ii0._ __ 30 MILES

72°

!\IAP 2. RELATION OF LONG fSLAND TO THE NEARBY MAI I\ Lt\ND

4

41°

morn inc,- ( ac,:urnulalions ,.f rlPhri;; d ropped by the ice) wN1e f<>rmf'd at th<• m1eltirw crlµ-es ,,f the hall<!<l in· mar­i:rins ,Jurinµ lwo diffcn·11t ~uhst,1µ1•!; of the Wi~consin. Thl' SC 111or,1i11r•,, cxi~I inµ as two range;: of ]1Jw hills, :irf' pro111i11<·nl topoµraphic f,•alun ·s of L"ng bland. Th,· ,,Jdcr moraine runs thr"u;.d1 1hr· c<•rrtn of thr i~land a11d tlwn ,~as! alonµ- th,. ;;0111 Ii fork lu Montauk Poi11t and islamh: lwyorrd. Lat,·r, a11othu n1orai1w was 11<-vcloped. On w,·,tc-rn Lonµ- l, l;ind this nwr.riu,· ovPrlap, thl' Parlier "111·. hut ,:astwar<l llw ic.;c did 1101 r,·ai:h as for !'oulh ,md 1hc 111or;ii1w form, 111,,sl of tire h illy 11or1h slum• and ex­tend!i mr lo Fi.-hcrs Island am! Cap,· Cod.

Much ,Jf Lo11,!.! 1,..lilrr<L, s11rfocc consi;;t,; of oulwash iwrlinll'nls which form ,•xt,•11,-iv<', Oat and oft<•n sandy plain., :,;oulh of llw mor:1i111·:-. L,•,<sr•r, hut strikinµ, rc-111ind1·rs of IIH' µ-laci,·r a1·c• tlr,· occasional brgc boulders, ur crratit·"- ,.:01111· as l,i:.r as ;1 hou.o,:. which WPTe c.irrir·d ,!own from farl ll<'r 11orlh. and 1111' unu11·rous kettle holes I trow pmrds or hollows I wli il'.li form,•cl wlrcn • rletuche d ),locks .,f in·. p;irlly n1 1·0111plddy IJHri,·d, finally m<"lted

away. Th .. M":I l(·v,·l lludu:it..d durin/.! tlw Pl1·isloc1·11c·. Ma­

rine 11·;1ln,-1·01•en:•l 11111>'1 of th,· Lnll/.! J.,la11d arf'a prior lo lhe Wi,-1·011sin adv;111ec·. Lat,·r. c!11ri11/.! lhe Wisco11sin ~lm·i,il slaµ-,· of luw h<'a lc·vl'I I wilhirr tlw last 25,000 y,·ars), ru1wh o[ 1!11· prc--s,·111 1·011li1w111al shrl[ was cvi­d,·ntly 11 hroad ,,mer/.!,.,1 c11astal plai11; tcl'lh of mastodon~ ( M1111111111I r11111·ric111wm). 1111111,moths ( M"mmutlw.s sp,), and n·mains of olh,·r l111µ-,· Plf'isto1·1·m· mammals whi ch lived on the plain h;n•1· lw<'n dn·rl,g,·,l 111• by fislwrmen suulh of L1n1g Island (off NPw J,·r~cy). and ra~t of Lonp; Island ( Oil illl' c("L)r/.!<'S ll:i11b l I \Vhit111un• el al.. 1967). Wi1h 1l11· 111chinµ-of tlw i1·c-, tl11· ,wa level rose again. Tli,, I.onµ IR!arn\ ;rn,;1 w;is prnl>ahly frcrd of ice hy ahout I 5.000 .1 r•ars aµo. '1'l11• µr;ulnal po,l·µl,wial ,nlmwrgf"nc<· of rlw coastliw-, whieh follow,·cl. fornwd Long Island S111111d. N1·w York Bay·. ;11111 Harila11 Bay. a11d ,tlso lloocled llll' 11arrnw vall<'y of the 1•:asl Hiwr (SehnhPrtli, 1968). Tlw apprnxi111a1<• prrs,·111 onlli111· uf l.rrng l,-l.11,d 1hus was

,·stal,li slH"d. Be1<i1l1·,-land ,•ro,i1111 h,· sln·aur;, a11d wind in pn,st­

~l:wi:rl 1i1111's. 1111· ,liap,· <>f ilw 1·oaslli1w ha;. lwc11 greatly 11101lifi1·d l,y llw :u·tiou,, of ,w,•an w;tvl's. ~hon• clriftin~. . ~. a111l tidal 1·111TP111,-: this ha.~ 1·a11,sc•(l. for 1•xa111pl,•_ 11111d1

land loss al i\'\o11t:111k. and Ill<' ln1ild11p of rnil,·,- of h11r­ril'r lw,ll'h isbrul,- al1111µ-thr ,-0111h ;,hon·. Th,, co11strul'lion

uf 1h,·"<' I""'· sa11d~· lwa..Ju,, 1111d the i!rowth of salt 1n:11'sll<'s lwhiud ilw111 k11T ;11ldrd ru:111~- ~quan· 111ilc;; lo lhe ii.land i11 R,·1·1·11t liHH'>', altlw11µ-h prohahly morf' th11n cou111nbala11c:l'll hy land lo,-t In l'l'Mit>u aud suhsid1'11c1· (Fullt·I'. 1914). \\'lwr,· hiµlwr ,?rrr1111d 11wd,- thf' coast, as

1111 tlw 11111th "hor,·. till' ,hnn•~ ht'! ll'1'e11 the forb. a11d in

5

the.> Montauk n·gion, bluffs an d rocky beachc.>s fac<' the watPr.

Plant lifo coven:d Long Island following tht> mclt­inl! of the ice, the spPcic~ compo!'ition chan~ing- as the dima!(' ameliorat!'d (tf'mperal<' conditions may have a r­riwd about 9,000 yrars ago). Mammals could have reached the i!"land in various ways, such as by swimming, flyinp; (bats), 61:inµ; transported on floating debris or by man, and walkin;:? 11cross sPasonally frozen bodies of walt>r an<l early land connections. A bro,1(1 t>xpanse of the coastal plain now under watt>r probnbly remained exposed for a whi]i, aft!'r the ice front rccedf'd, and this would hav e permitted rapid invasion of thr. Long Island area. But the rising sea level eventually floodf'd the shrlf and finally sevcn·d all land connections betwn•n tire island and the mainland.

Surface soils of tht> island, which are well to exces­sively draim·d, arrd tc·nd to be acid, vary from irravels lo sands to silt loams. Although the clima!P (temperature, prccipilation) is generally quite favorable, about one­half of the soils are so sandy and porous and of such low water-holding capacity that they arc non;:ip-icultural ( Cline, 1955; Free f'I al, 1957). The extensivt> pine-oak barrens and abando111·d fields of central and southern Suffolk County are on such soils. TI1e more fertile areas ar(' on the western end (now under intf•nsive urb an pressure) arrd along the north shore. Tht> production of potat1w, is an imp ortant in1lustry on soils with good w11ter-holding capacity in nortlwastem Suffolk County, and locally elsewhcr<'.

Thrrr an• no lar/!e 8tn•ams on Lon;:r Island. Much of the rain w,1ter sinks through lhe deep, porous ground materials to form /!round wat..r. The P1·co11ic River , flow­ing past into the depression bt'.lwren the north and south forks, is the largest strl'am. Ponds and swamps are rather numerous, however. The coast is indcntt>d with many tidal inh•ts, hays, and estuarirs.

Climate

7\1ucl1 of 1hr following is from Ta ylor (1927). Loni:-; bland has a milder climate lhun the n•mainrl<'r of N1·w Y nrk Stal<', aurl h,is a lonir grow inµ- s<'a~on which aver­ag1·s he!ween 180 anrl 210 dnys in len~h. The climate in ;zeneral r<"st·mhl,·s that o f thl' nearby mainland, but tlw oet'an has a mo<kraling in011e11ce here, n·ducing to some extent the ,·xlrf'me:- of ~ummn hrat and winlt'r ~old. Tht' climale diffe rs >'Olll<'Whal at lhl' two end;; of 1hr island . Sprinµ- is la!t-r 011 tlw l'a~Lnn r11d. wht>re the in• flue11cc uf tlw <"old oe1·1111 water rdards tlw f!TOwth of wgctalio11 < hifin g of trees . etc. I. and tlris cliflcrrnce,

6

which may be a~ much as 2 wr.rks, i.~ vny noticeable if

one travels from Brooklyn to '.\ifontauk al this season. Thr.ri, is, howew r, a lonr; f rost-f n-,, sc·ason on the east end,

~inr.,· killin~ frosts ran ·ly occur lat,· in sprin/!, and thP m11ekratin;.? dT,·ct of tl11· m:1·1111 also tench, lo delay foll

fro!'IS. Cemlral Lo11µ: Island oc:casio11ally expNiencl's very hot pc-rio1ls in sumrnr•r; llw lwal 111c1y hr e;;1)('cially op­

prcssivr. in th,· pine· harn·n,- wlll'rr· the u1wn canopy lets

down much more· sunliµht than oth1ir forest lyprs. The av.,n.aw· annual pr1•r:ipitati1m is 40-50 inches

ovc·r mo,,t of the islancl, c1nd some•what less than 40 inches

i11 the Nap,·a;:?:ur.-Moritauk rc~ion. Snowfall averages about 20-<J.0 ine:h,·s, 1,·ss than mainla!td Nnv York, and a !;now

cover ran·ly lasts hr.r:aus,· of the n•lativr.ly mild climak ( wi rrl<·r of 1960-(, I tJllm,ually se•ve·n·). Th,•rc is a irood

cl<:al of rain duri11µ: tlw winte•r. Summe·r months arc the rlricst, the lack of rai11 prmlucinµ: occ.isio11al drou/!hts

,l.,strur:tivc to plants on tlw liiµ:hly porous soils, cspr.cially

when rnrnbi11eel with high ti-mp1•ral11n•.~ and winds. Lonµ: Island is a wi11cly place-, all(l wh<"rc" thr.n· are

11<1 ohi;truction!<, as al Mo11la11k, Shinnrr.e,c,k Hills, ~rnd

alo11g the outer hnrri,·r h,•,wlu•s, wirul has a pronnuncl'·d

local die-ct 011 tlw v1·gPtalir111. 111 such arcas duri11g winter

the wind 111ak1·s it feel much coldn than th,· thl'rmometc·r

iuclicat,·s. Wc,athcr Burcau rernrds show that Montauk Poi11t is 011e of the willllil'sl spots along tllf' Atl.rntic Cousl. ln .~ummrr, rnp;ular, cooling "sea brt'r'zes" mak,·

1•11st1·rn Lung T11la11cl and the· ,mter heacheR pleasant.

Seve•n· coastal storms such as hurricullCF. ( usually in

lat!' s111111111~r) a11cl north,~aslcrs i usually in wintrr), occa­-~ion.dly hatt,·r tlw coast. At times tlwy bre:ik through

the oukr hc:uch strip to cn·atc 11cw tidal inll'ls, which may incrc•asn tlw sali11ity and ,dT,•ct the life of the bays.

Tlw inh-ts mny he~comc scaled ulI aµ;ain naturally or shift from 1·.isl to w«•sl; 111a.11 has workl'cl lo k<·ep some of them

01wn for hont iuµ hy huil«ling j,·tt ies ancl dredging. Some of our fwld work wa1< e:011ducled in lhl' vicinity of Shin-

111•coc:k lnll'l , whic:h was crcati-d during the 1·xceptio1wlly dcstnu,tive h11rrica111• of Se·pll'lllh1•r 21. 19.lB, anti Mor­

id1cs Inlet. whie·h was op1•m•d during a storm in March 193l. II«•lmnlh ( 19!i1l,) wrnh· a fasr:innting ill'COllnt.

basl'd 1111 his personal fll'ld obscr\'al iorr~, of thl' µreat hurricane of 11>:rn Oil ,·ast,·m f ,011µ-[sbnd ~Ille! its dl,·cl

011 till' bird and small 11ia11111111l populatio11s of th(' area.

Wcsll'rn Atlantic coa,-1;11 wall'rs IH'IW<'PII far northern and tropical sl'as may he <·011sidl'red lo hrlong to thr<'t'

main ZOlll'S nr fauna] prnl'incc~ , siµ-nificant in the distri­

bution of n1.1ny marim: i11vcrtc-brates and vntt'brntcs. Tlu~n· is ;i cold-walc·r w111· mirth of Cap1· Cod and a warm­water 7.lllll' south of Cap<' llattr.rn~; Long Island is in the northern part of tlw 1c1111wrntr•water ione bl'lween tlw two c;tpr~.

Vegetation

Thr. l'<'/!<'tation of L,mµ- lsland has been profoundly affecl1•d hy the activities of modem man. especially on thP urbaniz<'d western end, wlwrr. wry little remains of tht'

original flora. Inilians harl bren livinµ- on Long Island

for many centuries prior lo the arrival of the white men.

Undoubtnlly the formrr had some rffe•ct on the vP7eta­tion through thc,ir dPlibr.rate burninµ- of thr woods, help­

ful in hu11ting µ:ame, and tlwir dearinp: of the> ground to

plant corn ;ind oth,·r crops. But the biir change began in the· I 600's when the whitPs replacrd the aboriginal in­

hahita11ts. Tlw first Dutch farm was established in what i.~ now Brooklyn in 1625, and English St'ttll'rs, by way

of Con11ccticut, arrived on l'ilstern Lonp; lsla11<I in 1640. The F:nµ-lish 1-pr('ad west rather rapidly along the coasts

of Lonp; [sland, whilP the Dutch for a time controlled

the Wl'Stt-rn portion. By l 670 Denton was abl<> to write: "Long Island is iuhabited from one Pnd to the other. On the Wf'st

cm! is four or five· Dutch towns, tht' rest bring all Eng­

lish to the number of twclvr, besid('s villagps and farm houses." He also wrote of meadows and hayfields which

supporll'tl a plentiful supply of catllr c1nd other livestock. As for the Indians, Dr:nton stated that in his own time

they wcr •• reduced from six towns to two small villages,

although the survivors still wt'nt hunting and fishing and

raised crops of com. Svenson ( 1936) discussed the Parly vegetation of

Long lslantl, quoting t'Xlt'nsively from Denton ( 1670) and othf'r writers of long ago. In rarly Colonial days

there wrrl' tall and imprPssive stands of timber, esp«"·

cially on thP western end and along the north shore;

Lall red oak, whitt' oak, hickory, black walnut, American chestnut, and bPPch abounded. Much of the valuable

timher was rcmovl"d very t'arly. Long Island was praised by the sl'ltlers for its wild fruits, an abundance of straw­

bcrri,·s, blurbe·rries, huckleberries, cranberries, grapes, and bPacl1 plums; thl' wild strawberriPs were large and

Pagerly sought. The vast pin<-' a11d oak barrens, typical of central and

southern Long Island toduy, were mention!"d by early

tra,•l'lers. Apparently much of this forpst brcamp de­graded, however, by hl'avy cutting and ever more frt'­

qiwnt firPs. Swamp~ of southern white cedar formerly

Wl'rt' much more widespread than 'al present, and typi­cally bordered thr head~ of tidal strrams all along the

south short' , Tht' Hempstead Plains, unusual in being consid,•red a trut' natural prairie in the East, originally

compri);ed an art'a 16 miles lonp:, covered with tall grass. Dcnto11 (l 670-) slalt•d that it was b pin~ mowed for hay,

and u~d lo graze sheep and other livr.slock and for rac-

ing horses. /\ .•izablc· portion of the Plains rf'mainl'd until

a few dccad<•s ago, but now only a small remnant has survived the ~pn·ad of suburban housing. According to Taylor ( 192.~), early Colonial docummts described the

hilly c<rnstal grasslnn<l!e> ,till existing in lhe windy Mon­

lauk area, known as the· Montauk Downs. The grassy, rolling Shinnf'cock Hills appan·ntly are more stabilized than form1·rly; old<·r writings refer to a lack of vegeta­tiuu and drifting sand in this arra. Thr woods of Cardi­nrrs lsla11cl rqiortcdly J!rcw tlw largest tre<'s in all of

llH' Lonµ; fslaIHI area up until thr d<'structive hurricanes of 1938 and 1914. According to Taylor (1923), woods in a relutivdy slwllere,I arl'a nrar Montauk Point had 1rnc·s 11s large as those of 1,ardiners Island befon· a severe storm i11 1815. The· l,arrier beach a11d salt marsh habitats,

once· rdntiv,•ly ina1:c1:~silil<·, an• endangrred by steadily incrt·,1sinµ n·n,:,1tional H~f' of thr entire south sbore.

Tiu~ climate ancl drv11tion arc fairly uniform

throughoul Loug Isl..i11CI and small difforences arc of minor imp"rta11c:P i11 th,, clistrihution of plants. Under­lying ge•rtlrtgical nwtcri:ils, soil typrs, and moi~ture are sig11ifica11I. 1111' pine harn•11s, fur rxampl<\ µ;row largely

on th .. sanely, gravdly out.wash plain~, while a mixe:d <le·cirluous forr8t cowrs ridwr, moister siles on the 11orth shon! morai11r. Brncl<, ( L9Ml) points out that there is a

strnnµ; 1:orr,•l111io11 he•lwe1·n Hoil lyp<'s and vascular vege­

tation (111 Ill<' islaucl. Fir<'s play an important role in the harr<•ns, lavori11µ- fir,..•rl'~isla11t pitch pirn• and scrub

()• 1·ar) oak; wll!'r!' fire!! arc ('S)ll'cially fn•quent the pines ,111d onk!! arc low and shruhliy.

Brodo (lC)(,8} cle~<:rilwd the v\'gctatio11 typ<'s of Long

Island, nncl rd1·rn·d to tlw mnny hotanical papers dcal­i111--( with lo<"nl arens :111cl plant associations. Petrrs 0949) 1,!IIVC nn nccouut of th,· dorni11m1t t}'JH'S of v<·getatio11. A hri<•f and i<k,·trhy da!l;.i/i<';1tio11. hasrd ou th(·:w and otlwr

r<·fon•ncrs and my 011111 fid<I work is f.(iv1·11 hclnw. All of th<~ J.J. mnjor ca1cgo1frs listi·d Wl'l'I\ se·ardird for small

111a11111ial., C'X\'Cpt fvr th,· lll'arly vanishccl IIrmpstead l'lai11s: s<11111· of IIH' !<Indy areas wrre in 111i~rdlaneou~ or 1·dg<· li;1hilal!'o not rt'S!'111hli11r'.' any of 1]11\ major types. llahitats wll<'rr thl' various 11tnnu11nl;; W<'J'e foun<I arc

111<mlio1wd in tlw sp(·••i1:,-; ac.n11111!s. and som<· of tlw col­lc-cti11/-! arc·:1~ ;m• ,how11 in !he plioloµ:raph:> ( fiµures I to 26).

Mix,·d 1frl'id11011.~ forc·sts. The forr,-;t of !he rich!'r

soils of w,·.•lt·m Lonµ: Island ( now survivin~ only in parks a11• I ullll'r ,-;111all ar<"a,-;I and al:-o 011 th,· 11orth shore ( in <',-;l:1l<·s and wo.,cllot,-J. Larµ:e tn·e,- , µrnwi11µ: 1•:;pPcially

tall in the W<'>'l<'rn areas-black oak (Quercus velutina), whit<• oak ( Q. allm l, l'l'd vak ( Q. rubra), be·rch (Fagus grondifolia). tulip1re1· ( LiriodN1dron tulipifera), black birch !Bl'lula le11/a I. hi('kory I Car_ya. .~pp.), and otlwrs.

7

Oak forests. These occupy extensive areas on drier soils in Cf'ntral Long Island and on the south fork (both

west and east of the pine bnrrenl' , and elsrwhere). Scar­let oak (Q. coccinea), black oak, white oak, and other

oaks. Pinc barrens ( or Pine-oak barrens). The typical pine

barrrns on Long Island consist of nearly pure stands of

pitch pine (Anus rigida), with an extensive undergrowth of );Crub oaks, especially the species known as bear or

barren oak ( Quercus illicifolia). Also blueberries, huckle­berries, and the low ground cover, bearberry (Arctosla­

phylos uva-1usi) may be found. This habitat is especially charactPristic of dry, very well-drained soils, and high incidrncc of fire. Areas when~ all the vegetation is low and scrubby are sometimes called "pine plains" or "oak

brush plains." The pinr region rxtcnds from eastern Nassau County east to Rivrrhcad and Hampton Bays.

PinP·oak forest. Similar lo the pine barrens, but more

malure, with older trees and a large proportion of tree· sized oaks, such as white oak aod scarlet oak. Pitch pine, thr dominant conifer of Long Island, and the various

scrub and tree oaks, the dominant deciduous trees, also am found growing in all sorts of complex combinations. Tur prl'dominantly oak woods in turn merge with the

mix1•d deciduous forests. Other f orcsts. Of interest are cf'rtain woodlands

nrar the coast of easkrn Long Island and on the outer

barrier beach, which are relatively small in extent but appar<'ntly long -established and unlike woods elsewhere. Most publicized is the Sunkrn Forest, where holly (flex opaca ), tuprlo ( Nyssa sylvcaica ), sassafras ( Sassaf ra.s aJ. bidum ), shadbush (Amelanchier), and other species form a del'ply shaded woodland sheltered behind the inner elun<'S on Fin· Island. In Hither Hills there is a wood­

land f"HithC'r Woods") of old oak trt'eS somewhat dwarfod by thC' wind and formerly festooned with lichens.

A stretch of woods near Montauk Point ("Point Woods") co11lains a beautiful stand of beech, oaks, holly, red maple, de. Other rich woods with lar!!e beech and oaks on east­rrn Lon~ Isla11d arc 011 Shdter Island and Gard iners

Island. On th<: survey, we collecte<l in lhe woods of H ith­rr Hills, ,md lo a lesser extent in thf' woods of Montauk

and Shelter Island, and only visited the Sunken Forest and Cardine-rs Island.

Southn11 white ceda,r swamps. Coast or ,;outhrrn

white cedar ( Chamaecyparis thyoides), pov:inµ- clo sely

together, i~ the dominant tree. Ground covrr consi.~ts of sphaµ:num mos s. Now of very limited clistribution on

Long Island, ct'dar swamps are found mainly near ponds and streams in the eastern part of the pine barn•n region.

Rf'd maple sicamps. This is thr most frequent lypr

of ,;wampy woods; common along stream5 throughout

8

the isl.md. Red map I<· 1 Ar,1•r rul,runi) is numerous, an<l

lupclo is often pr1·scn l.

Sphupwm /mg\. S111all ar<·m- of li,at}wrkaf 1Clia­

rruui,fopl11u: c11lyculat11 .1, ~cd~cs, !-phagnum, a11d otlwr hoµ

pl,1nls an · f,,m1<l i11 wd area,- of tlw pi111'. harn·11s and

,·m;tern Lo11~ lsla111I. Ch11m11,·cyparis may IH· pr c~•·11t as ~1.:all1·rr·d Ire,-~ or alonµ rh,· 1:1lgc . Aha11dorw,l cra11b~rry

bogs al.,11 ar<• pre!'r-nl locall). Fr,•s/, m,ir.~lu•.~. l•'n·sh-w,111·1· mar~ht>s, with g rass,•s,

s,·d_g1•.s, <::tl1ails, and lite lik<\ arr· fo11nd 1nai11ly al1111µ so111h

shore s lrca111l;, arou1ul ponds, ;11111 iu k1•t1lr l1olcs. !lnnf' .\l1•<1J plur:11.1. Thi>< 11alural 11rairi,~ la11cl, forull'rly

1·xlc111li11µ: across rnudi of cen tral l\a~un County, i~ ( or al l<iasl was) 1lorni11at1•d l,y a ~1wcics of hcardµ:ra~s i An­drnpogon s1:1111ariu.,).

/)011,,1,, ( f!,fft.\.~Y 1·1111.\tal uplmuls). Tl1C• l\fontauk llow11s, drsnibc<I in 1ll'lail hy Taylor I 11)2 :11. ;m• grassy, rolling hills wi1l1 occasiou al i"la111I.~ of ~I1rub~ :llld a very r,•w wi,ldy scatl<:l'<•d 1n•cs. Ilne 1lw wind s,·ems to be pri11cip;1lly n·spom,il,l,, for 1rn•v1•11ti11~ ur gn•atly slowi11)!

dow11 IIH! 1l1•vclop111i.111 of ln·, ~s. Tlw Shi11m•cock Hills are

so111,·wl1al simibr a11d an· 1·xp11~1·d 111 wi11ds hluwill)! acruss 1111, occa11 allll Grl',11 l'l'<"111ti1· flay. The v,·g<'latio11 co11-sists of Andtof)fl{!.UII i;pp. a11d other grasi;,•s, with clumps

or liayl,crry (!1,-fyrica, 1w11.\ylv1111ir:a), IH"acl1 plum ( Pru nu., r,1.11ritima), l!lc., ;i ll(! sumc scal!er1!d trcr·s ( pi tch pi11<·, reel t'.f'dur).

/Jun, •s (gm.1., oml tltir:lwt.~). S,u11l dm11·s .11'(' the

lia<:khouc of tlH' 011!cr lwach sl rip, and abo fHTllr i11

some otlw r ar<·as. Probably tlw larges ! duuc, ori Long

Island are till' spectacular movin!! or •·walkin!!" dunes on thl' 1'.asl "it!,, of i\ap<·aµue llarbor. DP~•·rt-like comliLions pn•1·ail on th,· dry sandy dun!'s; beac h µ:ras!' I Ammophila l,ri·viligulata J i, th<> mo~t vi,!!orou!' dun e plant in expn~ecl situations, while ,·1•rtai11 shrub, ( bayberry, bench plum)

arc fre(Jtwnt. ;\l,,11g rllC' or:e:111. primary or out er dum•;; Ii,'. jusl behind tlw l,ca clL while a bit farthrr hack aw

th!' 11wn· ~tal,lr ><eco11dary or irirH'r dune~. In the inter •

durw vallry,-;, and i11 dcpr<'l''ions and hollow~, may he found moi~l, pro1,·,·1t-,l ~ituat io11s wh Pre the vcgctatio11 i,-; rrla riwly dens<' 1a11d !-mall mammal s numerous).

Salt uwrsl11•s. Local1 ·d prin,arily i11 thl' bays along

tlw south ,-horn. tlwsl' 111ar,:lic, an· ,till fairly widesprrad.

They ar!' r.o,·,,r,,,I pni,,dically by 8alt wain duri111! vrry

hiµh tides. a11d C<111tain rl'Tlai11 pla11t.,. ,:uc-h as salt-mead­

ow gra~~ t Spartiflo pat,•fl.~) and mar~h-Pldcr ( Iva fru• te.\cens), no! found i 11 ollll'r ha bitats .

The 1":de,11;;iv,• N11p1·a.~u1• Meadow.-, ,ituatl'd brtween i\Jap1•,1~u•• ll a rbnr and the 0Cl':111 d1111e~, dors not se!'m lo fit a11y of thl' above ,-atcgoric·s exactly. Quil f' a few smnll mam ma l, w,·rc colln:t1•d in thi ;: flat, opc•11, mari­

ti1nc arl'a conti!i11i11g both 111nisl meadow i frf'sh to f:·dt.) au(I dry >'andy ground.

A barulo11cd fields. Dry, ,.;;1111ly, abandon<•d form fielcli­wilh grass 1•,; / especially A 1ulrnpo~o11 virginicus) and

various weeds, arl' frl'qurut on the poor soils of cC'ntral Lo11g lsbnd a1ul wnc covered in this survey.

ACCOUNTS OF SPECIES

Opossum

Didelphis 11u1rs1ipialis virginia,w Kerr

Th e opo srnm i.~ p:enerally common on Lon~ Island ,

but apparently it has bern a resi<lPnl herr only du r inp;

th e pa st 100 yearg or so. lt became establislwd latr in the_• 1800's , probably as the result of rcp<'akd :iccidmtal

introductions and rdeasr s . Sremi11gly contrary to thr

pr evailing evidence is a statement hy D<•nton (1670) namin g thr opo~~um as a food of Lon g lshtnd Indians;

how ever, Denton did not include this marsupial in a list

of Long Is land mammals preR•nled elsc·wherc in his pub­

lication.

Audubon and Bachman (1851) 1m·,lictecl that the

opossum would in time become rstablishcd on Long

Island, and in other arras east of the H uclrn n Rivn, be­

cause the living animals wen· con stantly bt•in~ carriecl

therr. Helmc (1902) mentioned a<' cumulatin~ reports of

opossums in th e ,·arly 1880 's and stated that in a few

years they became common with a wiilP distrihulio11 the

full length of the island. Opos~urns werl' quite common

at Montauk in l 893, but had brcorrn~ common tht•rc only

a few years earlier ( Dutcher and Dutclwr, 1893). By

Ill<' lat e 1880's .~everal towns wer e paying bounties fur th<" dc·slruction of opo!'sums, but this secmc·d lo hav,· no ap­

pn·ciablr · pffect on their abundance, ev, •n though thou­

sand s wen• reportPd killed in some years.

l\'owadar, this is om· of the mammals frequently

found dead alon g many of tlw highwar on Long- Island,

indicatinp: a high population pres1•11I. The op ossum seems

to thrive in thP mon· thickly settled are.JS, and is even

found within the l imits of New York City. In our field

work, this spec il'S was frequentl y noted alon g th e south

shorr. throu ghout much of 1111· south fork, in the central

pin ('-oak region, and in ~ome 11nrth sl1orc arras. W e rrgu­

larly ~aw opossums in ~andy and marsh-edg e habitats on

the outer harrier lwach betwe l'n Mnrich,·s Inl et 11nd Shin­

necock Inlet.

llowc ·wr. in comparinl[ today\ abundanc(' wi!h that

,:;up;gestcd in the· <'arly reports. aud judging from tlll' rcc ­

ord;a of Pxperienc ed observers exlf 0 mling ovn many yea rs,

thrn• ar c f,·wer opn~,rnrns in som<' srction s of th e islancl at

pre srnl than during th, , ir first dc·ca<le;; of explo s ive in­

cn•asr •. Ro v Latham I per ~onal co mm unication I writes

that opM ;aum~ were common in Orit>nl and th rou~ l1out

the north fork from 1900 to 1930. but havf' hecome

9

scarcc• within the past l O yci:tr!-\, whilr .-... d foxrs a111l rnc­coo11s havc• incrcn!'t'd dramalically since 1930. Our fidd work in 196a. ancl co11v<'1·sations wilh local rPsi1l,·11ls, in­

dic11tc1I opns.su111s to lw quite rar<' 011 SheltN J;;lan<l;

opossums wl're formci·ly c<Hnmrn1 !her, ·. accordin~ to

Latham, ann hl' has reconls for Slwltrr Island up to

19,1,3. Tlw opossum sec-ms lo hav,· h:HI ;1 dwckcred care1·r

on Stalc11 Island, i11cl1111ing a 111arkc·cl im,rcasc lat e in I lw

past century.

Masked Shrew

Sori,_,; ch11'/'l'lt., ci111•r1•11s Kc•rr

nistriliutim, and hahitul. '1'111· rnask1•d or cnnm1011

shrrw i;; rnrdy s• ·•·n ,111d is nut a1, familiar lo I.onµ: lsl:111cl

rcsidcnls as lhc <•:1sfrr11 mole, .short-lailc•cl flhrc•w ( also

ofl<•n called "mole·"), ann tlw various ki11cls of mice.

Nc·vcrtlwlcs~, it is quilc possihlc· tliat this is tlw most 1111-merous mammal on Long lsl:1111!. Trappi11µ: n·snhs i11(Jj.

catl'cl th is to lu~ lh<" c:as1: al least fo r 1111, ll'sS dcv<"l<>p<'d

arc•as of SulTolk C.01111ty. Sorc :x was 11ul1111111lH'rPcl ilJ our

101al Long- Jslancl catch l,y Hlari11a, l',•rom.ysn1.1, and Mi­crollts, but thrsc lest lhrc1· an· mon· ca:-:ily lrapp<'.d than

this tiny Sori•x, whid1, when ii do, •,; ,:nc,ounlc'r a trap mny

ufte11 cs~apc untouc:hc,d or fai l lo ~prin g it. F11rll11mnon ~,

on Long Island 1his sp<'tics is found in a µn·al vnri('ly of

envirnnml'nls, as di~cu:;:;r<I lwlnw . This is 1hc small<·i<I

manunal found h,~rc~; in N•·w York Slate only Ill<' pigmy

shrew ( Micmsorex) is sruall<'r, aucl it is nol krwwn to oc·­

cur on Long Isl:incL Trapping n•sults irnlical!'d th<' r•n•',l•ni,c of this SJH'ci<,s

in just alioul ,·very l,ahital on Lon ::- l~];uul with suffic:ic·11t

ground cover, inclurli ng hoth da mp ancl d ry !'lituations,

and an,as with or willioul woocly vrnwlh. {;ra sslands of

cv P-ry drscription, cx1:epl wlwrc· the gra ss w:1s loo sparse. we rl' c•sprcially produdivc·: ov,·r lwlf of till' spe cimen s

WPTC tak,·n i11 g rass. Su,:h hahilal" i11dudPd al,aucl oncd

fields, tlw Shi11m:1,ock Ilill,, frc,sh ma rshrs I ,ilonf! i;tn•.ims,

c:lc.), salt arnl hrnckish rnar shc- . m<>i~t and dry µ:ra ssl u11'1

al Montauk Po int. and dry sandy plac<·s rwar llw shore

( such as ,lq ,n~ssions ;uno11~ th,· du rll'>, mi,adow s al Na ­

pcague , c:tc.). in these h,ihital s var iou , shruhs, srd ge s,

awl mi!'f:dlant•ous herh s w<·n· oft,·11 p re s1·11L hut /!Tass of

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12

one kind or another was th<• dominant feature. This shrew

and Microtus wore frcquC'l1tly fou11cl together, the former often traveling th<· runways of the fatter.

This lit1l<• shrew oc,;urs .di alonµ; the outer barrier

beach of th" south Hhon·, such as Joni's Beach, Fire Is­land, and b<-tween Morichcs aml Shinnecock inlets. Indi­vidual!-! have' hcc·n found under old logs and other drift­

wood on th<" uppr.r h<:ad11·.~ of l,01h th<~ north and south shon· s and al Mo11ta11k 1',ii11t.

Son 'X cincrr'.lt.~ w;is al!-o common in the woods. Oak woods, mixed dc:r,i•luous woods, pitch pin(' barren1=;, swampy wood~ of ri·cl maple an<l olhrr trees, southc'.m

whitt- cedar swamps, a1HI hoth <lry and ,lamp coastal woods rwar Mo11tauk Pninl, all yirlilcrl thr.ir 11uot.is of this shrew. Prohahly it oc:curs i11 the Sunken Forest on Fire l,;Lincl, altlwuµ:h we did not lrap that 'part of Fire

Isla ml. In the w1111ds the shn•ws were• I rapped m1<lrr the lc·af lill('f :mcl fallen hrandws, ahout stum(lS :rn<I logs, in mole lr11111ds, ancl in mossy cavil irs in map II' swamps and al the has<· of CC'<lar tT<'l's (figure 8). Hamilton (1949) wrol<" of 1 r.ipping many iu wrnlf]s at Hoslyn ( north shorr of Nas.~au C,nmty), and they ar,~ still founrl in wnocl<'d

parks in <'nstern Quc(•ns. Sphagmnn lmgs wcrr also good for finding Sor('x

( fiµ:11 w ')). Jfrrn, Jc,:1tlH'rh1 f, othrr shrubs, and 5t>dµ;rs grow ahov,· the thic:k sphagnum carpc-Ling the ground;

I he shn ·ws wrr.- found iu rnnways ,111cl cavities on aml

llrHIPr the mos.~. In S<'VC'ral of the ronl C<•(br swamps and splrnµ:11urn lioµ:s SorPx ci11er,•1is was the 011ly spC'Cil's of small mammal collc·c·.ted. Thrse lwbitals arl' vny reminis­cent of an·11s i11 tlw Nc·w Jcr .!:ey pine· baffrns, many of the smrn· pla111.~ l>cin,\ found in ];oth ri•µions. Hut the Nc•w Jr,r!'il'Y region has a richc~r mammal fom1a in that the

l'l'![ar swamps aml sphar-,:nu111 l,ogs therl' arl' inhabitrd ali;o hy liw l'l'(I ~quirn·I (T11m.ia.~C1J.fltS), recl-lrncki•d 111<1usc ( C/1•tli rio,wll/J'S), hog kmming ( Synaptomys),

and n1<'adow j um pinµ mousr. ( lapus) which do not occur 011 Lon~\ lslancl, c1xcc9pl for lhc jumpinµ: rnousr, whid1 is SCHl"Ct'.

S1,n•.1: ,:i11N1·11., is 1m·senl 011 ~lat1·11 l~lancl ancl Shrl­

tc:r Island. I do not know c,f any record~ of this !<lm·w on Garcli1wrs Island, l'lnm l~lal)(I. or Fi.c;hc•rs {!llall<l, hut wuulcl not Ii,: .s11rpris(•(l if it was found 011 thcst' island~

off the l'a,t 1·rnl of Lon~ lslm1d.

R<•protl11,·tio11. l\fa.sk(•d ;:]m•w.~ W<'rl' foun<l to pro· due <' younµ nn Long 1sland for at ll'ast half th1• year, from

April throuµh October. 011 April 27, one frmal<' rxarnined was carryinµ .s1·vc 11 1•111hryos, whil,• five otlirr fc·mnh-s in April WP.rr· alr,•acly nur.siug littns - -April ] 8 (l). April 26 ( 3). aml April 27 ( 1). Rrprnclurtion continurd

lhrougb th<' ~urnnwr :rncl in (ktohr-r as well. nlthoup-h at a

n~duced ratr since there was evidence of fewer pregnan­

cil's after Jun<'. On October 14, a female carried six (lUitc small (about 2.5 mm.) emhryos, and another one on October 20 was lactatinµ;. J.itkr size based on eight rm­bryo counts avf'ra/!ed 5.9 (range four to seven); embryo

size ranged from about 1 mm. ( diameter of swellings) to J l mm. ( crown lo rump l1·11glh). Adult males in evi<lent

hrrrding condition ( reproductive structures markedly en· largcd) wrre collected from March 18 to OctobC'r 14. The

first juveniles out of thP nest were trapped June 7 and 8.

Measurm1.ents. Forty adult males, collected from March to October at various l.ocalities in Suffolk County, ;ind all in apparrnt breeding condition, average: weight, 4.7 grams (3,,t..(i.1.); total lrnglh, 99.3 mm. (92-105); tail, 38.7 mm. (35-42); hind foot, 12.0 mm. (11-12.5). Frmalcs are closcly similar in size and 30 .idult females (eight with embryos) from March to Novrmber (same localitir:::) averagi:: 4.8 µ-rams rn.2-7.9); total length, 99.2 mm. (92-105) ; tail, 38.2 mm. ( 33-41) ; hind foot, 11.9 mm. (l 0-12.5). If thC' 1·ight prr!!,rrnnt fem a ks are exclud­ed, the 22 remaining- adult females weigh slightly lrss,

averaging tJ,.S grams (3.2-6.0).

Individuals taken. 216

Short-toiled Shrew

Blarina brevicattda talpoidcs ( Gapprr)

/)istribution and habitat. On Long Island, Blarina is

clistributr<l from Brooklyn to Montauk Point and on some

of the offshore island~. This lar;;e shrew is generally abundaut in many different habitats throughout its range, which hlankrts much of c;islern North America. On the islancl WC' foun<l Ulurin<t most numerous in woods with

d<·Ci(luous trees ( 1:33 taken) , such as oak or mixed de­ciduous woods, oaks with pinP.s, and red maple swamps; aud in inland fidds (91 taken).

Only a relativr-ly small number (26), were take11 in all otlwr habitats, that is, S<'V<'ll or IPss were takrn in each of tlw following: pinr barrens, southern white cP<lar

S\\·amps, sphagnum bogs, frc:;h mar::<hes, salt marshes, and coastal dunes and ;;:rasslnn<ls. Sev<·r:d extensive traplines

in tlll'se h,1bitats did not yield a single specimen, and .1bu we foiled to find any at our outn barrier beach loralities.

This was •1uitl' diffcrrnt from our c·xperience with :iorex ,·i11crms. Especially in sandy gra~slan<ls nca r the

shore (inclu<ling !ht· outl'r hrachr::-), in salt marshes, and in sphaµ11urn bog-s, Sor('X w.is much more numrrous than Blarina. 111t• followin/! are some' exampll's of this among

trap rl'tum,; i11 the period 1961-63: Napeague J\fradows

011 tlw south fork I !raps rn<>,tly i11 dry sandy /!ril>'~ln11dJ --10 .~()r,•x, !]'! marina; 11 ith<,r I I ill!> I ir1 ;..;rnssy ,lepn•s­l;ior1H mi.Jr \aJH:a gLJ<· I h11"hor ) - 211 Sorex, tvm lJforina; r.irious ~phagnum liogs- l 7 .'iori'.'t, four /Jh1ri1w. !\fony

r,f llu: !raps w • ·n: ~,,1 i11 il!i(:ro/11.1· n111ways in these .in•as. On llu· olh,:r hand, in wuods a11d also in many fidd~ ;nq_1· fnn11 tlu, in11,u-tlia1,, 1·ici11ity of th,: coaH Blllri1w. S<·Cnwd 111 lw tlw more 1111rnc~r"us ~hrcw. Rlarin11 also was ,·,>111rn1Jr1 r1c1 woocl<"d l1l11ffs o I Llw 11orll1 ,/1ow. ovcr­l11nk in:- l,r,JI;' bland ~ouud.

!rJ wu1Jds a11<l fi.-1,b, ~hort-laiJ,,,l ~hn,ws Wf'ff' fre­r111••rJ1 ly taki,11 i11 d•>s•• as soci;1lio11 with pin,, micc', in tht• same b11rrnws ill I lw huruus <Jr sa11dy soil. ;\ lso, molls<·

tra ps sd i11 t11111wl~ 11[ tlw 1:a~t,·n1 1t10[., Look many of thcs<· sl1 n·w,. ~iudc·,·11 wen: i:auµht in slar-noscd 11iol<· luunt'ls

iu rnl 1J1:1/'I<' sw:unp~ :11 Bc,lm1,111 Luk,· S1 ntr• f':irk, Rahy­lon. Of ,·.1111n;c, )wi11f,: so 111u,11·ro11~ in g,-~rwral !Uruina wa~

al~" f111111d Ji viu;: lugi·tlr<'.l' with Liu: ndnT ~mall mammul ~p,·eit·s iu 0111• ;1n·a ol' ano1]11,r.

/J/arim1 wa., conlltHJ!l rl11ri11g this survc·y i11 I 9(l:1 !Ill Slu:lln lslaud, i11 hoth w(luds aud li,•lrk Hidwnl Van

C!:l1l<:1· ll'nh;d cm111n1111icatirn1) h:is lrnppc•d Lhis spccir.s 011 (;;1rdim~r8 lsla11•!. Tire ~hurl-lail,·d slirc·w occur.~ at Ori,·111 1'11'i11I :incl also 011 Fislrnrs blancl, hut [ do not k111JW of a11y rcc:1•r1ls for Plum lsl.111d. Tlds i~la11d is a •111a1·:111lir1C"c! ani111al dis<'.J.S(' lal,oratory arnl few naluralisl~ visit. /Jforina is l'Oilltllon 011 Slal<'11 )slaucl, wlicrc the l<>asl

sl1rcw ((.'ryplutis tmrvn) also u,·curs.

Re1>rod11r·li1111. Ou! y hvr prq,umll fc.rnalc:r. wc·1-c takPn, th,: 1:arlic~I on M:1 l'(:]1 22. l~ml,ryo counts rn nµ:nl from fiH· lo 1·i~ltt (avnag,• (1.7). Mal,·s i11 appaH:lll brPr.rlinp: ('(>11di1 iou wi·r(: • ·ollr(fr1I [ro111 January I() ( 19(,2) und Man·h () thl'ougli tlw Ii rsl lial[ uf OdolH~r.

;1/('(I.Wl'l'l//.,·11ls. l•'ifly 11d11li 111al<•s [nun v,irious month!:< a1-e1·11g(·: \\'1°igl11. I ,.t, µi-ar11s I I :~.1~-:.N. I) ; lot.ii l,·n~th, 119,'1, )lilt!. 1 I0 4l-l:N); lnil. 2,1,,<) l\llll, 121-30); hind foot, l,[ .. 2 1111u. { (:{- l(t). Twc•nly 11onp1·cµ-11;inl :iclu\t fl.. mal,•s I l'.tl'io11s 111011llrs) a\'l'TaµI': wr.i~lit, 16.1 gr,rn1s 112.•l-:W.•J); tulal l1·11µ,lh, \Jll.5 HUii. 1112-128); lail, 2:,.1\, llllll. (23-:.m): hi11d foo1, 1,1,.3 mm. (13-15).

f11d,'.!1id1uds 1ak1·11. 2.SO

Eastern Mole

,'-icolof!u,,· aq11r1lin1.1 aq1111tic:11.1· (] ,i1111aeu;;)

Distrilmtion am/ lrnhitul. Tl1i~ is the common ~pecic~ of molt· 011 Lor,g lslmul, a11d it i~ also pn·sent <111 Stal<'n Island. Tiu· l1airy-L1il1·cl m .. lr- (l'arrm:alop.d which is t\w

13

common mole in won<IH ar1CI dri1'.r ground in most of "up~lnte" or mai1,hrnd J\p,1· York, has not hr-en found

i11 this rt>gion. Tlw <'H8lem mole occupies r11o~t of Lon!=; fslaucl

when, the ~round is nol loo wPI. Probably it is most nunwrous in sonl<' of Lhe mix('(] dt>ci<luou,; wood~ along

t/11• llDrth si1le nf the island whrr<• riclwr .soils accommo­(bl,· h iµh populations of invertebrates. ff owc·vcr, th<'. mole

also occur~ in thl' sumly ground lhrou;.dwut the pine and oak n n,ns, mid in uban<loncd fid<l~, of Lh<· ccntrul und

south shor,. portions of SulTulk County. Tlw conspicuous

ridges, ma rkin,-: tl1c cours<~ of thl• shulluw subsurface tur11wl.s, rnay h<· sf'en ev!·n in c'xccr41ingly Lurrt'.n situa­tion~, ~ucli as u11cl•-r scrnhhy w..iist-hiµ:h "pin .. plain~" vegt-'tatiou south of Riv<>rhead. Th<• mole also invadrs

suhu rl •an yards, where it.s tunnds and mou11•ls disli,gun· l,1wns lo some cxlc11t.

East a11cl wesl, it~ rauµc c·xlc·nds 1warly the full len/!'.th of the island-from park~ within Ni·w York City limils lo wl'll oul on both tlw norlhnn all(I southern p<·ni11sulas, or forks, of c·astern Lon/:( lslund. 011 the north fork a mole was collected within 3 mil<-s of Oril'lll

Pvinl. On th<• soull1 fork W •' did 1101 fincl the e.J.st('rn

mol1· in the immcdiak vicinity of Monlauk Point, Lul it was common i11 thr' Hith1·r Hill~ region a few mik~ from tlw poiut. In their mammal sun- •·y of the Montauk re­µ;ion hr•fon' the tum of tl1e c•·ntury, Dutchc·r and Dutcher ( 1893) wrnlc: "No molrs of any kind were ohserved rast of Nap1·agur Beach, all hough carl'ful search was madr, nor did wr hc·ar of :my moli· ri1lp;e!-ever beinµ: see11 on Montauk. Naprague srcms Lo th<"m to be ,111 im­prmetrul>lr barri<'r." In the pn-.scnl survey karly l 960's) we, found molt' turinds nurnnous al Hith<'f Hills, which i~ east ol thr narrow neck .il Napraµ;ue. Perhaps Srnlopiu is ci,:tencling its range casl wt.1rd in this Sf'clor.

Scnlopus is presr•nt on Shelter lsbud, ;.ic;cording-to Roy Latlwm (perso11al communication). Molf's have nol

been collected or r<"porlecl 011 Fire Island, Gardiners hlan • l, Plum lslancl, or Fi~hf'rs lsland, af for ns I know.

It s<•ems likely that moles (Ire CTbs(·nl from some if riot

all of these islands. Tliis mole frc,quently digs throu[!:h pure sand in Lhe

vicinity of tidal water. The Luuucl rid1,!"t'S rn;.iy Lr seen in ~undy grou11d along the very 1·,lge o[ sall marshes or nwandrring aero~;; dunes 11ear the ocean. Snch areas ~ecm iusuff1cic·11tly provid('tl witl1 food, ancl a re probably not p1·nrnmcntly occupier] hy (Ill' moles, hut Lhe lunnf'ls

in these, situati ons are co nspicuorn,. NPnr Moriche~ Bay ( in April) I noted a mole· tunru·l in a rntl1rr l1iµ:h, snndy hank bor<lcrinf!; a salt nwrsh stream. Lon~, rai8ect mole lunrn •ls across th<' su rface of the smooth ~and are fre-

14

quenl rll th,· 1111,vill/! 1lu1ws ar•·a .Jl llithr.r Hills State P,1rk. 1\1 1warhy I\ ap,·a/.'lll' I larl11,r in Jun<·, mole tunnels w,·n· s.·c11 whid1 lrav,·r.•-wd 1!1c rolli11/! surfac,· of h,•ach du111:.0 ;0111 11·m11kn•cl 01·1•r th,· l<-\'l•I 11pprr hNtch. i\<·ar hist llarnpln11 f lrapp•·•I ;i rnolP d11ri11/! lkc,·mbcr in a

,m11d tlllHlf'i Oil im11·r d1111c~ al ... 111 :mo fo(•I from th<: 01·1·a11; ,·ov,·r c"11sisl<'d of l,an· sa111I ahcniatinf,! with patd1rs of woody l111dso11ia I l/11rlsr,nir1 to11umtosa) mrcl lidwn s. A n·rnarkahlc spot lo sec a molt· tu1111el was

on ;1 sa11dl ,:1r al,0111 1,000 f1·<•1 1011/! s1-p;1r:itiuµ P,•crmic Bay rro111 a poml and s;1]1 mar,h. IJ..r .. !'in March) a mol-, l1:1d t111111,,k,d for l11111dn•ds ,,f fr<'l 1hruugh low sand

dunf's, wit Ii lwad1-pl11m I /'r111111., 11/.f/rilima l and hra1.:h­µ,rnss ( A11111w1,hilr,) for s<:allc'ri·rl tovcr. '111<~ nu1lc fi11ally s1opp1·d upon 1·11,,011111,·rill)! an 011ild slrr·arn which

1·rosi-1·d tlw b,·ad1. So1111· of tlw ln11111•b, .0 11ch as tho,e at Nnpc:1µ:11e ll:1rlrnr, l\'f'IT i11 locations which would occa• sio11all~· hr• ,·e,vl'J'f\d hy salt wain during .storm, or 1·xn·ptio11ally h iµ-h tidPs. Bui I did 1101 s1·1· Sr.a/opus lu11-1u·ls i11 tlw tru,· intr:rlidal i1or11· of l1<'adws, .such as have he1·11 rl'purti,d fty McC111l y I I 1Hi7) for th,· Californin

mole { .',,.11p11111M luti111111111.1 I . Fn·sh swamps and r11<'aclows 011 thl' island arc

11wslly without 1110/1'~, sine(• till' s(\llli-:J<[Untic Condylnra is c·xlrcrndy loc:nl lr<'I'«\ aml llrc pn·sc:nt spedrs g<•nerally avoids wain. Occasin11:1lly though, tun111·b of Sea/opus Jlf't1c•trat1· a short <listancc~ i11to tlw 1lan1p soil of en•ek ilt111b a11d wd wood~. In thr slHuhhy gras~land of Sir inr11·<·1wk Iii IL•. moh~s i;c<·•m~rl s,:arce; tunnels WP re noh'd 011 ly i II n fpw dc·pr<•ssions among tlw hilk 011 thP ~rassy, hilly Mrn1ta11k Dnwnl' I did nol find any cvidrnc,: of 111111(' ar·tivi1y.

Molrs s<·cuu·,l lo IH' 111ic1u11111011 i11 somr cultivated an·a~, such as fanulandl' 011 tlw 1wrtl1 fork. fn this !'-ec-1i1111 rnol,·., wc·n· rou11d pri1uarily in 1hc li)!hlf•r soil.~ of hilly , wooel,·d a1·,·as. ,<llrh as l\row11s Jlills, wlwre they an· co111111011. Hoy l.arhmu I pc-rson,d ro1111111111i<'alion) ex­plain~ fnrrh,·r: ''Srnlopu., is r,.,-;lri,·tcd lo the hills in

Oril'III mrd dry ""ii 011 tire uor!li fork. [ ll('V<'T ~aw it in tlw h<',:vy r.mu lari<I that is 1·11hiva1<-,I. It is un common irr (:rcenporl ;nu\ Ori<'11t. <:0111111011 i11 1110,-;l s1•c1ions of

1·as[Nll Lonµ; Island."' l11 Brown" llilll'. iu Jum• 196.1. in a w111111la11d of hickory. h,wklwrry. ;lJld otlwr dn:iduou~ lrecs, with an mukrgruwlh of rank we,•tk th<' loo"c,

fertile· soil tc1·1nrd with earll1worn1", insrcts. and othrr i11vnt,·hrat1'", ,ll'd wa,- riddled with mole tunnels (one Scalnpu.~ wa,- c111lcct,·<l l.

Sp<'cimcns were t rnpp1·rl in tlw di1T,·rt'11l habitats ml'n· tioned ahove, such as various lyp,·s of dr cicluous woods, pine harrc11s, field". ,11hurl1;111 yards, and s,mcl dunes. Most ,;pf'l:i,w·uf W<'I'<' f'aught with ordinary mome snap traps plac-1•d crossway" iu 1111' tunnels, h·vcl with the lower

surfacr, and the oprnin)! abovr con·n·d ovt>r with card­board. although 1h1·y are harder lo catch tlii~ way than Parusculnp.1 or Condy/ura. Some 1,·c-n· collPct t'd in rach of the four season~; in cold , midwint.-r wcnlhcr, trapping was po"siblr in tunnels when· the· _!n-ound was nol frozen, such a~ tho•<· under •le1·p pirn·•nf'(•<llr Iil-lcr. Moles re­maiuc·d ac;tiv<' in wi11ln in lurmrl, neilf tlw ~urfoc,· as

long- as the ground wa;. not dt'f•ply frozen.

Also at this sea~on I lk,·nn!wr, January) I oc1.:a­,_ionally noted in yard,- and ~ardc•11~. larg<', conspicuous "mole· hills," larger and mor<' numrrous than usually madr hr thi« sp('(;i<'!:'. The,-(' 111r>u11d,-pwhnbly consisted nf earth brought up from d<·c·p burrows undcrµ;oinµ; l'X·

cavalion. Th., µ:rnun<I oft<'n hacl a lumpy appearance in such an•as, apparl'ntly thc result of irregular up-and­dow11 tunneling or ~hiftinµ: of earth, in~tead of the usual horizontal rli,gging. ln rlw w,1rmer months a surgr of

incrrased activity near Ill<' surface was common when it rainecl following a clry JJl'riorL •·speciully i11 sandy an·as.

Short-tai!t·d ;.hr<'ws ,111(\ pi1w mice wrrr found to

travel through the mole tunnel,- fr<'quently and to makr holes opening up 1111 th,, surfacP. Other species such as

ma~ked shrews, mPodow mice, and whit<·-footed mice nlso usC'd the tunnels in some localities.

Food habits. Eiµ::hll"en stomachs were examinf'd (fivp !:<pring, four summer, six fall, three winter). ln­sPc!s arc foremost i11 thr· diet in much of the area judg­ing from this small ~ample, being found in all the stomachs checked and comprising 68.8 prrccnt of the total volumf'. Earthworm, havr b(•en reported as the pri­mary food of this mole in muny regions, but I found them in only two stomachs (6.7 percent of volume). A moil' from a north ~hore locality where earthworms Wf're mmwrous,' howev1·r, had bec"n frcdi n~ almo~t entirely on the~r animals (June).

1n most other SulTolk County lo1.:aliti1·s wherr moles wcr<' collected, such a~ Riverhr.id, Hampton Bays, rte., <'arlhwonns are 1101 ~o common. and insects We're first in llw diet. Most important in this catq:wry wer<' "whitr ;:rubs," the larg(· larrn(• of Junr bretks (S1.:arabaeidae: Phyllopha~a), 26. l perrcnt of total volume and pre~ent i11 10 stomachs; mu\ ants (FormicidaP), 21.2 percent of

total volume and in 11 !Stomachs. Over l 00 anl s were cou11tl'd in one stomach (]\forch i. Otlwr insects eatrn includ ed other Coleopt<'ra ( adults and larvae) and larvae

of Lepidoptera and Diptl'rn. Othl'r invf'rlrbrate~, which were present in only :,mall numlwrs were ~lugs, ~ow-bug~ ( Isopoda), spiders. and c<'ntipc1le~.

The only vertebratt's dctecl<·d as food were two rrd­backed salamandPrs. (P/ethodnn dn<'r l'us, lead-bnck color phast-), in the stomach of a moll' coll1·cted at Flanders

on March 1). 'flu· ,·m,t,·m rm,I<· fc<"ds to a limikcl extent

on plant rnatr·rial. V,·gc·lation was foun<l in eight .~tomachs

(H.9 pn, :c11t of lutal \'r,hrnu:); thi~ was L"hi,·Ay pi1·ces of an unidenti fi,·d s!(•ndn rool.

lfrprodur:lio1<. Tfw fea.,tc·ru mol1· lin·,·rls early in

sprin/!, prod,win;.\' one· littc-r a yr•ar. Two 1111111•~ col!,•cted in tlrn fir.-t wc,o•k in March wc>rf' in apparc•nt reproclnctive

co111litiott. with mudi r·nlnrin·d !1-sll·~ and at:C<\ssory struc­

t11n:.~. Tlw~c 1nnl,•s show,·d pronounced oran ge-brown

;dandular sl:1i11,-: on 1!11· 1:hin, snout, wrists, and alo11g-the

vc11tr:il mid!inr· ,,f tlw bo1ly. Males from May to January

all app1·arc·d Lu I><· 11<>11hJ'C'cdi11ir. A femak on May 3 slu,w,·d four rlisti 11r:t p!acr·nlal scars and evid<>nce of

hav iri;.! v1~ry rc·,:i-ntly ~iven hirlh. A11othPr female on

June<, al"c' show('1l four placPntal ~ars a11d was lac tating. I lamil1011 I I 1)1(,;\ I fournl a lH~st c11ntai11i11rr four young

i11 rnid -A)'ril 1111 I ,onµ: lsla11d.

N,•11wrh. Two mlults wl1ich ,-:liowcd distinct evi-1[i,11c,· of molting W<'I<' taken 011 Ju111· (i and 13, 1963. Th1•~1· individuals lia1I ,,x1r·11sivr~ ,1rl'.:ls uf nPw, l;horter fur

1:11111111µ: i11 dorsoUy a1ul V(·11tr;1!1y, contrasti11µ: with

patdw s of old fad1,cl fur. Thc·s1• animals were probably moltin g frum wi11t1,r (11 s11111nwr pelag,, (sprinii; molt).

A p1m· whi1,, alhiuu rnnli• uf this sp,•cics was plow<'cl

1111t at C:dv,•rlon 011 July .t., 11)S:l (Roy Latham , p1•n,onal

l'lllllll\1111 icali llll).

.4frrw1n·m,•11ts. T('n adulr nwll's from Suffolk County

avcru µ:<·: W<·iµ:ht. fr[.,;{ µ:rams l :i6.5- 74.8) ; total length,

16:LI n1111. 1 l!iS-1 i2); lail, 2B.6 mm. (2'1,-32); hind

foot. P).7 1u111. { i<l-211. Nim· adult fnnales from Suf­folk C111111ty a1•,·rag1·: w1·iµ:h1. 1(,9.9 grams (38.4 -5B.4,); lolal h•nµ:th, l!'i,t..(1 1u111. I l •W-[!i<)); ta il, 26.9 mm. (23-

:10); lrind foul, IH.<J 111111. (11:-PJ.S\. The smallrst molr

coll<•c:tcd wns an aduh ft.mall' in mid-January which

w,•iµ:11(',I u11ly :m .. I. µr a111s. aud 1111·ns11rc·1l 140 mm. in tota l

11'11µ._tl,.

/l((li11i,/11als ral,,·11. 22

Star-nosed Mole

Co11dyl11ro ,·rist11la eris/ala (Linnacu~)

/)istrilmtio11 11111I habitat. The~ f'lar-110:;c•d mole is

v1•ry srarcc• ;11111 loC"nl 011 l ,011µ; lsl;md, where it SPl'tnf' to

have <'ff.i(Wd dt'tcdiou hy man~• uf tht' aetivc fit·ld natur­

alit,1:-aml coiled ors. 11'-lmc (] 902) ~en rched various parts

of th(' islaud wilhoul lincli111,! any evidl'OC(' of i ts p re~rncP .

111r only n·rnrd he had 11·;1~ oue he found ly inp.-dead in

th<' ,;tn·C'I al Miller Plar c on the north shon', about 4 miles

l'ast of Port J dfer:-ou: Ifl-lnw thou~ht perhap s the ani•

15

ma! had be en droppPd by a hawk which had carried it

ovc•.r from the Connc·cticul mainland. Jackson (1915) listed other New York, but no Long Island localiti es for

this species, and h<' dirl not inclutl<' Lon~ Island in his

map showing the g<'ographic rangr of Condyl1ua. Threlc' sp<'cimen~, all males, collected on western Long

Island after Helme's publication are in tlw American Mu­

SC'Um of Natural History. Two arC' from Baldwin in Nas­

sau County-September l, 1907 (A.H.H. ), No. 35155, and Septemhn 28, 1908 {D. Franklin), No. 73626; the

thi rel specimen was taken north of Jamai ca in Qu eens, May 17, ]913 (H. Boyl e) , No. 37271. Apparently these

specimens did not come lo the atlrnlion of Jackson and

others. Suitable' huhi ta t probably no longer ex i~ts in those

localities. Therr arc al~o some publisher! rrfercnces attest­

ing to the presence of this species on Long Island. Audu­bon and Bachman (1851) slated they had fl'.Cl'iverl speci­

mens {rnm a collector on Long Isl and. Nichols (1907) on April 18 rrcC'ivell a star -nosed mole ( caught by a

ca t), from Great Nrck, north side of Nassau County.

Turrell (1939) termc<l the star-nosed mole as "fairly

abundant" in the Smithtown region but gaVP no addi­

tional details. Probably he found the species pr esent in this area wilhoul realizing its gPnPral scarcity on the

island. The sla r-noscd mole is present on Staten Island,

whrr<' some have been found in barred owl (Strix vari-a)

nests and pellets (Chapin, 1908; Davis, 1908). On our survey, a vrry frw reports were received of

animnls s<~eri ( or found dl'ad ) which wrrr. recogn ized as

this species by the observer, or consisted of a convincing

description of it. Reports represcnkd both nor th and south shores of western Long lsland -Nn ssa u County

and into Suffolk County as far east as th<~ Connctquot

Rivrr. B(•caus(' Co,ulylnra is so distinctivP in appearance,

suc h report s ar c considrrrtl rr l iable. Gilbert S. Raynor

and Richard Van Grld<'r (verbal communications) also

have rPcPivC'd a few sight reports of th is species on Long

Island. In and nrar Belmont Lake State Park, at Babylon,

I colleckd six star -nosr d moles and found num erous

sig'ns of this speci e;;. Whr.neV('r visiting meadows, wooded

swamps, or streamsicle areas on the island which looked

suitable for Condylnra I C'Xamim·d th e g round closely,

but never found d(•finite signs of its presc·nce other than

in this one loca lity. Favorable-looking but apparently un­

inhabit ed spots werr PXaminerl al Carmans River , East•

port, Ea8t Hampton, East QuoguP, Flanders, Forge River,

Hauppauge, Middl<- Island, Nissequogue River, North

Hills, Prconic Rivrr, anrl Wrsthampton Beach. On Gr eat

Hog Neck, on the north fork of eask rn Long Island, mo le

tunnds were pH'srnt in wf'I, black, swamp soil where

there wer e many earthw orm~, lunn('b which may have

16

lw<'f1 1h,· work of this spr~r:i(·s. This .srmns somewhat

quPstio11ahJr., how,·vcr, sine(: 110 spPcinwn~ were taken

and lu1111dinµ:s of th,· r:a,-;ti,rn mole wnr ahundant in

dry soil nc!:1rhy. Thus ii apprars that tl11• star-11os(·d mol,· is, or was,

lll(ls\ • :omrnon !owards the w<'st,·rn ,·rHI of th<~ island;

howr·v,·r, in this !'Ccti,ll1 probahly most of ito, hahitat bas

been r!C"stroyed hy lhc cxp:111di11g lll<'lro>politan ar • ·a. Evi­

dc,111ly ils ra11g,· ,·xt<-11ds caslward in a ,;potty m.innr:r

:dong bolli tlw north and ,;onlh ~hoH'S of 1hr: island. If ii 01:n11 ·s in ,:asl<m1 Suftolk County, it must h<' V<'ry lo,:al,

si11c(· w,· di,I mud1 !idrl work tl,erc without fin,ling th,· sp.,,•,i1•s, Possibly tll<' wirle~pr<"ad hop:gy, aci,I conditions i11

!lw wd ar<"as, with :111 accompanyinµ: scarc ity of earth­worms or otlwr fornl, ii- urrfavorahlr. HowPver, Christo­

pher '.vtcK,·c,wr has show11 m(' :.i11 unpuhlish<'d list of

l.,lllg Island marrn11als by Willi:im T. lfrlmutl1 ( consisting of marµ:in,il not, •s writt,·n i11 a copy of llamilton, 19'1,;l) wliid1 n•conls East I larnpto11 as a locality for Co11dylura. This is [ar In th,· <·ast of oilier sp<,r:imr·ns and r<'ports,

although I hav( ' 1tol l<•arrwd of any star-nos<•d mol,·s ac­hrully coJl,,ct<·d at l•:ast llanrplon.

Tlu~ llahylo11 lrahital wa>< situal<·rl along a small s!rcam. lrih11tary lo Carlis Uivcr (fiµ:11r(>.~ lJ, 14j, Th,·

mol,·s wen· fo1111<I inhahitinp; 1lw µround at least one-fifth

of a rnih• along 1lu· stn•am, i11 th<· vicinity of th<· west

liourulary of Bc•lrnont I .ak,, State Park ( on both sid<>s of

rhc houndary li11<•). Most of tlu· mole :1ctivity was founrl withi11 a f,,w yards of 111<: cn,<·k, whil'h wa~ shallow,

sluggish, :ind alwnl 2 lo :~ f,•,\t wicl(·. The p:round wa!'

w<'I, muck~·, and hl:u:k and conl:1inPd nrnny rarthworms.

Tlw sill' w,1s ra!lwr !wavily wnndc,\ with 1wl maple and lnp,•lo. arrd many shrnhs an.I virres ~uch :.ts highbush

hhu•lwrry, arrow-wooHl, 1:0111111011 dd1•rbcrry, Smilax, etc.

Skunk cahhag,· and cir111an1011 f,•rn alsu w1'r<' plmtiful. No 1·vicl,•11c,• of 11101,, adivily was dr,lr·clrd in this

an,a al lir,-t ~l:1ncr. Thr c11lo11y was loc,1t,·d by pruhing

tlu• grn1111d hy hand 11111 ii sollw rntlwr d,·q.1 lunrn·I~ W<'T!'

lucatcd. No i:;nrf:w,· riol~c'.~ of puslH',I up soil were pr('S•

1!111. Ev<•11l11ally. small, in1·on:,;pic11011,; "mole hills" were

nnticPd - 111<1t11ub of 11111cky soil 1msh<>rl up from tunnrls lwlow .11ul partly ,·ovcrPd hy follcn leaves, TIH' larger

111011111b wc,n• al><llll 2 iudu·s hiµh atl(I 6 i11chc·s in dia­

meil'r. Tlu•sc 111uuruls appan·utly wen' mark in thr fall;

hy spring· lhcy ha.I almosl rntircly di~appeared, although

Llw mnlt'!' Wl'l'l' ~Iii! n1111wro11s in th,· area, Also, shallnw t11111wl., of Co111l_rfura wrn· noticed when !-Piling tr;1p.s­

tlu·>'•· wcrn typic:;11\y along lite sides of lo~s aud were men•ly furrows eov1•n·d l,y !rave~ all{! o!hn drhris. From

son1<· of the 1111,m·ls nrlical ~hafts ll'd ,low11 to tl1e watN

level ;i shorl ,listarn:e !)('low.

Two individuals wr:rr lrapp<'d on December 1, 1961,

and four were cau!!ht on April 24, 1963. All were taken

using stamlard wo~rl pedal mouse traps set down in the

tunnel~ in spuccs excavalcd with a knife. Othn smull mammals present wen· Bla.rina, Puomyscus, and Micro­tus; Blarinu and Microllis frequently used the Condylura tunnels. Other wildlif<0 ;dong the creek includrd wood­

cock, raccoon, opossum, cottontail, and gray squirr{'I. I hav,· since ll'arnrd that this cre('k area has been sched­

ukd for drainage and other "improV('m<'nts," which

probably means th(' curl of th,, colony of star-nos1:d moles.

Food habits. F,arthworms rank<"<I first in the stomach

contents of the six molPs <'X.imin<'d, comprising 55 percent

of tlw totul volume ancl occurring in fiw stom.ichs. ln­S<'C! larv:.tc, including numernUl" cra11eflies (Tipulidae),

wen: ~econd at 26 p<'rcent of volumr, pr<>sPnt in five

stomachs. Other foods indu,led bedl,·s, spid<·rs, and

plant rnateri.d.

Rcproduc/.ion. All three male;. tak,·n on April 24 W<'re in appan•nt br<'eding condition, witli much <'nlarge<l

reproductive strnctu rrs ( t<';;ll's 20-21 mrn.).

Mca.mreme11ts. Three· April adult mal('s averuge: weight, 4.9.4 gr.ims (48.8-50.0); tntal length, 185.7 rnm.

(l85-l86); tail, 68.0 mm. (61.-71); hind foot, 26.8 mm. (26-27.5). An adult fomal<', i11 April, without embryos,

rneasurrcl: weight, 58 .. 5 gram.~; total l<>nglh, 185 mm.;

tail, 67 mm.; hind foot, 27 mm.

h11livid1wls lr1km1. 6

Little Brown Myotis

Myotis lrtci/u~us luci/u[;its (Lr Conte)

/)islribution anrl lwbi .tat. At the present time th<·

little brown appears to he th•~ most numerous sumnl<'r

b:.tt over mo~t of Long Isla11d. Evidently ii has incn·a~P<l

con~icll'rahly i11 nurnht>rs ~i11c<' lhl' early part o-f the cen­

tury. H1•hne ( 1902) does not mention this sp<'ciel', except

for stating, under a brief account of th(' bip; brown bat,

lhat a snrnllrr uui,lcntifird brown ~p1·ci<'s is of occ;isional hut rare occurr(•nce on Long I~lnnd. Murphy and Nichols

t191:-l) statPcl that Myotis luci/ugus wus scarer nt that

time, that it rardy frequrnt<'d houses or towns on the

islan<I, and that th<> ~peciei- was nol collcctt'd herr until

l 900, when three were shot from a CT01·k of a dozen or

more at Cold Spring Harbor.

The little brown myotis was known to lw common

in many mainland rrgion~ of New York Stat<' before

1900..-such as the Adirondacks, Catskilll'. and OnPida

Lake rC;.'lOll. nnd lo f"rlll larµ-,· ,·ol,,ni<·s in buil<linw•- at

!<·.isl loca!I), as "111mnariznl hy Milin I IWJ9 r. D,-Kay

( lfM2r in l,i" ,w<'our11 of th,· link brown bat, which pn,h,d,ly rd...-~ 1<1 M_n,ti, in µc11i,rul, hut thi,c s1wcies pri­

marily, l'lal<·,l 1l1at ir \\',"' '·\1:ry nurnnous ... in the

southern 1·ou11t ic~" { of N1·w York). I! ow<·vN, ncithr:r auth,,r nw11ti.,,1, L1111g lshmd in his acc11unl of this s1-wci1·s.

Today. ,;um111,·r r-.olo11i1•s an· well c~tahlishr·d a1 scat-

1,·n·d l,w:ilili,·s 1>Vl'r mosl of L<J11!-' ["land. Durinf! th<'

sun·,·y. ,u1all l,als .,1,,,·rv<'d h1111lin1 "vcr ponds "r clc>ar­inµ-s in 1110.,t ,,•,·li<>111< of 111<' i~la111I usually app1,ared In be

I his spt·l'i<•.,. :-i"1rw :11·1·01111ts for th,· I 1J.'10's indii,:1te it was

1·1J111111ou tlw11: J\idwl~ :11111 \'id10ls I I 9:{-1,J found this s1w,,i1•" thr, mo~I pl,·11ti f11I hat in ~u111mn 1·v,•11in,gs near

Masti,· Oil rh,· south i-<lior(' in 11n4: T11rn·ll (1939) had

littl,• le, say ahou1 I.ats hut remark,·d that this speci,·s was L11uiliar in tlic ~rnithlown rcµ;iou n(•ar thr 11orth shore

of the~ i,la11d. Hoy La1l1a111, in ii 1wrrn1J:d commtmicalion,

write•s thal rli .. littl,- l,rown spcci,· ., i~ common 011 Sh,·lter lslnud.

Hq><>rts and co111plai11ts of rolonir:- of brownish hats

i11 ho11se·s I 1•.spccially atti<·s l. churches, .incl tJther build ­

ings cl11ri11g rlu· s1mm1cr wc·n· frc<JU<,111. Such cases an· g1:ncrally rdnal,l,· to cithn this s1wcies or the hig brown

lia1, h111 I ,!id 11111 visit v,·ry ma11y of the siti·s. Most nb­snving and rnll<'ci inµ- of I his ,pn:ies was done nt a reudily

acccssihl1: sn111111cr 111a1,·rnity 1·olo11y di~nve·re<I in the

a Ilic: of a11 old ahan,lorn·d ho11s1· nt>:tr Ma11orvilk, in q•nlral S111T,.Jk Counly. llnwrver. orn· other summer

colony was visit('d , situalc·d i11 a larµ-1•, ol1I, inh,thitrd

ho11s<: north ,,f ~outhamplon. Also, rqmrls of colonies

which ll'l'n' proha!,ly M voti.~ luci/11{!.us. or WC'rr identifiPd :1s this sp1·<'i1•:-, l,y Ill<' ohs(']'vcrs, were• IT'C<:ivccl from lo­

calitir/; rcpn•Rctllinp; 1111' ,·1·111 ral. north shore, and solllh

short· s1·1·li1111s uf S11ffolk Co11111y. I did uni learn of any n·ally l.irg,· s1m111tc·r <"olouic·s, 1·ousisti11g- of many huu­

dr<'ds or 1·\·1·11 1l11,usand.~ o( indh·idunk :<uch a!. hnvc be<·n J'('JH>i'll'd r .. r ,;om,· n·gio11s.

hr c•v1·ui11µ; obscrvat ion:< WP 1wvc·r discoverrd lnr~e 1:011c<'nlrntions of hunt in~ littl,· brown myotis such as

an, frcc1111·ntl)' 1'1J('otmt<'rl'rl in many ,ll'cns of mainland !'kw York Stal<'. Oh,-, ·rv,11 iou,. 111ai11ly at cl'rlnin ponds

and d1•ari11;.-:s in 1·aslcrn and n'HI ral Suffolk County. only orc;1sio11al!y pro1luccil ,is many as threl' or four individ­

ual~ in a group. At ,;ome localities nont' at all W<'r<'

sccn, al ollwr~ ouly ;1 ~in;!'le one, evl'n when weatlwr and

insect conditions sel'm1·1l very fovorahle. This mny indi­cak a n•k1tin·ly ~mall population. in spite of the known

colonies prP,;ent, or 1h<' h<'ltn hunling grounds m:iy have

bet'll ovnlonkPtl. More littl<' browns W('l'C sren in August

and S<'plc-mhrr than in Jum· and July. prohnbly reflect-

17

ing i11crea,s1• in the population and di,prrsal aftn raising

of youn~. Habitats wlien• bats id<'ntifi<'d as this species w(•re s,·cn huntinµ- incluckd large poncl, in both wooded

and rrsiclential areas, sm11II pnnd hi,ldrn in dense maple ;:wamp. elm ring i11 pine barn·ns, fi,·ld near po11d and

housr. vicinity of ;1 dump. m11l 011ce or twicr at a street

li1ht. Myotis luci/np.us is :il 0 0 rne~enl 011 Staten hlan1l;

in fact all the spr·cics of bar.~ which occur on Long Island

han: also Ler11 collecl<'tl or rqrnrted on Stntrn Island,

,·xct-pt p<'rhaps Myoti .~ kernii, for which l h,1ve IJC'en un­

able to localr any Staten l81and rt>cords. The li1tlc brown myoti~ hilwruates chiefly in cavrs

and rniru·s, 8ituations lacking on Long Island. Judging

from what is known of seasonal movements of Myotis Luci/up.us in New Engla11d and elst>where, most of the

Lon1,: l.sland population probably migrates north or wPst lo mainland cave regions for the winter. There is very

littlr evidrnce of hihnnation in situations other tl1an

caves and mint's in the Northea~t, although this possibility

has not !wen fully investigatrd. or intPrest in this con­llC'C[ion is a JJPrsonal communication from Roy Latham;

he reports finding littl1· brown bats ( Myotis), thought to

he tlii.~ >'/JPC'i<'s (or pos..sihly M. kf!enii?), in winter in the cellar of an old house nC'ar a swamp on Shdter Island,

and some flying activity on mild days in February.

Reproduction ( malcrnity colony). Occasional ob­

servations were made in 1962 and 1963 at a maternity colony, where, as is the custom of these bats, fpmales

gather in summer lo give birth and raise their young.

'l11e colony was rliscovcr('(l May 23, 1962, in a low attic

of an old abandoned farmhouse (figure 10) near Manor­

ville. About two rlozen bats of dillercnt ages were col-

1,-cted here and in outlying building~ during the two s«:>asons. The attic had u broken window at each end,

and was nbout 6 feel high at the center; the bats com­

monly clustererl just under the p1·ak of thr roof on top of

th<' ridgt'board. They were readily vi.sib!c through a nar­

row space on eith<'r side, bet1•wcn the roof and ridgr­bonnl.

The colony was not large; usually 30 to 50 little browns W<'re visible. A maximum number of 51 adult

femalPs wns counlf'd on Jun<' 26; I believe this was

most of them, and allowing for a frw probably missed,

the colony of adult females probably numbered about

60 in both yea rs. Later in the season, the number was

increas<'d som<'whnt by the addition of young. Numbers

rPmaint>d high into the first wet'k of August in 1962 but

by August 9 tht.'re was a definite decline in the popula-

1 ion as tll<' bats dispNsed. Some bats wnc prc>St>nt at

lrast until Septrmber 25, whrn six rrmained. Visits in

18

Octolwr 19th and l/;1h1 rcv1•i.dPd 111J lilll•· hr.,wns. ir11li­,·ati11" tlw .,it,· had h<·<·11 dcs, ·rt<:d for tlrf' s,•;i,011. In 1 <)6:'l iw 1.:1s w,·n· fou11d in mid-April i visit• on tlw 12th aml lath J, l,ut th<: r11·xl vi,il. 011 i\-lay I :-i. rn·1·,rl('d ,onw nf th,· bal., had arriv<"cl. witlr ;1b,J11I ,l d,.z.,n or mon•. 011

hand. Sllf!l-'.''"lirt).' tlral thr, 1:0]011~· had lwJ!l!ll In form at

1!11· <'tHI .,f April 1JI' iu c,,rly Mav. )1 app,·ar4'<1 tkll n1u,I yo11n~ 11n,l,al,ly w,·n• Ji.,rn in

Jml(·. f'lli1w f«-111:rl<·s, 1·aclr lwari11;;-a si11µ-l1· 1·111hryo. W(•n·

<·.-rn111i,wd lwtw, ·l'JI :\by I :l a11d J111H: :U,. Ernhryos r;u1µ-l'd fruru !; tu '.l() 111111. i1: si~.,·; llw larµ-,·sl i :m mm.) wrn· 1•:,rn111i1wd u11 Jrrrw 1. ;111d 2(,. Th,: lir"I <mall young- , lwu wlri.-li w,·n· prol •al.ly a few day:- old, w,·n· s<·<'II Jurn~ 26. '!'Ill's,, wn,· 1rnr.,i111--', W<'l'I' parlly f11rr .. d, and cuuld r:rawl ,;u, 1101 nv I W(·iµht uf u1w: :1.7 µrams, lotal le11µ-lh, (,2 mm.), ( h1;. larl,.'c y01111µ: cln••· lo 1·arly flil,.'hl ~,a~r ( 11·<·i~h1 (i.11. g-ra111s, total lcrq:tlr 71: rnm.) a11cl prohal,ly 2-:-\ W<'<'ks c,)d. was C'oll1Tl<'d ./1111,· l 1); it could flap it, wi11µs stronply hut wa!' ,,., ill mrrsing and had 1101 yet brgun to fe,..rJ 011

im;ect~. Br August I, a"l iVI'. :rppr11xiruatcly fully )!WWn

yo1111g hats al 1,·as l a rnonth old wn,· 11111,,d in tlw r.olony. A f1·w l,ats o,·c11pi1·cl a larg,· shed :)() y:1rds away

fr-11111 th1• ho11s1·. Mosl of th,· timl' only uric ur two mal<·s pins an o,-casional f11t1•sicu..1 wcrr lo lw ,c1·11. 13111 011 ]1111(• 2 au adult f1:111al" carrying an embryo wa~ found

111,·kt·tl away i11 a nack. w1·1l n•111ov"d from the mai11 l'.olo11y. Also from la\P August to lat,• S,•pt<-mlwr some fmnalcs a11d many of tit!'. ;rdiv<· yom1g wcr,· JHCSl'!lt, a11d had Jll'('!'HH1al>ly mov<·d o\'('I' frnrn the mai11 lnril<lin/,!,

111 tlll' fall 11f I t)62 tlw <'himn,·y of tlH' hou,,.. col­

lap.~1·cl, 1,•aviug :, gaping hnl<· i11 thr roof. which admitted 1111H'.h mon\ light a11d nir into tlu• .itli<'. Tlris <:hanp;e ill tlu'. c·11viro111111•11I did 1101 s~,•1n to :ulv,.rsPly alll'rl tfw bats,

ancl their prculu c tion of yo1111g 1111· following }'<'ar, al­lhough 11l,sPrvalior1.s 11·,·n· 1,·rn1i11al(·'d July 2, 196:1; 011

this dal<• O\'Pl' ,j,() :ulult f,.mal,•.s ,l!lcl Sl'VNal crawling youn/! \\'('rl' Sl\('ll.

On I lw ,·v,•ninµ. o[ .hr11,· B. I 962, I ,1·,·atlwr warm :mcl

,:aim) I watrlw( I from oulsid,· for hats to c'ntl'rge, lrnt ~aw

only 20 fly uni of 1h1· '1011,-;1•. f1·wi·r titan WC'f(' actually

pn•.sc•ul. Suuw may havn IH'Cll mis,ed. sine" the hats eanw out of s,•v1•ral 111w11i11gs beside, nn,• of []I(' wiucluw~. After IJ: IS, wlwn ii was 1~ourpl1·l<'ly dark. I Wl'llt insid e nn<I

found ,f'.Vl'r:11 flying :1ho11t within llH' houH' and al least

nirw ,-;till iuadiv1• i11 the ruo,l. Tl11• lial" wc·n· carryin; c·rn­hrvus al thi, tim<', a1H[ r11ay lwvl' lw1'11 le,-,; adiv,, fur 1lr;,1

rc:;son. 011 Auf!USI 29, ]<)(i2. afl1·r two niµhl" with much wind a111I r,1in """ol'.iatccl with a lrnpieal storm l"Alma"). thrc,· hats colb'.tl'rl lwd \' irlnallv ,•111ply diµ, •stiv<· lr:1els.

/l·lf•11.mn•111,•,ifs. FiflP<'ll aclnh f,•111:il<'~ in "nmmrr (Ma~· 2.1 lo S,•pt, •mher 2S) ;11•<•raµ,·: w,•ighl. 10.0 µ:rams

1 7.7-12.0 J ; total l1·ng1h. 9-1.2 mm. r 90-101 ) : tail, 40.2 IJl)ll. I :-r;·. 14) ; hind fuot. f)..'J 111/ll. l 9.0- l 0.0) : car from

11u1d1, ).1.I mm. 1 J.i.]61; tra::m,. 6.9 mm. (6. 5-7.0'I:

fori·arrn .. 1B.8 mm. 1 :36.,; .. l(J I : winl-(spr ea d. 26--LI mm.

( 2S0-27~ 1. F:ip-ht of the i\liy and J Un<' frmal<'s carried Plllhryo~; "1Jlll(' of th,- Aurrnsl and S('pt1·mhrr hats wen • quite fat- - tlw heaviest i11di1·illual f 12.0 µrnms ! was om• of those coll,·rt, ·d 011 Seplo'l!lb1·r 12. An .rdult male on

June 26, 1962: wei~hl. :.;_.=; µrams; total li-nf(th. 87 mm.;

wing-spn·acl, 252 mm.; forearm. 37.5 mm.

I ndivid11als taken. 3,1.

Keen's Myotis

Myotis ke('//ii s1'pfc11trio1111lis f Troucssart)

lh1trih11ticm and lwl,ital. Vr-ry little is known about this sp,·1:i,•s 011 Lon!! l.<l:rnd, and fow spc·rim,·ns hnve

hc1·n collrct,•d hen· previow.ly a,- for a.0 I know. The fir,1 pul,lish,·d occ·.rnTcnc·e was of an individual found in

,l hous<· at Ma81ic·, Su/Tnlk Cou11ty. on August 18 , 1931

( Nichols ancl Nichol<, 1914 I. Two other specimens from

I ,011g- Island, cullPclcd in August 1886 ( R. Waldo) ancl

al Mt. Sinai, July 19•I,0 ( E. A. \Vil!imns, Jr.) arr in the J\11ll'rica11 Musnun of l\atural History. Roy La1ham col­h,etc<l 0111· at Malli tuck, Scptrrnlwr 19, 1931 ( skin and

skull i11 h is co!l,·cliun). Tire mapped ranJ:"e for Myoti8 kenLii in Hall a11d Kdso11 t 1959) seenrs misleading in

that it docs not include Lonµ lslm1d; thl· island is small

on thl' ranr,,· 111aps, whielr arr d<'siµ-ned to show much

of tlw t'Orttinelll, but tlw otlrer bats occurring here arP corrrctly indic::rted.

This 1011µ:-ean•d, nortlwrn myotis is not considered a r;irc: sJwcies hul it n1•vt•r St'cms lo b,· abundant either, and it hai; lw('n stucliccl llnly casually. Mo~t Kren's hats

have hP1·11 rncountr·r,•1! in cave~ and mines i11 winier and

cluring the lat<- ~umnll'r ,warr11i11,g p<'riod: relaliv,·ly few ha\'I~ b1•e11 ub,1'1'\'C'd on Liu· ~ummer range away from

welt rclr<'als. Thus a for;.!;<' com ·,·ntration of this .•prcies 1\i~covned on a Long l~lar1d fcf'ding ,g:round ~e!'mS n•Jtr­wo rlh v ancl is drseribed lwre ill some detail.

1\ll of our sp<·cimens w,·n· eolh"Ctrd at Fresh Pond, Hither Hill~ Stah· Park. on tlr(' south fork nrar tlrr east

rnd of the isla11d I fi!,!ure 22). Here KP c 11's myotis was

found hunli11µ.-in the <'\'('nings throughout llw !'Ummer

and rarly fall season and app1·ared lo lw tht:> most 1rnmer ­ous bat. .Usiug Japa1w,e inist nets, l l ( tlm·e male;:, eiplit

£c·malcs) wnt· tak1·11 on Jun<' 26. 1963; two (one mal1·, on<· fr•mak) on August 22. 1963; and ni Ill' (four males,

!'i f('males) IH'tWel'n October 2 a11d 18, 1962. Durin(:! 1hes1·

op1•ratio11s about 15 other myotis werr• netted and re-

leased , a11d :di .,f 1/11·111 11Tr<' K,·,·11·-: no other ~peciC's of myotis wa, t;ikc•r1. B,·,idc·s 1110,,· ll<·tt<-cL aclrlitional ~rnn·s of i'mall hat, 11,-rr· ,,'<'n flyin;r ,il,uut i11 a similar manner: pru!.al,lv rnai1! or all .,f 1l1e.-1· al,,, w,·n · M. kernii. Such

i11fornw1io11 ,11;..-f!C!-ls th;1I Kc-1·11's 111ay IH' the- commotl!'St

,-.1111111wr l,a l i11 _,,-,:lio11, (Jr 1·xlr,·1J11· l'a,t,·rn Lorlf! lsla11d,

rc•placinµ- Ilic· l it1l,: l>n,wn and l,iµ l,rown lials of fartltrr Wl'!'1. H,·cc·11t rq,01·1,. rl'i:1·iv,·cl of small l,rown hats i11 sum• mr:r on Ca rdi ncr, l"laml j uet ;1 f,.w 111ilcs 11orlli of ll ithrr I lilb 111ay p«s .. il,ly i11cliC';1fc· till' prc·,1·111·1· of this :-pecies 1l11·rc·.

Fr,·,11 l'ond, al,c,ul u111·-k,lf milt- l,mf! a11d two-tenths uf ;1 1nil,· 11·id,·. is 1·u11q,lc-1,•l~ slltT<>l!t1il1·cl l,y W0111ls, chief•

ly oak" lc•sp,·•·iallv l,Lt('k uak. while· uak I with a fairly d1•11sC" ,liruli la~C'I'. Tlw a rl'a i, ratlirr hilly. 'llwn· are

~011w !i,·ld!' ancl 111r:1elows II ithi11 l1alf a lllik <>f tlw pond, wlicri· au 01·c·;1.-ic,11al ~111all h;,1 ( Kc-1·11·,-:,, I was sern. The pc,11i11s11la i, a li1II .. mon• 1ha11 a 111il,• wiclr: lwrc·, with the hat <'l>ll<·,·1111µ ,it,· ,.:iluatl'd aJ.0111 lhn ·,·-t,·11lhs of a 111ilc­

frot11 it" 11uJ"tl1 ,·o;bl. Kc·r11·, l,ats arl' k11uw11 to liw· in :-11mm,·r i11 sue-Ii rC'lrc•a(, as ('<>Ilaµ!'.-. han,~. and IH'neath 1111' l,ark ,,r t rc-,·s. No l,11ilcli11µ, were· 1111l1·cl iu the· im­llH'di;il<· l' ic-inill' or 1111' pond, :111cl I did 1101 find ,lily l,ats in 11 l111ni,·d dwc·k ul a fc.w pnrk l111ildi11w i11 the, /!I'll·

l'l'a l n·gio11. ailh1111;:l1 ,-111:dl n1lo11ies ('1111ld c,1sily be 0V(·r• look1·cl. TIii' Krf' u ·s l>nt, al llu· po11d may rqm•ff'III a gath­l'ri11:-r fro111 s111all c·ulu11i1·~ si·altc•rc•cl i11 trc·1·s i11 the SUI'·

no1111cli11µ_ ,~o<Hk or IIIC'y may spend th,· clay in ]111ililings far!her :1w.iy. u11lsid,· th, · park.

Tlii~ "]•1•1•ip,-. was first 1•11c-n1tt1ll'rrcl i11 O(:lolu•1· 11)62. wlwn 111i,l-1wlli11,~ 11':i, lril'cl out .11 Frc-id1 1'011(1 aftc-r some

rc·,I b.11.~ w.-i-1· .-,-rn. l\-111ch of !hr po111l wa.s honlrrccl hy i111111•ndr;1hlc Jrn,_Ji,.,_ :1111! .~111all trrC'S, lmt 1w11inµ; wa~ jl<>Ssiblc· al a ti11y :-11,dlow 1·01·c• wit), a ,ancly bead,. Th,· cll'I,-. I aho111 •l-0 fr<'l 11111µ. :! 1 i111·h mrsh I wnc- sl'l at ri;.d1t

au:-rlr,.:. approxi111al1·ly. In tlw :-hun•li1w. (1,uully 0111· pole ,~ns pl,11'1•cl 011 ,d10J"1• :1 f1·w k<'I ha,·k front 1111' wal1•r's l'dµ_c, the· otl!l'r puli• oul in tlw ,-hall111v 11•,1lc•r; the net wm, nlladJl'd hl'lw1·c·11 Iii,· pol,·s, 1111' lowc·r C'llg1· of it a few i11d11·,-ahov,· 1lt,· w,111•r. 1111' ll)')lc'I' c·cl~c alwnt 8 f1•1·t hi)!h. On,· lo lhrc·c• 111'1,-; w,·rc· sc i 11p 1•11 111·tti 11;r nights; tlwy wnc· up hy ,·ady lwili7ltl ancl takc·n dow11 hefore micl-11iµht. l\d linµ. wa,- restri1'1Pd hy tlw weatlll'r --o ft,·n the 1·v1'ni 11µ·,-; 11·c·n· 11 ind~- lwr<'. n·1ul<'ri11µ tl11~ 11e1,-i1wfTec• ti\'I',

011 1110,-t c·vr 11inµ, Kc•p11\ 1111·01i,-clid 110I apprar bl'· fun· cla rk. On Oc·tol"-r l I. for ex1111tpl<', 110111• wn~ ;:een

dnri11µ twiliµhl i11 11101T or le•:;,-; co11lin11ou!:' obs1·n'ation: yet four ,,·,·n• rwttc,d nftc-r ii was th,1ro11µhly clark 18:00 , 8:30. 10:00. :111.! 10: I!; p.111 .• E.n.T. l, Aft1·r lll'C01lli11g ;1din·. tlwsc h:it,-; 1.ft,·11 lrn111nl n•rr lnw 01·N the wakr

c•lo,:.c• to ~hon·, .•Olltdi111(', n\ing in light cirdt's in the

19

cm·1· and frequently touching tlir- wati·r. Alw they were

~crn al times clo~ely followin~ thf' shore line, a nd flyinl!" above Lhr bu~hy foliagt· at tlw wuter\ c-dµ;e. I ndivi dual s

w..re caught above hoth wale r a ncl land, from srvcral inchc-s above· the surface to :J. fpct hi gh. Often 1h,·se bat ;:

wrrc· iwen to avoid th<' neb repeakdly, while- at other 1im1•s they flew directly into the net~. On one· occas ion a Kc·en \ hat wa,-; ob~Pr\'('(I chasing another one, and thu~ off-µuanl hoth plun g<'d lwadlong into a net.

Bats w<·rr not souirht lwrr after Oc:tobcr 18, ahhough cnndilio11s remai11cd warm and favor ah le for another week. Lall· i11 the mo111h the weather turned much cold­,·r, with strong winds, light snow, and fro.sty night s. This

"Pel:ies, lih /'vlyuti.~ luci/u[!.us, gl'1H'rally hibernates in caves dur ing the wintc-r, and all or most of the Long Jslancl inflividuals presumably cro:-:~ In thl' mainland for this purpose.

In ilw following )'l',H Fresl1 Pond was fir!-I visited on

JunP 26, a warm .1ncl calm evenin~ with many in!\Ccts visibl,· in the• air. Ivl:1ny Keen's hat,- werl' ab ou t, but T was unahlc to clel<'ct any other species. ElcVl'n k1•c-nii. were collPctl'd u;;i11g lwn mist 1wls placed near the wooded ~hon·, in Ll11· usual 111a11nrr. l,('twc•cn 9 antl 11 p.111., E.D .T. Scores nf the bats wen· seen; many bourw, ·d off tlw nets, other,-; wne caup:ht and n·leas l'd. All frmale1:- collected carried Wl'll•dl'velopcd c·ml>ryo,.

The poncl was next visited on Aup:ust 22, and ap:ain K<'l'n's n1yotis, hut 110 othPr ~pPcies, was recorded. No

hats at all were sr<·n until late, darkening twilight (8:30 p.m., E.D.T.), wl1m suddrnlr two wrre flyinµ- about close by, ofl<'n to within n foot or two of my head and shoul­ders as I ;;tood in ~hallow wain. Soon more appeared. Thr ee wc·n' caught in a mist nrt. Th e bats on this datr­hunt,·d about 2 to 6 fc-c,t abovr till' wall'!' and shore. Also

they somelimc·s 1·nti·rn<l tlw woods by nyi ng vl'Ty low along paths leading away from Lh<" sho re. It was not de­

ll'r111i11C'd how for i11tn the woods th(')' W('llt, but under the canopy of th,· ln·rs s!'enwd to be· part of their "beat," at lea~t on thi~ cveninµ:.

TII<' fligh1 of feedin;,! Kc-1·11\ rnyotis showed a fairly steady cour~,,. (in straiµ;htaway or when circ ling), with

o<'easional sudd,·11 v,·cring to om· sid1·; it would not bf' Lc•r)ll('cl a nuttering ni/!hl. Rc ga nli11:-: l'Oice, the sl' bats usually s<'erned ~il1•nt in night c·xcept for a n i11frpque nt short high -pikhrcl ~q1wak . Wlwn al:mnccl or exc itl'd, as wlwn caught iu a 11el or bei11µ hancllP(L they _g-ave a s<p11·aki11µ; challrr \'('I')' reminiscrnt n{ Myotis luci/ugus.

ln pa rtial ~mnmary of the above observations on lhl'ir foraging habits nl llitlwr Hills, K1·c11's myotis ,ire:· .l('livP in thl' an•a at )pa~t from June to October, appear

lah' in the ev ,·ni11f! when it is quite dark, arc· num erous a11d a~~ocialc- IO!,!l'lhcr whrn freding. and have :i direct

20

manner of lliµht; l,olh s11111nwr and fall tlw\' hurrl low ovr·r llw \\·alr.r 1.,ftcu I lo (, f,·,·t 1 : and tlw} also fly low 11v1·r th,· ,lwr<", cl<osP 111 f,,lia~c. a11d loll" uml,·r th,- call·

1,py of woodla11d ln·<:s. In tl,is l11rali1\· /,,,,,11ii ,,·r.mr.rl to IH· th,· <'.111111111,111·~1 l,al and wa, 1111' only My,,ti,, takr,n. Stomai,I, 1;111,t1•11ts. n,nlaiuirrµ tlw rr·n1.1i1J, of many in­s,·cts Ir.iv,· ),c:cu saved, hut not as y..i ,·xamin,·d d11scly to d1·lcrrni111· llw id<:11lity of lh<" i11s1·r;ts.

lfrprot!11di1111 .. i\ ppari ·111 I) " ,mall mr r.si· ry I mat ,·rnily) colorri<'s ;in• f<>rnlf'd. 1ml cs.,1:11lially 1101lri11µ-i, known of n·prod111:li1J11 i11 tlri, sp,·1-i<'s I Harl,1111.-and IJa\'i,. l'J(i9). Rr.prod11di\',· f1·111al,·, rwtli·d al 1-'n:,h 1'1111d in lair' Jun,. irulicat,·,1 th,· Jll"1•sc·11c1· 11f ,11,.h l'olonial roosls in tire arra, l>UI w1· did 1101 local<" tlwm. l•:,u-1, of 1'11' r·iµht f,·rnaks li1k<'11 on .11111,· :U, 1·1111lai1icd a sind,-, fairly larµ,· •·mhryo, s11µ:g1•sti11µ l,i.-tlr of you11µ 111ai11ly in July femhryo crown lo nrrnp 1111•;1,urr·111,·nls, in millinwtn,, w1-r1· H, 13, 13. 14, 1•1-. IS, l:1, 1(1). Tlw d.111· s,·1:111,-c a li1tl1· latl'r than with 1110.,I of 1111r lo.-al bat,, arnl aµn·,·s with llarnihon's ( 11Jil-3) i11formalio11 [or ,,ls,•wl11·n, i11 Nl'W York ( lw 111,·nlioned :l f,·111;1lr·s with ,-.i11: . .d1· lar;.-1' 1·11il1ryo tnk1•11 in lat<' June a11d 1·:1rly July, i11di,·ati11;.-par111ritio11 i11 Jnly l.

M,·11.,11r,•1111•11t.,. Ei:-!111 adult [,·m,il,·s in font> with 1,mhry11s av,·ra/.(<': w,·iµht. ::.:l µ:rams (6.il--9.2); tota l lrn~th. 91.h 111m. fM6-%); tilil, :-m.l mm. t:·HJ-40); hind fool. <J,(1 111111. ttJ.0-10.:iJ: ear from nolcl1, 17.6 nrm.

I 17.0-11).0 I ; 1 raµm, , 11. l 111111. (fl.:i- 1J . .S) : forr.ann. 36.0 111111. ,:n . .'i.:!7.SI; wi11/.!.spn·,11L 211,9.1! Tlllll, 1211.1.2.'i~)­

Thn·r- adult 111al1·s in Jrnw nvl'raµs: w,·il-(hl, 6.0 f!"!"alllS ( S,S-(1.'l, I ; total l,·n;:tli, ll.'i.7 llllll . 1 l:J.g:;); tail, ;J<J,{l 111111. ( :i:;.,1-11 l: hiud fool, C),2 llllll. i :: . .'i-'J.S l : car from notch, 17.:l 111111, ( I o.r.. rn.o) ; I ragu~ ().0 111111, I Rll ahonl 9.0); fon,ar111, :3,J .• 7 111111. t ,'M .. 0-3S.O): wi11gspr<'ad. 2,tJ.~ mm. ( 2~2-2:l? 1. W,·iµ:hts o[ nin(' ,p1•1·i1111:ns of both i;;cXP~ in OdolH"r av,•r;1µ-1·: 7.2 µ:rmm, t:i.lJ-').7). All of 1)1(' above hat,-. h:1d food i11 tlwir .<10111,u·h.,. Tlw. Octohn !'pcriml"'ns h,1d a1·1·11rn1ilall'd co11siderahk hudy bt.

I l/(/i1,id11,d., 1,i/r.,,,1. 2:!

Silver-haired Bat

/,11i.,011_rr·f,•ris 111wfi1•<(!!.1111s I I,,• C.01111')

D,·K,ry ( IB-.J,2l t,·ruH"d th., "ilnr-ltaircd hat a~ com-

111011 011 l.1111)-l Island (s1·a"1111 1wt ,-1at1·rl). Since then. various writ,•r,a I Il1·l11H'. 1 <)02: Murph\' am! Nichols, 191.1: i\irhols a1Hl Niclrok 19;{.-J,) hav,· ,l1own that this 11ortlwnr l,at i, ran · on Lonµ [,.bml in ,;priug and early ~1111m11·r. i, 01·,·,1,-io11all) pl,.111 i [nl in lat" "unmicr and l':trly at11lm111 I pniod of 1m11thhon1Hl miµration ). and

that, ,in~ly or in µrnup s. a few rf'main to hibernate dur­i11g th,· wi11ter in ht11low tr e1':--. in ships. and in buildings "f 1·vny d,·,-cript ion. It ha~ bl'ell rr·portrd from Staten I~lan,1. i\,·w York Harb,ir. and Brooklyn Past to Orient Point, Montauk Point, and o\'er the 01'.<',Ul.

i\ii-1101,. ;ind Nir.111,ls ( 19.'H I collPctl'd five ,p,•cimens hctw,·en Jun ,· 17 and July 10, 193.3, at i\fostic, ,·stab lish­in!! th,• first <ldinit,· i11formation on the prl'~nce of La­siony,;ll'ris throuµ-lr th,· summer. The authors, exprri­c11c1•d i11 coll,·di11~ bats on Lonf!" Island, wrrr surpri sed to 1·11cou1111•r this sp,·cic!' i11 June, nutsirle tlw µnirnl of sottth­warcl miµration; lwo of the Ju11,· ones were frmal,,s carry­inµ well-drwlop,·d rmhryo,;,

/\.• with tire rwl hat, tlH· hi;:rhly migr atory silvcr­hain·d hat li.1" hr•l'tl cncou111!"'rrd mi~rating south along our !l<'aches I l,nth north and ,outh shores i and ev,·n out ov<·r th(' or,·an. Mi~ratiug- individuals may linp:er to hunt ovPr woods. clt>,iri11µ_;:, arnl bodi,·s of fn·sh wat,·r; on the <·oasl quit,• a frw have lw<,n found n·stin_g 011 vessels al anchor. 1-Je,lnw I 19021 st:J[l'd that in somr yl"'ars durinp: migration this i-1H"cies e\·1·11 oul11umb1·rs th(' red ba t, but that in othl'r y<'ars \'1·ry [,.w am Sl"'en. Largr numbers havr hcen sern gathering in lat,· summ1•r in Prospect Park, Brnoklyu , a11d flying over tire lakc thcrl' /Murphy and l\'id1ols, 1913). We did 1101 collPcl or posit ively identify this s111·cic~ on 1hr survl'y; ~onw of thr bats ,·een in the Hitlwr 1-lill.s an·a in Octobl'r 1962, may have bern silver­hairs - i[ ,:o, they w,·re appar!"'ntly outnumhered by Keen's hat:s and n·d hat,. Roy Latham ha~ in his collrction sev­c·ral Lasionyctrris srl'Urerl durinp: the month of S<>ptembcr on I Ir,· north fnrk o[ 1·a>'tern Long- Island and on Shelter lsla1HI; two :specimPn:< from Shcltn Island werr found drow111·d i11 a pail o[ watt>r 011 S,·pt<'mber 3, 1929, by W. W. \Vortlrinµton. Latham'.s lal\'51 foll recorrl is Oc­tolwr JO t 19:j<J).

RuLt>rt Cu"l11na11 Murphy has ma'cl,, ma11y observa­tion" on tl1t' miµ:ralion uf this speciPs along our coast. Early in tlu· n10rni11f!: of Sq1tcmbrr 6, 1907, while in a llnal 1~ or 5 111il1•,: ofT Sandy I-look. New }t'r~ey, in blu~tery Wl'ather. he saw se\'eral individuals struggling towards the SratC"n l~land ~horl' (Murphy and Nichols, 1913). A speci-111,·11 in th<' ArnNican Museum of Natural History was col­ll'ct, ·d by Murphy whilt> 3 miles at sC'a off Long Beach , Nassau County, 011 Septl"'mber 7, 1918. Murphy and Nich­ols also wrote !hot ~ilver-hain-·d bats have been seen in Sq1l<"mbPr ('\·eni11µ-s Aying abovr the l1C'::ich('s of Long lsbnd Sound and circling hi;:rh ovn Mt. Sinai Harbor and other salt w;itl'r inlet>'. A far-offshorr rrcord is one col­ll'cted on August 19, 1953, aftrr it circled about and land,·cl on tht· ri~ging of a \"es;;i•l in 39°36' l\", 71 °03 ' W,

about 95 mile~ SSE of Montauk Point. thr near('ft land {Mackiewicz and Hackus, 1956).

Lonr bland ~ccrn~ to !w 111:'ilr llw 11orthern limit of th,· wi11ter ran:,r<· of 1hi,, ~p••d1•~. Rcl,!ardin~ winlt'r habits in our arr·a, \luq,hy a1Jd \id1ol~ ! 191:l) wrote,: "Silvc,r­

hairs ... an· 111,t i11frccp11·11t!y found in hollow lre1,s cul i11 winier for lin·\1,,,,d, awl tl,cy a!:-o have been t!i~cov­ncd hil><'ntati11:,r in ~ky•,nap<·rs, d1urdw~. wharf-houses, and rfi,. hull~ of :-hip.- in .\'nv Y,,rk City and Broukly11, d11ri11r.-; th,, 111011ths /,ct w,•1•n D1·cP111l,c·r and March." The auth,,rs rdso rdcrr1•tl lo 1,\'n 21) "black bah" found in

January i11 l'orl .kfJ<'1,-011 llarl,or aboard a yacht, and tli,•11 1lirow11 11v1-rl>1,ard l,y tlw caplni11, as probably be­lo11:,ri11µ-to this -p,·cir·s. l{oy Latham I p,·r:-onal communi­cation) Ii,,,, one w iuti-r r,·1·,.rd for Oric,nl, a 1011(' irnlivic\. 11:il [011J1cl in a l,uildin)! on .I :inuary 23, 1916. Another wint,·r r<'cord i~ a fr111alc, f,mio11yl't1:ris i11 1hc American Museum of N.ilural lli-t11ry which wns cnll1:c!nl at Mastic in F,·brnary l'J:n. J.y David <;. \ichok

Eastern Pipistrelle

/'ipis/1.,.//11., suhf/11/!u., .Ht.l>/lavus ( F. Cuvier)

TIii' lillle pipistn·lle is appar,•nlly 11ncomr111rn on l.011µ: bb11d. lli>lrrn~ I 111021, Murphy and Nkhols (1913), :ttHl l\'ichol.s aml Nil'liol.~ ( 19~4-) did not mention this "(W<"i(·"· 1!111 lla111ilto11 ( l<H9) wrot,· tliat on<· ~ummer <wcni11µ-Ir<· 1warly .su1:c,•cd.,d i11 caplurinµ: one with an

ius1·1·L net. Hoy 1.allinrn rnll,·ctcd n male pipistrelll' al

M(lnta11k 011 Auµ:11.st 25, I<):{ I ; pr1·s,·rvl'd as skin and .sk111l in his 1·11ll1·1:lio11, tlii.s is tl11• only Lon!!'. Island speci-1111·11 I hav1· <·xarnirll'cl.

])11ri11rt our surv,·y, :1 hat id('11ti(i1·d a~ a pipistrelle w:1.s olJ.<Pl'\'<'d on 1111· 11iµ:h1 of Octolicr 10. 1962, nt Bel· lows 1'011d ll('il r I \11111111 u11 Bays. At 8 :00 p.m., E.D.T., i11 I.right ~ilv<·ry 11100111igl1t. I watdwd a tiny bat with ;111 ,•rr;1ti,· nnd 11101h-lik,· lh111ni11µ-lligh1 huntin,2: hack ;111d forth al10\'(' 1111' tops of tall h11,lu·~ n<'ar tlw po11d. It appean~d .s111all,•r :md l1acl a t!iffrn·11t ma1rnel' of A.ip:ht

than th1~ liulr hrnw11. K,·cn's nnd other bats that werC' ob­s1'rv,·cl 011 Ill<' i.sl:rnd.

J.:.11m1·11 hih,·nialio11 ~iln< of tin· pipisll'dlc· are chiC'f­ly <·av<·.~ and 111i11C'~, nn<l tlw ddi('i<·ncy of such sitPs 011

T ,oug lsland 111a\· :ir.('011111 for tlll' ~\'arci1y uf this specie's. Nol lilll<'l1 is known ;ilwul di:-ta11n•s !r;n•e],.d by this small hat to and fro111 ii~ winter 1111artC'rs.

011 Stai.-11 1:-!an,I. pipi,-lrC'll<•s havP lll'e11 found in barn,: and 1•1h,·r liuildinµ.0 <lt1ri11,u tlw ~11111111Pr. Several which hav<' b<'\'ll collected th!'re al'r in t]u, American Mnsl'lllll of Natnral History.

21

Big Brown Bat

F,ptesicus fuscus Juscus ( Pali sot dr Brauvois)

Oistrilmtion and habiu11. This lar![e bat may be seen ;rnywhen~ on the island, nnd since it is hardy and often hihernat('s in buildin1!s it may also be r·ncountered during any mo111h. Eptesicus Juscus is a rathc,r sedentary species, as stated hy Barbour and Davis (1969), and it seems like­ly that most of the population n·mains on Long I~land throughout the year. Maternity colonies as well as hiber· nuling sites app<'ar to be mo~t frc-qul:'111 in the westrrn pa rt of Lhe i~land, and this bat is not uncommon in lhe urban areas of Brooklyn an<I Queens. Murphy and Nichols (1913) wrote tl1nt Epl<'sicus fr<'(]UC'nts large parks and cemrlc,rics in Brooklyn, and hibernatl's abundantly in

city buildings of thr an•a. Sevr.ral old publications in• clicate that the big brown was nlso common on Long Island during thl' hist century, and DeKay (1842) ob­tainrd this spc·cirs in Kin~s County (Brooklyn). Eplesi­cus also rai,-1's young ( al least locally) and hibernates in Suffolk County, but brcomes IC'ss common towards the

1•ast end of the island. Complaints about bats in buildings frequently came

from WC'stern Suffolk and eastern Nassau Counties. On inwsLiirating a frw of these n·ports, some big brown hats were found. In a small village in <'astern Nassau County, a mnternity colony was located high in a house (where 20-30 hat,- wrre ~hot in the pr<'vious year in an unsuccrssful attempt lo eliminate tlll'rn). Tl11~ bats were not n:adily accc,-siblr, but biµ: browns were seen peer­ing out of holes near lhC' roof on July 27. On the previous day, which was vny hot, the bats had bc·en reported hnnging on tht' outside surface of the house with their young. Also, b,1ts were lward squ<•akin~ during the day in woods near th(' hou~C', possibly in hollow trees, al­though \ff wen' unnblr to local<· tlwm.

At another ltouse nearby i11 1hr samr. villagr, durin~ latC' May, 25 bats ( Eptesirns?) were rC'ported shot whill' flying out of the allic al du~k, after which no bots W<'rC' 1'1'«,n thew. In a nC':uby town up 1o 60 bats had bren reporre<l emc·rging at dusk in May from the nttic of a large building. On entering the nttic Juue 2, I found thr Aoor lillned with many droppings which s('rmcd to bP of this specie,., but thr sill' appr:ar('d to be almost de• ~ertC'd, \'Ven thoul!h thes1' hats had not bren ,-hot or mo­lested a;; far as I know; only a solitary mnl(' Eptesicus was prrse11t. Big brown,- occasionally \('ave a nursery roost at least temporarily; one rC'ason, as mrntio11('1l hv Barbour ,md Davi~ !1969), i,. that 1his sprcic.s is not ;,. tolerant

of high tC'mprrnturn~ as Myotis fuci/11gu.~, and durin~ a hot sp<'ll may mow to a cooler part of tlw buildinf!' or

22

abandon it altoµ;r·tll<'r, Or pr,~sihl} this wa~ a n·cently­ahanrlr,11(!d winte·r roo.<t.

A male•rnily 1'.olnny of l1ig brown bnt~ hns ocr:upi!:d a laq!<' l,am near Yapharik in c·e·ritral Suffolk County for sornc y,•.irs I l.,•Hoy Wil,:,,x, vc,rhal cornuwnicalion).

At Ll1c attiC" ,·ol1111y of little· brown hals 11car Ma11or­villc, r,11,· 11r two ad11ll mal,· J,;(11,,.,if:/18 w,·rc ofl,·11 found in small sliccls nr·ar th,• main hous.-, from May to October. Althou~h 111.11,·rnily o:<tln11i,·s of these· two species cl,1 not occur tog,·illl'r, i11divi!l11al nralf' l,iµ; hrnwn hats w,·re ap­parently allrnctecl lo tlHi vicinity of lhf' Myotis colony. 111 O<:tr,lwr. ufl<"r 1111' litlll' hrowns had aht1ndorwd the location for thn s1:aso11, si11/!I<· bi/! hrowns wcr(' occa­sionally sce:11 hang-inµ; in tlw altii: il;wlf ( wlH•n• thr small­N sp!:!:il's h:HI r;i is,·d you11g I.

Tire l,ig hrow11 lrnl was fr1:cpu·11il y detrc:ted 111 an an•:1 l,y scl'ing lo11c i11rlivid11al:-, just hdorr dark, flying rntlwr hi;.d1 011 a straight, str·ady course to their frP,ling grnnrJCk Lor:,dit i,·s i11 <·:i,-t,·rn Suffolk Counl y wherr· F:p­f11.1i~11.1 was s<'.•'n 11r col11·dl'<L although mati>ruily rolo­ni('S w,•n• not [011rul. i1u:l11dc Amaµ:ans<'I I, Calw·rtorr, Flaud,·rs mul S,p1irdow11. N,,;u· Amag.irnwtt, wdl out on the .south fork, s<•wral wr·rr· s<'1·11 i11 lak June· hu11ting a round ~, r<:o·t lights rll'ar t lu~ ocr.a11. Solitary ir1<lividuals wrn' rrul1·d u11 lwu or tlm·,· oci:a,-ions flyiug before clark 11rar L11ildi11µs ,u1 Ill<' 011t1·r bcarh strip (Lu-twccn Shin­n !"Coe: k aud l\fo ridws i nlcts).

Summ<>r mah·mity colonie.s on,! wi11tr.ring individunls hav" lu•rri fo1111d 1rn Stat,•n Island.

t,'11od l1ahits. O11ly two sto111ad1s w1·r1· ,•x;imi11r.d, a11d tlll'so· w,~n• filJi.cl :rh1wsl ,·ntircly witl1 hcl'llcs (Colt'opt1·ra). inr:l11di11g large J1111,• l)('cll1:s of llif' family Sc:1r;1haeidat>; sOIJII' rl'n1ai11s of rnoths ( /,,,,,ido11t,•r,1) w1·rc not,,d in 0111· of tlw s10111.id,s.

l11divid1wl.~ takn,. ,J.

Red Bat

/,11si11m.1 bori 011lis lmn•11fis (Miilln)

Oi.1trilmtim1 and habitat. lldme (l 902) 1lcsignated this ~1•1•ci1•s :is llu~ mosl aln111da111 hat 011 Lonir Tslarrd. Lik!'wi~\ Murphy arrd Nichols ( I<) I :-1) st.itcd tliat "Dur­ing mnst of tlir s1111111wr a hat se<'ll anywhere 011 Long Island is, 11i11e linws out of It'll, a red bat. The sp!·cie, is ah1111dant from tlu! hu:<y ~tn·cls of Brooklyn to Orient and Montauk ... " As for a.s I have been ablP to drkr­mirn\ this no long<'r ~('1•rns lo lw I ru1· 011 1110,;t of the island, altl1uugli tlll' n·cl hat is nnl rnrc. lu man~• areas tlw little brown mvoti:;. which was found to bl' 1-corce

by Murphy anrl l\ichol,, i~ the bat mo.•l likely to be c11cou11terrd. Locally, otlwr ~pecies. namely KeC'n's and hi::'. hrown bats, <1ppr·ar to lw firs! in abundance. Al~o, in somr ;1ppar1•r11ly favorable situatioue, such as certain ponds a11d fields on .•till summl'r ni~lrls whrn insrcts w1·re abundant we failed to detect any bats at all.

Tllf'n• dor 0 . not ~i,em In be much inforrnalion on the ~tatu., of this h;tt durin;:! the r,1rly sumnwr season (June, July), bdor<' 1111' foll mil,!ration, l'XC<·pt that it appears to 111: wid,·ly distributed hut 1101 abundant thPn, Jn 193.~, four rrcl bats wen~ coll<·ctc•<l hetw,·cn July 3 and Au~ust 7 among mMr. plc111i[ul Myotis lucifu{!.11.S at Mustic (Nich­ols an<l Nichols, 19:H). Lnnynn ( l96l) lrrmed the red IK1t a n·µ:11lar hul untommon ,ummrr resident on the Kalbf11·isd1 Field R<·sPard1 Station in lire Dix Hills area of wr,tern Suffolk Cou11ty, and me11tioncd a sp<'cimen coll,•ctPd on July 12, 1961.

Red ha Is havl' hc<·n coll,•ckd on Lon~ Island in ewry month fmm lale May lo lat<-Nov,·mber; many sp,·cimcns ;m• in the Americ,111 Mu,cun1 of Nntural His­tory. Murpl1y and Nichols 119]:{l ;,tatrd that tlw n·!l hat app1·ars on Long Island 011 thr fi r~t warm sprinµ; dar. and lhaL tlwre is a Stat<'n Island record as late as D,•c,·1nhcr S. Kiml1ull and Nichols 11')4,0) have recorded this ~pcciPs flyinµ; about ,it l\foslic, Suffolk C:ounty, on

mild <lay.• in D<"cemlwr ( as lati· as o .. crn1brr 26, 1936, and Drc,~mhcr 2.5, I 9_q7}. I do not know of any winter

rer,ord~ bi<'r than Dec .. mlH'r. Most red hat~ movl' wcll to the south of Long ],-land for the wint,·r; hut the late DP<:<•mber siµ:ht n•cords Sllf\-g<'sl that a few inrlividuals, l1id,le11 and <lorm:mt, rnay rPmain this far north all win­tPr, <·n1ergi11g to fly only during- u11srasonably warm spt'lls. The red hat dol's not hibrrualr in caves, and µ;en­crally roosls in trer:- throughout th1· year.

Th<' r!'d bat is most frequently obs,•rved in this n ·µion during lah' summer and early fall. This species, like thc "ilver-haired a11d hoary bats, is hiirhly migratory, nnd southfwund flighls ,111d concentrations are ofti·n no­tir.cd along lhc coast at this ~eason. Rrd bats may be S!'Cll flying by day ovPr the bt•ach or ocean, or found rooslinµ; in unusual luc.itions. Carter (1950) rPporti·d 011 a flight of 200 bats sef'n around a ship enroute to NPw York, about 6S mili•s offshore (4.0°10' N, 71 °00' W) on Scpti-ml>er 29, 1949; three irulivicluals collr·ct1·d WPT<' r('d balF. Srvl'ral n·porl~ we rPceivl'd, from south ~hore lo­caliti<'s i11 the fall, of ht1t~ hanp:ing in ln·,•s and bushes during thr day nr found d<'a<i on the i:i:rou11d, seem to refer 111,1inly to lhis !:-Jll'cies. LPRoy Wilcox and Walter Trrry have informl'd m1· that tlwy u~ually catch one to s1'VC'ral red hl ts i11 mi$t twts each fall, while banding migratory bird.,- on tlir- oul<·r hurrier beach strip nrar

Quogue. Thesf' hals pruliably come :11:r"-"" Lon_::!' Island Sound, trJo, mirl rl11rinµ Oo:1,,lwr 111a11y hav<· br-"n found lumgi11,g asl,.c•p ,,11 r·xp<J.sc d r,Jots u11d1~r tllP. r,\•r-rh:111/! of

1hc h1:ad1 diff~ which fri11µ:r· llw north shore (!Vlurphy and l\ir:hols. 11J I :i). Thi, ,1'n·r1 •fll'<:im,·us l coll,·t:L<'d W(:r1· lak1,11 l>11tw,·e11 Augu~f 21 .iwl Ortolu •r ]l{; also all

of my lil'id <1l,s..rvatio11s ,,f lliis sprr:i<'." wr·rr· made dur­ing /\ugusl. S1•plr·rnhr•r, ;11,d Octolwr.

Fi<'ltl o/JsNootior,.,. H,·d l,als w,·re i;<'en in Augu~t iu tl1e al'l·a ,,f Shiunc1·,wk ]try a11<l adjac1:11t harrier b<'ach. l11divid11al, \\'I'll' occnsi1111ally s,·1·11 flying o,·, ·1 tlH' hay

in all din·di1111s at twili,d11, il(')'arr•11lly disper~ing to f,·ed ralhn than migrating 011 tlu·;«• Hiµ:hh. lien·, on the outer lw:ich slrip ,war Shi111H:co1·k lnld, I watdwd one mi­grating hy 11,t)' 011 A11t11s1 10, !Wilk :11 1!::10 p.rn., E.D.T., i11 hriµ!rl s111ili;d11. Tlw !,at lkw ov,·r lhe rnarsl1y hay sid1· of the slri1,, 11<',irliuµ: i11 a gi·ne rally ""111hwr·sti,rly direc­tion, tli.11 is, followi11~ lh<· cuasl. Wlwn "011 course" ii flew hi;~h with a slc·,uly fl ir h!. but also it 01Tasi1111;illy i11-tr·rr11µli,1[ its pro g n·ss to clit• dowu low, prrhaps to fr.eel. Orw<' ii flc·w low aro1111d a ,111,111 salt nwrsh poll([ dose by; Ilic n·d 1,olor was sl rikiug in cont ra"t to the i;rec11 uf Lill' rnarslt grnss. l\'unwrous hirds, includin g t,·rns, f<horc bi r1ls, starlings, nnrl sw,illow~ wcrr present, but tlwy xh1>wnl 110 i11t1-rcst in tlw hal. i\ftn a few mo11u:11t~

the hal rn.';u11u!d ils trij), I ft>llow1·d its cour~ with binoc­

ulars ;1s it 111·1\•, nccasionally d ipping 1low11 again, hdon·

it was 111.sl lu ;,ighl. Also rn, this date tlll'r<' wa!'. a n<~arly

1:011ti11111111., passi11/! of h,1rn swallows ( lliru.ndo m.1tica), t n·r swallow., ( lricluproo1 ,'. bi,wnlor) , a nd mon;i rcl1 hut ­!crflics (l>m11111.\ plc:rip1ms°I, all miµrnti11g i11 lh1: same 1lin·clio11 ;1s !Ire l,al.

IJ11ri11g our Slll'VI')', tl11·.sr hals w1· 1T mo.0 t regularly 1·11c01111ltn·d 011 the c,1strrn parl of tlw i:.outh fork, h1ml­i11:,:-ov1'r ponds a1ul l'i1:,nirrµs ;111d aro1111cl Cl'rtairr si re,·! li;..d11s d11ri11:-: 11,,. i,;rrly fall sC'asou. [ln1· tlwy seemed to

f~nllH'l' and li11~<'r, a111l co11l1l lH~ s1·t·11 wlw11,•\ ' l'l' the 1\'f'ath­

<'r \1',1" ""t lun had. lbllH'r i11i.·u~iV<' ,1'nrchi11/! in thC"s1· s,11111· ;rn·;1s i11 .l111w. l11m,·v1-r. foil,·d to i11dicatc· tlw pres • 1·111·,· ,,r ri'.,l h:11,.

ll,·d l>al;; w<·r<· oh,crvnl 0 11 mild Ol'lolwr cv1·11ing::;

al Frc,lr P01ul I fiµ.tm· 22). !Ill' larg,· pond at ll i1hcr Il ills 11<-sf•ril>l'd i11 1h,· an·11t111I uf Kren\ myoti". Tin<· th,·y

w,· rt• s1·c11 flyinl,! hi~h ovn llw poml ,nul a,lj a<'l'llt woo<ls, and also l11111ti11_g clo,:r lo iJ,,11s1· Vl'g<'l11lio11 alo11g the shor,· or ski111111i11_g ov,•r 1he wain. Oe.:a~innally 0111• was

~ci-n 1·arly. 1d1il" ii wa~ ~till q11ilc lighl. but normally n·d b:rls did 11nt app,·ar t111lil lat,· twilight or after dark, wh1·n

they WI'!'<' cau1J11 i11 Japaru -~f' mi~I 11<'1:-or ,,pnllPd momerr­larily i11 the liµ:hl of a ~lrnn;r flashli1.d11. Tlll' prc sr ncr of

hm1ti11g n·1l hat s s1·,·med 10 11<· 1lc'i<'n11ined in part by the

23

occasi()nal l:ir/!e concentrations of moths along Lh1• shore of tlu• pond. Bats of bulh ,,·xrs appear i-1l to be common.

Mi~rati11µ: hawks of various i-pecie~ wnl' occa~i on­ally notrJ in this an•a in the fo ll, an,{ a~ many as seven

pig-eon hawks ( Falco co/111111,arius) wrr P sern in onf' afternoon flying ovrr or perchinµ- near tlw pond, Onr

of the early flying red bats observed was apparently pur­sued hy a pigl'oll hawk. As I watchPd a rr<l bat cirding ahovi- the pon<l late in the aftern oon , on Octolwr l L 1962, a pigeon hawk darted from it~ lookout perch on a lrer• on the opposite side of the pond and h<'adt'rl direclly

towanl the hat. Thl' bat turned low::ird the wood!'-, the hawk followed, and l,oth rli~np1wan·d l)\'hincl th, · trees without my lraming thr onlcotnl' of lhe hrief episode. But

it !'.C('ms likely that this swift little falcon, a fairl y com· mon coastnl migrant in early fall, may at tinw 5 prey

on migrating or oth er ,lay-flyinµ: bat s, as well as birds.

At Fre!'<h Pone!, red hals wen· taken in mi st nets p!ace,I along the shorelirw ovrr tlw watl'T ancl beach: net captures w,•rc· made from just a few indu· s above the

watt'r ln over 6 fr et high. Sonwt inu,s tlwse bat.• werr· observed lo clet1·cl the nd s as they hunted low ov,·r th(' walt'r, wrrin/! ofT at tl1r la~t possibl r moment timr ,ind aµ:ain. Once om· was se(·n lo co llid,· with a nd, and then fall into the wat,~r; hut it mana gecl to fly up into thl' air after llapping its winp: on lhe water for a frw mo­

ments. Th,,sc hats occasionally gJv<" rathrr lou,l hissing scream s when cau ght or handled.

Near some villa g1•s on tht> south fork rf'<l bats were

st·c~11 huntin g around bri ght sln·el lights, often quite m·ar

the ocmn. Usu;ilJy they W<'rt' ~e<'l1 re p1·atedl y at CNlain

lights to the exclusion of othl'T ~imilar lights nearb y, prohab ly indic,1lin g rath er fixed hunti11g tcrritori Ps of individual hats. At the liµ lits thl' bat~ made swift pa sses

at tlw clu~ teri11µ; iHS!'Cts, thc11 disapp1·arcd in to the dark fnr a whilt' bdon· rd11mi11µ;.

Fnnd hal>its. Tlw stomad1., of four red bat, col­lected at Fresh Pond dnr inl! Octohcr 1962, contain ed many moths. Many, perh aps rno:;t, of llu• moths belonged lo th<• family G1•0111et ridat>, and numerous moths of this

family Wl'rr also ob.-,·rwd swarmin~ ovrr the watfc'r ancl Jlear shore duri11~ warm eveni11_g~. Sma ll hPrtle~ :irHI othn insf·cts werf' n lso ea ten,

Measu .rc:mNlls. Four Octoher sprd11w11~ aver ,.1ge: weight, l0. (1 /!rams (9.2-l] ./l I : local length, l0 2.3 1111n.

(96-106); tail, 44.5 mm. (42-4 8); hind foot, 8.(1 mm. (8.0-9.0); for<'a rm . 39 . .3 mm. (37 .0-40.Sl; wi11~spr cad, :~Ol.0 mn,. (275-313).

fodi1;itf1111l.1 w.ke11. 7

24

Hoary Baf

Lmium.s ctncn,us cinert •u.~ (Palisot de Beauvois)

On Long lslar1fl tliis largr·, h:1ndsonw b.it is thP rar­r·st of th(• thrc(• highly mil,(ralory spi~cics, which /liki­

hirdsJ fly south in thi, fall and 11orth in spring. As with thr, fl!<l and silver-hain~d, rno~I occu rrC"nCes arP in bte

surnnwr a11d autumn. Murphy :111d Nichols (1913) knew of n·cords of hoary hat~ lwing collPctecl ,m Long Jsland

in Augusl, SeplPmlwr, and ()ctr,hcr, inclmlin:,; on<' dis­covcrPd undc r a drift wo()(l plHnk on a 111,rth shor<' beach.

Ki111l,all :md Nichol.~ CJ 9·1-0) n·porte<l an individual hang­ing on the por ch of 11 collage facing th,~ sf:a at Oak Is­

land, so11d1 sliorP of SufTolk County, 011 Drcrmh1•r 2, 19~(), appar('11tly th •• first puhlished n•r,or<l latn than

Octohcr. Tl was as ,-umcd l,y tlu· authors tlwt this inclivid­

ual was ~t ill III iJ!rating 011 this late datr>, 11ot clisturbccl from hibernation.

Th is ]wavily fu rrt'.d sp,·1:irs may he co11sid1·rC"cl a ran· po.,'lihility any linw during th,, ,·older months. Thcr~ an •

a ft.w Dccc rnbl'I', Jm111ary, an,l Fd1ruary recnrds for the gc1wral lat it ud!' nf Long Tsla111l f C.011ncctirut, New kr­

scy , nrnl l'('HHsylv:111ia). D1•Kay ( 1842). i11 his cliscus­-~ion of I his bat in N<·w York Stale, rnP11tioncd sreing two

imlivicluals act ivdy nying ah out shortly bdorc noon 011 DccmnlH'r 12, I 111-1; h<' did 1101 mm1t ion the locality, but J ai,sum,· it was 110111,•wlwrl' i11 th,· State, po~sibly even

Qu('('ll ,~, l.011g Is land, thc11 DPKay's placr of rrs idence.

In tlw A11wrica11 Musrum of Natural History there is a f,•malc hoary bat, prcs1·rv!'d in iilcnhoL which was col­

l1·<:l1·1I 011 Jauunry l(i, 1969. al F:ir Hockawny, southern

Queen .•, hy John Rull; this is thr only midwiutcr recor<I for l.ong lslan<l, 11!1 for as f k11ow. S11ch n•cords may in­rlicah, that a f('w individuals hihrrnatc in this rq~ion, wdl

lo Ill<' north of most of tlwir [<'Hows. Iloary bnts, like

I'(~(! hat.•. uor111ally roo~l :11110111,!: th!' twig~ and fnliagr of ln·i·s and gl'Hl'rally <lo 1101 fn •qucnt caves or huildinp:s.

Perhaps ln•1·s sc1:vc m: wi11t<"r n·trenls also, with thr bats

l,·avi11g tlw111 to fly aft1•r illl'<'C1s 011 warm clays, although prni,lically nothing is k11own £or r.r.rtn in about the win­

tn hahils of th is :-pc!'it's.

Thnc l-l('r•ms to hr 110 information on spring m igra­tion of hoary hats in th,· Lo11g-lslan<l ar('a, Nor do I know

of any rnconls of thcs" elusive bats <luriug th!' pNiod

from about late May to ,·arly July wh en they give birth to ro1111:,;. Tlwy app<'ar to hi' mow l'OllllllOII farther north

al this seaison, hut a fc·w nwy occur hrrP sincr. Roy

Lntham has rt>eordPd thii: sp, ·cic,- as early as July 14, ,rncl ·"J>l'ci111cns lwve brcn colll' ch'd in nParby New J er ­sry and P,·um;ylvania durin g June .

Our only obst>rvation on the museum survey was of one flying low, near a street light after dark, at Hamp­

ton Bays on Septt>mbC"r 29, 1962. For Ori ent, Roy Latham (personal communicalion) has four records, dates rang­

ing from July 14 ( 1963), as mentioned above, to Oc­

tober 29 (1919).

Easfern Cottontail

Sylvilagzis /loridanus mallurus (Thomas)

Distributwn a11d habitat. Two collontail rabbits, the

New England cottontail ( Sylvilagus lransitionalis) and the eastern cotton1ail (S. /loridanus mallurus) occur on

Long Island, as ind icated by Nrlson (1909), Hamilton (1949), and others. Both kinds appt>ar to he rather wide­

ly distributed on the i5land, b ased on specimen records.

But the exact status of the two species-relative abun­d,rncc and patterns of distribution, perhaps in the proc ess

of change - awaits cla r ification. Ne lson (1909) and others havl' shown that transitionalis was probably the only

native coltontail in un extl'nsive arra of the Northrast , including all of New York Stair and adjacent states to

the north and south, and that /loridanus has extended its ran ge into thi s rC'gio11 rnthcr rrcrntly. Possibly /loridanus is in the proce ss of rep lacing transitionalis on Long Is ­land, as it has in somr mainland areas of eastern New

York and s1)uthern New England. Also, cotto11t,1il rabbits of oth er sub sp!:'cies of S.

/loridanus from certain rnidwrstern states have been

introduced on Long Jsland. Very likely some of these arrivals surviv(:d to interbreed with the local stock (5. /. mallurus), ,1lthough presumably the native form tends

to prevail i11 most areas of thr· island. W!:'stl'rn cottontails became very numerous on Fisher s Island following intro­duction ( Jos eph DPII, verbal communication).

Althoug-h fluctuating in abundance from year to

year, cottont a ils ar e generally common from highly de ­veloped residential an•as and parks in eastern Queens

and ewn parts of Brookly11 to the VC'ry tip of Montauk

Point , and nrar both the north and south shores. Th ey are numerous on somr outlying islands, including Sheltrr

Island, Gardiner!' Island , and the full length of the outer

barrier beach of the south ~horr , including Fir!' Island. Apparently 5. /loridanus i!' lhl' common cottontail in

mo~t or these areas, judging from the many muwum

sp<"cimms of this !'prci es ( American Musrum of Natural

History, U.S. National l\fosr :um, N.Y. Slat e IVlusl:'um, and t'ls r where) from more than 30 localities throughout thC'

islancl. The (•astern rottontail is also common on Staten Island.

On the fidd survey, we colln:t .. d 17 collontail rab­bits in the ar ea south an<l southwest of Great Peconic Bay, that is, from Riv1·rhea<l and Flanders south to Mo­riches, and outer beach near Quoguf• , Hampton Bays, and M1icox Bay. Thr-sl' animals all proved lo be flori­dan.us (baMCcl primarily on skull charactPrs commonly

used in separating this speci1:s from twnsiti-Onalis). Ad­ditional .-astern cottontails collected indud<'<l specimens

from Sheller Island and Hither Hills. It seems amazing that th1·s1· fairly sizable, dcfensP·

less animals ma11ag1· to surviv«' in many built-up areas when· their habitat consist.~ solely of the yards of sub­

urhan homPow111·rs. line tlll' y I hriv,· in spite of the many dogs, cats, pcopl,·, and automobiles. Although 110I

often notic,,d during 1h1, day, a visit to such areas at

night may rcv.-al ralihits feedi11g in th<> op en ()rt µ-rass, clov<"r, and W<'eds, or somPtinws on tlll' more valuable plant11 of yard allll garden.

111 thl' less dPv<•lopcd countryside collontails arc wid<'sprnad, whcn·vcr suitahl1• food is found, and the y ff"1•d on a vast array of shrubby ancl lu~rl,aceous plants. W1· found rabbits pn•scnt i11 all sorls of woods , from dry

lo swampy, as well ;1s in fields , boµ:s, and various 11:rassy und bushy areas. Cottontail s arc found throughout thr pim , barrt'ns and dry oak woods, nlthough presumably

in fower numbn s 111.111 in areas endom·d with a greater varil'ly of food plants. Oft<'n they w,·rc see n in or alonµ: the i,dgc of red maplr swamps; hl'rt' there was evidenc,·

o{ their browsing lu•avily in wiutcr 011 young red maples ancl olhn plaut~, such as 1-(l'l'l'llhril'I' (Smilax).

011 thl' highly agrie11lt11ral north fork of the i:;land,

cotlo111ails wen· vcq· n111111·rnus whnl'vcr then • wt•n· lrcl's or hushes, al h!asl in 196:t

Collo111ails do w,•11 in 1111• marilim<' ;trea s. A walk

through 1lr1! grass and low shrubs among thr oc!'a11-fro111 1l1111!'s oflr11 results in one to s1iv«'ral in,lividuals IH'illt--: ~1.1rtl1!,l from tlwir forms and hiding places. Their

droppi111--:s ofl(i11 Sl'Clll lo lH' "r u·arly l'Vnywh1·n-" 011 the sand. Th e rnbhil:_; .in• lW<'II found in th<' bPachgrass on the v1·ry i;ummils of th, · outer or primary dunes , one of

rlw frw m;1111mals n·gularly found in this t·nvironmr.nl. They may he 1·nc,11111ll'H'd h,•n· any ti11w during th,• y1·ar, although they probably withdraw so1111·what to­

wards thl' helln covn :ibout the i1111<•r dunes and edge of salt marsh<'s during wi11ll•r. 111 many ~ections, the salt marsh <'dgr. with ils rather gnod ,·ari!'ly of food

and l'0VCr plants is honw for 11Um(' l'0US cottonlaik They also v1·11lllrl' oul into 111!',-;1• mar~lws lo a lii11il('1l ex l1·11t. On Fire Island wt> ~aw collonlails (:ind abundant s i:rn~

of their Jll'('Sl'IICr) among the dum·~. i11dudi11g 1111' vicin­ity of tht' Suukrn Forest.

25

Measurements. Four winier adults average: wei ght, l,167.5 grams (981-1,279) ; total length, 407.8 mm. (398-

421); tail, 43.5 mm . (40-45); hind foot, 93.5 mm. (91-96); rar from notch, 62.0 mm. (59-67).

I ndividuais taken. 20

New England Cottontail

Sylvilagu.s transitionalis (Bangs)

Tht> Nt·w En~la11d cottontail is a small rabbit which

is very similar in external appearance to the eastern cot­tontail, the two differing only slightly in pelage and form. But the two collontails arc distinct and separate

spPcies, even thou gh closely related, and apparently they rarely hybridiz,• in th!' wild. The New En gland cotton­tail dors not prespntly appear to be as common on Long Island as the castPrn cottontail. Nevertheless, in various musrums lhnt· are sp,·cimens of lransitionali.s which have

bPcn collectl'Cl al localities in Nassau County and east through Suffolk County ( including some north shore an,! south shor(' localiti e~) lo Sh<'ltn Island and Montauk Point. During the 1930's about 20 wer e collected at Mastic

by David G. Nichols and John G. Nichols (specimens in Americ:m Mus,·um of N:.ilural History). This sp1·ciPs has

also bPen collectrd on Staten Island. The various locality records indicate that the two

species of colto11tail may be found in the same general

areu on Long Island. But I havl' no information on habi­tnl diffPr<'nces, if ,my, although it has bePn shown that on th!' mainland /.ransitionalis tend s lo prefer wooded

ancl brushy area~, us oppo~Pd to more open areas often

favored by floridanns. Nelson ( 1909) observed that specimens of S. flori­

durws mallurns from New Jers,·y and southeastern Nrw York, including Lo11g bland, arp especially clo se to S. lransitiorwUs i11 size , ,1111! ofteu in color. Benton and

Atkinson ( 1964) add that id!'ntification of the two species

is virtually impossible in th<' field and is difficult in the ha11d. This situation is fruslrnli11r lo tire active naturalist;­

of the i~la11d who observe and study the local fauna. During the surv\'y, we oceasio11ally observed rabbits at

very closl' rangl'. e11rouraf(i1tg tentative spec ies ide ntifi­cation based 011 sr veral t'Xlernal characters such as ap­parent i!'ngth and sliapl' of rar ( short er and more rounded

in trans itionalis). Individuals thought to be transi­tiorrnlis were observed at "Pveral south sho re localiti es

from Babylon to Monta11k Point, and also 011 the north fork of (•a~l<'rn Lon~ Island . How!'ver. one such individual was collect1,cJ antl it proved lo be jloridanus instead. thu s

26

our f1drl id,·111 ifi,:ill i<o11, <·;m111,1 h(" reli(",l <m, ,1lthouµ-h

p,-rhaps sr,rn,: of Lhc·m w,·n- r;orn·cl.

A (·lo~,· 1·xar11inalion of k,·y ~kull dwrar·t1,rs, which ar,· r:1n1si-t,-111ly dilTi,r,•nl i11 tlH, 1w,, spl'r:i1·~, ii; 1h,: cl,•. p1•urhd,l1o way lo dislin!!lli~l1 th,- n,t1011lails; Hamilton 1 l'J,1:3) ,111<1 Fay and Clw11dl,-r 11%.'iJ an· hrlpful ref­,·n·111·••s for id1\11ti fyi11µ: spN·iuw11". l{,,.-,.n1ly, 1li11dn8tr.it1

I l'J(,!>) rn;1rl1• a f'.0111parnliv,· study of skull diaradns of tlw 1!aS!r,r11 all!I l\r,w En gl:111d col1"1rlails in the regiou of 110rllH'rn 'l',·w Jr-r.0 ,•y lo C:0111io·dir:ul, indurlin~ Lo11~

Island; sltP al.-o sludi('<I µ,·o!!raplii,:al vuriatiu11 l)('t\l'<'<:'11

I ,orig r~la11d and n1ai11Lrnd ~p,·,·im,·11s of 1:ac:h s1weies.

Woodc:huc:k

,liam10/r1 //1/1/f/l.'< rn/1:st:1•11.1 A. II. Howell

Won1ld111c:ks aro· only luc;11ly c<1!lll11<111, lH·i11µ di~lrib-111<-d in ,I spolly 11li\llll<'r '"'"r a11 l'.Xl1•11~iv1· portion of

central l.1,11~ f~la11d. I .,aw V• '.I";{ few wooddrucks durin;; 1Ji,. surv1,y, tlwsi· pri1n:1rily i11 fidds a11d ,;<:ruhl,y woocb i11 llw l',•1:011ir: Hiv('I' rq.:iou of Suffolk Co1111ty. llnwn'<'r, woodduwk~ oc«111, w•·.,I ward nhoul ;1s flit a, <"<'tJI ral Nas­

sau Cn1111ly. a11d ;ir,· still <'<m1111on 1·11011gh lo <«111sc 1:0111-

pl:1i1tl~ frnn1 gard,·rt<'rs i11 ,ome ari:as of thal county. Tlu,y :in, :ilso ~•·•~fl 1cµ11L11·ly ,il1111g tl1<· \orth,·rr1 St;,.t,· l':11-kway 11.,r(li of llic:ksvill,·. La11ru11 ( l'J(il) terms this ,1wc·it·H as rc•µ:11l:1r ,111d fairly ,·0111111<,11 011 tlw Kalbflci,c!1 Vi,,ld Hc·'SCaffh Stal i"11. in lh,, !li x I I ills ar,•a 111·ar Hn11t­i11glu11. with daily olisc,rv:itio11s { irn:lndi11;! d1·11 !'ilt•s a11d Jlln:uil<"s) fru111 1nid-April lo !al,· i\1,l'r111hn. S('.\'nal wril<-rs !1:n-,· 11u·111 iun,·,1 v,1ri1111, liahital• fr,,,pu·111<·c'[ by woodc·l11wks llll LoJ1g l~l;md. iu!'l11di11µ: fid,k llll'ad01n,

wroudc·d f1·1w,· row~, l1rnsli, ~1·11il1 u:1k wood~. o:1k-hickurv \\'uud~. hill,idei<, a111l l1i;.d1wa,· a111I 1ail1· .. a,I Prnliank1rw11b.

Wood chu cks arp fo1111ci 11,·ar the north and ~nutli' ~hon·s in pl, lf'c~, hul tocby ar c ran • lm1·nrd~ tlu· 1•;1stc•1·11

<'lid of I ,ong l~laml as wr•ll .is in th,· ln11il-up ,1n•.i~ uf 1lr,, \\T,-lt·rn p,irl nf I lu• i,ln11d. E,·iclc·t1lly th1· srwrir~ wa~ fo111wrly 1111wli nI<il"<' rn11111·ro11~, 11111 ha~ ,ln:li11<'d in 111111illl'r,-: 1lt,, n•a~nlls for 1his an' 11.,1 c·nlin·ly c-1,•;J.r. lldm" I 1902 J 111;1 i11lai1wd 1 ]1,11 \1·11o<l1·ln1<'h, altlwuth ~till com-

1110 11 nl Ill(' lurn of llw t'<'JJlllr)". had lw,·1111u-g-1r:1tly n·­rlucccl in 111111illl'r~ in 111.111!· lo,·,ilili,•s af11·r ~,-vcr:d IO\\'JIS

l1cga11 ]lJ)ill/! liou111i1·~ for tlwir d,•~tnwlion. Al~o the r;1tli,•r l>arn·11. ,andy pint· a11d oak ,nc,1s with lhcir ab,111-d1111e1l fi(·ld~. altlwu/!lr wile! c11011~h. 111.iy h,· c;1p;1hlc of ~npporl ing only a l()\\ pnpubt ion of rli111·b.

Accordi11;: lu Hu) L11l1an1 I p1-r~o11al conm11111icnlion) years ,1µ0 woo(\.-i111t·k~ wr'1-e vt·ri· ,1)11111(1:rnt ;ind wid1·­~pn·ud 011 tlu· ea , l ,•1Hl nf Lull(.'. [,:.lancL i11clu1li11µ: Slwlter

l."lun1I; there w1:rc muuy i11 th,· uµ-ricultural Orient rP·

g:ion hrfor.,. I 910, hut Latham r<'corded hi~ last one there in 191 !'i. He rrport.- that they arc still present in the Sound Av1·11uc .<;cction nu rlh of 11.iw~rhead and are fou11d eastward from ther<", i11 small numbr·r~, as far U5 Great PPconic Bay. Lalhnm\ parliP~l ,ra~o11al n·cord of thb hihf'rnator on th,· Horth fu rk \\ a, un,· cau7hl Tll'ar

Orie-nl on February I, 1902. Lon~ Tsland specirn1·11~ lskirn; ,rnd ~kulls) are µre­

!';('rved in tht- AmPric,a11 \'TusPUrn of \:aturnl History, in thP U.S. National l\fose11m, and in th,· eolll'vtion of Roy Latham. Although 11rn:omrm111 11011. woodcl1uck, ha\'c been on th<~ islaml for a long: time, and their rem.a ins hav,· been fuund in I udian ar<"harulo),".iL",d ~ites dntin,!! baek many i:cnlurics bdor1: the white llll'n arrived.

Eastern Chipmunk

Tamia.1 .1/r1~1/11s fislwri A.H. Howell

Di:Jtribution rwd habitat. Chipmw1ks :ire n1udcralcly cou111wu lo co11spic:IIC1ll~ly almnd1111t in mo.st woo<l<,d

;trca~ of Long (sla11cl. W ,. _<;iw th<>111 in and nPar parks

i11 ()u<"ens and i11 resid,·ntial areas on tlw 110 rlh sh,.nc·

uf Nassau County, 1·a~twm·d lo l!itlH"r Hills StalP Pal'k w<'ll out 011 tlw south fork. Also. chipmuub an' reported ;1s still p1·e~ent i11 l'ru-pt·cl l'ark. Hronklyn [ where they arc h·ss t:0111111011 1ha11 fnrn1t·rly 1 iilltl to occur m for Past a~ Mont auk I A11011 .. I IJ(,3a 1. H.oy Latham collected <111,· al 11u11la11k in .J u1w 11!:!7 I in his eol!cdion ·1. l\,s­

sih\y Lhi~ ~\J<'Cics i~ rr.lutin·ly 111·w iu th1· i\fo11tauk area.

since Dutcher and Dute lwr I U193 1 slat!'d that Lhcrr-were nu chip11111nks i11 llw 1non1ls of \'!011lauk. Twnir1., is al~o

p re~cnt on ~lalcn lsb11d. Chipmunk di5trib utiun ,1p1wars to be '·spot1y" rnJn­

p,1red with uwni 1r1;,i11b11d n·~i1111,. liow,,,.,·r, c:ince we

wne unabl(· to finJ ii i11 -,·veral ~,·1·rni11µly suitable area, 11c.1r both the north ,lll<l soutl1 sho1r~. Al,o. T(l/11ias shun~ the i11111Jl'clhte vicinil) of thl-' occ,.in beaches lwrc, and

is Hbsenl from mo~I if 110L all of thl' ~mall outlyinp: is­b11d~ off lh(' 1·:tsl e11<l and $OUtlt ~hon' of Long lslnnd.

Tlw mujoritv uf lh(' .sp('cim<"n~ 1,·,·re collected in 1·t·11tral Suffolk County ~oulh nI Rinrbead and Manor­vill1·. in pi1w bunc11~. a11d i11 t\ak wnod~ ,md other d,•. ciduous µ-rowth. Thq ar, , quite co1nn1011 in the pi1H· barr,•ns, e~peci,dly m:ar the pond, arnl l:'I n::irns found in

p;irts of this reµ:io11; pikh pint·. bPar oak • .iud !Jluebprry cun1p1·i~ecl the principal woodr cover in many of the pine- reg ion localitil'~. Chipmunk~ h·c-re nott'd a~ common

i11 oak woodlands, ab;o loc111ly in various ocrnb!Jy woods aucl rl'~identi~d .1rea, nmr ba\'., alou~ the ~oulh ."hnn·.

Cl1ipmu11k,; W<T<· 111m1nous throughr,ul thr• pr·riocl uf this su rv,·y 011 th,· ~outh fork "f eastern Lon)! Island in w,1orls contJH>,r·<l JJrirnarily of various ,-per;ies of oaks / whilr·, blar·k. sr:arld I. In r:untrasl, thi.- species seemed to lw v<'I')' rare "II tlu- 11orlh fork, al least ,luring the sumrn<·r of Jl)(,:1 whr:11 olisr:rval iou" w,·n• made in a n11111lwr ,,f wo<><lc•d an•a~, i11dudin1 Browns Hills and Cn·al Hoµ; i\1'.r:k ( 11011,: sl'1·n, ahlwugh prnb.ihlr> burrow 11otr·d 011 Cri·al !lug N,·ckJ. Gray ~11uirn:h,, how,•vPr, werr recorded as licirrµ v,·ry r11rnwrous iu 1h,· :=mmc north fork an·a-. lloy La1ha111 (pn;.:onal commurrication) writes that tlrPro• a,·,• 110 chipmunks in Orir-111. aud he ha,, tl\'Vt:r -C<'ll 1l1r•111 ill Crn·11p"rl, althouµ:h he n•porls that a few d1ipntu11b ar,· f,rnud li<'l wr•c11 tho.,r· localilil's, al East Mariou. Fmm this i! aprwars that Tflmias stri«tus is quitr. sr::tl'l'C and local in rliis llorllwasl section of the island.

Sh('hr·r l.-lar1<l .1pp1·ars to lack chipmu11ks altugdhrr. 111 a wt•1,k 11f a(·tiv1· fji,)d work in Jum• 196:1, 110 <'hip-1111111b 1·wn· f111111d. Boy L1tl1a111 ,uld, that a!' far as he kn1111·, tl11•n• an· rt<) Slrdh,r lsl.md rrcords.

Font! lwl,ilx. Chi111111111ks £red 1111 111a11y kinds of nut~, ,-;r•,·1ls, frn il, arnl ol!U'r pla11I 111akri,d, a11d :ili-o on inver­lr·lirntc s a11d .-mall w·rlt'brn11•~- Our ohsP1vatiom, wer<' f1•w awl casu;il. C:hip1111111ks wen· 1w1nl as consumi11g :rcorns aud lii<"k111y 11111>'. rhc fonncr prol,;1bly an impor­lu111 ,tapl1· l11·n'. 111 tlw pi11" IJ:irn•ns they frnl 1111 rlw s1·t·d, of pi1d1 l'int·, a, do gray ,quirn•l~ aud flying squir­n•I,._, ll11ri11;•. A11g11,1 I """' d1ip111111lb cli1nli wild black ('lwny ln· cs I / 1

r111111.s .IN1Jli1111) to f1•(•d 1111 the fruit. Ju Sc]'l•·111lll'r .,01111• w1·n· "rc11 joi11i11g robins :111d c:11birds lo fpr•d on tfi,. fru it of lupclo (/\'yssa wlvraica.). Wild :4rap1·s and hl111•l11•rri,·s :ilso w,•n· ca(1•11 in s,•asn11.

N,·11111rk\, Litrl,· i11f,>r111alio11 was f.\illlwrecl n·latin g '" l'l']'1'11d1t<"tio11. i\ l'n1 fi,111ah•s W<'l'<' l'ol11~1:.(1•cl i11 Ju111· ;111,I ~•·111,•11il1n witlr 1111·,·,· t1, ,ix plan·nl,1I s<"ars. prob­al,I_, i11rli,·a1 in;.- ,prinµ 1111d si1111111l'I' lill,•r,: I tlwn• arc two hn·,,.lin1: 1l('ri11d,- i11 tlu· ,·astern !'liip1111111k).

!:hip1111111b sl1·('J> 1111d1·r: .. :Tut11HI 1h1011µh 1l1r, wint<-r, al1Ii .. 11: .. d1 111·,•;i,,i1111all~- indi1·id11al" ar,· ;11 lin· abtl\'c µTtHlltcl

at tlii" s1·11~011. W,· did lllll "''1' ,Ill~' «·liip1111111ks lll'IW,•t•fl .\ov1·111lwr 22 a11d April s. a11d mn,-;t .. r our J'O,('Ordi-' \\'('('«'

frnr11 ~la~ (11 ( k111b,·r. W,· n·,·,·i1·,•d lwo or thre,· rq>orb nf all-whill' chip•

1111111k.-m1 I.Hn;.- l,la11d. llow(·\·1·r. all>i110 d1ip 1111111ks ,tr<'

ran• a11d Wt'r<' 11<11 ,,•1•11 hy 11.-.

011l' ,lay d11ri11;.-.lu11<'. a n•d-tail<'d hawk I 811/1'0 jn­

m,1ic:1•11sis) was ol,st' f'\'('d lo <":tlch a chipmunk in low. ,snul>J.y pi111' 1•iai11,s lialiila t ju:;t i11la11d from N:1pc11g;n,· lkach. an ,,1,·a. itll'i1lrn1:dly. wlll'l'l' I had 11111 prr·viou~ly "ll"1'1'1~1,•d 1lw pn·s,•111·1• of l'ltipm1111ks. 'l11e h,1wk watched fro111 tlw t1111 of a 1,,lqll1<nll' pnl,• for :;evernl minutr s,

27

1h,·11 it <lov,· down, disappP:irinµ- briefly nmonl£ some bushy pitch pines, before ernerµ;ing with a chipmunk in its talons. It flew uff with its prey, purrnc·d by a pair of noisy sparrow hawks ( Falco sparverius) which apparent­ly had their h<>adquarters nearby.

Meusurr.m~nts. Eij:!ht adult males (Suffolk County; April to SPpl<'ITil)l'r) av,·raµ;e: weight, 88.8 grams (79.0-10.5.3); total b1;:(th, 237.7 mm. (230-251); tail, 87.3 mm. (85-90) ; hind foot, 31.0 mm. (31.5-36). Eight non­pregnant adult frmale, I Suffolk County; June to Sep­temb!'r) averaf!<•: weight, 82.S gram;; (75.5-86.6) ; total length, 233.3 mm. (228-238); tail, 86.7 mm. (83-97); hind foot, 34.0 mm. 131-38).

lndivid1wls taken. 26

Gray Squirrel

Sciuru.1 carolineusis pnmsylvanicus Ord

Distribution and ltabitat. This large squirrel is the con1;picuous diurnal Ire,' squirn·l of Loup: lsland; thl' red i;quirrel (Tamiasciu.rus) <lo<'~ not occur. We obserVf'd gray 1;quirr<'ls in all type,: of woodland: coniff'rous pitch pine barn,ns and small stancls of southern white cedar as wrll a.s d1·ciduow; types such as oak, mixed deciduous , and swampy woods of red maple und tup<>lo. An adapt­able ~pl'cies, it is founcl in city parks and crowded sub­urbs as well as in prrdomiuatdy opl'n agricultural land, provich•d there are scatter('d ln·es, groves, or small wood­lots. Oc<'asionally individuals wr·n · encountered traveling on th<' ground al consideralil .. distances from trees in both suburban and form areas.

As Oil!' would t'XJWct, /!<'ll<·•ral observations indicate that ~n1y ,;quirn•l s are mor(' numerous in the richer and mon· div1•rsifi('d kafy woods ><ud1 as occur on the north shon~, 1l,a11 in tlw pine barren, re!lion. The formPr pro• vid,•s a rnor,' pl,•ntiful anrl d1·pe11dable food supply. TI1c spcci<•s wa;; nnt('d as v,•ry 11unwrous- :1t least in 1963-un 1•ast1·rn Lung hla11d\ north fork , where it wa,: seen or heard alr110.st (\Very place when· tllC'l'I' wa!' woo<l y vege­latiull. For l'X,llll[ll1·. ill Browns Hills, which ,·xtend to withill 3 mil,,,: of the tip nf Orient Point, il was noted a s Vl'ry uumc·rous i11 June of that year, in scrubby areas a.s wdl .is auwng tull trt'c'"· 11,er~ is a ~reat va;iety of ln·t·s fr,.n._ indudi111! much hickory.

011 th,, .,outh fork in the ,;ame year, gray squirrels :'('Cm1·(l much If,,:, nunwruus . althou:::h they were observ('d in variou,: an·a~ 1·asl I<> Montauk Poi11t Stak Park. These squirn•I~ Wl're aim rernrrlPd (HI Sht>lln Island and on outlyin~ Gardirn•r:- I~land. ln thr pi1w barren~ of Suffolk Count) ),!r:ty $C(t1irn·ls an· fairly co111111011; thry are found

28

throll;.:houl 11,,. n·;.:icrn wlwn·vn the• tr• ·<·s arc of appre­ciahle !'iw and tlwy an: .-,fL<·n :::c•en near str<~ams or otlwr lirnli(•~ of watrr. ()c;c·as·1011ally gray squirrels wen· noted i11 l,11,hy piri<' plain!< habitat, probably foraµ;ing for foocl or p:i~si11g through rall1<:r 1ha11 r(•sidi11~ in such art>as. 'l'hl'S<· ~q11in,·b ;ire, probably liarcl pressed lo find fond in

th<· pi111• l,ar1n 1.• d11ri11g yc•ars of failure in pin<· cone· or oak :ic:or11 1,rod11d io11.

Cray sep1irrds an: found 11car 1111' occ·ai1 towards hotli e·11tl, of th,· i!-;la11d, but th,·y lwc:0111e. very rar e and local 1111 1111· l,arri,·r lwm:li slrip wtwrc~ it is wiclcly s ep· :nalP,l from LIii' rnai11la11d hy Cr,·aL Soulh Bay and other hays.

Crny ,-.quirnds wnc • 111ole·cl lo inlwhit c11vitie~ i11 !rees a11d also tu hui],I ,·onspicuous outside · l1•af nC'!--lS (of tc'll

of o:1k kavc·,-.). a., i., tlw !'.IISlom of th is ~1H·cics. R<'port.0

1\·,·n: r,·r:e·ived of µray ,q11irn•ls causin/! rather s1·v1-re clrtrrwµ-,· i11l'id,, !.uildinl!s, by c:lu•wi11µ-1101,·s throuµh walls :11 llw allic, of ho11s1·s, and i11 s111111111•r camp all(\ rrun duh l,11ildi11gs in 1lw wn111l,-.

Fout! lwliits. Casual ol,H·rvaliu11s i11\lical1·d gray sep1irrc·I, r('<'d OIi .'IJ('h il,•rns as 1111ts of hickory a111\ hlack wal1111l, ;u·on1s .,f v,1rio11., oaks ( i11clucli11µ-whit(' oak , hlai·k oak). rtiul ~ecds .,f pitd 1 pine. Many of tlw frf'd­i11g sil-(11s s,·1·11 1111cl<'r pitd1 pi11es- lit1lc- pill's or scal­lt·rc(\ liltcr of seal"" a11d slripp<·cl cnrc·s of cone~-wen•

pmhal,ly llw work of gray srp1irrc•b. Nichols ( 1927, I 1):,/:) 111ad,· i1111,n·,t i11µ: oh.-c·1T:l1 inns 011 tlw food habits of f.'.l'ay :-<![llirrc·I., i11 :1 s11l111rha11 ,1rc,a of W<'Slf'rn Lonµ; Island.

(.'u/or. Cray !><J11irnl, i11 1111, lilrt1·k <,olor phase Uf(' u11-1•.0111111e111 h1·n-. ]1111 :tl'C' on ' a,i,, 11:dly nhsc•rvecl. Sc've·ral in­dividuals l', s1•11ti:dly hlac:k tliru 11gl1011t. :illhough often witlt a 11oli1·•'abl c hrownish ti11µ:n lo tlw p<'lagc•. wen' 1111kd in (,)1w1·11s. N:1l-NIII. ,1111! Suffolk C1111111ics. Appnr­e·ntl~• tlw hLu-k fonu is cespc·cially ~earce· 011 eastl'l'll Lemµ: [sla11d, hnt I s:m 1111<' al Ha111ptn11 Jl.,y,- in Octohl'r 1961; ll:111 ( 11).10) r,•p11rl1·1l 011 a 1111•l:111i,;ti1· gray .~quirrd from

l•:m,I lla111plo11 (in the 1·nllt-1·1io11 of no~· f.alham). No whil<· (:11\1i11is1 i<•) gray sq11irn•ls Wl'r,· ~t••·n, Intl reports wc'rt' n'<'<'iVl'(I ,>f p:irl ially and ro111pl<'ldy white squir­

rl'I!' i11 <'Prlain :1n•a;.,, i11clmliuµ.: SIH'lt<•r Isla11d and cPnlral

Suffolk Co1111ly: Hoy l.atliarn reports two whit,· 011es

oh,wrv"d 1111 Slwh(,r bland i11 tl11• wintl'r of 1951.

"frn.mrc•1111•T1/.,, Sc·vcu a•l11ll mak!'- from Suffolk Coun­ty .J\'('l\1/.((': W<"ight, 609.7 µ.:ram~ (.'i28.S-661.0); total ll'11µ-1lt. ,1m .S 111111. ( 488-,1,96): tail. 215.7 mm. (208-230) ; liin<i foot. (J<). 7 nun. I, 68-7,J).

Individuals tak,•11. 11

Southern Flying Squirrel

Glaucom')'S volmis volans I Linnaeus)

Distribution and lwbital. Thi~ nocturnal specir,; 1~ still common in th<' more heavily wooded sec tions of central Lon[I: IslanJ. Tlwre we found flyinh squirreb in wood,; with assorted oaks or othl'r deciduous trees, pitch pine, mixc•d pitch pi11<' and oaks, and ~outhern white cc•dar. Guwcomys is presC'nl also 011 till' north side of the island, nt•ar the Sound, ancl 011 the south side, 11ear

the hay~, wherev1•r ther e ::ire suitabl, · woock Eastward, how"w~r. the flyinµ: squirrel apparently

<'Xlcnds only as far as Rivcrh<•ad and Hamp ton Days. It seems to b~ absent from woods 011 hoth the north and south forks an1l on 1he rwighborin g islands, such as

Shel In Island and Cardiuers Island; at !Past I ha\·e not

)ward of any r!'r.ords for these areas. Roy Latham (per­sn11al communication J has nevn <'ncountl'rcd thi s spe­

ci<·s in )'l'ars of field work 011 th ,· north fork. In the pr<"sent ~urvr·y, many hours of ew·ning obs('J'\':itions and rod<"nt trapping in lhc !'Xlt'nsiv(' oak woods of Hither Hills failed to i11<licate th<' prc~ence· of flying squi rrel s, :tlthougli rray squirrels and chipmunks were· common 1•11ouµ;h; 1hc last two an· r:vicl1·11tly much mor e accom• pli~ll('d in r:rossing tn·c·less ground and necks of land to

reach such areas.

To the west, Glaucomrs is n•slricled ma inly by the expandinµ- metropolitan area. Flying squ irr els are pres­f'nt on lh<' Kalbflri~h Fil'kl Research Sta tion, in the Dix Hills area of westnn Suffolk Cou11ty ( Lan yon, 1961). In Nassau County a frw an· still pn· scn l locally, and they

also occur, or former ly occurrf'cL within Ilic limit s of New York City, inclucli11g Que.-n~ and Staten Island.

Flying squirn 'ls were obs1·rve1l t rt few collecled), and sf'cmed lo hf' fairly corn111011. Wl'I! out in thr f'Xtcnsive s:mdy pim• b:1rrru.s of Suffolk County south of the Pe­co 11ic Hiver ( fi~urc 3). ThPy were 110[ notcd in the low, shrubby so-called "pint' plaim," but frequented areas wlll'rr llw pine lrp1 •s were of fairly good sizl'. But there

was ran•ly much \'ariety in tlu· flora i11 tlw,e localities-

11iai11ly just the rathl'r w<'ll-spaced pitch pine (Pinus rigida), some low undpr sto ry oak , usually bear or scrub oak tQuerC11s ilicifolia), with thc· pro~trate shruh, bear­berry (Arctostaphylos u.va-ursi\ cov(·ring much uf thr gro1md. There was rvicl,·nce of Aying ~quim•ls feediniar on thr seeds of pitch pine, and it may hi' tha t in this sparse hahitat much of the diet co11:-is1~ of pi11<• ~c!'cls. acorns, and pl'rhap;; fungi and i11~ect,-or otht>r anima l food. Eve11ing parlil':- of flyin!! squirrel~ W<'H' obsernd in stand~ of southf'l'll whik cedar (Clu1111a<'C)'fJ<iri.1 thynides)

in this n•µ:i,,11, "~pecially alon~ the c·clv,f: uf a large ( for Lo11g blnnd I ,:,,d.,r sw;imp IH'a r H iv,·rhcarl ( fi~'l.lrr• 7).

N,·,rwrhs. Flying s'luirr,·ls live in hollows of tr<,es

and stuli, :ind also 111:tv huil,I nulsidr 1w.s1s. Onc- January day in :, pi 1d1 pirw and oak woo •lla11•.I nem Hampton Bays l l,ri,·fly ~1to11k a 1all pi1w sluh whid1 lwrl a con­spicuou., lwl,· :ilJ1>11I I I fed nhov,· I lw ~round. A nying s1p1 i rrc:I i11111H·diat,·lr carrn· oul of tlic hol,: aml 54:11rri1:d lo the lop .. f th,- s111b, afo·r which a :-••com! mw ap­

pcari·d al 1!11· culrnmT and g:az<'• l down at 111<:, without ,:11,c•rgi11µ-. :\ftn I l,:H'kcrl off n shorl <li~tarn:c, th<'y hoth sdll<·d h:1•,k down iu l!w cavity. Wo!Jrkull<:rs reportr>,l up to a d11z1·11 or so llyi11g ~quirrcls folll)rl log,·tll<'r in one• !ar/!,' hollow tnT or ~tuh, arnl ,dsc, w,, heard that llwy cw,•,1.~io1i;dly tak<, up 1"rsid1·11cr. in bnildi11µ;~ n<'ar W1>11ds, l1al1it., chal'.11:lni~lic of this ~r<•r.:i<'.S.

/\! a11otlwr l,wality, ll<'al' /•'lu11dcr~, two ft.males wr>r<' r,;111;.-:lit ol11ring April :11 1hc kt~<' of Hit <Jld pi11c stub f which h:1<! 1w1111·r1111s \101,·s \. Thi, m,·a w:1.~ of interest i11 1h:il lh,· sl11h wa., 011 n olry ~lul'e just alu1Vl, ti srn;i\l wl1 itP c,-,br .,wamp, ;rnol in Ht11t1c .,f th,, ('.('(h1rs w~r,· u11bid,· 1w~h ,011H·wha1 n·,w1uhli11g i11 l,!Crn·r:1I .ippr,1r,1ncc tlw work uf n•d ,quirrcl, iwhi,·h do not uccur 011 Lon~ lsL111<l ). Tlw 1w,t.", 1110.,1 of which wne foirly high up ,11ul 011 hrandu·, tll'ar tlw lru11k, w<•rc l,!lnhul,u, compact, a1l(I c·o11sl nwkd m;1i11ly of sliro~d(h·d cedar hark wilh sonH· 1•<•d;1r twigs and l,·av,·, i11cl11cl,·d. Thc,~c: 11,•st, muy liave hc·,'n i,011~1 rndt•d hy flyi 11g ,qui nd~ ml hn lhnn ~ray ~C)l\irn·k al l,·;H llw 1wsb ,liffon·d <'m1siilcn1hly from

llw 11s1rnl htf rw,-l, h11ilL hy g1·:1y sq11irrds.

M1•11.,11rl'/1u•111.,. Th(' follnwiug figur•·~ :ll'I' [Dr speci­men~ tak,·11 i11 ~11fTolk Co1111l y ,luri11g wi111,·r and sprittl!­Four adult rnnl,!s av Prnµ:1·: w,·iµ-ht. 72.:{ µrar1t/; (65.8-

76.]): l<>lal l,·11~1h, 2:11.s llllll, 1221-2:{7): [;iii, 99.S mm. (% -IOI): hi11d foul, ;1 l..'i 111111, ( :10.s.:H. ). Thn-c ,Hlult fcmal(·~ wilh1>11I <·111liryu~ av,·ra µc•: ,1Ti1d1t. 67.9 µ;ram~

(6:U-n.:1 ) : lnlal l,·11gtlt. 2:1,1,.~ 111111. (2:l0-2;\H): tail. I 00.0 111111. I <)7. IO!'. l : hi11d fnnt. :{ 1.7 111111. ( :m.5-,'J::1.S).

lndi·i>i<luaf,, 1ul.-c·11. I 0

White-footed Mouse

/Hstrifm1io11 1111d l111bi1a1. Tht white-Ioot<"d nwuse prnbahly i" 1h,, 111(1"1 wicl,-~IHt':ul or g,•ncrally distrihutnl 1m1m111al on Long bLnul. altlrnnµ;h pPrlwµ;; not tht' most

111111H·rou~. Thi~ ,-cpce ies was wkcn 011 1110rc trnplines tltun any other ~mall 111,1111111al; vi·ry o-ft<-11 only 01tt· or two

29

Paumyscn., wn,· cuuµl1l in u ~1,•,·11 area, but thi~ was

1·m1U;!h to in<liealc its pro•,,·nct·, It se!'ms to l.,e rivalc'.d only by thr masked slirl'w in it,; arlaptability lo the vari­

ous t·nvi ronmcnt~ here.

\Vood~ nf ,·,·cry ~erwral lypf' trappe<l WNe m:cupied 1,y P,•mmxscu,,. indud inp. oak woorl~, mixc·d cl.e:riduorn; woods, map!,- swamp,, pine bnrren~, and cedar swamps; dry, damp, rnat un·, and second-growth woods wer,• all inhahilr,rl. Pr'rompcu., was numerow- in lh!' dry, sanely pine and oak woods of Suffolk County, aml was ddi­nitcly 1111' most abundant ma111111al in lht> drif'f barrens, un,lc·r pi Leh pi11r' mul low bear onk ( fiµu re :1). A[,su thi~ is the commou lll(H1sc of thl' cedar swamp,.;, gem·rally

avoicfrd hy the uthn mie<'. Othn moist arr,as inhabited i11clud1·d ,pha~1111m hoµs 11,:ar woods, and bushy zone~

around pond~ und along stn·ams i11 woo(led areas.

Op,•n. lH't'le~s areas uf \·ariou~ ~orb wr're ulso oc­cupied, and acco11nt<'d for approximately otH·-fourth of tlu· total catch. Tlw~e arcus wen, p1wluini1rnlely g:ra~sy nml often inclu(k•d low shrub.~. The areas w,cre primarily 111 l wo cnt,·~oriPs - -ahando1wd inland fi,·l<ls and varioUH

coaslal habitats. [ 11 the c:oastnl area~, t rres WIT<' ofh:n far .1way and

of no appn n·nt ~i~ni ficance to Prromyscus. Hl·rc the ii;rounrl was u.,unlly dry UIJ(I sa11dy, rardy mar,;hy (fre~h lo suit), whPrt' tlH·s1· 111ic<' W<'re 1:ollt·d<'d. Lillie valleys a1t.-i depres~ions mnong the sand dunP-s, such a~ Dre found nl llither II ills ond al l~a~t Hurnptun Beach (figurr 17), W<'n' [ound to harbor 1na11y whitcdootc:o micl'. Fewer W<'l't' found on 1h1' harsh oUtPr dunrs, a habitat of sand

and brnchµ-rass. Also Paomyscu.1 wn!' present in cx\en­.~ivr-, level. op!'.11 :11·<>as at \lupcaguc M1:atlows, on Shdt1·r lsbnd, f'tc.; [)('nchgrnss and otlwr gra~st·s, plus low shrubs

(hayberrv, bea ch plum, de. i, formed low cove r in these .i r<-<1~. On thr 0111e,r strip. Paornysc11s w,1s found in gra~sy and grassy-shruhhy are:ns far from any trePs ; arf'as in­cluded FirP hlund and Lh(' ~trip <'ast of \fori ches Inl et.

/J,,rm11yscu.s w,1~ <'.ommon in v.irinus types of vege ­

lntion nt the very enrl of :\fontauk Point, including: the vicinity of the old lighthou se. Dutch er aud Dutcher ( 1893, in their surv ey at '.vlontauk, found this ~ecies pr.-~•·nt in wood.~, WPt nud dry meadvws . an<l even under logs t111d rocks ju~t abov<' the tidal zone , iu fact n-ery-wl1en• f'Xcrpt 011 lhe oprn upbnds. ·

Thrf'P white-footed mice wen· lakt'n well out in sa il murshc-s, 011c on tlw twrth ~hore (l\It. Sirwi) and two in tht> Moriclu ·~ Inld area, hut prohahl y thl' mict had W,\111lercd 0111 from rlrin , sandy a re as. Snit nrnrsh ap ­

pt•ared to be the lc;i,-t prdnred by Pnompcu.1 of all the major hnhitat s on 1hr i,-L111d.

30

l'1•romysc1is has IIC'cn colkct,·d on various smaller islands i11 thii- rr·gio11 lwsi,fos Fin• Island and Shelter

Isbncl. This s1wci1·s is pr,•sc:nl on Plum Island off Orient Poinl, aud 011c c:ollcc:l••rl hy A. [·I. I lowc•II in 1898 is in tbf' lJ.S. National Mu.~••um. 11 is r:ommon nn Fishers Island, and three· collr·cl1•cl l,y ( ;, <;_ C1101lwin in J 924 an: i11 tlw A1rn:rican M11~n1111 of Natural History. For (:arrli1wrs lsl,uul , Hichard Va11 <;cider (vc:rbal commu­nication) found l',•mmyscu.~ ah11111la11I in woods there

rluring a l,ric·f I":riod of lrnpping. While-fools arc com­mort 011 SL:atc·n fsland, wlwn· I h,1v<> found i11divi1luals living in roofrd-ow:r bird tll'sls.

R,:nw.rks. 'l11is srwcics, in r.0111111011 with many other ro<lc11ts, llucluatcs in almndauc,•, hnirtg much more nu­m, ·n,us some· years 1ba11 oth,:rs. This 1tH1y lw why our 1rappi11g i11di,·,i11·d whitc·-foot<-d mire· Lo he rare or ap­

pan•nlly ahst •11I in many s1:r111i11gly fiivornhle woodland areas. l11 tlw wintc·r and sprin;.: of I 1>62, ,:specially, thf'se mice WC'J"c• uotal,ly sc:,ircc in woods 1hrn1.11-d1out much of .-,1slc·rn Long bland. Hoy Lallwm (pc·rsonal communica-

1io11) n•porl~ u 111arkcd low al Ori<~lll durin~ 1968. Usu­ally, 111:111y whi1t•-fuol1:d mi('<' c:cmu• inlo Orient houses chu-ing llw wi111cr, B111 rlu·y wnc so S<;arcc in the winier

of 1967-68 tlwl not 111w camt· i11lo Latham's house, and lw did nol scc m1y of thc•sf' micf• clnring 1968; Peromys­,:118 ~cpmcd Lo !IC' virlually rxlinct locally. By the spring of I C)(iC), howc'.vPr, I .uthain fo1111d /J,,rumyscus to be on the

i,wn•af!<' again, lwco111i11g co111111on in 1970.

\Vlti1c-foo11·rl mif'<' wc·n· usually trap1wcl 011 the sur­fon· of the grouml, hut a frw (m;,inly in wintc•r) were

caught 1111<l1,rgru1111cl in lllt11l<'ls of tlll' c·aslc>m mole; also caldll·8 wc•rr madt· s<•v<•ral f,ic·t ahovc ground on 1he tmnki,; of leaning lrcc·s. A fow i1Hlivi1l11als from 1u1111f'!s

wcm· clirty whil<· or µ:rayish lw1wu1h, pn·sumnbly a slain from contad wit!t the soil. This spcci(•,; is fou,ul in many house~ ancl ollll'r lrnil • lin;...~ in th,• mon· rural areas, but

is not us mud, of n 1111isa11cc~ as the> house mouse. An amusi11;t i11sla111,i• of tlw wick varicly of 11est

sites ulilizc-d wns 1101\'d tlC'ar Crc·al Pcconir Bay in late Scpl,•mlH'r I ()(lO. I found au uld wc,odt·11 kitchen t;1ble

~t;111rli111! 011 liarl' ground 1111;h·r ,;01111· onk trees , evidf'ntly tlw abamlouccl w111na11t of a ~1111111u-r ca111psite. Wltt'n th<' clniw<'r wa~ pullrd ont, four mort> ur lrs, fully grown

whit,· -foots lu"k<-d up frorn :1 cozy ncsl within. Onf' scur• rinl 0111 of a holr in !he hack ;,£ the drawer and then

down lo lht· grnu11d, but 1lw otlwr~ remained in place in tlw tH•~I ;1s I shnl the drnwcr. Heline (1902) on two diffen·nl occa sions 011 Long hland found ;1~ many as 16 inclividuuls of this sp1·cies in one nr~l.

Rc·productio11. Th<> n·prod11ct ive ,;cason rxtendl'd ill

lea,;t from March lo Ortolin \female with embryos on

March 29, 1961, lactating individuals in mid-October, 1960). First young juveniles out of the 1wst wrre trappt>d

April 24 /1961). Avera~e litter size based on 12 em­bryo counts (Murch 29 to August 23i i~ 4.3, with a range of three to six. Thirty females ~howPd placental

scar~; individual counts ranged from thn·e lo 10, some of the higher counts appan:ntly represPnting two litters. Males in evident breeding condition were collected from

late March through musl of Sep tember.

MPa,sureme11ls. Sc•vrnty adult males from all seasons (fall, 1960 lo summl'r, 1963) average: weight, 22.0 grams (16.8-27.8); Iota! length, 175.3 mm. (155-197); tail 81.2 mm. (67-93); hind foot, 20.8 mm. (19.5-22); ear from notch, 16.9 mm. 05.5-18.5). Thirty-eight non­pregnant adult females in tlw same period average: weiµ;hl, 21.2 grams (16.3-29.5); total length, 175.0 mm. 056-197); tail, 8l.0 mm. (71-92); hind foot, 20.6 mm.

<19-22); ear from notch, 16.8 mm. (15.5-18). Localities range from wrstern Nassau County to Mont,mk Point.

Individuals taken. 219

Meodow Mouse

Mic rotu.s pmnsy{vanicus pen II sylvanicns (Ord)

Dlstrdmtion and habitat. The nwadow mouse, also

commonly known as field mous, · or m<'aduw vole, is abu11dant in many grassy areas, from thr outer dunes and salt marshes In inland fields and bogs. This is one of the most numerous mammals of Long Island, but it is

not found in as many rlifforenl habitats, and thus prob­ably does 110I equal in totul numbers :,.uch species as the masked shrew, short-tailPd shrf'w, and white-footed mouse. As far as is known, all meadow mice in the Long Island

region today are the same as thrn,f' on the mainland (M.p. pem1sylvanicus) ; the recently exterminated subspecies on tiny Great Gull Island, M.p. nesophilus, is discussed at thr rnd of this nccount. A sun,iving insular form just

oulsidc 1his region is M. pe1111sylvanicus provectus, con­fined lo Block lslnnd, Rhode Island , about 15 miles east uf Montauk Point.

Microtus is especially nunwrous (and far outnum­bers other mammals} in tlw extensive salt marshf's which fringt• the south shore bay,-, and which also dot the edge

of Peconic Bay (figure 6) and the north shore. In these marshes, areas of low grass, such as Spartina patens, are

hig-hly favored by the mice. Surfoce runways, cuttings, and nPsts of mt>adow mice are usually thf' only signs of mammals in the molr-shrew-mouse size range to be seen

in the Long Island salt marshes . Occasionally Wf' caught a few masked shrews or individuals of other specie., in tlie meadow mouse runways, but often Microtus appeared

lo lH' th,~ only ,mall mammal prcs .. 111. A." a J!1'1wral indi­cation ,,f nu•adow rn11us1-abundance in this habitat, 25 siup:l1•-catd1 liv,: trap, whi .. h wcr,. s1·t in a ~mall arPa of ,alt lllilrsh 1.1r.ar Moridu:, 11111:l I fi/!1m· Hi) for two nights .rml th1: i11tnvl'11ir1;.{ clay i11 Au1,t11st 1Wi2, .ind ch,·ckt'd thre,: lillH'S 1l11rin)! thi, 1wriorl. cau)!ht a total of 49 dif­fcn:11t individuals.

Dry, sandy, ,,.•a,tal an·as. witl1 a,,r,r!f·<l wa .,,rs and !-hrul,s, also pmdw·r· ma11y memlow miN~. They arc c:om­n1011 011 tlw lops of th(' 011t,·r cl1111r·s whi,·h hordn south ;;hon· lwar:h,·s f fi)!lll'I' 17 I. If Pre lhPrP is little vr·p;P.tation save· bcachµ-ra,as f A1111110[1hi/11 hrr·viliptl"tr1), hut it /!rows in fairly elrn:<r sta11cls wlwre· th1· /!f"OU11d is n•:rsonably l,·v<•l alo11/! tll<' sun1111it~ of tl11· 1lu11cs. To jurlµ:1• from tlw alrn11dant <"11lli11µ;s and other si/!ns, 111 icrotus fr,~ds

on th,· l1·aves, stems, nnd s<'l·ds of IH·nchgra!;s; but µ:1·n­t·r.rlly 110 disli11ct runwar an• In be fou11d in this habi­tat. ju,;l tlw gra.-s cu 1ti11µ-s litlNi11g tlw hare .sand wlu·re

nw:idow mi,·<· nn· preiwnt. Signs of Mii:m/us Wl'fl' found eve11 on the summits of tlH' sler,p mo\'ing or "walking" <lurws in llitlu·r Ilills Stnt,. Puk 111•ar Napf'agu1· Jlarhor lfiµ:urc 11)). Th1·s1· dmws n1·1· rnui:!1 higla~r th,111 the 111·c•a11 lw:1ch 1h111es, nrul yet the• 111ic·<) were pn·s1•11t, at l1•:1st p1·rin1li1:a!ly, wllf'rcvrr ther1· w1•fl' ,-;t:111ds of hf'ach­µrn.ss growing 1111 lhc lops of th(·s1· otherwise bare p<'aks of ~ancl.

Mi1:ro/11s was co111mo11 in fil'l1ls i~!ancl, <·spPcially wht'I'<' 1111· grass was lhi<·k ,111d luxuriant. It was often pre~cnt i11 tlH' 1<111111· saudy fi,·hl with Pitymys, but Micro­t,,.~ g<'IIPra lly fo von·d 1l11~ <le,11ser stands of A ndropogori or oth1·1· grnss<'i<, whih~ t!w more fossorial pine: mous .. was l1•ss rc•stricted, :md w11~ apl lo oc:,iur in lhf' more open, sparsely cnv1'r<'tl fidd areas, anc! ill acljoi11i11g woo1ls as W('II.

F\p_,Jr-wall•r hahilals includeel moi,t placf'.~ adjacent 111 ponds :111<1 sln•arn1,. rattail marshes. 111ra1lows. and

i-iphllg1111111 hogs; nsaally s,·dµ:1:•s or gra~""" m·rr pici'l'n\. !u the ho)!S, covl'l"Pd wilh !<hruh.s. s,·tlgr!', and tlw like, /lfir,rofus wa,: l(>f':illy ,ilH111d:mt ( figure 9): hrn• ii tu11-1wls through and 11ndn thr :-phaµ:1111111 mo.,.s. In crntral

n11d r:islnn Long- blnml lb<' shrnhhy, "l'dgy hogs strik­i11/!"IY l'PSrml,J,, those on tlw Nrw J1•rsC)' c11a~tal plain,

where Synaplom_yJ am! Clf'll1rio11m11y.~ live. but on the i."lancl Micro/.us Sl'l'JIIS 111 ))(' lhl' (>Iii~ , minoti1w Pl"f'S<'llt in such an•as. ·

This spcci1·s was ran ' i11 woudl'd areas i11 /!•'ner::il, and apparrntly no111'xist,·11t in tlw dry oak ;111d pine woods covering much of tl11• rq.(ion. Only six \\"1•n• coll<'cted in areas that wt·n• classifi<'d as wood,- •··-thre1· in a rell maplt·

swamp, three in gra~s 1111d1·r a sland of hbck locu~t tr<'es. 'WP nill( •l'tl'd ~p1•ci111f'n,-of M iaolll.~ on Fil"l' hi.ind

and ShPllcr blaml. and found abundant signs of thrse

31

micP on Gardinrrs Island, but we did not work farther offshore. Frank M. Chapman collrcted this specil's on Gardiner~ Island in 1902 ( ~pecimens in American Mu­seum of Natural History). Eight ~pl•cimen.s collf'Cted on Plum Island by A. H. Howt>II in 1898 arc in tlw U.S. National Museum. lbis form also occurs on Fishers Island. l\foadow micr an: common on Staten Island, al­though landfill opPrations in salt marshes have destroyed 11111ch of their hubitat. In Roy Latham's collection there i~ an all-white mr-adow mousr from moist woods on

Sh .. ltcr lslancl.

Food habits. Many kinds of plan!~ arr 1·aten by 1m·adow micl'. Foocl habits wrre not studied, rxcr·pt that w1· could hardly avoid noticing ~ig11s of fef'ding, such as

the many cuttinirs of p:rass or sedp:e.~ where thesr mice were present. Frequently not<'d rxamples of this included cuttings of cord -gra~s ( Spartina llitaniflora, S. patens) and bulrush (Sdrpu., ~p.) in salt marshes, bPachgrass ( Ammophila brevili[!.ulat,a) on the ocran dunl's, and hroom~edge (ArulrnpO[!.On virginicus) in sandy fields. In a few salt marsh an-as many cuttings wrre fo·und of the

odd succulent plant, p:lasswort (Salicomia sp. ). Also W<'

observed exlensivr digginp:~ by nwadow mice in stands of rf'1·d (Phragmites comm1wis) on the barrier beaches, suggestinµ: feeding 011 thr rhizonws of this large plant.

Mt>.idow mict> of th!' genus Microlus are noted for storing quantitirs of food, t·specially underground parts of plants belonginµ- to the buckwheat, pulse, morning­glory, and composite- families. In North America this habit i.c; (•sp<•cially ckve!oped in certain northern and w1·skm arl'a~. l n March 1961, on Long Island, I found rather striki11µ- :.iccumulations nf tlw tuberous enlarge• 111Pnts from rootstocks of the groundnut or wild bean ( Apios amPricmw); apparrntly these had been gathered hy mradow mice-, rnthrr than pine mice, which also store plant roots. Thr tubrrs. about an inch lon<> when dry t, ,

resembled tiny sweet polators in general shape and color ( figurr 24). Groundnut grows in moist ground and thichts, often in or 1war n rras frrqm'ntrd by Micrntus, although it is not an abu11dant planl. Most of 1hr stores

Wl'fl' found casl of Hauppauge in an area of ponds, and moist nwadows near the northeast branch of tlw Ni~­

•'<'quogur Riv<'r. Piks of th<' tubt>rs wnr found on the surfoc1· uf the ground in grass, and associated with Mi­crot11s runway:-;. Two piles Wl'r<' -examined closely: one c0111ained over 100, the oth\'r about 175 tubPrs. One of

tllf' pile~ was llt"Xt to a wrll-u~1·d Microtus runway, the 11ther was at thr end of a short spur connectinc, with a

. "' rna111 runway.

R<'marks. M,,adow micP arr destrop•d by a ho,t of

vc>rt<•brate pr<'dators. We found their rrmain.,; in pf'lkts

32

of s[:vcral species of hawh and nwk Short-f'ared owl

pt·!IC'L~ WC'n· noted a.s esp1·ciall y numprou~ in salt marshes

arnJ field;.; along th •• ~ulh ;.;horp in thl' wint1·r and 1·arly

spring of 1961, and they r:untairn• •I many mca,Jow mice.

On one occa!<ion a shorH·arrd owl was nbs1·rv('d lo calch

and eat a meadow mou.~•· Ju rjng till' ,lay cm s11ow-covcrcd <lun,:;s at Tian,1 H(•ach. There wa~ ;.i]~o mud1 evidence of

red fox,:s pn:ying 011 m• ·adow mic1· i,1 <liflcrenl an·a.~ of Lhc island.

Occasion;.il hurricane~ ,mJ o!lwr ~cvere storms un­

<louhtc<lly drow11 many rm~adow mice in thr ~hon~ an·as,

altl1ough lhc rc<luclion i11 the number~ of thl'SP micf' is only focal ;111,! ll'rnpurary. A prolo11ge1J an,I d,·va,latini;

c;1st-11ortheast sturm which ri•aclw,l its peak 011 \llarch 6, l 962, wa~lwcl over or lirnkt• throui;h the outer harrier beach in sevnal plac,·s bl'lwl'('ll Morichcs lnlcl an{) Shi11-

m·cuck lnll'L A w1Tk lalcr alon)!: this ~amr: stnp I noticed

scvcrnl d1·ad meadow micP Lliat ha<l (1pparc11tly drownr:<l ur di1·d of <>xposuYt·. Al~o some bcachgraHH ;.ind .,alt marsh

areas w,:rc buried under a <ll'1·p layC'r of sa1ul probably

carried hr storm wav •·~ fro111 1lu, Le,ich .iml oulrr du11cs.

One dcpn•ssion back of the~ dunes, fornu·rly f;l"ilssy and wilh ,l popular ion of nu·a(low mit:1·, wh1·n revisited after

the ~tun11 was fou1ul tu he coverer! with 2 to -1, fed of

ucw snnd r1·s1•mbli11g a vasl snow-d1·ift. Howcwr, in the sumrm:r am\ full of 1.962 ltl(',l<low mice were genrrnlly

11mm:rnus ,iloup; thi11 ~, rip nf barrir-r hl'ach. The cxperi­

encml Long lslmul ob,scrvn, Dr. William T. lfrlrnuth

( 19.54) wrolc tlmt m<•,Hlow mice W(•n· still plentiful on

eustcrn Long [i;laud 11ca r th1• shon• aflt·r the dP:struclivc

l 93B l111rricuu<:, 1·vc11 Llrouf;h many storm-killed mice we re 110\ccl.

N1•11rod11ctio11. Avera ge 1111111lwr of yuunµ: hasrd on

S7 sprinµ:, Sllllllll('l", a11d fall em Inyo counts I Suffolk

Cuuu1y) is ,t ... 'l, with a nlllf.:t' of on<' lo ~Pvcn; three Lo

live wt1s n!'ual ( four tlu· rnosl fn·qurnl rnunlwr ). Tlwse

figun' s ,Jr(' so11H'what s111.1\ln 1ha11 u~ually report<·rl for

lhis prolific spcei1·s. Sizt· of cmhryos rn11gcd from small

swdliuµ;.~ :-1 111111. in <liarndt·r lo l11q.\l\ t't11hryo~ 11car hirth

:1houl ;\O 111111. i11 l"uµ:th (r.rowu tn n1111p). A Ionµ: hrc,•dinµ: seasou w:1s indicatPd, with ,om(:

individual~ probahly lm·cdinf!; in wi11tcr. Embryo dates

rnn1,;cd front April I (i lo D<·~c1ub1·r 15. Ah,o. frm;:ile!'.

wliich had aln·ady /!iV<'ll liir1h (!a1·lalini,:. plac.,•11tul !'Cnrs)

were cullcclccl 011 th1· south fork iu 1nid-A~1ril. Males in

brt'cdinµ: con<litio11 W<•n) trapped primarily in tlw period

March 22 lo Dn•.,·mbc1 l9. bul two ,such mal1·~ were•

also collt·ckd iu ce11lr,1l ~11fTolk Countr ,m February 7

,rnd 8, 1%2.

M"ns11.r"me11ts. 'flH' followiuµ- refrr;:. lo specilJlcu~

taken at various Suflolk Cunuly localilie~ during all ~r:a•

sons of the year. Onl' hundred and twenty-five adult

males average: weight, 44.5 grams (28.4-75.7). Eighty

adult malrs average: total length, 171.3 mm. ( 151-211) ; tail, 50.9 mm. (38-67); hind foot, 21.7 mm. (20-24). Fifty-eight aduh frmales average: weight, 39.5 grams

1211.3-65.4). Seventy-two adult females average: total

lt>ngth, 167.6 mm. (150-197) ; I ail, 48.3 mm. ( 42-59); hind foot, 21.3 mm. (19-23).

Individuals talwn. 39G

Gull Island Mouse. The Gull Island subspecies (Mi­crotus pennsylvanicus nesophilus V. Bailey) apparently

brcamP l'Xtinct 9 or l O years after its discovery. Formerly

it was considered a separate species, but it appeared to

differ only in minor skull and pelage characters (skull

shorter and wider, color of pelage darkrr) from the

common meadow mouse of Long Island and the main­

land. This form was evidently confined to Gn·at Gull

hiland. This island, and nearby Little Gull Island are

located at the entrance to Long Island Sound between

Plum Island and Fishers Island. Great Gull is long and

narrow, slightly over onr-half mile long, and is about 2 miles east of much larµ:er Plum Island, which in turn is about I½ mill's off lhe end of Orient Point across Plum

Cut. Plum Island micr, however, resemble lhe mainland

form rather than nesophilus (Miller, 1899).

Dutcher (1889) colll'cted the firs1 known specimen

of ncs<1pkilus on August 6, 1888, and he described the

bi rd life, habitats, and dimensions of the two Gull Is­

lands. Grral Gull, 14 or 15 ac.n,s in ext<·nt, was composed of sand, with a shoreline and outlying reef of rocks; it

was hilly (probably 25 feet high at highrst point),

coven,d with coarse grass and som1· dumps of bushes,

<1nd had a small fresh-water marsh. Dutcher stated that

Gm1t Cull Island was purchased by the Government to

servr as a garden for the keepers of Little Gull light­

hou~r, but it was so overrun with the mice that it was

u::.eless for thut purpose. Litllr Gull Island was only aboul

100 by 50 yards in size, and consisted mainly of gravel

and bouldns, wilh a lighthouse .

DutchPr al~o wrote that in the summer of 1888 com­

mon terns (St1:rna kinuido) W\'re nesting in abundance

011 Grrat Gull lslnnd, am{ that song sparrows (Melospiza melodia.) were quite common, especially in and near

tlw marsh on Great Gull. Marsh hawks (Circus cyaneus)

visited the island and apparently preyt>d on 1he mice.

Dutch Pr secun·d one of thest· hawks on Grt?at Gull Island

on August 12 and the stoma<:h co11tcnts inclu ded the

remain~ of a mouse (I prrsuml:' ne.iophilus) ; he also

st ate<! that th(, m ,1rsh hawk wa s known as "mom, e hawk"

10 th1· kel'prrs of L ittle Gull L ight.

Mon· uf !he~•· mic,• w..r1• co!IPrtr.d on GrPal 1,ull Isl.ind in 1h1· yrars imnwdiatr.ly following Outcher 's 1888 visil. frank M. Chi1pma11 C'ull,·ctnl 'C\'PI! in July 1889 (skin~ and skulls in J\m,-rii:an Mu"cum of Natural lli s­tory J and Ba,il I lick~ Dntclwr r<>turrl<'d lo cnllecr more specim<•ns i11 I WJO ( d1:posit1·d ,d.,11µ: wilh Lyp(' ~pccim,·n i11 [J.S. l\alion;.il IVfos,·111111. Bail,·y (!H9H, 11)00), who 1•xami1H•d l .'i spr·,;imeJJ.';, puhli!-ll('d a d1•sniption nf lh('

new mous<". /)urin;! IH97, f11rtifif'atiu11~ wnc ,·re<,lc-d on th,• i.,ln11d and in 1·.u11ju11cti1111 witli tliis tlw entire ~urfoc1· of 1h,· isla1ul wa~ ,lis111rlwd, wipi11g out th,· ori1tinal h:1bi­tal. H,-,·d I I H'>B ! d"~cril>l'd th, , rapidly chan;?in~ ,•nvi ron· mc11I, and ii>' dT,·d 1111 the t,-rr, <-olonv, 011 Creal Cull l1<land 1lnri11µ-Ilic ."111nm1-r of I H<J7. On An,!!t1>'\ 8, 1898, Artl111r ff. lleh111· a11d 1\r1hur 1-1. lluwdl visit,·d Grt>al Cull lsbnd , s,·nn·lwd •·Vl'ry p,irt of th,· island. noted lh<'

1ll'arly <·0111pl1·t" 1l1"tru<:1 ion of tlu• vci,,<>I nlion, and fonnd no lrac,· of th" vol,·,; (ll('y co11d1ul1·d that 1!1(' Gull Island rnous1: was pl',,ha lily ,·xlind lfrolll Milll'r, 1899, who •11wl<'<l JJol<-~ furni,lwd hy llowPII). At 1h1• pn ·~ent tinw the iutrod11('1·d ho11s1: 111011si· il- thr 011Ty 111u11.-1~ on Crral C:1111 lsl,n11l as far ;1s I k11ow.

Pine Mouse

l'itymy., 111111'/nmm Ir:11/npsoirlr-., ( Aud. :111d Ru'.hlll,m)

J)i.~/ril111tion r111d l1ahi1111. Tiu· pin<' 111011s1·, or pine vol,•, .-1><•1uls n11wh of ii" lift• 1111d1•rground, is hif!hly 11c\apt­alil1·, a11d is 1)11(' of th,· ,·011111w11 lllallllllals of Long r~In1ul. Pcrhap, it is <'XJ'<·Pckd in 1Jlll1dwrs only l,y 1lw mask<'d slH<'w. short-ta ilc•cl sli n·w. wlti1<--f11ole1\ 111011,w, and mc,1d­ow mu11.,1•. TIH' pi11l' 111011,-:1• has 1011µ: 1><·1·11 known lo occur 011 l.n11g lslnud, thl' In)(' l()cali1y of scalopsoi,lr-s; Auclu­l,1111 and B:H'h111.111 ( Ultll) uh1:ii1J('cl 111a11y Lour; Island spccim,·11s. 1111 whid1 thn • ba.-r-d dwir oriµi11:1l dc~l'riptio11 of I his funn, 11a1ni11.~ ii _,/ n>icola s,·afo11.w1id,·.,.

l'itymy., is [om11l i11 m11.-I of Nl'w York Stall'. bnt hr·c·o11ws 1m1grcssiv<·ly 11-.,,. co11111w11 norlhwanl. where it is collfi1l<'d 111ai1dy lo tlw hm1111s 11[ tlH' for!'sl. 111 so111hr-rn mainland N,·w York I.sud, as l11wn tlurl.-on Valley, D<'la· war<, Hivrr 1lrai11;11.n·), :111d 011 I.011:,! Island and Slalt-11 Islau<I it i!- quit<· 1·11rn111011. r-v1·11 ab1111da11t 111 placl's. On L1111g-Island thi" 11uH1s1· is widP!y d istrih111,·,l in the liµ:ht sanely snil" o[ fi1·lcls .ind \\'ond".

Easlw:ml <>ll th,· i,..Jall(l wr- found ii 1·on11111111 as far as HithPr Mill" nu th,• sou th fnrk atul Gn•al Horr Neck 011

111(' norllt fork. a111l ii i,- k11ow11 to o<.:<;Ur all lhl' w;1y to Monlauk Poi111. wlll'n , Willia111 ])11tdwr l'Oll('clecl this ~p<·Cil's in 1893 (>:<p<'ei11w11 iu A11H'riea11 i\-l11se1t111 of Nalu­ral History). l w.i,-. unahl,· lo fin,! the pill <' 1111Ht"t' i11 $1'\'·

Nal days .,pf'11I roll<Tli11µ on Sh..llPr l"bnd . II j,.. po"siblr

1ha1 il was overlooked 011 this lar1te i!<land. althoul-!h Roy Latham, in a pt'r.,onal communication. writes that hr has no record of Pitymp· on Sh1·ltcr lslanrl ,·ither. He also writes that thi;,. spr-rir~ has not hern rc•cordrd 011 the north fork 1·ast of Southold. Pitym)'S al;;n appears to be abs1·nt from Gard inc rs !~land nnd Plum Isl.ind, j udp:ing from the• lack of n·cord~.

Pine mic1· an.-1 meadow micr- may occur top:ethrr in Ill(' s.1m<· fidd on Long Island ( fi::ure 11), but Lh1·rr are so many clifferenrrs i11 habitat prcfrrrncf• that morr- fre­qu, ·ntly only one i., found in an ar!'a. The pine moul'e is scare(' in the immrcliat" vicinity of thl' ocean front alon/!' thr south shore. This fos!Sorial ~pr-ci,·s avoids the salt marslws ( where Micro/us ahouncls), although it is locally common al lh<' dry edge nf thi s habitat. Also Pit,y-1wys w.is not found in fffilSf)' dmws '1ml hollows behind th,· oceai1 lwad1cs of l'astern Lo11p: hlan1l. c·ven thou!?:h Sor<'X, Blarina, Scalopus, Peromy.1c11.,, Micro/us, ll,/us, and Zap11s wrre found in such ;ireas. We wen• unable to find l'itym'j's 011 th(' outer bnrrier braehes. where our collect• inµ; localitie~ inclurlcd Moridws lrill'I, Tiana Bl'ach , and fire lsla1u I opposite Smith Point.

Inland i11 Suffolk County. howr-l'er, Pit:ymys finds more t1·rritory ~uitahl1· to it than Microtus dnr-s. ThP. pi111' vole lunnr-ls under tlw leaf liller of ouk and pi11r-oak woocls; also it fin els snl isfacto ry lht> dry sanely ground of pirw harrens, ai1d old sandy fields where ground vep:cta­tion is loo !Spars!' for Microtu.-. TI1t> latter of!l'n does pn '.­dominatl' wher<' the p;rass is thick, a11d invariably clo,·s so wherr th<' µ:round is wl'l, as along sl reams a11d in marshes .11,d bog!'.

Aroun<I some of !he bar, pin<' micr· may be found living ri1d1t up lo thl' cdgr of tidrwatr-r. We found this to bP rsp<'cially true in the vicinity of Grf'.nt Pcconic Bay, which pe11etrnles for i11lancl i figun· 6). Hl're P.:tymys was a~socia1erl wilh Mirrolus in a dry s.indy zone (often 80--10 £1·1·1 wid!') alonp: thr- wry bordl'r of the salt marsh unclcr b!'achl!ra~s I A1111nopliila brevilipdata), a tall un­irln1tified µ:ra"-.~ µ-rowi11µ in tussu<'ks, grou11clsc•l-trt>e ( Bae• chari.< hali111 if olia), bay bf'Try, and th<' like. The pinr­

mice W •'fl' found occupying subtrrrant>an burrows, and also ,-urfacc runways in tlw i;rass. Windrows of old slorm debris fro111 IIH' bay were conspicuous in tl1is zonl'. This <·d~e w111· w:1s a clear-cu\ ar<·a of ov,·rlap for thl' two microlincs: Micro/us alont' occurn-11 out in tlw wr-t tidal marf'h, while i11bnd, uncl1T pin<'~ and oaks, only Pitym.ys was found.

Thi~ spt·cies is somelimt's :-aid to be poorly named aucl rarrly found u11cler pines. Probably it would be more accurnt<• to ,ay 1hat Pit.ymys does not appear to he re­~trictell lo pine s i11 .iny region, .ind it is also founcl in re­µ-ions wherl' thrrt• are no pines. In lhe Long hla11d pitch-

pirw rcµ:i1111 /'itymys i"' actually rutlicr commo11: in foct. it i!- only microl irn• JffC~<·nl in this cnviron111r11l ( fil-(­urc :1 /. ll<·r<· ii is foturnl cv<•11 in ratl11•r liarn!n ;1reas, with f<·W µn,c·u pla111~ lw.,idc., pitc:11 pin<", a11 undc•rgrowt!1 of h<"LJr oak, a11d for µ-rnund cov<'f, lwarhcrry ancl "'OllH'

sr:allPrc•d S<·dgc·. Pir1<· min· wen· also lakc·n in t1Jr11H•ls un-1lcr fallc-r1 lc·aws in d,·cidnous woods. AL llillwr ITills it w;1s lrapp<'d 111111n l,la<'k oaks and whil,· oaks (fiµ:1irc· 21 ), many .•t1111lc·d and l1c,nl l1y th,· wi11rl, near Iii<' 11hof<' of !111,r·k l!-<land S111111d.

In old s.inrl)' fi<•lcls, form,·rly <:11ltivale1I and now c<,v,·rc·d wilh lirou111~1·clµ:c ( AndroJJOf!,(HI vir/!,iTtir:u., I, c:0111-pos il,·,. a11d t>llwr lwrhs. a11cl ~0111<•\iml's sr:allrn,cl young pi1d1 piw·, wild hlack dwrry, de .• pine mic,I' arl' often :1l.1111da11I. ;111rl ,·asily lrappccl her·a11~•· tlw liolr.s h·adin/! ti) llll'ir ltllull'ls arc· 11nH1<-rous ancl readily ~<•1·11. (kca­sion:dly W<' fu1111cl l'ity111ys 111 parls of a fi,•ld wh1·rc liw µ-round Wits 111·arly !,arc. with only a sca11ty µ:ruwlh of gm~s. while tilt' )t'~s fos.<orial Mi,:roltts and Sorcx were ratlu·r dos,·ly <'011fincd to <lcnsc µ:ra,;..s cov1·r. TIii' hurruws app, ·:m·d to lie smallc-r 1l1:111 tl11,sc· of mcaduw mice, ;1nd in llc·lrls W<!T<' rnon· apl lu he ,-c,<•n i11 han•, op<·11 ground, as 111c·11lioncd al,uvc. 111 ouc· s111all fi<·ld surroun,!ed by wuods. whrr,• 110 1111·:ulow 111i,·,• \\'PT<' tak,•11, pinP mice frc ­tft11·11tPtl snrfa<·~ n111ways in dcn>'t' lirournsc~dµ-... I had mis-

111kc•n 1111· runway., for those uf Micro/us lwforn trapping-, hut 1l1<·y did s,•,·111 Lo l,P narrow,·r lhan those of Micro/U$.

!U11ri1111 apprar<'d to lw tlw mosl rq~ul,u mamm;,il a:<.sociat,· of /'it_ymy,,, lw1!1 showing a somrwhat similar hahit,11 dis1rih11tio11, :uu! 11f1Pn fo1111cl in th.- .~am,• lun11clf. Thr c11sln11 mule was ,d,-o ,p1i1<· dwrackri>'t ic of the· 1,;1mc· atTas, pi111• mice· of11•11 11si11g tlw l:trµ:cr 11111lt· l11n11ds. Ilc t:a11si, of a 11101"1' s11h1t•nanc,a11 <"Jlist.-rn·.-than /l,ficro/.11.s, proltalily rd;1tiv,·ly f,·wn pim· min· arc d,·~troyecl hy pn·dalors, altho11µh various birds. 111a111111al:,, ;111rl s11ak<"s cut thl'm. Wt· did S<"r n·mai11s of pine mice· appan·ntly killPd and i,al, ·11 hy n·d fox,·s ancl otlwr wil,I prc<lntnrs, a11d 111 I hmp!o11 Bays 011r )><'I t'at oc,r-a~ionally caught th,•111.

Food 1/aliits. This 011mivuron~ a111I r;1tlwl' voraciou~ vole• is of ,·1·u1111111i1· i111porla11(:c·. althoul!,h its mainstay ruay lw saiol to lw ,;11cn1lt·111 root~ and ollH'r u11rlt'rground parls of wilt! pla11ls. with :wilsonal varia1i011. i\.L timrs this spr·cics ,·m1s<·s cnn!-id,•rahll' ,l.nnag<· in ord1ard~ and nur­-~ril's 011 Lo11g Island and rl~~whrn• by t'ali11g th(' hark and <"amhi111n of trc·1· roots. ginlli11g 1h("111. Some damnµ:,• to pot:il,ws anti oth,· r root crops of farm a11tl gurd,·n may orca~io11:illy l,c t·au"t·d liy Pity111ys. Roy Latham, an ex­perit,m·c·d potato farnwr. wrik s (personal communica­tion) that on l ,ong lsla11d pin<' mice nibble on polatne~, c;irroL.s, rutaha~as, and othn rnots in we1·cly fi<,lds but

apparently do no notable damag1·. Moir.-, which make morr c:011~picuous tunnels, nre frr·qu<'nlly hlamt'd for the dcprcda1io11!' uf u11dergrou11cl pine miC{'.

Some /[rt·en fo!iagf· i~ consunwd, ;illhough th1• cul­tin:r~ are g,•ncnilly 1101 as numerous and compicuous as thos,· of nwurlow mic, ·. In a number of ahandoned fields vi~il,·d there was evidence of pirw mic,· feeding on various lwrhaceous plants. For ("Xampl<i, goldPnrnd (Solidago sp. l was h,•in/[ e.1te11 during 1\.'lay in somP fi,·lds in c,•ntral Suffolk County; many tmder shoot:- and small plants a fc-w inchPs high wl'Te cut off and carried into Lhe burrows. Also, daisy Reabane (Erigf'Ton $p.) was similarly used, and cultin/!~ wPre found in thP burrows. l11 Jum· in the ,anw reirio11 it was noted that a cinqt1Pfoil ( Potentilla sp.) had apparPn tly b<·t•n adde<l to thr dii>t, with fn ·sh cul• tings in burrows fn·qucntrd by Phymys.

Some i11clividual.o;, cs1wrially in ~prinµ, µavr off ~Iron~ otlor.~ from fcrclinµ: on pu11µ-e11t lwrh~, includi11g wild onion I Alliu.m sp. ). Seve11ty ~tornachs w,·n• sawrl but mosl huvt• riot bePn examinc•d at the tim1• of this writing. A few 1lw1 wen· rxami11ed contai11rd only plant material -Ill(' roots .irHI µ:reen parts of gr;is,-cs and otll('r vege­tatio11. Tlw~«• mic!' arc als" inclined to eat miimal food; 'JUitr ii few sp,TimPn .s wr·1·,· dcstmrcd in the traps, many presumnhly ••atrn hy IIH'ir own kind.

Rcprodu.ction. Litt(•rs are small in Pitym.ys, nncl this was bonw out in our SulTolk Cou111y information based on 11 c·mbryo and placental scar counts. The- ,1vernge was 2.4-, with a raugc of two to four. Tl}(" s<·ason of re­production !'X1endt•d at l1•ast from ,•nrly April (frmale with embryos on April 17. nnothcr nursing 011 April 18) 10 September I 011P rec1·ntly nursing on Scptrrnber 27. s1•vc•rnl with placental scars in October). Ahhou,!!h liL­Lt-1-s an• sm.ill, Raynor ( 1960) found thrre litlcr·s and a prrg11a11t female in a sinµ:lc nr-st at Manorville·, Lonµ lslanrl, in April; it wa~ assunwd that at le,1s1 0111· of the 11e1,t litter!'- helo11gPd to anothPr fr-male.

Color. Tlir 011ly noticrahl<• C"olor variants collpclcd w,•re two :idult femalt·s n<"ar Flan<lers 111 Octobc-r 1960, which Lendc-d lo melani~m, showing a dark grayish­hrnwn (11('.trly blackish) hut• 011 tin· upper parts, rather lhan the- bri11;ht chestnut -hrown charncleri~Lic of this spt·ci1'.s. BulTy sp\'ci11u·11~ have lw•-11 found al Mattituck a,ul nearby Cutchoµ:ne, as dc·!'cribed hy Hatt 11930) from a :;kin in Roy Lath:un's coih:tiou.

Mef1.wre111n11.,. Thi· followin:r p<·rtains to spr·cimrns coll1·cletl in et'ntral and r-as1ern Suffolk County at all sc-a~onl' of the yc-ar. Tliirty adult mal,·s average·: weight, 2S.2 grams (21.2-30.7); total leu,!!lh, 123.9 mm. (120-129); tail. 23.1 mm. (19.5-26); hind foot, ]6.5 mm. (15-

I 7 .. 5). Thirty adult fe111al,·,- without <'mhrrns avcra~e: weight, 25.5 ~rams ! :.W.I-:{2.()) ; total lcri1th, 126 .. 3 mm.

( 117-Bl ) ; tail, 2:t,J. mm- Cl0-27) ; hind foot, 16.6 mm.

f 14.S-l l-: J.

lnrlividu11ls 1nkr•n, 8:i

Muskrat

Owlttlm ;;if,,,1l,i1:11s zifi,,tl1ic11s ( Lin11m·us)

Musknils ar<'. ,·,mir11011 throughout 111(' Long J;:land

arna wh1:1TV('J' 1h,,1 r 111od1·st aquatii:: n·1.p1irf'ments an· met. All th,· i,arli,·r rd,·rc11r:,:s ,l1·ali11g with Ill<' mammals of the

islaud, J.!<iin~ hack lo ..arly Colonial ,lays, !ll('lltiou tliis val­ual>li: rodent, alHI ii was k11nw11 to th,· Indians 1·vr·11 ,·.irlicr.

Thrnugh tlu, p·ars, many thousands hm·e hc,·11 trapped

for their fur. J\t tl1c ti1J1<! of DeKay (1842) the skins sold for 2!i<t api1T<' ,111d wen· ,·x.tl'u~iv,·!y us,·cl iu the man-

11fadurr uf hats. Muskrals arc still Jln·se111 in llrookly11

( Jamaica Bay) a11cl Q11c1·us. a11d oil !:Stah'u Islancl; east­ward they cx.t,·rnl lo Mo11tauk l'oint, ()rintl l'oi11t, Sltehn

lsl,1ncl, ancl Ca nlint•r;; lslall(I ( w,· saw s,•veral on Gardin­

c•rH [~laud iu 19(,2). Tlwir 1nost l'Xtt!miv1· liahilals, aucl when• lhcy flour­

ish, al'<\ th,, / .. P'<1H( sall and lirnckish ti1lal 111arsfws which

c11cird1· tlw hap nlong tlw soulh shorP. (iududin;! Fin·

lslnncl), Till' si111ilar hut mon• !!call<'n•d marshes .irouml

IIU' P1\corii1, hays all{] on till' north shore also harbor many

lllll!,krnls. lnl.111<1, 11111skrals live, in almosl nil fresh-watrr

localities, Pspc!cially in 111ar!!hy ;m•as alon~ the major

slrcams (fignn· .S ), hul also in Ill<' many pnmls in th\ ·

pi1w baneui; I {i;!llrt' 11,) a11<I dsPwhnl', and i11 lmshy

splmg1111111 lio;!s, old naulwrry hogs, ;11111 wo11de1I mapk

swam1,s.

The ovnall muskrat 1m1mlatio11 is 11111rh smaller thnn in the past. lwca11s1· of th,, 111a11y ,H'n•s of aquatic rn­

vironm<'nt wltidi li.1,•1· IH·1·11 1lrai111"cl or oth1-rwist• lost. Tim:< llm11ilio11 ( 11),1-1)) n•mark,·11 that in tlw winter of

I<) I 9, wlw11 tll<' rnts l,rougltt 11p to \H,.2:i a p,•lt. 11ver a thou~and dollnrs worth or 1lw run, wl're harV<'sll-d from

the snit 111arslll's a1ul cwPk~ ( Flushing l\fradows ;urn in

Que,·ns) thal lall'I' l>1·1·anw till' site of tlw 1939 World's

F'air. Roy Lntha111 l pcrso11al ('.<>llllllllniral iou) ust'd lo bl'

abl1· lo lrap aluml HO muskrats in a .'-<'ason on tlw agri­

cultural north fork al Ori,·11t. an ar"a wlrPrP they arr

now scarce. Hatt ( 19:~5} rl1•;;1·ribcd a11 u1rnsually clark muskrat

(black ph:1sc) culln:t<·d l•y Hoy L11ham al Orient on

Drcemher 28, 1929. Fornwrly. La1h,u11 (pt'rsonnl com­municatio11) saw or obtaint>rl about two individuals in

the bla('k plws,· ,·a!'h trappi11g season .ti Orirnt.

35

There ~t'em to be rr•latively f,•w muskrat hotm·s, or

lodµ-e;;, compare1l with tlw many muskrat,: obviously pres­

ent in th,· \'arious arra~. Many must make their home~

in burrows dug into bank,:. \V(• did sec som<· houses in

mar~hes, hoth tidal and inland, al~o on ponds, and in

overµrown hoµ-s.

House Mouse

Mu.1· musc:ulus Linnaeus

Distribution and habitat. This familiar spt>ci!"s, intro­

duced from thr- Old World ahout two crnturies ago, is

numerous in and arou11d b11ildi11gs in citi<'s and towns nnd

on farms, where it lives in m,sociation with man. Since little field work was done in such situations, we did not

collect many hou~e mic<'.. This spccir-s is sometime,: found

in fields i:lml lrss uftn1 in woods in this rrgion; alw it

lives al,m;! the seashore· and 011 outlying islands in vari -

11us parts of its worlclwid<' range, including the Long

Island ari~a.

In winter, at least in 1960-61, frral or wild-living

hou.~I' mice se1•m1.•cl to be rath,~r 11umcrous nnd widt•spread

on thr outl'r ocean dunt>s along the south fork of eastern

Long lsbnd. At East Hamplon B!'ach, in Dl'cember, sev-

1·ral WCf!' trapped on th<' outer dunes !figure 17) just

back of tlw bt)ach in nearly pun' stands of beachgrass

I Amrnnphila hreviliguww) with somr scattered herbs,

chiefly compositrs. This was during s!'vere weathrr, a

period of low lempt•raturcs followf'rl by unusually heavy

fall>< of snow. I do not know how <lependl'nt this hardy

colony was on the presPnc1· of buildings; the n<'arcst in­

habited houses were about one-half mile inland, although s1·vPral summer cottagrs wen· somewhat closer.

Th" bt>ach individuals wen• probably foedinl,!: on

senls I and perhaps g-rern parts) of bcachgra:<s; ~veral wen· trappe1I on the snncl ni•xt to little pilc•s of the seed

heads. Microtu.\ Wi:!s the only otlwr small mammal col­

lectecl on the outl'T dun,·s at East Hampton Beach; tht>

two specirs appeared to b<' living clo~wly torf'tht'.r on the

~am,· ground. Some of thesr outdoor how,<' mice wen·

breeding during the winter, and a femal<' on Dect>mbn 8 contained fivf' small rmbryos.

Houo'e rnict· also were found living on the barrier beach strip near Moriches lnl,•t in ralhrr wild, deserted

clunes country for removed from any buildings. Here they werP considerably outnumbered by Micro/us and Pero­

myscus. One January day in this area wr saw a sparrow

hawk (Falco sparveriu.s) feeding on a freshly caught

homr mousr. House mice arr present on remote Great

Gull Island ( sp<'cirnens in Amrrican Mu~eum of Natural

llislory .1, llw island forrm·rly inhabit,:d hy tlw Gull Island vul<> I iHiuo/.11., f)('flflS)'lvrt11i1:11s 111·.wipliilus J.

Most lrappinµ; in n.ilural hahitals iuland, a\\'ay from l,uilcli11g!-<, fanns, arHI lhc lik<·, µ:aw 01dy 11c~alivc r,•~ults for this Sjll'ci<·s. 0111· wa.-, coll,-.clcrl ir, a S)'hal,!num )JOI(

hor<l<'.ri11g a cold slr('ar11, ,do11~ with u large number of uwadow mice.

/nt/ivitl1111f.1· lak,·11. l!J.

Norway Rat

/(ot/11s 11orv,•~i,·11s I ll,-rk,·11li11ul)

Oi .,1ril111/i1Jn 1mtl hahi1,11. Tlw :'\orway rat, also kw,w11 ;1s l,r11w11 rat, hons" ral. l,;1rn ml, a11rl •~vrn wall-r ral in s1Jl/H' localili<•s, is prol,;1hly our n11Jst cli-slrucliv,· and l1a1<·d 111au1111al. /1 is usu,1lly ass1wia1,,,l with nwn a11d is 0!1<"11 1·xtn•111,·ly ,1bu11(l<111t iu ,11ul around l,arns and urlwr huilclin~,,-;. ll1111cln·d, 11f rah \1·rrc· ,<·c·n at a tim<· a1 c1•rlai11 Suffolk C:1J1111t_r dmnps visilr.d ;iflrr <lark, a11d rat h11n1,w., Wl'l"I' n1Jlin·d 011 cluck farms and cv~n in tlw IH'lll·r n~sick11lial an·.is. Hats w,·n· 1·111:ou11t<·r<'cl 11car wal<:r, liuth salt and fn•sh, ,,fll'.11 al a <·unsid,,rahlc clista11cc fr-0111 h11111.u1 hahitalious. Ou l,011µ ,~r.111d tl1is sp\'Ci<'s is distri!mt,~cl from 1111~ Brookly11 walnfront lo IIH' rocky tip or M11111t111k !'oinl.

Siµ:11s of ral~ an· fn·qlll'Hlly notni IH'Ul' inlet~ a11cl at nwk jl'lli1·s 011 tlu· ol'.ca11 frnnl. At 1hr jl'lty which hugl'­tlw wcsl !lid,•. of Shin111•c1wk l11k1 ( fiµ·ur,· 12) r,tls makl' lhcir l10111<e amonµ tlw rocks, a11d I ha\'1· olisnVl'cl lhC'm hnlclly active 011 tlw nearby opPn l,<'ach ,luring daylight l1011rs. Wh••11 prc,st•d loo l'losPly. tlll'y lak,• cover among the nwb. Hal~ ,l)')'<'ill'l'd lo h,· pr,·s,·111 throughonl the year lu~n·, and 1lwy wen· alu1111la11I t•ven in Jnnuary I 1101('•1 in JC)(,.'! I. Tlwir 11111111·ro11,-footpri11ts fnrnu•d )w;1IP11 trails i11 !hi' .sand 11c·xl lo tlw jf'lty Ull(I ;1mong 1u·arhy sand dt111C',;. On 1)11, l1ay sid,• of th(' iulc-1 then• arc• fishing "lal ious :11111 asso1'l1•c: ln1ilclings which prob­ahly sl1cltc·r 111.111y ollwr r,11., of tlw ar<'a, and wlwn, th\' jl'lly rals rnay lak,· rduµ;i· 1lmiuµ: storrn 1i1\l's and wht>n­cvcr nccc•ssnry.

Hats an· al,o fonnd al Mo11ta11k Point in a some· what si111ila r situation, Th<'y liH• a111011g till' rocks· and bnul •li,rs al 1111' base 11[ tlw l'lilT al the v1·ry c·rnl of lhC' pni11t, a11d judµinµ: from !111· nlilny tr:wb, an• present fww cvn1 in tlu· liiltc·r. windy midwintPr se,1~011. Turn•ll ( 1939) 111t'11liuw, that rals are 01'l'a,io11ally Sl't'n iu broad 1foylig-hl fora(!i11g 011 tl11· lwadll's of lhl' Smithtown Bey region on the 11orth shore•.

A ft-w individuals \\'<"l"f' trappt'd in tlw Great Peconic Bar reiriun in ~all a11d liraC'ki~h mar,dw~ anrl in a<ljacent

dry 1-{ra~sy arPas 1fi~1Jrl' (11. 1\orwa~· rat~ are said lo be a prolill'm i11 som(' P('c1111ic loc:alitic·s I ancl prohably else­wlwn·) when exc,·ptiorwlly high ti<ll's or slom1s drive thC'm out of tl1e marshr,s, at which time~ lhPy app,:ar in abun­da11ce in and arouucl houst".<. R,rls arl' al.<o prt>.,cnt in fn•sh•wal<>r arcu«, ,m,I individuals wne st'en foraging along th,· shores of ponds in the eve11inp:, !rack~ were "ren along ~trPams in r<"d maple swamps, trac:ks WPr •' numer­ous ,in,urid 11'alcrw,1r in cc·r tain parks, :.md th,• likr. A f,·w 1·v1·11 fr<"queul sm,dl "tream.s in the <lry pine·oak wood.,. Norway rat~ inhabit muskrat burrow., in some of the marsh a11cl pond ,Uf'a~.

Norway rats an· pres,·11I 011 mo.st of tlw C'astern is­l:i11cls, iwlu<li11µ-Shelt<-r, Gardinns, Plum, and Fishers. mid, reportc-dly, even Crf'at Gull Island.

Fu(}(! lwf,i1s. Hals ,·nl nil .sorts of animal and vrg1·­

tablP. foocl, induding carrion, µarhag<', and food ~lored hr rn.u1. In tlw shore and m.i rsh areas of Long (~!and, rnls prnbahlv f,·Pd c·'<.tensiv,·ly on c<'rtain readily avail· abl1• forms of unirnal life rlioth livi11g and dead). Rats living :mwnµ: rocks al lh<" ocean, such a~ inll'l jrttil'S and houldcr~ al Mmllauk. may suh.,i,t mainly on dl'acl birds, fish, and other 111arirw life wa,lw •l ashor ••• and probably also 1'.ll l}w re111,1ins of bail an<l fish discard<'d by fisher­nw11. One January rnorninp- 1 saw a Norway mt ferding on thl' carcass of a herring gull on tlw beach beside the Shinnecock I 11ld jrtty. A urlubon and Bachman (1851) told of Norway rah along 1hr East River which were- re­ported lo dig up an<l feed on a small (~~-inch long), thin-shelled species of clnm which was then abundant in ~andy places l11~low high-waler mark.

lndividllals taken. 8

Black Rat

Rallus raltu.1 Linnac·u~

The· black rat l also called ship rat or roof rat), like the Norway rat, liws in human habitations and was ac­cidC'ntally introduced from the Old World. However, the black rat arrin •d much earlil'r than the Norway, prob­ably with the first colonists. The latter species is said to

have bt'rn introducrd to thl' seaboard states during or about the limp of the Revolutionary War; it sprC'ad

rapidly in the Northeast, replucing thr black rat, which ,wemecl to disapp,·ar entirt>I y from most areas where it had be,·n numrrous.

111c two species of Ra.tlus cannot be distinguished by color alone, re/!'.ardless of common names; melanic /black) Norwav rat~ art' 1101 rare, and also R. raltus has

diflt"rent color plias,·, or v.iriants, some do~ely r<•sic,mbling

typical Norwa ys in i:,,lor. Such f,·aturr•s as tllf' longer

tail, larger r~ars. and smalln hurly sizr· of R. rnllus :ire

m1ir1< reliahl1•.

The pn·>-1·11! status of Ill<' hlack rat in IIH' Northeast

is nut clear; p<'rhaps it 11iar lw dc~crihP •I as r·ithrr V"TY rare or v1·ry local. This species may hav,, be1·11 abundant

on Lonµ- lsla11d at one ti111c, as ii sc1·ms to hav,· heen in

sonw ,,tlwr area~ of '.'\,·w York and 1wighl,,,rinr.;- states,

hut praclically nothing is known of its history here. It has certainly Ionµ- sine,· disnppcared fmm most of the

island. VPry likely the !,lack rat in this rq?:ion has con•

tinurd tu 1·xist in 1:ity waterfront areas ( c.µ. Brooklyn),

wherr its 11umh1•rs arc r11.ii11tai1ll'rl hy 1ww anivals brought

in hy ships. Natur,disl~ rardy visit 11r cnll,-ct in ~uch

areas.

Ilel1111· ( 11)02) wrolc that "many p'ars ago" some

spccim<·ns of Rattus rrtlln., were r:auf!-ht i11 a ;a,table in

Brooklyn. The only ,·xis1i11/! l.011g Island s1wr.imen I know

of wa.~ collcckd at l>ou g laslon 011 tlie uortli shore of Qurms ucur the Naiisau County linP, March 1.1, 1921 (Dr.

Fisher). It is II mal1· i11 the hhck color pha~c, preserved

as skin und skull at tlw Auu-ric1111 l'vhm,um ,,f Naturul His­tory, No. it.297B. Ki,·ra11 ( I 9S9) slntd thal this species

ill far bf'hinrl the hous1, mou.•c an<l Norway rat in ahun­

dunce iu all fiv,· borouµ:lis of N!'w York City, but that

rt'r:ent collccting by prnfes~io11al cxlnminalors has re·

vr.nlr.d tlial ~iznl,lc 11umlll'n< of Rattus rattus are prPst-nt.

J do not know if nny spr,ciruPtts coll,~ct<'d in this maunt'r

hav.- been preserved,

Meadow Jumping Mouse

Znpus hncl.w111i11.1 am,•rir:r11ws (Tt1rto11)

/)istrilmtio11 mu/ lwl,itul. Thi• mPadow jumping

muusr is rutlwr ran, and loc:d 011 Lonµ: Island; it !>eems

to hr mor1· numt·rous 011 tlw ndj:1ct•11t in:1i11land. This

species lws lwr.11 colh,h'd from Brooklyn a1ul Queens

east lo Mo111a11k Point, und is still foull(I thinly spr<>ad

throughout tit(' foll 11·11µ:th of Suffolk Cou11ty, but at the

pre~cnt timo, nµpears lo lw common only near the eastern

encl of tlw islR11d. Titer<" j 11111pi11!! 111ict· arc found in very

dry, as wdl as moist, opPu nn-as with µ:nL,•es awl other

low Vl'gt'lation. They thriv,~ in ,;andy an-;1s nl'ar 1-:1lt w:itcr

marshrs and bnr, arnl in tire :-:ras,y hollows just back

of the ocean rlm,t·s. But ew•11 tltouµ:lt w,· found these

mice in ph1c1·s alonf:( 1h.- wry rd/!(' of salt mar~hcs, they

rarely Vt'nlure ou1 i11t<1 this hahilat.

Fourtel'n imlividuals Wt're colh-cted in dry, sandy

areas cast of Arnaganse!I, in tlu• reµ:wn of Naprague

37

Meadows and Hither Hill~ I fiirurr 18). The VCl,!Ptalion

consisted of a variety of grasses, i11cluding much beach­

gra,s (Ammnphilia breviligulalu), a11d ul,o many shrubs

and vines, cspeciall)' hay berry I Myrica pensylvrmica l, poison ivy ( Rims radicans), and wild rose ( Rosa caro­

li11a). One was collectrd on Sheltf'r Island in similar

habitat, adjacent to a ,alt marsh ( figure 25). Such ar<>as

of excc~sivcly drained grou11d /nearly pure sand), oftt:n n·motc from any standinµ: frrsh water, appeared to be

the most productive' habitat for Zapus on t'astern Long

Island judging from our trapping results.

The remaining four jumping mice were collected in

moist, somewhat l,oggy situations with grasses and sedges.

Sorex cinerc1is and Micro/us pcrlllsylvanicus were com­mon in all of the lapus collPct ing areas, but other small

mammals wPre S('arce. In the pine barrens of Suffolk

(ounty, jumping mice are found in 5ome of the more

luxuriant an•as near water, and we saw one or two among

slrruhs and gra,-cs 011 tlw e:!µ-c• of a pond near Flanders.

Dutcher and Dutcher ( 1893) reported Zapus to be thr "least numerous" species of mouse at Montauk, hut

they found it wiJ<"spn·ad ther<:', present in swamps and

wl'I and dry meaclows, and also on the Montauk Downs.

Eight meadow jumping mice (and othn mammals) col­

lected by the Dutch1•r5 al Montauk art' in the U.S. Na­

tio11al Museum. Although fou11d at Montauk and on Shel­

ter Island, Zapus ha~ not be<'n recordrd from the more

outlying ,·astern islands, such as Gardiners Island and

Plum Island, as far as I know; nor do I know of any

r,•cords for Fire Island, although there appear to he ex­

tf'nsive art'as of rnitable habitat there. This species is a

n·,.idcnl of Statrn Island, wher" it has bet'n collt>Ctt'd

m sPveral localities.

Rrproduction. Sevf'ral breeding females were col­

lectrd in June; one with six tiny embryos on June 8, one

lactating and with four placental scars on June 22, and

two lactating and with placental scar~ on June 27,

Measurem1·nl.s. The following refers to specimens

taken on tlw southnn fork of easlern Long Island and on

Shl'ller Isla11d. Ni,w adult males withnut hibernation fat

l May a11d .lune specimens) avcrag •·: weight, 15.0 µ:rams

(\1.6-17.3); total length, 201.3 mm. (194-205); tail,

116.3 mm. (101-128); bind foot, 27.9 mm. (26-29). Five 11011prq;11ant adult fem~l1·s wilhout hibernation fat lJuni• a11d Au~~t) averag!': weight 17.4 µrams (14.7-19.3); tot,1I lrngth, 208.4 mm. ( 193-227); tail, 122.2 nun. ( 112-134 l ; hind foot, 27.8 llllll, l 26-30). The hea­

vif'~t individual, W<'i)!lting 24.9 grams, was a nonbreedin~

femal(' with much fat on October 19.

Individuals tak('11, 18

Common Dolphin

/)elphim1.1 ddpltis Li11nacus

This grac,·fol ,lllcl IH•auti[ull)' marked dolphin, which

rcach<•s a maxinw111 l1·11gth of about 81,~ fod , fn·quents

New York walt!t~ 1m 01:1:asi"n, a11d is fairly common well

offahore. S1:hcvill and Watkins 11962), wh•> point uut

tliat D11!1ihi11us ddphis is k11ow11 m; thn .sadd)1·back por­

voise hy fisllf'mlt'II dwcause· of 1!11'. shape of the dark

dorsal area), 1·m·ou11Lc,re·cl a group of 20 individuals and mad,• 1;ou11d rccor<li11gs iu A ugu~t ,,f unsta11,d year ,;ome

GO milc-s south of Martha's Vim~yard, Ma ssachusetts; in

relation tu Lo11g Island, lhis g1•11eral location is the open

se·a sewrnl ~c:,m' mile·s snuth1·as1 of Montauk Poi11t. Ed­wards and Livingsto,w I 1960} ohscrvecl two in mid-winter

1959, feeding 011 fi~h escaping from an otter t1·awl 11ct,

depth of water :,WO f.-<'L, lat. :39"4-H' N, lo11g. 72''28' W

(aliout <,5 miles ulI ill(: south ~hor('. of Long bland).

Tlw Ni,w York cuaslal records (,;iglitiugs and strnnd­

ings) now availabl1'. an· more· 11um<•rous than when Stoner

( 19::m; elocur11c11led a n·111ark.iblc movement of common

dolphi11s far up Ilic I hulson lliv<·r in October 1936. lloy L1tham ha!:i numerous records of this species in the

wat<•rs al,oul tlw e:ast Pnd uf Loug island; he writes (pcr­

sonal comm1111i-,aliu11) that it is rccord<'d every year a11d

is lllm·e• frc11u1·11t than '/'11,-.~iops. Some of his loculity rec­

ords an• as fulluws: E ast Mario11, Junuary 24, 1947;

Oriml, (;.mJincrs l!ay, May 26, 19<),7; Hobins Island,

Grcul P1·c<J11ic Bay, s.,ptc'ltllH'r 11, J9,t7; Plum Island,

July H, 1951. Latham also hns n :cunls for SlwhPr Island

and Gard inns Island. Spcciml'IIS in Lath nm 's collection

i11cht1[<'. 1Hle' from Ori,·nl, (;,mlim:rs Bay, April 1928, and

eJ11c fru111 CutehoguL', ['L"co11ic: Bay, 192:t On lkcrn1l11•r u, l lJ(,O, ,111 i11diYidu,d 7 fret 2 inches

loug slrmulc1I alivt· 011 1111· <":t.-lnn :<hon : of Statc11 Island

.ind W,l!! tr:insporl,·d lo tit,· New York Ae1u.1rium, where

it live·d ,J. days (Hay, 191,lJ.

Lu111:5 lslmul s1.wciuu:11., \.-kulls and ~kclctal 111a1<•rial)

of the co111111m1 dolphin, pn·sn111ahly slra11cli11gs, in the

Alllcricnn M11sem11 of Natural l listury iucludc tlw follow­

inµ;: Montauk l'uinl. S1·plP111hcr 1), 19:{J; Jones Beach,

August 19311 \II. C. lb\'<'11 i : Fi re falaml Ut•nch, Nov<'m­

!J<'r 1, IIJ08 (skull fuund 011 IH•ach ) (l·l. C. Ruvt !11). Also

i11 the collt'ction arc 111<' St a l•·n !~land individual men­

lio1wcl .ilwv<' and spt'\·inwn,-; fru1n the Ilud sou River, 1911 and 19:36. Ano! hn rC"cord for Mo11tauk { Dl'ad Mans

Cov e) is .i ,-kull in th,· Corn<'ll Uuiv<•rsily collection dated

Ja1111arr 2. I 95 l { M, Cordo11), Tru<' (1889) listed com­

mon dolphi11s lakf'u i11 tlH· last rf'ntury near both e11ds of

Lou µ: [$l,111d, inl'li 1di11t2-]\('w York Harbor and ofT Block

Isla11d, Rhode Islan d I specim(')\s in U.S. i\ational Mu ­

sc•um J • Thi~ sp<"cic~, common mough in the North Atlantic,

is a particularly con.spicuous inhabitant of many warm-

1cmpc:rate r<'gions, such as the Mediterranean Sea, where

ii is n•gularly sem playiug about ships and leaping high

out of the watf'r. Th is is thf' dolphin most frequently de­

picted and written about in the ancient art and literature

"f the Old World; tl1<" ancients of the' Mediterranean area

also k1ww th(' next ~pcci<'s, S. cocmlenalbus, judging from

surviving portr.:iyals of it on vases and other works of art.

Striped Dolphin

Slendla col'ruleoalbus Mf'yen

This lillle-known p<-'lagic ~peciPs, which is about the

same sizl' as th!' common dolphin, but with a different

color pattc·rn and heavier brak , has nol often been re­

ported 011 th(' ea st coast o[ North Ame·rica. The striped

( or Gray's or t>upbro.•yne) dolphin infrequently comes

n<"ar shore or strands, but it is not really rare. A group

of about 200 wul; noted passing by in de ep water over

thf' lowrr Hudson Canyon about 14,0 miles out from New

York (south of Long Island) in August of unstated year,

when sound recordiugs were' made (Schcvill and Watkins,

]%2). AL !Past two striped dolphins have been found on

Long Island. A malt, wf'ighing about 85 lbs . was found

:1live on the b!'ach at th1· foot of the Throgs Neck Bridge

on May 6, 19(,7, and was tran~portC'd to the NPw York

Aquarium, but it hud a broken urck-vl'rkbra and died on May 9, 1967 (Robert A. Morris, persrmal communica­

tion). This locality is on the north shore of Qurens,

when· the F:ast Rivf'T ffi<'ets Long Island Sound, The

sk<"leton is prr sc rv1·d al lhP American Museum of Natural

H istory. A11other ,me (skull al the sam(' mus<"um) was

found al B<'llport, on the south side of Suffolk County, in

May of l 929 ( I'. While), A pr<"viou;;ly published locality

r!'conl which is clo~e to east<-'rn Long Island-some 30 mil<'~ north!'aFt of Mont.iuk Point-is Narragansrtt Town

Bcuch, Hho(k Island, wh("r<' a ma!(' 7 feet 9 inches in

le111!th Flf.lll(lcd 011 Decm1li1-r 5, 1966 (Cronan and

Brooks. 1 %8) .

The• taxonomy of Stniella, a.. large grnus of dolphins ,

is poorly k11ow11; ii iF being Ftudied liy F. C. Frasrr of

the Brili~h Mu.scum according lo Rice and Schefll:'r

( 1968). Strip,·d dolphins of north!'l'11 ocean,, including

,>ur Atlantic coa:<1, have bn,n called StencUa euphrosyne (=S. sip :), but apparently just onr worldwide species of

~1rip1•d ilolphin 1•xists. There are two stron;dy marked

rac.;cs, how,·vcr; thus l1J1·al "[H! • ·im<'ns may he desiJi!:nated

S. c. f•uphrusyru•.

Arwth,·r 111,·rnlwr of this /.•prns, 1hr: sp,,Ltr,<l dolphin L)tc,w/"1 l'lai!,im{m,, 11l.-o k11ow11 as .'i. pFrnettyi or S. ,!ulJifl) i~ a ~uutlwr11 spcr:ie.~ whid1 b~,s nol bcr,u reconled iu tlu- Lorig- Island :11Ta. Tlw isla11d is ll<'rhaps too for 11orth tu lie \·isi1<•d l,y this sp<"cie~, but it has bt·,·n re­port,·d a!! for ll"rth iis soutlwrn New Jcr.,c.;y. Voice re­cunling~ were mack from a gr11up o[ two or thrt:t' •lm:•·n spotl!'d dulphi11s (1() rnill·~ o/T Cap •• May, l\('W kr~ey, in Augu.!it of unstat •-d year i Sehevill ,.m<l Watkins, 1962) ; thi.~ l•J<:ati,,11 is n,u~hly 110 mil(,s south of Long- hland.

B0ttle-;,0sed Dolphin

Tursiops 1r11r1rr1/ns /i\101,la;;u)

Tfu• l,nttlr,-rius,·d dolpl1i11, a hr;!'.•· ~rnyish !'pt•cirs which nwy att,1iu i.l l,·ngth of 12 fret, is a common coa~1al species of the Atl:t111 ic, ;md i~ e~p,·i:ially abundant along tlw slron•s of our soulhrrn :111d 1nid-Atbntic stal<·S. 11 is migrntor;· ulou/! 1h,· coast aud vi~il8 Liu- Long lsla11cl ,lrt'H, i11dudir1/!: I ,011µ: Island Sou11•I aud various bays, in tll('. war1111\r mouths.

Hoy Lathnm I pl•n;unal commu11icatio11) write~ that lhis speci«-~ is n·conlcd every yr'ar a( v.irion.-< station.~ alo11i-:: the t·astnn Long- Island c:o.ist from May 28 (y<'ar?), (;n~<•npor1, Loll)( lsl;111d Surn1d, lo Nov1·111lwr 17 ( 1937), Thy View, l'cniuic 11:iy, arr<I also iu 19:-l2 a ~ing\,, one w,1s prr·st11I ,1s lal<' a~ IJc-cnuhcr 2, al S1•u1\wld, Peco11ic lltty. 11<, has records of T11r.~iori,~, as ,wll n~ l)dphimr.1, at Sht>lt1·r Island au.I (;ardi1H'r~ Isla.JUI. Latlwm ( 1954il r('­

portcd or1 .111 ,1<l11lt fr11111l,• TuniPp.~ trrwcn/11$ 9 fret long. and !waring a11 u11hor11 yo1.111~ •1,:l i11chc~ in lcnµth, which 8trnnd1,.I a11d di,·d 011 I lu, Sonne\ l1t';1ch al Ori('nt, )urn' 11, I (),'i;t, Sp('eiut<'n~ ( d1idly okulls) i11 his col)pction include tlu· uhDv,• fom:d,· a11d y111111µ,-, 1111d also otw from Mattituck, l'(:C:onic Bay, M,1y l()~il, .11J,l .11101her frnlll Shrlter Island, Canli11n~ Day, l 4)2 l.

Hc·l1111: ( 1902) wrol,· 1h:11 ,lol11hi11s in ~,·ncral, <'ii her this sp,·cic·~ nr l>drJfii.J11t:;, may lw ~(' <'11 as early a~ April aurl ma Int«> a~ \)('c.,•ndwr, and n re pleutiful i11 Long Island S1>u11d frnrn J mw lo lal«' Oetohn. Su11H· of 1h1· reports W•' r•'Cc-i1,<:d in (h<\ 19(>0's uf "dolphins'' or "porpois,,s" oht>crvr«l in (:arcli1wr~ Bay. Pcconic Bay. a11<\ lowl.'r Nl.'w York Bay may n•for to 1\u· pre sent ~pc'cil'~. Ou Or.tobPr 17, I 960, wp fo1111d a 111,Ltl,·-nos«'tl d<"1lpliin. which was nboul 8 feet \011µ: a111I l1ad L,,,1·11 dt'ilil fur s<·veral dar. on Tiana Beach, ocea11 sidr. oI Suflolk County.

A highly 1rnu.~11al ,1t·cuu11L hy Stmt,' { 1964) tells how tht' author, duri111--( m:111y July an•.1 A.11gu~1 d:1ys in 1945 and 19,io wlu•11 she wa~ a p:irl oi 13 a11cl M, played wilh

39

a p-roup of about ~ix dolphins 111 T.011/\" T ~la1ul Snurnl nenr u boat 2 or .1 mil1,s off the 1101th ~hQn• of Suffolk Connl\', Ay th1• end of thr s<·c.oml sumnwr thr play dc\'eloped to the point wher<' on ,l'l'E-ral ocr.asions ~hP 1--'.ra,ped a fin of ,1 dolphin ,md was actually towrd a round on the .•ur­faCl'. Lale in thr clay the boat wa~ somrlimrs l.Jk1·11 into Port frff,·rson H:rrhor, a11d thr dolphin~ ,rnu!d follr:,w far into the harhor. ThP.-e nnimals w.·r<' ap1rnri·nlly small I you11g J Tursiop.1 truncatus.

Two spPcimPns colledcd nr,n wr~lrrn Lonp; r~land ,ire in the ,\merican Museum of Natural Hi~tory: 01w

lskc!t·lon pre.•('nTd I from PC'lham Bay, :\cw York. main­lanrl .',id" of e-xtrt>mf' wrstrrn Lon,[ h!and Sound, Au.!!usl

16, 1906, !W. Dolan'!, ancl :mother (~kull only·1 from l'iaw:.~ink River, NPw Jcr~"Y, :\1ay 2:i, 1%0. J\ ~roup of five Lo eip;ht Tursiops wa~ ohscrvr·d in 1he tidal Shrrws­bury RiY,·r, New ]l:'r~ey, in an arr',1 ~lh mil1·s from the mouth of th<' riHr ill Sandy Hook Ray, from April 17 to June- 16, 196.S, (Clark, 196:'i). Tlw Shrew~hury Ri\·er, it;; trihut.Jry ti](' Navrsink, :1nd Sandy Hook R,y arc not iurlicated on the map but ;ire j u~I ~outh of Lnwrr l'i<'w York Ray on thr wC';;I side of Sa11dy Hook. A frw have ov,·r-wintned in the Navc~ink Riwr (Ulmt>r, 1961).

Dolphi11,-, csp,·ci,1lly thm;r (>f the g<'nus Tursiops, are call("({ "porpoii;c.s" in Americu by nurny cetologist~ a;; well as hy mosl mariners and fondsnu·n. Th<! won\ "rlolphin," althou~h an old name for ~mall heak(·d ct>tacran;:,, is con­fusiug in I hat ii is also us(•d for two ;:,pecie~ of fa~t, color­ful, warm-w.'.ltn oc<"an fishrs ( µ-rnul', Coryphae,w): th<' speci('~ C. hippurus ~rows (o about S or () foe! in length and is popular with offshon· sport fi~hernwn as far north as onr rr~ion. Tuni-<>ps imncatus i;; the species of <lolphin or porpoise' which has bs-t:omc c·spccially fo!lliliar in re­c<·nt yr:irs as a prrformer in puhlic: oct"Ullil rium;:, and as a mui:h writtPn-ahout 1·xpnime11tal subject in studies of echoloc,1tion, intdligr11cr, rte. Dolphins am\ porpoi~cs f1·ed lar~ely on fishe~ squids nm! otltcr marim· animals.

The. Atlantic white-~irkd dolphin f l,fl{',<'nnrh.ynchu.1

acutus) is a northern ~pc·ci1·s found at times in schools as far south as the ocean wal<'r~ off Cap<' Cocl. Appar,,nt­ly it i~ unknown in the Long Island area, although it woulfl be J)M~ibh· lo fiml a clcad 1>r ~trandc·d 01w on this roast. Tiu· t\l'an·~t n·cord I kuow of is a d1·.t(l onr found in the Town of Nara/!an~1-tl, Rhoiie lslann, on July 22. 19o7, ( Cronan and Brooks, 1968).

Killer Whole

Orci,ws orccr Linna r us

The killer wlmle is a lnr~l' I malr~ up to 30 ft.et long:) n·klliv e of lht• dolphins which i~ noted for ii~ allacks on

o,ih,-r m,irinc mam111al!>. l'r,•y in,·lucl,-s s•·als and p,,rpoi ses, 111any .. r the Lirµ,·r <:d;l!'l'iJll~ rn111in;.-in ,<izc up to th,· h11;.-1· h,11 ddr11scl,·~" wlial,·l,011,· wha les. aru! aim ,whool­i11;.-fi~h,·s. squ ids. a11d -,-111,inl,:. It It.,~ a "triki111!ly tall

d11rsd fin, up 111 <, fr,·I J1i:tl1 iu tli,· laq!•' adult maks. (;r.impu,. fi11Jl(•r. and killcr arr amo11µ-th,· vari11us c<,m­

mon nanu·s that haw, lic,·ri ;1ppli,-d lo lhis "i"''·ics. The ra11g<• 11f tlw kill,·r wh;,l,· 1, ,-,.~•·11tially worl<lwid,·, hut it

is most 11u111,·r11us t11wards tlw Ardic ,tncl Antarctic n·­;.-i11u, ll'lu•ri, lar;.-,· wan11-lliornkd pn,v is pl1mtifol.

F,·w kill,·r wlial, ·~ liavc IH't'll caplurc·d or slraruh•d aln11)!' tllf' /\ rla111 i1· c11,1.',I of the l111itc·1I Slatrs, althou,!Zh they .ire ,i;...-1111·,l 01T,'11orc, fairly rqrnlarly at least as far ,11111h as N,·w J,•r,,•)'. wlwn• two slra11d"d 8JWt~imrns have also lw,·11 [111111,I. A small uumlu•r hav1• hc,•n found beached in n:n ·11l ycnn, on tlw ~1111lhcr11 coasts of rn·,1rhy Rhod"

Tslancl ;111d Ma,~,l!'lit1>'<'11"· For Lo111 Island. Roy L1tham /p, ·r,011al comni11nil,;1lio11) rf'porl~ lhal a killer 21, f(•pt in

IP11;.,:th slrar11lc1[ .div,· on ;1 clam flaf in Orienl Harhor, Jan­uary 11. 19-M-. and tlw11 di<'d, Cook and Wisnt·r /1963), i11 an PX:tf.!g'.t'l'atf'il h111 pro[uscly illustralccl accmml of 1he killn wlraJ,,, rq1orlt•d 011 on<' whiclt follnwl·1\ a 28-foot fi,hi11µ-l,oar 0111~ Julr day in 11):ill. from :-IS milc·s off Mon­lauk l'oinl l11wanl~ la1ul lo aliont IS l!lilc, oil tlw point; i11dndcd in llu, hook an· s«·vPral pl10toµraphs of this indi­

l'idual. ;1ppan•11lly a larµ-1· male. Orci1111s was prnhahly 111111'1' a!Hmda111 i11 1·arlif'r dar wh,·11 varioui; other cl'la-

1·1·a11s :11111 s,·al- al101111d,·d. llPK:1y i 18121 1rn·nlionf'd ~ee­inµ'. killer wl1alt·" 111T 1111' coasl 11[ Lou/! hla11d on several Ot'.l'a,-io111,, hul as,<1•rlPd Ilia! llll'y w,·n· formf'rly morP

11u111no11s bcrP. al a ti11u• wlw11 rii,:hl wl1.1l1•.5 \V\'rP also ah1111da11l.

Gray Grampus

<:rampu., /!,ris,·11., C. n1viu

Tlu · µray /!1':1111p11s, whi11•-IU'a(l1•cl µ-ra111p11!>. or His~o'!I dolphi11. i..: :1lin111 1111' sizP of 1111' lwllh·-11n~•·d dolph in. hut is lit>.ikkss. wilh a hl1111t rounded snuul, a111l a rallll'r hi;.dt, r1•c11n'1'(l dorsal fiu. This ~J)tTil's is widdy di,trihutPrl in the oc1·~111s nf 1111' world. h111 il' 1101 v1·1·y WC'll know11. Tt ;1pp1·ars lo loc a 1k1·p-divi11~ for111 which fcc·,l.', 0 11 cq1ha­lopo<ls l,quicl~ a11cl rd.iii,·(·:- ) , 111 the Wl',lf'l'n North Al­L111ti<' this ,-mall wlwlr l,;1,- J,('1·11 l'l'rnrrlrd. lhouglt rarely, from l\fo,,arl111,l'lls to tlw coa~t of N,~w J<•r,ry. Sd1c,·ill (1 ()S;I,) 111:1111' oh~1·n·atio11s sug{!l'sting grl'aler ah1111da111·1· than previously ,-11><p1·ctt·d off our cflai"t: 011 A11g11,-t 20, 1952. a group of ov(:r (,() 1,!r.i1111>11~ wa8 w..11ched from a ~hip nea r Lit. 40°00' N. Long. 71 °31' W. The animals

consortc·d in small hunc-lws of four to ~ix within thr laqrc·r µ:roupin/!, and liwy m•n• 1111it1· plavful. of1rn l.:ap-

in)! out of thr wall ·r. The pof1t10n indicatc·d is roughly

75 statute milr-s out to sea in a southra~terly direction from Southampton, Lon~ Island.

Blackflsh

Glnbicr.plwla 111e!rtc11a Traill

B!aC"kfish. or pilot whales, which a re rPlalf·d to dol­phins and killrr whales, an· almost rntirrly black, havr a

hi)!h, bulging fon•h<•ad, and frrquenlly travel in large migrnlory school!-. Maximum 1,·ngth is about 28 fret.

Squi<ls, cu!llefish, and various fishl':,; arP rate11 by pilot whale~. Tl,is is one· of th(' morc numerous cetacPans , and il is common offshore in this region, esp,·cially during th,· warmrr months. Hcl1rn· (l 902) and olhPr ob~ervcrs

havr rm-11tioncrl frrquenl sighti11gs of blackfi,h off the coast of raslrrn Lon g I ~land. Th('re a rt· al,o records for western Long Islancl and Long Island Sou11rl. Strandings of pilot wh ales are frcquP11lly reportPd, and oeca sinnal mass !iv" ~tran<li nµ;s of many individuals at onr time arc known to occur, althnu,!11 in this area, at h·nst, u~ually

only i-iinglc individual, comr ashorr. On May ]:~, 19(10, a live pilol wh:ilr, a fcmali- 12

feet 9 inch,•s long, was found stranded .:t!ivc on Brighton

Beach, Coney !!'land, Brooklyn, ahout half a milP from the New York Aquarium: ii wa~ retr i,•vPd and lived at th,· aquarium for 29 dar (Ra:·. 1961 ). At Atlantic Beach ( Wl'SI <·nd of Lonµ- Bra('!, strip). Nassau County,

11 male 13 to 14 frc·t long came ashor\' 011 April 15, 1966, and died later the same d:.y I Robert A. Morris, pcrso11al communication). An irnmalurc female was collected near Massapequa, soulh shore of Nassau County, on April 28, l 9(J0, ( skeleton pr<>servrd in American Museum of Natural History). Thal blackfisl1 penclrate ,·xtreme westcr11 Lo ng

Island Sound and evrn the East Riwr is ind icated by one which stranded in Flushing Cref'k, Queens, off the upper East River. June 13, 1944, (Anon., 19S6) and others whirh have µ-rou11d!'d 011 the Sound shore of the Bronx.

Thi' name "hbckfish" is also u~ecl by fishermrn for a popular salt-water fi!-lt less thar1 3 feet long, the tautog ( Tau.toga onitis).

The Short-finnrd blackfi~h ( Globicephala . macrorhyn ­clia) m;1y visit; difficull to distinguish from the common blackfi,-h, it ranges north at lea~t as far as New Je rsey.

Harbor Porpoise

Phnco/'na phocnena LinnaPUs

The harbor porpoise i~ ~mailer than the dolphins, rcaching a maximum size of 6 fret. It seldorn leaps clrar

of th,· water, and th1· head il:i hlunt an1l round<'d, lacking

the lwak ch,1r,1ct<-ri~tic of tlw dolphins. Plwcor.na fre­(!llt'.nts coastal watcrl:i and rnten; inlets, bay,:, and Pven

rivr·rs; New York is m·ar its 5outli1·rn limit of abun­danc1· 011 Liu, coast. Miller ( I 899) tcrmed this species

tlw commttm·st r:P.laccan in N,·w York tid,il water;:. Per­hnps this is siill tnw t11day, although for a long time 110w

till' porpoise· has lit:cn gradually clr·clin in~ in numhrrs in

our arl'a. Apparc,11tly !lw harlJor JlOl'poi~r, no lon ~cr forms large schools lwrc of 11p to I 00 or <'\'c11 "hundreds" of i11-dividu,1ls sll('h as 11·cn· occasi1111ally rr·ported lat,· in the

last 1:1:11t11ry. Tlwr,· ar,· 11nn11·rr>11s pulilislwd ri·ports of harbor por­

pois es i11 Long lslmul Sound. llowky ( 1902), for exam­ple, ,tatnl that l'lw,:,,e,ui was 1h1·n very conHnou in sum­

mc•r in this body of wal1·r, and that ~chool~ could b(' ~t•c·11 011 al111ost ,1ny c:l1·.1r d.iy. wliilr. Goodwi11 (1935) also

111,·11tio111:d thr prl's1·m:c· of this spcci1·,; in the Somrrl. Tur­rdl ( 11)]<) I wr, ,11· that harl1Dr porpuisc,; <'nter Smith­

town llay c111 11w 11or1h ~hon· of Suffo lk Cot111ty in largt• ,dmols in .-umrncr. W,, r,·n~ivi,d V<'rhal rcporb for th(•

I 9SO\ and l t)<iO\ of sighti11gs of porpnisc-s in summer

in Long lslall([ Snu11d aJHI also (;n•at Pcconic nnd Littlc­

P1•.1·.011ic Bayi;, allho11!,!;h l\tHlW of the~•· report~ may refer lo dolpl1i11s ( al.,o calll'd "porpoisc-s") r,11her than Pho­cocnn.

Fur tit(• Orient n•gio11, Roy La1k11n ( pPrso11al com­

lllllll ic:ntion) writes that l'lrnco,~11a is rc·cordl'd every y('ar al ;11) stations, hut tl1at 1h,· big schools which werc- re­

c:onll'd yc·arly up to I <)2() arc rw lougc-r ~c·c·n. Thr last

,izahlc• ;.:n111p rcrnrdcd i11 tlii., an•a, in Loug ll'land Sound m•ar Orient, was 25 individuals 011 Dl'Cl"tnbc-r 7, 1921. Lnt h111n al"o n·JH•rl~ th.11 onc cam1· a,hore, chilll·d, i11 the

S mmcl nl Orirnt 011 Jnuuary 12, 1943; two ~pPcimens (rom tlw Oricnl r1·giun an• in Latlwm's rnllection. Gil­

b ert S, lbynor inform~ m1• that n harbor porpoise was found cl!'ad nn 1111' IH'ad1 rw:n Oric-11t Point I Ganli1wrs Bny ,iclc) ahnut I %0.

llnrbor porpni~t·s 111:1v ~till lw ~l'c·n Clll m·casion in

Lower New YDrk Bay and i11 Raritan Bay ( waters

houmhl Li)' I.1111µ; l,.:l,11111. ~tat1·11 lslaud a1HI Nrw Jrn,ey). I havl' scc•11 ,.:mall groups i11 th,• ,1111111wr 111t111th~ ( during the 191l,O\) i11 this ;rr.,:1. l'nrp11i,.:1•s also asce11d rivrr~ in

this geiwrnl rl'gion t Nl'w .l,·r,-1·y. Cn11111·t·ti('11l. aud Hud­

son Hiver), altlwuµli l havt' no t!Pfi11it1· n•port~ of thi~

for tll(' small ri\'l ·rs of l.1111,.r Island. 011 the so111h short' of thC" island sl r:md1·d i111\ivitl11als ha\'<' I.wen rnllt'ctrd

durinµ v:1riuu;; rnnnth, of 1lw y\'ar from Brooklyn to Mo11tauk Point (spr-cimt•ns (rnm Mn11ta11k Po in t in Ameri­

can lVJu~t•um of Natural History anti N.Y. Stale Mu~eum).

Anthony S. Taormina (per~Pnal communication) ha~

41

many Long Island records, including photographs, of both

the harbor porpoise and the harbor !'cal. Of interest is DeKa .y's (l 842) account of this spe­

cies. He rc>lated that, although still common in his day,

tlw harbor porpoise was formnly so abundant on the

.~hores of Long Island that it was avidly pursued for its oil (from the blubber), and also for its durubk leather

( from the hidt'). lk cll'scribed in de-tail the proct'dure us1•d in seining schools of harbor porpoises at the rast

I'll(! of Long Island based on a p aper published in l 792 by E. L'Hommr>dieu. At the tim<' of DrKay' ;; publication harbor porpoises wrre evidc-ntly lwing killed in Long

Isl an d Souud, on tlw Connecticut coast at Stratford (op­

posite Port Jefferson), according to Linsley (1842), who wrote: "Numbc-rs of the common (harbor ) porpoises are

taken in this town for the sakP of the oil, which is usually

from three to ~rven gallons."

White Whale

Delphinaptems leucas (Pallas)

Thr white wh,ile, or beluga, a small whal<, usually

ll-14 and rardy up to 18 fcrt in length, and which ( after

early life) is completely milk-whit e in color, inhabits

arctic and subarctic seas including the northern North Atlantic. It occurs regularly in the Gulf of St. Lawrence

and adjacent bays and rivt'rS. But southwards this spe­cies is rare, 0C'curri11g as a straggler 011ly as far as Cape

Cod , Ma~saclrusrtts, according: to Milkr and Kellogg

(19S5) and otht>r recent anlhorities. TlwrP are two Cc>n­tury-old rrcords for that area-outer Cape Cod-but no

recent n•cords (Waters and Rivard. 1962). Althou1h never collectt·d 011 Long Island as far as I

know, nclphinaplt>rus has probably visit('d the area at

least once judp; inir from the following: sight report. A small whale, white in color, which waic beliPved to be

this species was obst>rvrtl in Lon~ hland Sound off the north fork for 4, days in June 1942 (Roy Latham, per­,:onal communication). Latham first ohscrvecl the whalr

ofI Ori<'nt, 1wkcl that it was movinµ- w,·st, and estimated tlH' animal to bl' 10-12 fret long. He immediately alerted

a friend in Mauituck who ob5t•rvecl a whitr whalr thrrc­

tlll' following day, presumably thl' sanH' indiv idual, 25 ,nil,·~ west of Latham's first sirhtin~: this ,Pc ond ob­

serTt"r reported the whale- moving east.

111 ,·arlier yl'ars Roy Latham had l1earcl of fi~her­men st•f'ing white whalrs in the Sou11rl, but ht' was un­

able to establish a record for oni> pr ior to 1942. Latham

has considered the possibilitr of albinos of other species

of wh:tle~ being responsible for al least rnme of the

,1-2

~ii!l11i11;:.~. 0\ll,inirn1 111 1\li;il,-, i., r~n· liul h.i~ liet'n r<'­p<>rlt:d i11 a r1u11d1<·r ,,f ']>''<""'~ ra11µ:in/! in ,iz,, frnm thr· hu:-'" ']"·nu wliaJ,. I/'/, y.s,•fr,r r11/urlo11 ) l" ilw I ittk har­J,or poq,.,j~,· 1 l'frrw11nw 1,l,,,,:o,·m1 I : Tomilin I I 9fr7)

wror,· that ran: i11~11111cc, <1f parti:d '" e"mpld,· all1i11i:em I 0111· •p1·1:11w·11 !JII\ uf h-11~ of I ho11,ands J occur in tlw fi;irl,or porpui ,c . 1\ Jso, i11c n· a~i11).! wltit,·m ·ss co m es wirh

aµc; i 11 ,n1111· >'JHTi,·"· ;11HI old i 1ulil'idual, of th,· l,0111,•­!IO•<·d wliaJ,. 1 // qu•u1r, d o 11 01111m llo111.1) may hr 1•1tf'.r1u11-

tn,·d wl1id1 :nc· r,·llowi,li-whit,· in r,olur. Fur / ,,1th,m1\ si;:ht n·cor<l. l1uw,·1cr. l,i, ori1iJ1;d lidd i(l,·11tifi(:atio11, llu· c.,li111al1·rl ,iz,· 11f Ilic a11irnal. and hi,; f:11nili:1rily wi1h tit,· f'.r.11rn1011 ~mall cdac•,·;111~ I dnlphi11,, poq11>iscsj , a~

w1·ll a,- 1 I re wli it,· c,,l,,rnt io11. :di ~l r"11~l )' indicalt' Del-11fu11r1/'l'•111s l,•11n1s. Tlw l><1ltl1·-110~,·d dolpliin I Tursiops J, 11lrlwu;!li ran·ly uv,·r JO fr·Pl Ionµ, lu11·,0

, ov,·rlaps D<'l­plri11r1111N11.1 in ,iz,·, but 1lrP lnttl'r is ~li,IJwd diflcn·utly arrd l;wk.s 111<• r:orrspi<'nu11,- dor~.d {in 11f Tiusiops.

Sperm Whale

l'h _rs,•!,•r t"{I//J(/1}1/ f .i 1111,ll'lb

Thi, sp,·,·i,·s i., th,· l.irg:c~I of th,· lt1oll1<0d whalr:,~, tlw n,;,I,·~- w!ri,·h .rr,~ 1uur-.l1 larg!'r lhan llw fc111ah·s, at­

lai11i11g a k11glli nf al,oul (10 f,·1:l. 'lh· 1nassin .~q11ari~h lu·;id ,md n:lnlin·ly ~mull luw<'l" jaw arr di~l1rn:tin,. foud

of !Iris dt•r·p-divirrg whal<' is prirrrarily ~quid~. al.so ~harks. ~k:1l<'s, :uul li~lic~. Tltis is 1·s~1·ntially a whalr· of tropical and won11 1,·rnp,·rak se,1~, )ml it i~ 111igr:itur·) · , aml sornt· ,,f thP 111ak•~ µo fm lo 1111' 111,1·1h iu sH111rru·r.

Accon(iug lu D,·K:t)' I 111-1:!l ,111rl so111,c other nc­co1111b ~p,·rrn wlial,·s w,·r,· f"n1wrly .1hrruda11\ ":dong" nr "on" 1111r c·1,ast. i\lsu, ~"lllll' ~p,•nn whaks W('n, tak<•n

irr I.on/! l~lund wains dnrin~ th,• t•;irly day.s of A111erica11 whnlirrg ( Murplry, I l)l /l l. lhrt rmlik,· fi11h:1rk wlialrs and righl whale~, pn,huhly tlu• ~P('l'l!l wh,rlt•.s ,111ly Ol'<:asiori­ally ('11111(' r lo~1· l'/Hlllgh (IJ I>(' ~iµhi,·d rro111 slion·, ('\'I'll i11

dH· l'.irly days or wkd.- alrnnclauc,·. Sp<'l'IU wlial es gen­ew!ly /ll'oid ~\ralluw walo•r~ of ~amlr coa~I,, nhh11u~h tlwy ru,1y approa<"h ,diorc 1·l,o,wl)· \\h<'n· the w,1kr is deep,

s11rh as 1u·a r Ll1<' Azon·~. Toda y, .•perm wli:il,,, :ir,• n·r:,· rah, rrc•a r th<• .~!tor<"$

of I ,on;.-· lslall(I. and an· r11u·o11m10n ,dT,-dmrr• ullhough occnsiuu,dly rr porl,·d frn111 ~hip.• out :11 ~,·a. Some in­~lrnm rC'rords arr, .r~ f111lows. Ou March l 3, 1928, a

you11;.: 1n:il,0 I 8 f(TI :l ½ im·lu·~ loug- ~t ruy<"d i ulo N(·W Yurk llurhor I l1ppt·1· l\cw York B.1y), wlll'r<' it Wil~

eaptur,·il :di1°P. l,ul ii di<•d ~0011 afh'r hei11µ: towrcl lo

Gnwa11u~ Canul. Bro11klyn i.l{an-11 am{ Gregor y, 1933) . .-\ rcmall' :11) fr,·t lu11µ. ')('l'.1111(' ~lra11d,·d (Ill GrC'at Soutl1

BPach I Firr I,land) uppo~i!t· llellpurl llll FPhruary 28, 1918 (j\forphy, 1913); thi~ indi\·i1lual r.:aml' ~~hore nlivc du ri "!! the ui~ht hut dic,l before thn liµlrt as thl' tid<· recf'rl(•d. 011 Dr·cf'nthr.r <). I ll94, a spnm 11 hale J.O fr1'I

lonf!' wa~ captun·d rn Fislif'r, Island Sound, !wtlH<'n

Fisher~ hlaud and the Conneclicut r.oa~I. '\ o vPr}' re­c,·nt Lonµ: lsb ucl JTcor,L- hn,·r. r.0111,· lo my :lllenlion, bur

acr.ording- Lo Cro11an and Tlrooks I I ()(1g) lh<· only au-1 hcntic rrcurd fr,,. Rliodr !,land is a 14-font G inch indi­vidual whi,·h wa,!1ed uslron· irr Cliarlc~l,111. Quo11chorrtaup­Jkach, Fchrua ry 20, l 967; this local it l' is in thP suuth­wc-trr11 cnrner of Rliode bbm.l, rn·ar east<·m Lonf! bland I al,out 12 mi It:~ ,·a~t of Fi~h.-r~ lsla11<l).

Nrw Eu~bnd whakr.-. scrkinp: thP sp,•rm whi!le pri­marily. u~h.-rc<l in a fom11us na of Auwrican whaling. Tfr1:y ,·xlt·nrlc:r! I lll' ~slir.:ry f ro111 constal water,. where tlw rig-ht wlial,· had lieC'n pursur·d, out on lo th<' op('ll ~t·a, t'vcnlually leading to lcn~thy voyap;rs to oth<•r ocean~. Sal-! Harhur 011 Lunf-l 1,lnnd al~o brcaine one of the lead in)! cll'rp-scn whalin.~ portf\ du ring I his p1:riod, nlo11g wilh l\cw Bedford a11rl \'.rntuckrt, Massarhusrtls, a11d New Lorrdon, Cnn11<·cticul. This enterprise began

early in the eiirhtPenlh century, and finally declined after

!hr middlP of I he ni11rlccnth ct·nlu ry. This period was for thP most par! ~till one of harpoons thrown by ha11d from 01wn boah which wen· carried to ~t'a hy a mother ship, hefor(' modern method~ u,o:ed in p11rmit of the fast blu<' and fin whales were put lo 11st'.

Sag Harbor wns Pslablished as a whalin/!' porl he­forr the Rl'volutio1rnry W n r and its p,·uk wh,din~ years c:unt• i11 thP late l830's and in the 181-0'~ (biµ:µ:c~t ycar-

184.7); a rupid decline followPd th<' peak y<';ns, and it is ~aid tlw Inst wlrnlinl! ~hip ,et .-:iii from this port in 1871. It was not until 1785 th;1L the first succe.,sful trips wt·re 111.ide from Sng Harbor hy ships fully r·quipp<'rl for long (Soutb Atluntic) whalin~ voyap:es (Willry, 1949). Before this time 1hr ships madr short voyag-cs lastiug no more than a few W('rks, often 11ear shore, LhPn returned to Sag Harbor to proc<·~s the blubber for oil. According to Howell

( 1941) in this perio<l thr ship~ ventured out only two or thrrt' hundred miles from port, u~ually to the southeast of Mont.:iuk. Although I am uncPrt ain which species of whale comprisf'd the hulk of the catch 011 these early offshore trips, ~uch ,1 \'oyage in summer would have taken whalr:,rs into an c1rea of ~perm whalr· abund ance, as dPscrihed brlow.

Althou1-\"h the ,pl'rm ;1·hale i~ alinost cosmopolitan, th<'rt' wen· favor ed frt'din~ arra s or '\:rounds " known !o Llw whal1•r,o. Town ~r>nd I 1935) studi ed whal r> distribu­tio n ba sed 011 wll(ller~• lo::(hook records datin, !! from 1761 to 1920: th<· lo,?:1< indicate pMilion, ancl d/ll\';; of whales

taken by ~1:ag-oing whalin;.r vesse l;-; from I\ew England and Lr111g bland, c•11al,li11;.: T.,w11,,·11d t11 plot 011 map, lh(' locatiou of th,~ rak,· hy 111u11ll1. An 1·xl1·11si\'1• ,1wrn1 whal­ing f!WJ111CI ,·1errl•·rc,d rotr;.drlv ;,;011tl11•a~1 uf Lon/! Island 111111 11orllnwst .,f flc,r111111la I :q1proxi111at,·ly :3:r· - 40' N, 60° - 7!>"\V I. wlll'r•' sp,·rn1 wl1al<'i- 111;1y ;-;rill lw •Jl1,r.n·,•cl, was known us tire "S,,111lwrn Gnm11d."' Tl11· w,·slem r•dgc­nf rhis /!Tuu11d coi1wid.,d ,rppn,xirnately willr the <'dµ-,· of rh,, 1:11nti111·11t,il 0 lwlf; :111rl liki- oth1·r North Atlantic µ-ro11111ls ii was i11fl1w1,,.('1l l,y tll<' (;ulf Stn •;1m. This was a snmuwr whaliuµ- !,!1'<>111td. sp,·nn whal('~ br.i11;r taken lwrr primaril~ fro111 .\Lry lo S,·p1c111lu•r {(';-;pr,·inlly Mar 111 July at tlw 11ortlwrn limit of thi~ ;.:riiund. 11ear lhe la1it11dc of l,t111g l,d,11111 I. F1,w 1,·,·n· tak,·u in wi111<·r h<'n·; at lhat s,·a,011 atl1·11lio11 wa.0 dir('dt~d ..l1iclly lo wal<'rs lll'l11w 2r,··N latitud,•.

Pigmy Sperm Whale

l\hlrouµh n·lated !11 1111· gn·at ,p<'J'III whale, Kol!ia i:- v,-ry sruall t 111axi11111111 lo·nl,!llr l :{ f .. o-1 I_ aud in outward ;t)lpcm:111cc ~11111,,what n·,<·111lol1•., a p<>rp11i,,.. Al,o tlw pro­t rnclinµ: ~110111 a11cl t111d,·r,'11u1µ: lom•r jaw wilh ~harp t('Pth an· !!Ugg«'sliv<· of 11 ,lrark, f11r whi..J1 it i, >'OlrlCtirnPS mi, ­tak<'ll l,y fi,lwrnw11. Tiu· railr,·r ,li1ggi~h pi;mry ~p<•rm who!,, is rart'ly 11h~<·rl'<·d and i, li1tl1· k11ow11, aillwuph it ~1ppcar>< 111 lw ral hn wid,·ly dist ril1111<,1l i11 1111· tropical ;111d tt:111p,·r:II<' wah•r, 11f th,• ll'orld. Evid<•11tly Kugia wa~ 11,·v<'I' i,u1111111111 i11 hi.411ri1: tint,·.,: h11w1·vcr. it has .sll'amlrd fairly fn•q11,•11tly al1111/.\ lh<· 1•;1~1 ,·11:1,t of tlw ll11i1r,d Stall's. whl'l'c 11111n· than :iO n•ronb :tn· 111111· lrn11w11 { I Tandl1•v. 1%6).

Si111·<• \ 1)1,1-. al 1,•a!l,I eight l'J.)C'<'it1H'II" of Kop,i([ h.1v1· bcco111<' .strnrnl1·ol oil ilw Nrw York i.:oa~I nr c.aplun ·d a

,hurt d i"lam·,· olI,-hon•. :111d i11furr11al iu11 i, aw1ilahk on s,•vn:11. I\ larg<' [1·mal,, with an unlioru y111111~ (male [dus) stra11cl,,d al Lonµ· flo-arh. 011 th\' ~outh shore of Nass1111 C111111ty. I .011µ: J,.\a11d, 1111 F1·hrnary 28 , 1914 (Schuh1•. 1917; Srlmlt,· :111,\ ~111i1l1. l<>lB: Allt•n, 19-U l. A pig111y ~p1·1111 whak 11 f<·,·t lung nml 11·,·iµ:hing 700 pounds w:1s <·aptun·d off ~<>11th lkach. Slalrn lsbncl, on ,1ard1 2. 11)20 ( lbvi,. ]<J20l; lhi, iuclividual was re­

port ed a.s a porpoi,w in llw loeal 11rw.sµaper:-. Anolher om-_ a f1•malt', wa,- rapltrn'd 10 miJ,,,,. ~outh of Shinn ecock

lnler. nl'.tr Hampt<>rr Bay,.:. Ln11µ bland. in Julr 1941 (J_ Cart Pd, .,\ "l'''('im,·11 has al"" hl'<'ll e11llt'ctcd ,rt ,vest-

43

hornpton B,·ach, L11n.!! !,land ( H. Ravm I. All of tlw above 8pecimew, (skulls and/or other ~keletal material) ilro' in the i\mrrican Museum nf Natural History.

111 All;!U~t 1942. R<,y La1h,1m coll<-c1ed thl' skull and ,omc ol!H'r hon, -~ of a Kogiu br,·vicep.\ ahout 9 fel'l lonp:. This a11irnal had l,,.com,· caul!l1t IO days Parlil'r in the leader r,f ,1 li~h lrap al Major 13ank, Orirnt Harbor, and tlw11 wa~Iwd ashore rlrad. Latham abo rrcall s another K.ogia takrn Jll'a r "hon• at Hampton Bay, about ] 930.

James W. Romansky, Jr. I personal communication) r<'por!Pd on a pii!my ,p,·rm wltal,· lw found on die south shore of Capln·c bh11uL approximately 200 feel cast of fire lslall(l lnld 11rid~e, on th,· morninf! of Nov('mber 2•t. 1908. Total lc11µth of lhc animal. nwasurrd 32 hours aft,·r it wa,.. fou1Jd, w:1,- l.'>7 .. 'i c111. (lr~s than 6 feet); it 1,,,1,.. an immatun• nwl('. The cause of the d,·allr was an ;1p1>an·11t µ-un~lr11l wound jusl ht>hind thr, ldt pectoral fin. IL i.s lwlicvl'<l the womrd was inAi1'lt>d by commer c ial fifh­Prnw11. sinr(' thl' skin had parallel m.1rks ,1~ if cau~ed by rnhhi11i! a;rain.,t mel;d trawlin~ r i~·;: or off;:hore pound-11.-ts. Cardul nwasuro•n1t•nt,- a11d notes wne 1:iken, and

1111 arliculatt>d skdcto11 and intrrnal oqran;: in formalin are hriuµ- kt-pl at tit<' R1y Shon· High School. This indi­vidual wa~ identified by Roman~ky a~ K. brevice[JS (iden­tification confirmed at Sm ithsonian Tnstitution and Ameri ­can l\fo~rtrrn of Natur:11 Hi~tory).

\1 i~ pns~ible thnl somr of tlw smallc-r New York >'pcrirnr11!' of Ko{!,ia arr rd,·rablt· to lhe closely related dwarf spenn whale, K. simus Owl'n~. As shown by Hand­if'y ( 1966 ), .,ill!II$ is a strnnµly diffrn·nliated sprci<"s of Kop:,ia, which, lik,, breviccp,, colllmonly strnnd~ along th<~ ('0,11;1~ nf eastern Vnitl'd S1a1,-.,. Con~idrrablr taxo-110111ir <'onfu,ion has l'xislt ·d n·;.rardinµ: mmnber~ of this µ:,·nus. and si11111., lw,.: hre11 U\'Prlouk1'd and not distiu­µ11 i;;lwd fro111 brr.vie<'µ., by mo,L authors and collcclors. Lo11,r Island may foll within tlw g-1·0µ:rnphical ran1!'r of $i11111s as w,·11 ,r" 11f brevicep.s, but I do not know if the fornn•r has br1•11 collcctnl ll('rl'. Ko{!.l·r, simus i~ even small,·r llian {,rn,i<"cps. a<lults under 9 ft>f'I in tot.ii knf!th, wliil{· tlw latter connnonly range;, from 9 frf't to 11 fert when adult. Siz<' and ~ku II rlifff'f<'IICC!< and other dis­tinp;ui.sl1ing rharartrri~ .lics arr• tabulatrd by Handley ( 1966) . I have do~dy t'x:tminrd only one Long Island "lHTimr11 of Ko{!.ia. 1he Orienl Harbor ,-.kull collected by Roy Lalharn in 1942 ( 110w at thr N.Y. Stair Mu~eum). ,11ul id<'ntifircl it .:is brl'viceps. Bn,id1·~ this onr and Ro-11tan,ky', bre11ic<'ps. prohably the Lon/! Brach and Slaten bland ~peeim('n;s cited abovr an· al•o br<'vic('ps, judl!in~ rrnm a,-ailaule measun·m,·nls and illu.-,trations.

Dense-beaked Whale

;\I ,·.w/'f",I '"' d ,•11siru.1/ ris lll;i in\' ill, ,

Thi, s1n·c·i,·~ i, fn·q11<·111ly <"all,~rl t!w A!lanl i(' I..H"aked whale or Jllai11vill,· lwak,,d whali·. M,·mlwr., <>f the genus M1•st111l"d,>11 arc· ,111all, rno,tl y ran· wkil <"s. lli<' life hi~­lori<'s of whi"li arc· 1·1·ry I it! I,, k11uw11; food is ch idly s1p1ids and fi,h<"~. S.,tn<' ~11•·1:i,,, an · k11ow11 only by a ,m all 1111mhN of ,f rnn, IPd sp<'('i 111,·11s. Moon· ( 196(> l dis­t:U ~SC!- disti11;.!11i,hi11µ ,kull ,·liar.icln ., .incl apparo·nt rli.~lr ihul i,>ns of sp<·•·i,·s nf 1lfr.rnp/ru/o11 whi!'h strund in North A1n1·rin1. 011 May 12, 11)2.'i, a y,>11117 f P-mal,• ,fr11sfro.,1ris wa:s found ,1r,111d,·d 011 1·.ist<'rn T.011~ Island al Soull1amplo11 1 Bav, ·11, I 1Jll). A fow ollwr iwlividua ls of this ,po·<"io•s hav1· ,·111111· aslion , 111 th,• norlh am! south of our ar!'a, i11durli111 Mas,;whmwlls and N<'w .Jrr,r,y.

Antillean Beaked Whale

1lfrw11l"do11 ,·uro11f/1'11s (;prv;t is

Thi' J\11til11•;111 l)(',1k,·d whalr is also k11own 111 th1· lil<'rnt11r<· as C:Prvais· )waked wli.tl<' or Gulf Str<•nm lirak,·,1 wlial,•. This n11·,· wltnlP, of which a tolal of 14 Vl'rifiahlf' rrcllrds of 01,,-11n1·1wc are k11own, is principally so11tltwr>sl1•rn Norlh A1la11I ic i11 ,list rih11Lio11 I Moorr, 1966). ,\ 11 a1!11lt f(0111al1· l .'i f1·(·t rt. i11dws in lcnµth l)('­,·a1111· stra11d,,,I 1)) 1 lhc soulh shon, ,.f Lou~ lslaiHI al

Hrn·kaw.iy ll,·a,·li. l.)1u•c,11s Co1111ty. 011 lk r:1·1ulwr 22. 19.~3 ( Havl'n. I <J:l,J.. l IJ:17 i. This i., tit,· ]l(orl l11•n111w;,t rer'.<ml for th,· \\'l'Stl'\'ll North Atlantic. although anotlll'r 0111· <::mu, asl1on· in l 'J()."j 011 th,• 111,arhy 11ort!H'rrt Nt•w krsl'y

ronl'-1 a l North l.011g Bra1wh.

True's Beaked Whale

1lft.s1111fod1111 111ir11s Trnr

Thr principal rm1gr of Tnw's h<'ak<"d whalf' ap• prars lo lw lite· Nurlh Atlantic. from which nhout a do1.e11 str.iwl1·d spl'ci11w11s nre known. Ra,·1•11 (193,~, 1937) re­ported 011 au aduh frrnalc mirn.~ al)()ut 16 fel'I lon;:r strand<"d at Edµ;1·1111•r1'. Hol'ka\\'ay Beach. 011 January 14, 19.~1(, , less 1ha11 a 11u,11th following- the discovPry of th!' spPcimen of n1ropm·us , al:so at Rockaway fieach. Auothn

adult frm11lt> 11 S ff.et, Ci inclws Ion!!) strancled alivr and clicd on Mason lsla11d. off l\-ly,;tic. Co11111·1·ticnt, on No-

\·emhPT 19, 19.37 I Thorpe, 1938) ; this locality is near the r11trall(:<" to Ln117 hlancl Sound c1n1l about 3 miles north of fi,-IH'rs !,land , Nt>w York.

As menlio,wrl by Moor<' 119661, the North Sea l,,,nkerl whal<" I 1lfrsoplorlon bidcns) is ev<"ll rarrr on this ,-i1k of tlw Atlanti c I 1wo :<trandi117s k11own) than the 1 hn·e other mrmb1·r., of thP !!'.enus discu ~srd abovr. M. bidcns i" nnrc·corrhl on Long lslanrl; the nearest rl'cord is a ~trnnrled male found on i\'antucket, Massa ­

d 1u~dts, i11 1867.

Cuv ier's Beaked Whale

Ziphius cavimstris G. Cuvier

This whal .. , al~o known as ihP goose-h1·ak,•d whale, i" 11omcwhDt larger thDn the ~pl'ci1·s of Mesoplodon, adults :,!encrally ranging from 18 lo 28 fePI in lrng1h. Cuvier's ht":1k1·<I whalr i;; nearly worldwi1lr in d istributio11, but is

rathPr ~care<~ and little known. Two, a frmale 17 frrt 6 inch('~ in len~1h, and a recently born young measur ­i11~ 8 feet 3 i11ch<'s, cam e ashor(' aliv,, and then died at Long Brach, on thr ~outh shore of Nassau County, on

J\ugust 15, 1914, {Rockwell, 1914; lllm<"r, 1941). A third individual rpportedly ran ashon ' briefly, but escaped capture by lifqi;uanls who s!"curetl the other two as soon as th1·y b1·acl1ed. Skcktuns of the two Long Beach speci­men:- of Ziphius as well as the New York individuals of Mrsoplodo11 rnention,·d abovr, arr in the American Mu­Sl'Um of Natural Hi~tory. A goose-bc>aked whal1· 18 feet l 1 inches long l)('achrd to the northeast of Lon7 Island at N1·wport, Rhode hlancl, on March 14, 1961 (Cronan and Brooks, 1968).

Thi· North Atlaulir bollle-no~<"<I whale ( Hyperoodon m11pul!at11sl, another mPmber of th(' family of beaked whale,<, is a far nortlwrn specirs which has not, appar­ently, lw\'ll r1-cord1·d this far south on th(' Wf'slt'rn side of the Atl antic. Accordin g 10 Miller and Kellogg (1955), Hershkovitz ( 1966), all(! other><, thr bottle-nosed whale is uukuown south of Rhode Island, whrrP it is an PX­

trl'mely rare vi~itor. However, it is worth noting that 1his ~peciPs i.s often mrntioned in the liter,1turn as having occurrl'cl in tlw Long Isl..md region, locations cited in · eluding Lo11·(•r New York Bay, the south shorr of Lonir hland, ;1ml also the nearby Connecticut coast of Lon/); !~land So11ntl; b11t, for one rra5on or anothl'r, all such puhlish('d report~ .1re incorrrc t as far as I know. Of ('Our~e. tlt<'re i.- alway~ the possibility of a stra!!gln bt>ing­found hrrt>.

little Piked Whole

/fol,i,,,,,,,,,1·ra acutornstraln I ,ad·pi•df•

L";1st rorqual a11d mi11k,· wl1al1• ar(' ,1111nn;., llw rnany

v1:ruacular 11;11n,,, for thi, s111·,·i,·,. The littl<' pik,·d whak is the ,mall,·,! of tf11: n,r'l1wl, or fi11 wlrnlt'' of tll(' g<'rtUS lla/iu>JW[Jlcm; rar..ly do(', iL ,,x,·,·,·d :~o fret in l,·n~th. A 11)'(,nd whit<- l,a11d <111 tfi,, ouil·r sid,· of th<' front llippcrs i, a di~tindin· id('1Jtifvi11~ m.irk. As with nia11y olhn whall's. 1111• 111i11k1\ wlial,· is widdy dislrifrnl<'d in l)w 111·eans of th,· world. arid is u10,t fn·qu<'nlly c•11cou11lcrc·d in coldn wakr,. II is g,•11('r,illy rn11sid,·r"rl lo lw rnrr · soulh of tlw t11i111cl,• nf l.011~ l;;larnl. Thn<' arl' quite> a f,·w records [or 1111' Cap" Co,l-l\anlucht-H.ho,l<' [,land arc,1 lo th,· ,·ast a11cl 11orlh. Southward tlw story i,- dif­f('rc•rrl. For 111any yc·ars a si11µl,· rc<'ord for i\c·w Jersey ( I .11ng B,·ad1. f:dl I /:(li I was Liu: smrtlrnnmosl k11nwn c>1:c:11rr«·w·,·; liow1·v,·r, ii i,- now k11ow11 tc, oetcur occ;,1sio11-ally as far 1<ontli as Florid;1. Tlw first rccorrl,,cl i11stanc1· of th,· litll1\ pik1·d wlial,· iu lh<' Lonµ ),laud arc,1 app<'ars '" Ill' an i11divid11al 1·;q,L111wl iu lf:22 in Llw LowPT Bay of N,·w Yurk. lld::ay I 11: 1,2 ), unrln th" rramc beaked ror­qual I R11rq11,i/11s ,-o.,/.r11/ll.1) µ:ivl's a d1·tailc-d <lcscriptio11 nf this spc-1·i1111'11, i11dil'ati11g a fiu whnl1· Hl fo<'t long with "swinr111i11g )'all', wliil<· i11 llu, middl, ,." Al tlw olhrr <'IHI 11f llw i,l:11HI, I f<.lu1111l1 I I <J:{1) l'Xami11C'd a .'pi>cimcn aho11t 2.'i foci 11111;,:-whid1 was kilkd nlT Mo11tauk Point a11d l11wpd lo slion\ ur 1 1\ 1q:!11sl 16, 19.11.

Finbock Whole

1/11/111•11"['!,•r,1 physrdus Liurra,·tr$

Th<' v11rio11s sp1•ri1·., of J/11l,w11011tl'!'u an• k1111wn col­l1Ttiwl~• as li11, fi111u·r. nr lirrli.l('k whalrs or r11rqual1-. Tlu·y an• stn·amlirwd and mostly ,·,•ry large whah\s, with a !'ll\all dors:d li11 i11 <·1111lra!-I 111 1lw riµht wliak:- which laek thi., Jin. Tlw spnnl. or lilow. of rnrq11als is si11gk a111l wrl ical (if not ddh·t,·<1 hy tire wind) ; ~perm wlrnlcs hav<· a si11~lr ~pout ,lir,T(l'd f11rward at au a11gle. wlrill' riµ-lit wlial,·s have a d .. ulil,· V-shap<·rl ,:pout. H. phy­

safos .• the con11111J11<•,t rnrqual. i:' hnµ:c ( 1·0111111011ly 60-70 [pet Ion~). :md <'X('1•pli11ually {a,-1. Thi" .,p,·('i1·s feed;- 011

pla11ktu11ic 1•rn;;[,l('<',111,. al,n hnri11µ-, 111,•l'k1\n•I. a111l otlwr fislw:<.

Tlw fiuliack whal<- app,•ar,; to lw 111ii::1·a1ory. a~ are 1hr ollll'r rorquals. [11 llw North Atla11lic this :<pecies ntov1·:- 11orlhwarcl in :-pri11~ to frp1\ ,ti the hi!?'her bti­llHl,•s tluri11µ-the .<u1111m·r. a1ul ,oulhwarcl in autumn to wanner waler.<, althnu/!h i11-movem<•nt,- arr imperfrctly

45

k11uwn. Finback whales wc·rr rarely tak<'n by whalers in tlw early period whrn right whall's werP sought, thr fo rmrr bPing fa,Ler and more difficult to handle, with a lower yi .. lci uf oil and whalebo1w. Finhacks were caught in brg,• numbers following the dnelopmcnl of fa~ter ;;hip;: and more diiciC'nt rquipment; !her<' was an active fi;:hery in the New England ,1rea from 1850 to 1896, a~ drsrrihed by Allrn {]916).

Tlw finhack whale has b ,'<'11 gn•atly reduced in mrmlwr~ hy whaling, but is .':'till generally the most 11un!l'rous of the large whale~ ofl 1hr coast of north­ca;:Lcn1 l'nit1·d Stales, including the- latitude of Long (~land, aud also is th<' one mo;:t commonly stranded. Al­thoup:h probably not as common here ns in the vicinity of Cape Cod, which extc·nds fartlrr·r out to sea, finbacks are occasionally seen near th<' Long hland shor<'. They an· reported fairly frequ,,nlly from fishing boat~ off Mon­lauk Point. Finbach arf' most fn·quent in summer, al­tlwugh tht•y may b<' r11c<n1utercd in any month. Whales this laq!<' only rarely penetrate Long Island Sound be­yoncl its 1·astern end, howcvn.

F'inback whales were- fr<'quently sighted, but rarely tack l<'d, by l'a~trrn Long Island shore whalers who pur­rned right whales in small open boats launchf'd from th<' ~hure as rec<'ntly as the early l<JOO's. Edwards and H.all ray ( 1932), who stated that finback whales often appniarh the Long !~land shore closf'ly in pun,uit of ,mall fi~h, related an instance of a crew fastening a har­

poon lo a finback off Amagansrtt; tlwy W<'re reportf'dly towf'd 3 miles away from shore in a fa st and frightening "sli-ighride" until the whale broke free of th<' iron. Murphy (l 918) wrol<' that finback whale s regularly feed offshore in the Long Jsland arc-a in summer, and reported that six finbacks came inside. the inlet to Jamaica Bay in July 1916; om· of these, 50 feet long, perished after bccmning ~lranded on a bar. Otlwr strandings include one al Huntirrgton Harbor (inside Hu11tington Bay, western Long Islancl Sound) on October 22, 1946, and another al Sh<'l'p;,he;1d Ray, south ~horc of Brooklyn, on Novem­ber 14, 1936, ( Anon., 1956).

Sei Whale

Brtl'lenoptem borr>aHs Les.~on

Thi!'-s1wcics resembles in genC'ral appearance thr fin­back whale ( Balae11optera phy.~alus), but i,- somewhat ~mailer, allaining a maximum length of 50 or 60 fret. Thr word H'i, correctly pro11ou11ccd "~ay," is from the Nol'W<'~ian, and r<'fer~ to a kind of fish with wh ich this ,drnle often associates, both fredinir togethf'r on the same cru~tacean>'. TIit' sci whale i~ widr~pread throughout the

11<.:ea11s r,f tlw wr,rld, and i" 111111wrc,u, al tinlC's along thC' :\r,rw cgi,111 <:11.ist a11cl al,,, uff ~.,wf,,11ndla11d. Gc·ncrally.

1lw11gh, ii i" r:011sid1•rr·cl to I,,; ran · in the~ wcstnn \orth A1l:111ti1:.

I hav1· 1111 rr·•·CJrds f11r th,· ,,·i whal<' 011 Lllf' Long lsl:md 1:11a,!, 11111 11r11l,ahly ii i, a rare· vi,ita11t; it lia);

hc.:11 rn .:.,rdcd fnmt Labrador ""uth to Florirfo antl M,·xic:11, :111d Ira., "lra11d,:d 1111 tlw J\'L1.ss,1chusc-l\s coast :11

lc:asl lwi<'<• i11 Llii, c:c·11l11ry. Also, alllwul--'h l,orndi.~ i,; ,;mall,·r and dark,·r 1hu11 th,· 11wre 1111111c·rou~ phy.wtlus, it is so similar lo tl11· la11t·r rli:rl it is clillicult lo idl'!ILify al sc·:1. T)w,-; it is pos.,ili!,~ that 1111cl,·tC"c·t1·cl school" of ~<'i

whales are pn :scnl at tiuu-., olTshorC'. This -~1wci1•s is 111i­µ:ral1,ry l,111 i, 111orc, irrc·µ.11lar i11 ilf 1Jtn1rn·11cc· tha11 th,·

1>llwr rnrquak

Blue Whale

IJ11fot•1w111.,·rn 11111.seulu.,· I ,i11n:1e•11~

Tl1is ~p,-c,i,•s, also k11ow11 a~ tire s11lpliur-Lollom. i:; the lar~••s\. .. r ;di 111a111111ak Tula! le11irth .,f fully )!fllWll adults in IIIC' Norllll'rn I lc·1111"phnl' i.s ,i],.,ut 7S-1Ki fed I fo111a]C's

,,ontc·wlral larµ:cr rh:111 m;1lc·,): bl11l' wh.ilc·~ grow <'\'I'll

larger i11 tlw Anlurdic. wlu-rc ,p1Ti111,·11s ovn 100 fret 1011µ; h:tvc· hc·,-11 rPc,ordrd. Vny lar::r<• i11divid11,il, an 110w

ran•, howC'vc•r. 1-'oocl is ,d111osl cnlirc-1} .,hrimp-likc Crll>-· l,w,·a11s lc•,:s lh,111 :l indll's lonf! whic-h ,-w,inn in th, ·

c,oolcr oc,•ans of th,· wodcl. Tlir, blue· whale- i,: ptlagic a11<l

liiµhly 111igr;1lory. tlro,,· in th,· Norllwrn Hemisphere 111nvi11µ. lo far 1111r1hcni wal,·r,- iu sprilll,!-or ,-arly ,;11111mer lo f,·,·cl. ;111d th,·11 ~n11tliward i11 ;11111111111 f11r llw wi11Ler hn·1-diuµ; SC',1s1111. Tlw l>n·1-cli11µ: gro1111cls lra,•c· 110! been piupoiul<'cl. aud 1110~1 l>hws 111ay ,;p1·11cl thi .0 1wrio1l far 011!

i11 th,· 1·,-nlral ,,r >-011tlwrn North 1'tla111ir: nppar<'ntly only a f,·\\' tHTa,-i1111all\' 111iµ.rat,• a, hr ,is tlw lr11pil'.•.

lu tit,· N orth Atlauti,· this ,pc<·i,'." has lll'c'11 ~o OVl'J'·

n .ploitccl that pr11hahl~ only a y,•r~ f,·" h1111drnl rc·n1ai11. :111cl ir is tlw 1110,1 ,·rrcb11µ;c·r('cl o[ all tlw lar~(' wlialt•,. Th(' lilu,· whal,· is rare' <"\<·rywlwn· a\011µ.· 1111· ,.,;,, C',iasl .. r rhc· l :1iit,·cl :--t:11••~. ;1hl1t•tt;!l1 it li:1, lwrn found olT :\rwfn11111\•

laud al lime~, and rlwr,· is a spars(! ,-c·allni11,.! of n·corcls of inrlividu.ils which haH strarukd. 11r h,•aclwd , as far

south as Ocean Citr. i\'cw J.-r~eL I know of 011h· nil<' nTord of a hlu,· \ihalc ,m tllC' ,I.onµ 1,-land coas

0

t. Au imlivid11:1I ra111c, a.,lrnr,· ;rt ~aµ.apo1taC'k ~c•vpral tleeade~

aµ;o 1cla1t· 1111k11ow11 lo 11w). Tl1i, slrancli11!! l:' nwntionC'd l,y Edwards a11cl llatlr.n (1 1n~'i. who ;ii.so prO\·idP ,1 pltntog-raph of rli,· rkarl 11h,d,, h-i11µ 011 1h,· ncenn beach.

Humpback Whale

1Wcg11plITa n11va,·1mglia,· Bornw.,ki

This species 1.~ clo,,·ly rf'latccl to the rorquals but ha~ a stout body ,1ud l011g µ,·ctoral fin,; adult s an ' about

40 to .50 feel iu l('l)gth. IL occur" in all oceans and i,­hil--'"hly migratory alonµ; often rnthn well-cldi1H'cl rnulf's, sr11·11cli11µ tl1c· wintr-r in lropical and ~uhtrupical waters

and 111iµrating 10 hiµh latitude·~ for the summf'f. ln sprin)! , northbound liumpbacb pass our region, and larg-c lwrd~ h.1v1' h,,<.>n sr•pn i11 April movinµ: north some 200 111ilrs east of thr l\orth Americ;rn r-oa,t. Kellogµ:

I 1929) provides a distribution map with prolrnbk · mi:nn­tio11 rr>tttl'~. Hunrplwc:k 11 ha],.~ maY lw s,·en in spri11g 11c·11r tlw coasts of the 11<>rlli<':1;-l1T11 .stales, and a ft>II' may

al~o lw r,11cou11terecl in ,-umuwr and fall. hul the fall mi• µ:ration "oulh appears lo b,, h rtht•r off,chore. Also, tlw larg<'r ,-cl10ol~ are usually fairly well offshore al all times accnrdinµ: lu Alleu 11916). Formerly common.

Mew1ptera ha~ llf'c11 li:ully dq>letet! :111d i" now considerl'd lo 1)1' rare in rlw \orth Atlantic, although incrC'asing ~lightly i11 rc·c1·11I y••:ir" and more• rrumrrou,c 011 th<'

wc·slrrn si,k (Kenvnrr. cl :1I.. lOoS: Simnii, 1066).

In the Lon)! Islancl an-a, probably a few humpbacks w,·re takrn by l'arly ~horl' whalers pur~uini:r right whales, with more atte11tio11 hri11g dirc·cl<'t! to this ~pPcie, from

bo,1t,; cruisin/! ofl~hore following thC' dc·clinc of the ri;.d1t whale-. According lo Allen (1916) a favorite whaling µ;round for humpbacks wa~ 011 th<' Nantucket Shoals. whicl~

an~ al.><1111 100 milt's due <·ast of Mo111,1uk Point. They 11·c·n· killed hn,·. and alsu 011 the G,·or/!l'S Banb fartlwr east. during rh,· 1·ird1tc•r11lh and nin<•lt•<0 nth c,·nturie,. Evc:-rl'lt J. r•:dwanl~, who parliC'ipat,•cl in l.S l:11(> period ~hon· whal­i11;_! i-,xp,,cfit ions f11r ri,d1l wlwles ofT tlu· T.on!! Island

lwachcs , a11cl who,r fotlwr, Captain Jo~lr Edward~ , lc-d th<" :\111aga11~rll whalc·h11;1ls for 111·arlv 50 yea rs. until 1915, n·eallccl only OIH' lnnnpha ck ,i!!lil;·d loc~llv. An ·nrcling to rite y111111gcr Edwards I in Edwards and ·Rattray. 19'.12)

ahout I om hi~ fatlwr lwaclc,cl a boat which fo.,IC'ncd a

harpoon to :1 ltumphat·k \\'hich had IJ<'<"ll ,,irrht<'d from thl'

.-\maµ:ansetr b<'aeh. But the bomb foilPd lo ·~o ofT, and th<'

whale towed the hoat ;1! hi~h ~l)l'l'J until tlw linl" parted.

lh1111pbal'k whaks rarely bc·romc slra11d1·d and l do 11PI h,ll"C' any ~nrh n-c-nrd~ f11r Lon:r hlau<I, ;1lthou~h till·

dotthtcclly this ha:; h,1pp,·1wd. One ~tranded ,11 nearby

.Mat111111ck. RlwrlC' l~l:rnd. June 1957 1 (ro11a11 and Brook~, 1%8).

Black Right Whale

fi,d,w11u ,tdu,·i,i/i., \I i'il lr·r

Hiµ:,l,1 1d1al,·-. like· 1h,· n,rq11:1k an· hu~r· whal,.111,zw wh:d,·, whid, l:wk t,·l'lli l,ul h;i1•,· 11.,rny plat es of whal,·­horw ,,r lrnl,,,.11. ,.-l,i,-1, ,He· frayc,d r,n lhr• illlwl' , idf' a11d "f:J'I'<~ Ir, ,train srn:dl for,d orµanis111~ fr,m1 tlw wal<·r. Riµht whak,- l:wk l,otl, :1 cl<Jrsa] fi11 and µr1oc,ves on th,· llm,al d1ar;11'11·risti,-of tlw fin whal, ·s. l,11! have· ii rrla­tivdr lar~n lwad a11cl d11111kicr al'l'"•'r.111,·•· ; adult, 111ay lu• ,j..') lo :i:i r .. ..i ]1111µ. This ,,w,·i<'s w.1, 1111· main ohj,·cl of pur~nit I,} tlw ,·:u·ly \:ortl, Atla11ti .. ,/,11r,• whal,· fi,h ­"ry, in the· day of small IJ11als a11d ha111l-lll'lrl harprn,n~ , lwcarrsr <,f its , )nwrw,!<. b11oy:111n· \\lll'11 ,lc,,1d. and hiµ-h yir·ld of oil .11,d wl111lcl11m1·.

Tl1" c·oaslal an·:1 f111111 \ ·la~,a<"l111.-1•1t, lo Lonµ lsla111L wltcn•. 1lti, wltal,• was 11111111·r1>11s i11 H'as o11, w.,~ om' of ~c1•1·ral iml'11rl:1111 c·1•nt,,1, of tlw ri1:d11 whah· fisli,·ry in tlu· Norllt :\ll:t1ili1·. 0111· aft, ·r tlw .,tlwr tlw,,· ,·arious arc•;is of :d11111da1u·1· lw,·:111u-,lq,l,· l•·d. 11111il lhf' ri,!d1t wh:111' n• q~c·cl ,,11 1·xli1wti<>ll. Tl11· ~111'.-i«·s surri,,.d . i;; now pro­tr·c·lc•d l,y i111c-111:iti.,11al ];,11. and :tj'pt·;trs lo lw "lnll'ly i11neasi11g; l,111 in ;111 1l1P :'\11rtl1 :\1l:111ti<· pc!rhap, only ,, f,·w hu11<l1·,·d ri;•ltt whal,·, ,·,i"I ! :\11011 .. f<Hil:h I.

~lior c wltaliu ~, 11s i1t." 11pr•11 ho:it, l:i111tdH'd from 1!11• ~l,orc·. hen111J1· ,·,tahlis!i,·d 011 I ,n11;r !,land duri11µ- th,· 1<>1.o's a11d 11,:iO\ , a11d 11·as parlic·ubrh .wlil'<' aloll)! !111• ~0111lll'rn 1·11:1.,1 uf tl11· 1·;1,1 ,·11d of 1lr,· i,lau1L alth1111µ.h 1·ight ,dwl,•;; w,·n · lak,·u :i, Ctr wc,t n, Brookl~•11. A!,11 lar ger !,oals 11·c·n· 11.,,·d 111 l111ut ri;·.hl wha!,-, :1 ,d111rl clis-1:cn,·1· fn,111 .'-ltotT, In tlH' .. ,,rl~ d1•c·a1h·s of whal,· :ihun­(luu<·•· sc·nn·~ ll'•·tl' ,·au~ltt in ~nnw y,·ars. and also llll' 1nany "drift 1d1:il,·"•·· 1!11,,,, 1d1id1 lt;ul lw,·11 ,·asl np nn

shore. \11·1~• ul ili~r,I: proli,il,h "''"') of I 11<•.s,• had l>,·,•11 di sahlecl II\ liaq1111111s, olhc·t.• 111:t} h;t\'O' 1,,,,.,1 dr11·1·n ushor c l>y slonm, or ill11,·:-s, N,11 il'I• I ,1H1~ l.,l.i11d l1Hlian:­\\'1'f'f' .skillf11] 11 h;il,T• 11'illi11;.-lti \\ 11rk for low W:t/!<'", an •I lhu s ll'l'l'•· fn·,1111"111!~ <'lll]!lnyl'cl i11 1t1a1111it1g 1h1· whal1•­l,n111:-,. Afln llu· c·:nll' p;irt of lhl' ,·irltt,·,·11lh ,·,·11lury, inl<•u,-i v,' ,lwrc · wlwling rapidh d,·,·li1w,l lwr .. l 1707 pP:tk

l'i'ar for aiwnmt of oil sold). A few right whal es ,·onl iu111·cl 111 app1·,ir along this

f•O,lSI , a11cl .,por;H!i,· ,hon· wliali1tg cont inu,·<i thr,111/!'h the cighle cntl, :,wl 11i11d,·,·11tli ,·,·11luri1•~. ,.,,.,, llt0111,!h th,· mnjor wliali1tµ ,-lfnrl ,~a, 1h,·u hr al ~•':l iu l:1r)!1'r vr~sek l~"pccialh ire 1111' rn•.ion uf A111a~:a11si•II. Fast lhmpt on. and Soulha1t11'lon. wlwn· L,111/.!' Island ,shore whalin g lH"­gan , whales 111·r,· sl ill pnr,11,·cl wl11·111"\'Cr ~i.!!·hted frnm ~horP. 1\t li11i1•s tl,is ;1111n1111t1•d l<1 111th 0111• or :i fn\' lilkl'll at iulcrval~ o f ,-cvcr:d )'••:n :;. ll cl\a ) I l~H2) ,nnt,,: "Th,· rirhl ,.11.il,• \,a, fornwrh 1·:q1111n•d in r 1·i•:11 mm1hcr:<

47

from ,loop, and 1l'hal,•br,;1ls. alonµ- our who!,· coast, r·hidh· fr c,m F .. bruHY t1_1 M,n·. ahhoueh !h<'I' appC'ared rwcasionullv al :di "''a~o11s nf ll;r vrar. Alo11!! ti1r> ~outhem co.is! of L~11;I lslarul. wh;1k-hnat~ are ~till kept in readi­rw,,: a11d upon tllf• appc•ar,mce of a whale. th(• people in th,• l'i<'inil\· quirkly a"s"ml>l,·. a111l soon are i11 pursuit of the animal."

Four which w1·n· harpoonrd 011 h11u,ny 30, 1885, 111'.tr Southampton a!lraclf'cl colleclors attemptin!!, lo sal­rnµ,· ~kel,·tal mal<•riul. incl11di11µ: Frederick W. Trur from

Liu· I 1.S. National l\foseum (True. 1885). Tlw ,:kelrtoris of a few othrr right whalt-,-kill<'d ofT eastern Lonµ- ls­land in the h1t1· lfl00's found thrir 1n1vs to variou~ mu­~l'Um!'. So111e werr st ill hein!! kill,·cl ,donp: thi~ sam<' roa!\t

,·arly in Ill<' 1wenti1·1h c,·11lury: one of the;ar, an ad.ult fcnwle- St fret Inn!! ( from tip of snout to notch of flukl's) c.'.lptun·d oil i\maµ-ansell un Februrtry 22, 1907, .ind tlw skeleton 1·nll1'Clf'd for th,· American Mu;:eum of \atural Hi~lory. was on,· of 1h,· larp:est AmC'rican sp<'ci­nu·us rnr n·c·ordl'd I A 11d11•w~, I 908, l 916'1. A you111; whalf' :1:; f1•cl lentµ- bcli,,vcd lo be tlw calf of the larJ:!e 0111•. wns c,1pl11n·{l,,1w;1r!,y. Andr<'WS (]909) al.so stu.-lied a1wtl11T ,-111;11! s1wei11w11 captnn·cl hy shore 11·haler~ off Ama~au~ell 011 D,·r,·111hn JO. 1908.

,\ liv..!y fir~thand accounl of this late pniod (1::go·,-1 1Jif:1 1tf ~hnn· whalin,!!' from oprn whaleboats in tl11· i\111n!!au~<'ll n·µ-io11 1, i11dur\(•d i11 thP book by Fd11·,mls and Rattrav 1 !<n2). Arcordinµ- to the• author1> tlJr' v.-ar l•>J:: was th,· l;i~t in which a rip:ht whale wa.~ ,·,mi,!"ht and tri,·cl ,1nl f,,r oil {.10 b;irrek but 111·1·n sold); lw11 11·,·rc "ipht,·,l off llu! EaRl Hampt on shore l'arly one summe r 111orni11,!! and the l:irµi,r of the !wo was pursued tu Nap, ,a;:tw .tn,l kill,·d. A,:corrling lo Slci~ht fl 931) ri ~ht I :; l whale~ 11'1'1'1' :-i1,d1tr-rl .,ff Southampton :ind t"l~e­wlwr,· in 1'92;1. hut thc ,.,-:, wa ., ,kfiuitely ova, and 110

].,,;ti, w,'1'1' la111wl1<·d. ~till to I,,, "'',·11 011 :--0111<' old houses i11 th,, s:11111· rc!.'i•m i" the "~cuttle," a trapdoor in the roof wlwrc· ;1 pPrso11 eoul,I look 011I ov<'l' the oci,nn and 11·atl'h f,,r whal,·,.

True I 1901-1 ;,ll('l J\ll,·11 /191(>1 enmpil,·d rrports of rip'ht wh:1k" rnplur,·d .,ff the L,m~ L-land shnn•, µ:leanrd from stat,• a)l(l lucnl histnr ie~ and records, a11d 11ews­p;1pcr, .s1wh ;is thr Na11/11<'k1•f Inquirer, whi,:h kept iti­n·:1d,·r:s \1•p]l p,>~kd 011 whalinµ- ma1t1•r:::. Y ('ars covned rnllf!<' front 161>9 lo 190/l. wiih 11w,t data frnm the 1800':s. ~110h r,•p,>rl:- nftf'n i11dic::i10 .!ah' of rapturP. numhf'r of wh,dc~ Sf'<' II or killed . .-,pproxima!P locnt ion alnn~ the

coast. 1111mllt'r of l>arrf'b of uil prnclucl'd or f"Xpcctecl, and ocra~ionalh lrn,!'th of animal anti if calvt>s set>n. Datt •s gi1T11 iuclicalt' that ri!!'hl whaJ,,,_ iliru11;:h 1hr years hm·,· lw,·u mo~t n11111Pro11.s from ah,rnt late Fc·bruar y to lat,· <\Lt,·. with a f,·11· app,·arin~ ,·arli<'r (1\'oYPmbC'r. De-

48

,·,·mlu•r, .la1111ary ). ;\ccurrli111 Lo All,-u I l'Jl(>J ri/.(hl whal,•,._ arc·, ,,r w,·n,. 1111Jrt• numerou~ in ,\pril than dur­ir1/.! any otlwr 1t1"1,th of tlll' yr::ir in th<' Lon;.< Island rcgi.,11. C11w, with c;dv,·s hav, · h1•1•rr 11<1l<·d i11 March. April, and .\fay.

Tl,at uc·rcasior1ally a ri;!hl whal, • caus,•d at 1,·ast :w,·i,l,·nl:rl da111a/.!<' lo its pur,1wrs after b,:i11)-' wound,·d also is n•1:urd1·rl irr ti!<' do,·1111wnls; f,,r ,.xalllple, ;1 whalr· WU~ slruck 011 April 2/l. 1::s4_ ,,rr Sr1ulhamptou, and th1111/.!li 111,irlally 11·1111111lt·rl it rl,·moli,hl'rl tlll' whalPl,oal. i11juri11/.! ,s1·v,·ral 111<·11. Fdwards and B:11trar I l •J::121 1<'11 of ri;.d11 whali•s o/T Arna:,r:111~<'1! ovf'rfnrnin/.! wlraldioals, ,•.v1•11 as r-,1:,•ntly a_, I 'Jl I. and iu .-0111e inslanc es n1t1i11/.! l,oals in lialf with llwir flukr, . l!urna11 fatalitir.• W<Tf' i 11fn·11rn·nt. how1·v1·r.

Thi.- spPri, •_-, µ1·111:rally av11i<ls sh: rll"w wal,·r8 an<l rarc·ly strands, )JIii 1lwn• ;111· old rcl'onls I l:rk 1800\J of i11divirl11:1I~ l'llt<•rirr)! 1 lppn .i\,·w York Bay awl Raritan Bay lrwar Sl:rt,·11 lslurdt. and in lBSO ,,11c was captured in Sh,·lt,·r lsl:11111 :,.i11u11d 1war Cn~1·111•1>rt. A,•,·ordini:' to Edw:rnl,- ,111.I l!al1 ray I 11):~2) rii;ht whal,•s sPldom e.rm1· 11\'PI' th<· shallow sa1u(h;1r said fhy lh<> authon) In lie aho11I n 1(11:tlkl of a 111iln .. rr 1hr-Lollµ- Islam! south shnn• J.,•:wlws. wh,•n•a., L111, more sk11df·r finhacb rqlOrtc •lly 1•.:111w 11\·,·r it fr,·q1wntly i11 pursuit of small lish .

Hiµhl wha)ps co11li1Jl11• Lo app<':tl' o/T lhc ~ouLhNtsl 1·11asl of l.011g Island, and I assu111e mni11ly al tlw snnw linw uf llw yc!:H u:- irr 1)11· pasl , hut reports an • frw. in par( prol>:rhly lwc·aus,· 1!1!' whal,·s an· 110 l1111gcr watcl1rcl f11r al IIH' pn>lH'r ~,•:r,-011 l1y 111a11y wdl-t rai11l'd eyes on shon·. I II n·1:,~11t y,·nr:- right wh,il('s lrav,· n·a111war1•d in 11m11b,•rs in 1h1· Cap" Cod ;1reu, willr up In 1(,() or fiO J.>l'• 'SC11I i11 Lqw Cod 11:ry d11ri11/.! Mny. and m·c·n.oional occ11rr,·11ccs as btl' a>' .lmw ( rl'porll'd hy \Valn.s and llivard. J<J62, :rrrd nllwrs). A r1·t'r11I n·cord for Lonµ Island is lhal of a ri;.:hl whalt• ohs1•rv1·d 1111 ]1111<> 8, 19(,0, i11 1111' 111·,·:111 off ~lri11111·1·11ck hy S1111il,·y E. l'oolr IWillinm I<. Sdll'vill, 1wr:-1111:d <·111111nuni,·ution l. Tlw Ea~t llamplo11 T11wn !\brim· l\'lusc11111 al Anraµ:an:-rll h;rs a riglrl wh::ile .skull found n11 Ill<' 1>,·adr tlwr1• in llw s11m111<T of l ')65.

i\lihnuµ-h fn·q111'11I irrir lnrrp!'ral,· rallwr tlran tropical or an·ti,· s,·;1:,. iu llw ,,.,.,-tn11 t\tla11lil' tli,·~,, wha),.!' suu1-J11Pr W<'ll to tlw 1111rth of l.011µ bh1111l. a11d 111:111v of llwrn wiull·r "ome di,-tann· 111 llw ,c,11111. 111 fall. mn:-1 \<Ot1lh­lll1t11Hl ow •s pa.•s ll\ Wl'll 011l 111 ,(•a. :\, Allen I 19l(i) point!' oul. irr ,:prirr!..!'. riµht wli.d,•,- apparn1tly mirm1t1• fairly cln~r lo th,· ('Oa"t :111cl :in· l11rnl'1l :1hnq,1ly 1':i,;1. w;Hd by 1h,• proj,•cting ,·oa,-t.s of l.011µ-l$la11d :11ul C:ipe Cod. Thu, tlwy l'ull\·rrµJ• nn lhl' "0111 Ii and ea:sl :shun•;, of l.011g lsl:md and M:1ssal'hnsl'l1" h• ro1111d C.1pe Cod.

Red Fox

Vulpes i,11lpe8 /ulva ( DP~marl'st)

The red fox is surprisingly common at the pre~nt lime in mosl parts 11f Suffolk Cou11ly, and it is frequent al~o iil the less develop ed art>as of Nassau. Writing well over a century ago, l),,Kay ( 1842) mentioned a large mal(• n·J fox kill;,d in Quern .•;, and evidently thi5 "pecirs was common enough lhl'n. as ii had b,·en at )past a,; far hack as th,· late 1700's, althou gh D.-·Kay did not comment 011 tlw relative abundancr- of 1he red fox to the th ('n very numerous gray fox. Latf'r, at th" turn of thP century, Jfrlm e (1902 _I hriefly nnll'd that the red fox was vrry common throughout Suffolk a11d portions of Nassau <'.ounties. Throup:h th,· year~ red foxes havP been popular in furnishing !c-porL for hunl\'1·,, :11ul nlso many hnvc lwi,n kill('d for lhrir pdts, wliirh wer,, fornwrly in de­manrl and brought good prices.

Th" /!ray fox was more numerous on Loni:-; Island irr prd,istoric times than the rrd fox , judging from finds al Indian archacolo/.!icul site!:'. I do not know of any puhlishe1l i11forrnation confirming the presrnCP of the lallrr 011 Long Island rluring Indian times. Waters (1967) , who tliscuss(•cl a rclrnr-olo;.!ital finds of V ulpes and Urocyon on Martha's \'inPyard, knr-w of no records of Vulp1's from archaeological site;; on Long Island or farthN south. Thu~ lhe fact that Vulpes i,s reprrsrntcd in Roy Latlram's arcl1Mological collrttion from rastcrn Long Island i8 of inkrrst. III:' wrili's I pnsonal communication) 1hat although more µ-ray {oxe.s were foun\1 in his rxcava­tio11s, hoth speci<'s wne r!'corded from silt'~ al Thrrr :Vlile Harhor, Southolil, and Sh, ·lt<·r bland.

European red foxes, representing a differrnt geo­graphical race of V. vulprs, arP said to have bePn re ­lra.sed on Lon/! h.laml for hunting purposes during the 1700\. Apparently such introduction~, here as elsewherr, did not tak;, hold, or at lrast had littll' cffrct on the natural incrra,c and ,pr<'ad of tht· 11ativr Anwr ican form, /11/va., which t·XtPlld\'d its rani.:r southward into the middle Atl:mtic ancl southern stales durin/! Colonial I inws. As?<umi11g the r;,d fox was pre~l'ut on Long Island wh,·n the European s<'ltlers a rrivrd. th<' changing rn­vironnient which followed may hav(' favored the increase of thi~ ,;pcc i,,s I or if it disappearrd during late Indian or ,·arly Colonial tim<'$ it <'ould haw rl'invaded the island durinµ the :;:prParl ~outhward).

Durinµ: the survey, we rnw red foxrs or siµ:ns of their pr<'~ence in a gr('ut variety nf habital~. Red foxes covrr most of the wilckr opl'n country 011 the island in their

9C"ard1 for sucli food as coltuttlail rnbhit~, meadow mice, birds, carrio11, ir1s1Tls, and olher varic·{I items. They are very common on th,· outer h1•a1:h strip, such as Fire Island ,and 1hc s1·cl io11 IH't w1•1·n MorichPs and Shi11necock inkts; lwr,· thry pa trol llw dunes, thickets, and salt marsh,·s , 111111 1·w11 foraf?;" along- the water's edge on the oc,·,m lwad1. l11la11d, ri·d fox1·s ;ire present in wood!:>, m•ar str,·ams, a11cl arnund lar ge field~.

Ea,-J ward 1111 tlw island they ~<•1·111 PSpC'cially common, and arc very mui:h al home at Mont,iuk, Hithn Hills, Shi11111·cock llillH, Napcaµ:11c meadows and dum·s, and on Slwltl'r Island, a11d l'l~wlwri·. Appare11tly pa,:,tern Long Island is mu; of many rl'~ion, wh<'rc this species has sliow11 a g1·11nal increase in re<.:Pnl deca1ks. According 10 Roy Latha111 ( personal communication) rt-·d foxes wcr<• P1wo1111t<·rcd only o<·casionally i11 the Orient n·gion cluring- four ,l<-cades or mon· prior Lo 1930, 1ml lruve lw<:0111(: very common ~inrc tlwn. During tlw lat(• l BOO's tlw wil1ler Moul:iuk n·gion was nolt·d for its nid foxe~, arul ii allractc<I lmnlin[! parties from fartlwr w1·st on the ish1ml. Natmully, 1111' fox has not fared so wPII on we-tern Long J,;luucl, but it 1,till 1hriws in some built-up areas ncnr N,·w York f.ity. It w;is l:ommon in now densdy sPlll\'d c!ai;t,·m Qu<-ens at lrnst as lak as th1• 1920's and still is plPntiful as far w1·st 011 1lw south shore as Jonrs Brnd1 (Anon., 19(iHa).

Ocus, sum<· activdy in UM\ were found in various situations: on shrubhy, grnssy hillsides in the Shinnecock Hills (figure lS). i11 a dike i:;ros~inl,! an ohl, abandoned

crunhPrry hoµ:, in saudy pitch pim· ha rreus, and i11 the snml of the more· slwltcred imrer dun"'s on !he barrier bl'uchcs. Iu th,· Lo11g Island f:.1nd ,lun<-s rrd foxrs are rnpori<•d In favor th,· cn11cavr foce of a wiml-curvNI and ovcrhn11gi11g d111u• ,rs II burrow ~ire ( Anon., l968a). In

an area of woncls and 1•stalrs on tlw north ~hor<' of Nas­~nu County, in J111w, W<' Wl'l'I' shnwn wlwre rrd foxes had a1,parn1tly rais,·d four or mum ymmg in a Ion/.( drainpipe

under !I pan·d driv1·; n•maius of cotlontail rabbit~ and other prry w,·n· prc~rn1 wlw11 we visit1·rl 1h,· sitr.

Lathnm ( 195-1-) wrnte: "Prohnhly the food of the red fox is morr variecl 1ha11 tliat of :111y other wild mammal 011 Lon:-:; [sh11d. and 110 ll(hrr is so clever in th!' mt>thods of ohlai11i111-( it." In th,· s,mu• article hr wrot1· about two

di!I(·n·nt <><·1·11sio11s ot Mo11ta11k whru he obs<-rvPd red fox!'s cati•h ,1 11•easPI and a 11111,kral. Hamilton (1935, 1919), dr,1wi11p; parrlr 011 information suppli1·d by Roy La1ha111 arul otlll'rs. 1nrntioncd some of tlw diverse foods of red foxes 011 tlw i~land, such as various kinds of frogs, bird~, anti mammals, and also discnrdrd marine fo,h, snappin~ turll1· eµ-gs, hludwrri<•s. and other tidbits. Audubon and Barlrnran (1851) wrote an interesting ac•

49

count of the abundance of rnl foxes, aud their food habiLs, on tht> New krsey outer beaches, an environmen1 similar to thr south shore of Long Island; rabbits, water­fowl, wading bird~, and crabs and fish thrown up by the surf wrr<' reportedly eaten.

Near the e11trances to red fox burrows in the Shin­ner.ock Hills, in the spring of 1963, I noted conspicuous rcimain~ nf various food species, including eastern cotton­tail, mP,1dow mousr-, pine mouse, muskrat, pheasant, and meadowlark. A nursing rrd fox, examined after being ,hot by a hunter in central Suffolk Counly, was found to b1· c11 rrying three adult meadow mice in its mouth. In unusually deep snow present in January and Fe,bruary 1961, we found a number of cottontails which had been cached by n•d foxPs, si-veral near small streams in the pine barrens. Scats ( droppings) arP a good indication of what foxes actually eat; only a small number were ex• amin<-d, and thi>y containPd cottontail and meadow mouse remains. Of course, the diet of red foxes on Long Island 1loes not differ basically from those living elsewh ere in the State, E'XCt>pt for their propensity to feed on available marine organisms and sea birds.

Gray Fox

U rocyon cinereoar~enleus cinereoarge.nleus (Schreber)

Originally th<' common native fox of Loni!: Islaml, the gray fox became grratly reduced in numbPrs during the past century and it has remained rare and local since thPn. DeKay ( 184-2) stated that the gray fox was then very abundant on Long Island, wherr it was often called th,• "plain fox" or "grass fox." Helme (1927) wrote that althoup;h formerly common, this species had become C'Xtinct on the island, and that fpw if any grays were to

hr found latPr than 1880; he thou~ht that any instances nf their occurrence i11 the present century must be at­lributed to introduction or 1•scape from captivity,

However, the status of the gray fox remainPd in doubt, with a scattering of sightings reported since 1927, while perhaps a majority of the interested field natural ­ist~ belicvpd the species had disappPared. I do not know of any specimens actually collectC'd and preserved in re­

cent years, and at least some re,ports of gray foxes killed have turned out to be red foxes. A few gray foxes have been included in the reponed take of foxes bv hunters

and lrappPrs on Long Island, as were mapped for the year 1940 by Seagears (1944). Even assuming that all

of the reported grays were correctly identified, these records indicate that this species comprises only a very small percentage of the total number of foxes killed here.

.;o

Hamilto11 I J 'J19 j rnai111aini·d that thf' gray fox is µ:nwra!ly distrihnt,·rl ( or a l l,•,J~I was 1lw11 I in the scrub ,,ak :111d pirw ,,f Ilic 1·r;ntral p1Jrli1rn of Lonµ- J,l aml. Also, thi, fox appan.•11lly >'till ,~xi.-1~ i11 1h1· _\ ·J,,111auk-lJi1her Hills arc•a a,:r,1Jrdi11)! to Sam Y1·alo11 I A111h11ny Tarirmin.i, (>er­sonal cnmmu11ication). I 11 n·c,·111 yeu rs, gray foxes and 1l11~ir frails l1avc hr·1·11 rqio r l,·cl iu den.-c tliickd country .it Mo11tauk !A 11011., i<J(,BaJ. 011ri11µ- our li.-ld surw:y we glimps1•d si11µ:J,. i11divi,!u,ds lu•li1•vr•d l<J be this spt•Cit's on two occa sio11s, altl10111-!h b,,111 of 1h,· sighting5 wen" rlis­appointiu;dy Jl,,,,1i11g; lul'.alit ics w,·I!: wooded ar('as rwar llamplo11 Bays a11rl Montauk l'oi111.

l-'rn111 th,· ,canly 1·vi,bu :r•. ii :-1·1·111>' lik,·ly that th<' gray fox dr·cli1wd dra,ti,-ally in 1111r11lwr., wi1l1oul c·ntirr.ly di~ap­pcarinµ: from the isla11rl. II .ipparc·nllv survives 1oday in th1· wilcl,·r sections of 1·,·111 ral a11d ca~tcrn Lunr:; )~land, CSJH'dally in 11,c pine l.arn ·11.- rc•µ:ion ,ind the ,·aslr'rn part ,,f th,· south f"rk. IJ0w,·1·1·r • .-o lilllr· seem~ lo be on record n •µardi11~ 1his spcc i,·s lu·r,· th;,! ;111y arldi1io11al i11forma­tio11, if 111ad,· k11ow11. would he of ron~idc·rahlf" intr,reis!. 11 should Ii,· noted 1hal tlH' ~my fox tf"11ds to be more 11oc:trrrnal and iwcrrtivc· tlwn th,· rl'd. a11rl )pss inclin,.d to fri•q111·11t 1hr• npl'r1 ,·011111ry a11d hr•arlws.

Raccoon

l'rrw_vm, lo!or l"lnr I Li11,w<'11s)

The fmtriliar ratTOIJJl , lik<' lire rC'rl fox, rs a ~izahle 11wmlll'r of lh<' Carn ivor ,1 which is 11,on• lh:111 holrli11g its owu 011 11111reli uf I.on;.: lslaml. 11 is com111n11 i11 various part:-; uf llw l1r,uvily srt1krl 11•1·s11,nr portion, inclu1ling r:Prl:ri11 an ,as i11 1·:1stn11 Q11,·<'11.,, and rnng,•s 1•a!'tward to Monlrlllk l'oi11I, Ori,·111 Poin1. and Sh<'ller Island. While­ii hns /111d11alo-d in :rl,nll();1111T tlirnuµh lhf" year~, prnh­al,ly a,·1·ordi11;.: lo thP ,kgn·,· of p1·rs,·1·11tio11 I many lwv1• 1•1·1·11 killr,d for sport and for llu·ir pelts I and in rl'­spon~r, lo ;1 rapidly d1m1gi11g ,·nl'iro111n1·nl. th,· rac,,oon has p,•rsi-h ·d: 1·vid1•111lv ii l1as !wen wr•II st·n·r,d hy its inlt•llig('llc·,·, at!a pl;d,ility. and lriµhh om11iv11ro11., foo,I hahits.

Tiu: ra1Too11 ha, 1•1·1·11 1110rr· or 1,·ss wirlrsprl'ad 011 L1111:r l:<Lmcl thro11glio11I ,1 11111µ- pniorl of rna11's rxi~lc·nce lr,.n·. 11,·lnu· ( 1902) stakd tlial it wa, e0111111on iu most parts of 1\w island . For tlU' M,mt:lllk n·gio n. Dutrlwr anrl D111ch,·r ( l H1);l l found ratT0011,-: 1'.0lllll\011. i-l<prrially arourrcl th,· \',1rin11" po11d,-; lill'n'. 011 tlw 11urth ~horf", Tur­rell I )');l<J) rq,ortcd r;u:r(>on~ m11nt•ron~ i11 tlw ~warnp~ of tlw ~111ilhlow11 11cg ion. and ;il"n along the Nissl'<Junp:u,· lliv<'I" arul ,·ariou s brooh. lkK.iy ( IH-l21 did 11ot men• 1io11 Lon:r T.-larrrl spceifi,.;rll\'. hut ~tatr,I thal tlw species ll"a,-; wrll knnw11 and f111111d in ('\·c·n· par t of tlw Sia tC'.

Goin;..: back thre" centurirs, Iknlon ll670), in hi~ ac­count of Long !~land, listrd th,· ruccoon as a mrmh<'r of the fauna, and also slalerl that it was eaten by lllf' ln­clians. Al~o. hon,·s havl' br,·n found at prPhi~toric Indian site.• of ,Ii fferf"nl pl'riods.

[n recl'nl decade~ rareoons havl' bl'rn on tht' up ­swing in tlw arc;1, becoming Vl'ry common and spn·ading into 11,·w or r<'occupyi11g old neip:hborhoncls. For example, Roy Latham I p<'rl'onal communication) writes that for al least 40 y1•,irs, from about I 888 to 1930, thNc' w,·rc no raccoon~ in the Ori,.11t region, bul that tlwy have hl'come very r:nmmon sincl' 19.10. Latham statf's furthrr that they have become l'Xr:1·plionally num<>rous and locally troublr­som,· to lhc farmer in tlw pasl 20 years. They eat potat<H'S by rligl!ing into the hills, and dr•stroy corn, fruit, and olhl'r crop~, and c·vrn damage buildings by pulling shingle's o/T roofs lo get inside. Other writers and ob­snvns also tell of ,r :reneral i11cn·as1· of raccoons t'l.sC'­whr-n· on Lon:r (sland, esper-ially sine<' about 1940.

W,· saw !racks and othPr signs of "coon~," and ~nml'timc·!' the· animal~ th, •mselv<'s, in a vari,•ty of situa­tion~. TlrC'se includPd marg-ins of stream !' anrl ponrls throuirhoul the i~land, HWarnpy maple woods, boµ:s, pine and oak harrr•nf near water, .omall patches of dr·ciduous woods in suburban urPas, woods nr:ar brackish and salt marshes, µ:rassland at Monlauk mid Napeaµ-u(", a11d C'V1·n the bar<' sand of the "walkinr:; du11(>s" ( although near lrPes an<l marsh<'s) al Nap,·aµ:ut> Harbor. Althoug-h fre ­quentin:r the rdµ:r of protect,.<! salt walrr arras, such as Lonµ: Island Sound, and thr Prconics and othrr bays, LhP raccoon rloes nol SC'em to hr. as common on thf' ocC'an barri1·r beachl')i ( with tlwir dunrs and snit mar shrs) as the red fox; this may be because of the lack of lrees or uthrr ,knni11g .«ites in many of these areas. Raccoons are on Fin· Island, howl'vrr. Inland, rnccoons often survive i11 n patch of woodland trees, especially if a stream or pond is presC'n!, after it has br·Pn largely transformed into a suburban area or a drvf'lopPd pnrk; their char­aclPri.,tic footprints arc still to br sren long aftrr most of the lnrger forms of wildlif<' have rlisappearf'd .

Long-toiled Weasel

Musr.,la frrna/a nove/J,uracr•n.~is (Emmons)

nistribution and lrabitat. This is the common weasel fourul mon · or less throughout Long lslaucl, exrept in th,• !wavily built-up arr.is. Hrlme {1902) recountf'd his ,·xµPric11l·1·s with wea,el., on till' islunrl-fomily of younl!'. found unrier a pilf' of wood. one shot from a ~quirrl'l's nf'st about 20 fe<'I abon ground in a cerlar trrr. C'tc. In Qur·1'11~ tl1is sp1·ci1•s wa~ forml'rly common .111rl probably

_qill m;curs locally; l-larnili11J1 11949) ouc1• oh~Prvt·d a nc~t with y,,un~ at IJaysiclc in ()ue,:n.•. Quill· a f,,w Long Isinml !'pec imc:n~ arc i11 other mu~•·ums and pri v,111• col­l,·clioJ1s, loralili c~ r<:1:onl,·,I i1wh11li11/! Flu ,:hinj! in Qu<'ern;, variou s nort h ,horc and so1llh ~horc· point~, ar11I east to OriPnl ancl Sh1•l!f•r Island.

I II ca~l<:rn Su fT11lk C11u11l r w1· 1Jcca"io11ally nl,serv,:d long-t..iil1•cl w,!aiwls. trapp, ·<1 a f,·w, and founcl uthn s killrd 1111 the highway; l11caliti1•s wcri · Fl,uuk •r,., llamplon Bays, M1111tnuk l'oinl , Qu,oguc, HivcrlH'ad. Sa1fapo11ack, South­ampt1111, S1p1ir..towu, Tiana Beach, Wainscott, and Water Mill. Sr-vna l of our sp,·ci1111•11s w,•w cu11~h1 al two trap sih·s n,·ar Fla11clcr~. 11111· locali·d al the hasr- of a fallen ln·1· in a ,l.,nsd y wnodcd. h11sliy an·a hy a fr<'~h strt•am, thr otlwr in th ,· 11<1~1· or a ltoll,,w stub in woods hor1l1:ring a :;alt marsh.

It is not 111111~11nl tn 1·111:rn111tcr tlti>< "prcics ura r the oc,·an 8h11n· and on tl1,• 011tc·r l,arril'f lwachc". t\t Tiana Beach ucar Shi11r11·1:oc:k lnll'I a lonl-(•tail,·d w1•.1!,<') was oh~ ·rvccl in a ,mil 111ursl1 ancl anot lwr was found dead 011 Dunc H11ad; thi , arl'a is c:lii,·fly salt marsh, sand d11nc1-, aud flats. Tra,·ks j 1ul~1•cl lo h1· of this spccics wnc notrd in the sa11d 011 Fire Island loppoi;ilc Smith Point a1ul rn•:1r tlw Sunken Forest ), :111cl 0 11 thr casl sid,· of Morir.lws (11lct in salt marsh and sa111I. Our Jan uary day i11 grasMy oc1·n11 dmu·s 111·.ir Waiuscolt , Cliristnplwr Mc­K,·ev(!r a11d I fo111ul a larg,· adult malr. wr.n.•l'I whicl1 had l,e,•11 kill,·d j u,-.t a short whi(,. pn ·\•io11sly, appan·n tly hy n marsh hawk I (,'iri:n., ,-ya11,•11.t). Tlw w1~a~1•l, clPcapitatrd And partially r ulc•11, wns fomul lyin:r n11 th,· µ:round near a sum 11H!r 1·01lag,·, after we li::J<I startl r, 1 a marsh hawk into /li~hl from tl11· spot. Nrxt lo th,· Wl'asel wen· "' 'Vl'ral pdl, •ls prnhahl y 1•;1st hy tlw hawk. tln·c1· of which co11-1ai1wd tl!f' n•mains of wl'asd, othrrs tlw remai11s of mcacl-

11w 111ic••• T rRcks and 11thl'1· signs uf \\·c,as,·1:-I prohah l)· f r t'lwla)

wcrl' al~i 111il1,.J i11 tit,• Iollow i11g habitat s: larg:I' fiPld 111·ar M:111urvilh· with 111a11y uw:Hlow 111ic·.1· :111d pine mil'.11 1>rcs­

l't1l , lio;.t ll('ar Sp,·onk with 111a11y 111,,adow micr-. pine harrc•tts nc·ar Fl:111dcrs. :111•I rl'd 111npl1· swamp at East llmuplon. Two wen• (111111d dl';1• l 011 ro:ids nr.xl lo duck Iarn as- tlu· weasels may Vl'I")' wrll haw hcc·11 sc,·kin/! Norway rat,-; 11f1o·11 ;ih11111la111 i11 ,-;ud, ,m ·a.~.

Mu.~1,,/u jr<'l1al11 is tli,· "'IH'ci,·s of \\'C,t:<t·l usually found 011 Stat1•11 lsla111I. 1011, ahho11µh it 110 ln11~cr se,·ms lo h1· very co111m,111. Sn1111• y,•ar,- a;.!•i ( 11).~ 1) I saw nu,• h1111ti11g far out in a ,-;alt 111.n,h tlwn•. 1war N,•w Sprin/!vi ll1•.

My i111p1"('~-<io11, iu li111itc•1l trappi11;.t for thii- sp1•ciel', w.is that it is 11111rh I,•.,,.: 1·1111i1111111 011 [ ,011g h-lantl than i11 rw111y "11p~latl'" <11t:1inh11d) i\1·w York arc•as. Roy Lath um, in a pn son;il c111111111111i<·uti1111, wrilt·s that weast'ls wcn· commo11 a111l widt"spn•:111 up In al11111I 1950. but he

51

beliPvc·s they havf' hecomr vf'ry sc&rCf', at lea!'.t on caftcrn Lonµ: Island , durin~ thP la~t two decades.

R l'mark s. All the wintn ind ividual s collectrd or ob­served wrre in hrn w11 pc-la:rf'-Althou;?"h most lon~-tailed w1•as1·ls in northern and cr ntral New York turn whitf' in winL<·r, virtually .ill of them remain brown on Long Island . Jfdmr <1902) and Hami lton (1949) , both familiar with ~his ~pccies on Lon/! lslancl, nrv rr rPcordf'd any in whit e wintr-r pr.l..lge. Ourin ~ the !'-urvcy , wr received a few sight reports of white wr a~els in wint1•r in Suffolk County. This could indi cate that a small prop ortion of thl' popula tion assumes a white winlPr coat, or that the observat ion~ rder to Mustela ermi n,•a (which turn s whitf' th roughout its <'astrrn ran j?;P). Basecl on what is alrt'ad y known, the lalll'r s1~1'.mS mor P likely, althou gh erm inea is rare on

Long Island. Most of tht' stomachs examin ed were Pmpty, but one

lwld the partial rPmains of a µ:ray squirr el. Some of th<i pr<'y sprci<'!< on record as havin g been caught by weasd s on Long Islnn<l arr Sorex ci11ere1ts (N ichols a11d Nichols, 193.5); molr!<, Scalopus Aquaticu.1 (ffrlmc, 1902) ; cot­trmtail rabhit s; chipmunks; meadow mice ; whitr-footed n,ice; a nd Norway ra t~.

A frmal1· on April 17, 1961 <Flanders , Suffolk County ) containe d six Pmhryos, the swellings 8 to 9 mm.

111 diamet er.

M rasu ,r P.11W11l.s. Data for thr female with rmb ryos m1·11tio11ed ahovf' arP: weight, 109.5 µ:rams; total length , 298 mm.; tail, 90 mm.; hind foot, 34 mm. An adult mall' 011 the samr dat<': wright, 205.4 gra ms; totol lengt h, 397 mm. ; tai l, rnf! mm. ; hind foot, 45.5 mm.

lndiv irluals taken. 9

Short-tailed Wea sel

Mustela Nm i 11ea cicognanir'. Bonapa rte

Tlw short -tail1•cl weasl'I, or ermint>, a smaller and mon· nortli em :-prcirs than thr long-tai led weasel, is very rarr in tlu· constal pla i11 portion of New York State. An i11divid11al in whit, • wi11ter prlage has bren taken at B:ihylon. Suffolk Couut y, and wa~ the only Long lslancl n·cord k11own to Ham ilton /1949), who obta ined a µlwtograph of the :-pecinwn. Somr nineteenth c1•ntury pub ­lica tio11,: rl' f<·r to po~sihle but 110 1 well substant iat<'d ea rly record,: of th i!< !'p1·ci<>s on Lon g Island (!'umma rized by I-ll'li11e, 1902) . M11stcla <'fllli 111'.a i~ also rar e 011 Statrn !,.:land, whrn· it has been colh :terl by CrowP (1939). The-re are a few si!!ht rPµorls by biolo1,!ists or erminea on botli Lon:r l>'lmul .incl Staten l>'land. This re!!ion ii:: not

52

indud,·cl in th,, ran~•· of cr111i111•11 a.~ de·scribcd by Hall and

Krlsrrn ( 1959); for t}w Past coast 1h1·y ,late only that this speci<-s 01:curs sourh lu Hh"d,· fsland. allhou1h they al~o nolr: a11 i11lanil M.i ryland rPco rd.

We· clicl not 11htai11 any fir...,thanrl information rcµ;ard­i11g •liort-tailc-d wras,·1, 1,n lhis survc-y, althouf!h reports n ·c,·iv,·d from S11!Tolk C:01111ty n•.sid,·11ts of "vpry ~mall" wPasc-ls all(! wliik win te·r \\·pasds may rdcr to this sper:iPs. II i,, sai,I Iha! 011c or two lc-asl wr·a•cls ( Mustr·la nivalis) have: 111·,·11 r 11l11·c1<-d 011 l.1111µ-lsla11d a11d th,· skins mou11ted

or ollwrwi": prc·sc·rv1•1l. hut I hav,· bt!l'll unable to localP the wll<'n·,d,011ls of a11y suc:li spcrime·n~. Wra,wls ,-o lahded and actually from I ,1J11µ-bland 'rnay lw Mu;,lP{Cl erminra,

!<i11c1· tl1is ratl1r r s111all w1·a~1·l has, i11 tlrn pas t, hccu c,illc-d "l,·ast w1·as1·l," as it wa, in Crow,·\ papc-r citcrl ahove•; tllC' ra11µ:c of the true· le•asl w,·asc·l, nivalis, is nr,l known In

1,xtc•111l 1hi" far 1iast.

Mink

/1-fosfr/a 11i.w11 mink Pr alc~ and l'alisut <k Ht·auvoi1-'

AilhCJugh tile' n1ink i, 11ut oft1·11 se•1·11 ;11111 is much lr~5

1·11111111011 1l1.1n for11wrly. ii i" 110[ n-ally ran• an<l i11 fact ha~ a rnthcr wid,· di1:1tril,utio11 i11 the rq;-io11. This spt'cies

111ay I)(' <·11<·01111lcrc-d 1war w;1lc>r, 111ai11ly i11 thc less µopu ­latc·d an·ns. for al111osl tlw lull length uf Long Tsla11d anti 011 !,nth th,· norlh a11d south 1-hon·,. Likl' the muskrat. the

111i11k is al homl' in tl11~ coa,-lal s,dl mar~ll('s as well as fn•!<h w,1le•r ar<"as inlan1L

()11ilr a fe·w mink livc· 011 tl1c opcn strddll's of thl' llllll'r harri<'I' l,(',l(!he·s, <'>')lC-Cially Jn111~s n .. ach, Fire Islancl,

and the "trip lwtw1•<·11 Morirll<'s 11111'1 and Shi1111ecock Inlet. 111 rh,c,w an·as I 1111trd tll<'ir footpri11ts 1p1itl" frequl'ntly in 11111d, sand, a111I ,11nw, a11rl ah-o 01Ta.•io11ally found

trnuµ:h~ iJI the :mow utacll' hy travding 111i11k when coast­i11i.: for short disla11<:<•s. 111 thc ~:ill marsh!'s on tlw hay ,,i1h· of tll(' 01tl1·r lll'achc1-' l fignn· 16) tlw mink apprar to spend 11111eli t i1111• followi11g the• 111a11 y ,:rrck, ,11111 <Ii tclws, j11dgi11/! fro111 tll(' I racb. In lhl',1! 111ar1-h1·s an: many 111n~k­rat~, 1111•adow 111ic<·, hirol.s. fislw", a111l aqnalic invertdirate~, ,~·hilc eotlontail rnhhi!s ahu1111d i11 tlu· a<ljuct•nt ar\'a,-, all potc•ntial food fur l11111ti11g 111i11k,

Hq !a rdi11µ l'asln11 l.011µ: l~lm1el. Ruy Latham <1>er­"n11al 1·on111111ui('alio11) write~ I hat mink ,ire ~till on Montauk Po inl. at Thn·•• Milt• I larl,or. and on Shelter bland ( 12 t;1k1·11 iu wiuler of l 1JS:?) and .11'(' nnl u11com-

11w11 ann111d tlll' f',·cnni,· Hin·r. Al Ori,·ul. mink we·re fornwrh· con1111el11. hut Lathan,•~ last record in that at't'a

wa" one collccl,·11 011 l\'ove·111lwr 28, 1910; lwfore 1910 hi' ,11·erngccl about lwo 111·r winkr 011 hi" lrapline~. In Hither Iii!!" Stall' Park. I ,aw a niink skirti11µ: the• shore of Fresh

Pond onf' October 1·ve11in7 in 1962 I fi~urr 22). As an indication of former abunda11r1-, Dutchf'r and Dutchn ( 18931 remarhcl that mink were very common on Mon­

tauk Point, with some trappPrs securini:i; as many as 50 skins apiPcc in the winll'f of 1892-93.

Tlw ~tatu!; of this specirs (>11 Gardiners Island was not d!'termined. Chapman (1908), in a chapter devoh•d

to Garclinl'rs Island, rdf'fred to a lack of minks, wmsels, and other mammalian carnivon·s. Howl'ver, Roy Latham was i11formccl by an earlier caretaker there that mink wen: pn•s,·111 before 1900. On a 1-clay visit on July 22, 1961, we found partial rmrnins of whal app<'ared lo be a mink on lhl' south point of Gardiners Island, but this material was lo;;t 011 the return boat trip bl'fore bring

definilr·ly i<lrntifiecl. For lht· New York metropolitan area, Hamilton

( 1949) mentionf'd trapping mink as a boy near Douglas­ton, north ~ide of Queens, as WPII as nearby in westnn Nassau County. A f,-w mink survive on Staten Jsland, althouµ:li much of thrir habitat has lwrn destroyed in

rece11\ yrar1-. Study ~kins ancl skulls from Long Island are repre­

Sl'lltrd .i11 variou.s colll'ctio11s, including: tlw U.S. National Mu:se·um, the Amnican Museum of Natural History , Cornell University, and the collt'clion of Roy Latham.

Striped Skunk

Mcphitis mephitis nigro (Peale and Palisot <le Beauvois)

Thr skunk, like the woodchuck, is a medium -sizcd mammal which ha,: drcrease<l markedly on Long Island in this crntury and is generally much lrss common here

than in thl' mainland portions of New York State. For­nwrly common the l('ng:th of the island , appar\'ntly thr. ,-kunk has drclined in numbers owr a long period. At the time of Helme ( 1902) il was sttll numerous, although less ~o th,lll fornlt'rly. Helme suggested that prrhaps the Paris gn·e11 poison used to control tlw Colorado potato beetle t "polalo bug:"), which arrived in th<, l890's, was reduc­ing its numbers; it was thought that the skunks ate the

poiso111•d lwdles and suffered a rathl·r abrupt decline al ahout this time. Murphy (1964) and some other veteran ohservn~ a/!rn;, ,1lthough there is 1wl unanimity of opin­io11 011 this point. Skunks set'med to n ·main common

much lon/!er in certain wilder, nonagricultural srctions, ;su<'h as Montauk and in pin<'-oak barrens but haw • grad­ually beconw scarcf' therr• loo. This animal is a frequent ,·ictim of automobill' lrnflic, and tlw dense network of road,; ,rnd c\'er-increasinµ: lraffic 011 the island has pos• ~ibly been onr raust' of continued reduction in more re-cent years.

Jlan1ilto11 I] <JJ.'J I rrwntiorwd that 20 yPars r•arlier ~kunks w1·rr· comm,rn, c•v,·11 i11 s,·r-tie,n, of wefit<: r11 Lon~ Island. Roy Latlia111 i11fr,rin;; m,· rhal wh,·11 he· wa~ a lwy. skunb use·rl lo rrwkc burrows i11 pr,tato fic•lds al Oric·nt; his la•I rr:cord for thal an·a was in the· yr·ar 1911, hut he 11oll'd skunk~ as still 1:1Jl!lJY1on in som,· oilu,r Lo111! Island areas whr•n) pnlat,w s an· comrnonly 1,!fl>Wn, maroy yr·ars aftr,r tlwy wc·rc· ~1111c, fru111 Orie·nl. Sr·vnal r,·sidcnts of ,·aslcnr l.1111µ; l"la11d, frwn llan1pl1111 flays to Mo11tauk, tr,[11 u:-: ( in the .. :.irly 19(,0\ I tlwy l,..Ji,·Vl'd ~ku11b wr·re 111ud1 111nr,, 1111nwro11, IS to 2/J y1·;1r.-1:arli1·r. Skunks were fornll'rly al111111la111 011 Sh,·11,·r 1.-brHI, ;ind sp<·<·imcns col­lrcte<l th,·rc~ an· al rh,· I :.s. i\ alio11af M11,1·11111 an1I in th,· collcc:tion of Hoy Latham. In th,· )()2()\ Hoy Lath,1111 oc-1·a,-io11ally saw alhi1111 or whit!' skunb at Mo11ta11k, inducl­ing two obsNvr!d lof.\e'tlr<'r 011 June· Iii-. 1928, iu rlw ,lay-1i1ur•. 011 Stah-11 [5Jand, a frw skunks Wl'r,· pr<'s1·11I at 1,·asl a,- !all~ a,; 191\.(J, l,ul rvide•11tly 1!1,·y have l1c:come exlirpatC'd or v1)ry rar,· ( I lravc no n•1:1•11I i11fonua1i1111 I.

11 is pos,ihfr tl1al Liu· ~k1111k is holrli11µ: ib own or e·vcn i11erc,1i-\i11g slightly i11 a f.-w of 1h1, Jpss 1levelop1·d an·as of easte·rn and ec·nlral Lo11g ),c;lancl. Tiu· only sp•'ci­llll'n we ohlair!l'd wa,-; 0111, kill,·cl by ,1 car, hul in µ:ood co11ditio11 wl11·11 f111111d, 1111ar Sag llarl,or in Oc:tolH'r 1961. No otlll'r r11ad kill~ were, "''I'll, ahhouµ:h som,· w,•rr rr­portl'd lo us from lhc M1111la11k an•;1. I nnt,·d ,c;iµ:ns of skunk., includiug a ,lrn, odor, !racks, arul 1lroppings, in au area of fi,·ld,- mul pi111~-oak harr,•n,s nc•;u Manorville in I 1)(12 an,I 1963, Tiu· drn, a hurrow occupic<I hy sk1111b i11 the wi11ll'r of 19(>2, wa1- in lc·vc·I. .s111cly µ:ro1111cl under scruhl,y oak tree,~, 111·ur the 1·<1~«-of a larg:1· field. Trach w,·n· s1·1m in tlw smoolh st111d of tlH· n1oving dunes in lli1lwr !Wis State Park (fiµ:11rc 201 i11 1962. Skunks ar(' rc·pnrlcd to lw co111111on in rlw Hither Hilts :-:e·etio11 where !hey sonu·limc,c; rnid tlll' garl,aµ:1· c·nns at tlr<' hcadr camp­i11g µ:rounds (A11011,, l 1)(,8a ). Various olnwrv1•r,; n·porl,·d sel'in/-(' :-;kuuks i11 1111· following l,walitics i11 lh<' ,·arly 11Jh0's: Mcmtnuk, Cnlv,TleJ11, arn{ Yapha11k in Suffolk {:n1111ty, ;urcl North llills in Nassuu Co1111ly,

Thrcr l1tm,lrrcl year.a a~o. lkuton I I (J7(l'I lislt•d lhe sku11k "·" 0111' of 1l1r. wild a11i111als of Long lsland. Ile also 111c11tio111·d 1hi1:1 spcci,·s a,- a11 arlidc of fo111l of thl' loral Indians. 111 his account of tlw \11dia11s, by thl'n co11siil1·r­ably rc<luct'd in m1mb1•.rs. D,•11to11 wroti•: "The nwal tlwy liv,· 111olil upon i,- Fi:-h. Fowl, and Vmison; they Pat lik1i­wisr. Polecats, Skunks. Raccoon, Po<'sum, Turtks, a11d the like." Roy Latham lpe·rsonal 1·0111111m1ieatio11) writ<·s that the ,-kunk was one of the 111on· common mammals dis­covc,n•d in his Inclian ard1a<'olo;.dcal exr,.H"alion~ on ol'ast­ern Long Isla11d, found at most sitrs, a~ W<'re muskrat, raccoon. d,•er, b1•aver, and wolf.

53

River Otter

Lutra r;anaJcmi .~ ( SchrrbPr)

The timr is long paf.t sincP the otter was common on Long Island. Denton ( 1670) included thC" otter in his brief listing of Long Island land mummals, but 172 years latr-r DrKay ( 1842) wrote that thi~ ;;p1·cies, although formNly numerous throughout thr Stair , had becomr ex­tirpated 011 Lollf: Island and Stall•n Island. Nevertheless , duri11/! the past 100 years or so, a few otters have been oh~ervPd at various lot'alities on Long hland and some hav<' lwrn killl'd. Po.,;~ibly 1hr ollr-r was ne,,er completely c·xtirp:.itrd hrrc, but it has ccr1ai11ly been very rare, at lc·ast, for a long timP nearl}' ev..rywhere on the island. Most of tht> locally active field naturali~ls haw never seen i I.

According to Helm..- I 1.902) at lea.c;t four otters were killc·d, then mounted by taxidc·rmists, between 1875 and 1901, as follows: Yaphank , about 1875; Carrnans River, 1898; Prro11ic River rwar Calverton, wintrr of 1900-01, also othn individuals sPrn; Patchogur, 1901. Roy Latham ( pNs,mal communication) Btatt-•s that one trapped at Thre<> Mile Harbor in 1881. may have been the last one taken at that south fork locality. Anoth c•r record is an otter shot in Grrat South Bay near Smith Point in 1902.

In Roy Lathnm's collrclion is th1· skin of an oller trapped on March 5, 1929, al Oyster Pond on Montauk Point; it was a rnalr w,·ig:hing: 20 pounds and had been skinned for thc· fur markl'I befon• Latham acquired it. Latham writes that ollc·rs were presl'nt on Montauk for years bdon· thi:s 0111· was trapped, and he saw them llwre on sev,·ral occasion~ in the 1920';; whc,n this was still wild country. He fir,\ saw thrm in 1925 al Oyster Pond and Great Pond f Lake Montauk or Montauk Harbor on rec1·11t map;;) hefore the latter was oprncd to the, sea; Ill' also saw thr.m at Big Reed Pond, a $mal!Pr body of w;1!.-r in th,· ~anw an•.i. In tlll' fall of 1928 he saw two ntlers at Gn·at Pond and tlw slidr they were using. Otters ~till pl'rsist in this genc0 ral area; in a rrcent communica­tion Roy Latham writ,·~ that in February 1969, an adult (P111ale ottc,r wa,- can/!ht in a fishtrap at a Montauk Point locality.

Ottc,rs wc·re on Sht>lter Island in the lair 1920's, and 0111· w,1s sren sev,·ral times by a rPliable observer during tht• winter of 1940-41, according to Latham. Also, Larham \Hiles that otters wc,re siglrt<•d in the P(•conic River near Calverton in tlw 1920'~ and 1930's. No ottns were en­cou11terrd durin/! thr rnusrum surv<'y, but several reports werr rrceh•ed from rrli:.iblr persons of ~ingle otters sren during thr 1950-~: Sheltt'f Island (about 1955), locality

:i1,

nrar 1111rth ,hon; 1Jf J\a,~au Cuu11ly (,il,,,ul l9.'J7), Peconic

Riv,•r, a11d lwo !"011lh ,!um· locnliti,·s 11!'ar Grr·at South

Kay. M:111y ottr-r r<·porl,, rspr·c·ially <:o·rtai11 recent one.s

and tlws,· from wcst<·rn Lo11f-! l!-lamL can J)('rhaps lwsl lw ,·xplainnl a, indi\'idual, which havr r:<11r1c acru,s the

Sound from Com1('(;tic11t, wlwff, tlw species ha., h<"cn i11-

cr1•.isi11µ i11 1111ml11,r,. On 1!11• coth,•1· liand, Huy Lathmn has

shown 1lial tlu· utlf'r has had a long history al M"11tauk,

a11d the fn·q110,lll')' of reports from c,·rtai11 oilier an·as !;Ug•

t,;csls adrli1io11al r·,·11t,·r, wlwn~ this sp<'ci,·,- may hav,· bl'-1,onw al Ji,;1."t 1,·mporarily 1•,l;1hlislwcl from tinw lo lime.

Harbor Seal

JJ/l(w,, '11it11li11{( Lin11acus

This i, th,, only ,1·al wlii<·li regularly v1s1ts tl1e rirra

and, as ils n;un<· impli,·s, ii fn·qtwnt, harhors, bar, aml

inl,·l!', and a),;o ,·v<~n 1•11lc'rs rivns on occnsio11. Plwca vitulirw is a small ( up to (i foet), 1kn,l'ly spotted species.

II Pre, i11 the S(lufi]('Tll pa rt of its ran~e, whne ii is a

111igrntmy visitor, ii is 111ost numerous during wintrr

a11c( <'arly !l].ll'ing, is occa,i,mally obsnved duri11g the fall, and is rnn• i11 sumnwr. This spc·cies may lw sC'en ~wirn­

minµ: along with its lwacl out of tlu• water, when it appears

,;onwwhat d,,g-likc, or in((•rmitkntly diving beneath the

surfac<'; also 1lu• harbor sN1l m;ty he found haul('d out

on th,· more 11(',;crtPcl lll'a<"hPs, ii-lnrnls, rock~, mnr1'hy

l,a11h, and points of laud.

l larl,or se;ils in Nc·w Y1>rk Stall· arl' mo~I numl'rnus

al111n1 tlu, c;1,l ,·1111 of Long fsb11cl, where <'Vf'n iu rec<'11I

)'1':tl's up to hulf a cloz,•u or mon, log1•tlll'r on shore havr

lwm1 r1•po1'11',I. Boy Ln1 limn ( perso11al commun ical ion)

wri11•s that ,wals, ( usually sin/!les, soml'lime.~ llue,· to five

i11 a gr1111p'i an, rccord,,d <•v1•1·y winter in Long [sland

So1111d, Cardim·rs Bay ( from Orim1 w<',I lo Culdrngup),

Oll<I from all I lw islands of thl' ('as! ,·nd region, including

Cardin er, lslall(I and Sh<'h,·r hdand. llis datrs are from

Nov<"utlwr :~o I i<W)) 111 May S ( 1932). the lnll1'r rrcord

at Ori,•111 llarhol'. Al.so. SO sl';1ls wc•n• couutt·cl on n single

s;1ili11g trip ,1rn1111d Plum l~la111l 011 Fd,ruary 2. l.933. Chri~loplwr Md~n•Vl'I' i11fon11s 111e tlrnl rPports hr has

rtT1°i\'1•d irnli('alf• fairly larp:1' 11u111brr~ o[ harhor seal~

/'lill i11habi1 1he hi~ht 011 the ~outh .~ide of Plum hlaud

1•very winkr. D111"11('r aml D11tehcr '1893) n·ported hnr­

hor se,di- a~ prcsc111 cvc'ry winter 011 rock~ that lie ofT

Mnntm1k Poi11l. usually nrrivinp: i11 th<' nre11 in lat1' No­

vcmhl'I' or early Drcemb(·r :ind rr111aini11~ u111il spring.

Rnhrrt A. l\forris. Curat,)r al tlw New York Aquar­

ium, ha~ b!'eti k1·1·pi11p: rc1·ords in l'l'l'<'lll rear!'. of n-ported

~il,!hling-~ of harbor ,;cal., in tlu· Lon~ Island area. He

writes ( perrnnal communication) that over the past 2

year8 - l968 and 1969-thl' first reportF of seals haw

comr rarly in January. These report~ r:ontinue until the

t·nd of April. Only one rrport wa, rrcdved of a harbor

sea! in Aup:ust, onr at Muntauk Point on Aug-ust 12, 1968. Harbor ~enls may bl' .-rrn just nhout anywhere along­

! he (•ntirr Long Island coast, and small groups are occa­

.~ionally notetl in W<"~tl'rn Lung- Islnnd Sound and along

the south ~hore ( ocean and bays). It is more usual to

se,· lonr individunls ( m; mentioned by Latham) and J have seen sing-Jes in winter ~wimming in Shinnecock Bay all(! in Lower N,·w York Bay. During periods in thr win­

lt•rs of 1960-61 and 1962-63 coast ruard ub.,ervers at

thP Shinnecock Inlet stntion reported sreing a seal, prob­

ably this !<prcies, swimming n'<!ry morning in the inlet

{ figurf' 12). We, nlso received reports of srals in winier

in Moricht'S lnlrl and Great South Bay. Tlir tendency for l1arbor seals to enter rivrrs an,I frt>sh waters is wrll

known, which explains sightin/!,; in the Hudson River.

In the collection of thr Amrrican Museum of Natural

History are several specimrns (skins, skulls, skrl<'lons)

t,1ken lwtw,,en 1928 and 1959, mainly during wint<'T, al~o

onf' in late Octob,·r, at both ends of Long lslnnd. Locali­

ties include New York Harbor and Rockaway Beach on

tlie wrsl and Monlauk Poinl on the l'a!'t; n few are from

Lonµ Island Sound. Richard Von Gelder informs me that

harbor ~cal~ ~tll occur rl'gularly in thr vicinity of Mon­

tnuk Point, am! that quite a few havr been shot thrrr

in recl'nt yenrs. Many .irr short for sport. Some fishermen

are prPjudiced agaiust seals, which do little hann, but eat

the common and more availablr fishes, mollusks, and

cmstacrans, and nlso occasionally damage nets. But, as

Van Gelder and othf'rs hav,~ urged, it would be desirable

lo pa~s a law protecting all s<'al~ on Lonir Island, while

this interr~ting spl'cies is still prrsrnt, for the benefit of

th1· vast numbers of proplr who enjoy seeing senls.

For many yrars the harbor s!'al has been scare<' com­

pa~rd with it~ formrr abu11da11cr in days before the henvy

'-ettlt>menl of thr cons!, its history paralleling mnny of

thr· cetaceans in thi!< resprct. Thus DeKay (1842) men-

1 ion~ the C'omparativ!' scnrcity of harbor seab in his timt>

compared with tlwir formn gr('at abundanct', while much

1•arlier Dc11to11 ( 1670) wrote of the "innumt>rnblr multi­

tud<' of ~eals" prrsent all winh ' r on the marshes, beaches,

,md .~andbar~ of thr south shore of Long Island.

Harbor srals in the western North Atlantic art> usual­

ly rlesi)!n:tlrd P.v. concnlor. Thr typr locality of this fonn

is Lo11,g !!'land Sound, near Sands Point, Nassau County,

New York. Howrvt>r, thr seals frlc'quenting our coastlint:'

are vrry similar tu those of tlw r:islern North Atlantic

11nd Europe, which are dc~ignaled a difkrent subspecie~. P.v. vitulina.

Harp Seal

P11r,o,,hi/11., /!.ffJ1'///,11ulion I Erxl<'br.n I

Th1:n, ,-1·1•111 111 lw f,.w r,,,,.,rd, for tl1<· Lon)! l~land

nn•a of scials collwr 1h:1u 1h1· harhur ffal. Th,· haq, s,·al. )!r.l}' Sl'al, aml 111,.,cl,·d sr:al u111louhlr11ly vi,it tlw,f' !"hnn•s ,,11 11cca.-i1,11; a f,·w .,ll'ay i11clividu:1ls of all lhn•c haV<" llf'Cll rccon!,·d ,don~ 1h,· '.:1·w ./.-r.,ey coasr south of Long hda11d. T!lf'SI' s1';1 I., ha,,. ,·c:11tn~ .,f al>1mcla11c,· i11 the n•µio11 of J\,·wf,,u11dla11d a11d the! Culf of St. Lawrr·11c,·. Jlarp ."l'als a11d hood('{I sPal.- rni)!rate lo thut n·~ion from farther 11ortl1 ,·,ir-li winln. Gray 1wals .i11d th,· 110w much dcpl<'11·d l10od,,d ,wals 11u111hN ;1 fpw llrnu,_,11,d <'af'h. whilr. th,· harp si>al,; arc· rnori· 11un1<-rous hut ,·vi>11 th,.y are clf'di11in)!. L1111;I lsla11d is silual<'d south ,,f tlw re~11lar r.iu~c• of tllr,•~f\ norlhc•l"IJ .-,·als a11d only ,111 oc:1·asi1111.il

\Ht1rdr-rcr C'illl be ex1wc:t1~d.

Accordi11µ: lo Lin sley i I !M,2) the harp seal was very rnrp 1111 th<' Co1111ccti1·11t 1·ua4 a111I was se1·11 1111ly al Stoll• i11µ:1,,n ,l f,·w times on th,· r<J• 'kis: \w was told of an Ull·

succ:Ps~f11l a1tcmpl to tnk«· a sc;il therl' , which from the d(•~c:rip1i1111 hr !H'licvt·d to he lhil' S]>l\1·i1•s, duri11µ: Llw wi11tl'r of llM.l, ;1.2. Tl1is ari•n i~ less th.111 :{ mil1·., from FiHlll'rs lsh11rl. N1·w York , 1war tlw ,·11trauc,· lo Lonµ-1,lantl Sm111d. Kirr.111 ( 19:i9) hridly 1t1c·11tio11s that the harp sen) has l1P<'II s,·,·11 olT~hun• nl Coru-y l~lnnd i11 wi11lo·r; I ,!o Jl(JI haw nc!di1io11.il i11formatio11 011 this rc1)()rl. Straggl ers hav«· uc-c111-rl'd as far south as Virµ ·i11ia. The gray s1•ul .ill<] hoocbl l'c·al an, la rµ·1• spottc·d sp<'ri,·s ( 111 r~•·r th:111 I iii' ha rhor ~ral l , while~ tlw haq1. which is alwut !Im siz1• of tl1•• harl11,r :sta!, is pale ~rayish or yc•l­lowi~h. u~ually di~ti11divdy 111ark,·tl whl'n ;u]ult with a lar ge· irri·µ:u\nr. d,ll'k IH111d 011 ch,· l,nck.

Gray Seal

lftt1ich111•ru.~ ~rnm,i ( Fahricius)

A11 inlcn·sling (i1HI, r,onlinu1·cl i11 19.58. w;1~ that of a ,;urnll soulhl'l'11 outpost colony of µniy s,·als ltw;1lo·c! in tlu· vic·inily of !Ill' WPS! 1·11d of Nantuck<'I ( Arulrcw~ n11d Motl. j %7). TIii' µ:ray SP:tk or "hors,·lwad~" ,1s tlu'y a re known loca lly, nr,· pn•st·nl y,·ar ru1111d tlH'n·. The Na11tuckf't lo· cnlity is ~nme 80 miles «-a.,t-11orthe;1st of Mo11lauk Point. Soulhwanl. n )!rny ""nl appca,wl at :\tlantic City. ~c•w J<·r&-y, a£ter a .,c·vnc 11ort\ieast .•tonn i11 )\,forch 1931 I Goodwin, 193:1).

I know of no rldi11it1• rc·porb of this spl.'eit·., 011 Long hl;nul, hul it should lw look!'<! for aromul the l'a~t t'lld of th<· island. Th i' refo.tivdy d!'scrlcd const" nnd ><ubsidiar~'

55

iolnnds favored hy harbor .0 ea'5 in this area may very I ikely ~hc·ltf'T an occasiona l wandering- gray seal from the Nantu ckPt colony or ,·ls<'wherr. You 11g µ:ray seals are kuow11 to dispPr~e wi,kly. This species may be 1\istin· gui.-!ll'd from tlw harhor s<'al by its larµ:er size, heavier hC'ad, and ll/11µ:er, ruon• pointe<I snout, and by its slower, more clc•libc·ral<' marmer; the color is variable, but usually

it is a shade-: of /!ray. markC'd with spots or blotchr~. Archaeoloµ-ic,d finds indic,lle Indian,; killed gray seals

i11 pn•historic. tilll<'S a" for south as Block I~land, about I :'i mi l1·s from Montauk Pnint, and also on the Conrwclicut coa~t i\Vntns, 1967) . Harp seal remai11s have also been found on Block lslancL but as far as I know, the harbor sc•.il I Phoca vitulina) is tlw only sral which has been r<'ported from 111al<'rial colll'cl<·d al Lon/! Island archae­o!ng-ical sites.

Hooded Sea!

Cystophom cristr1i11 (Erxlrhm)

Al least lwo hood,·cl ~eals have h<'c·n found near w<•stern Long- ls l.rnd. Arcordi11µ- to DeKay ( 1824, 1842), an aclult mall· ewer 7 fn·t Ion/! was killed at Eastches1er and th<'n pul on e,xhihition i11 N<'W York City. DeKay (182 ,t) wrote: "It wa,- 1ak<'n in a small cn'ek emptying into Lo11g Islam! Soun«I ,<t F.astch<'sler, about 14 miles from this city. The animal mad e considC'rable resistance, hut ,·xhibiti>d no symptoms of frar. ThP captor suc­c:c·erhl in diverting his atlenl iou hy nwan~ of a dog, and wns lhus c·nnbled to dPstroy him by repPatcd discharges of his musk('!." Thi~ f,•arln:.s, ev<'n pu::,'llacious, bc!havior in file<' of allal' .k is charnctnistic of mall' Crstophora. F:nstd1e4er, which is 1101 shown on 1hf" map, is loc;ited 011 tlw New York mainland sid{' of th<' Sou11<I, a few mi!C's a<'ross from weslt'rn Nassau County. Also, within just 11w last few years a hood('(! ~('nl was founil in a tribu­tary of Nc•w YMk Harhnr , accordi11ir to unpublishf'd information, but I hn,'<' bren unabl <' to loca te specific details on this rc•c<'nt rc!'.oril.

White-toiled Deer

Odocoi/1°11.f vrrp111a1ws Zimmrrman

Tiu· whit e-tai]('d or Viqrinia deer has had a Ion/! aud \'<Jril'd hiflorv on Long hland. Archarological finds .1nd <'arly Colonial records show that for centuries this

w;i:- tlH' pri11cipal hi/! /!ame :::.p1·ci1·s hunted by Loni! l!-land Indians and was on e of tlwir important source$ of food. Vnn dc·r Donk /1656) in rderrin;r 10 Nc>w York

56

i11 /!Pneral I C{)lony of 'kw ;',;,,tlu·rlaruls), wrote: "The d<Tr are incrrdil,ly 1111111,·rou;: in the cou11lry. Alllwu;,rh the· Ind inns throu)!houl the } •·ar ;me\ ,.v,.ry year I hul mw<tly in 1111' foll! kill 11w11y thow,unds, and th,· wolves, ;1fter tlw fawn~ an• i:a~t. and while lhe:y arr .still yc,img-, abo <lrstmy many, still the land al>ourids witl1 th1·m t'.Vt•rywlu·rc. a11d th, ·ir 111rn1lwr~ app,·ur tu remai11 Ull·

diminish,.,!." On l,011µ l•l.t11d, th,· 1111mh1•r of ,\,•,•r <le· clin,·d with the spn,ad of whit,· sdtln., throughout the aw;i: this wa,, follow,·1I hy 1•11;l<'tnw11t uf various law~ dcsignrcl lo 1:1111!'11·rv1~ tlw d1·1·r lwrd,

DcKay I 1 H4,2 I d:1i11wd that. in New York St/JI<\ all:ll'h of lllPn and wulv1·s wen· daily clcn,·a~inµ- thl' numlwr of <l,·1·r, lllll tlt('n w,·nl ,m ln say: "In some insulated distrids, as 011 I ,ollf! Island . whl'f1• the wolf has IH·1~11 1·xlirpal1e1l and tlw cl<'n an· p!af'1•d mHl,·r th1· pro• tl'dion of tlt1· laws ,luring tlll' lm·rdinf! season. although 1110 n· t lra11 a h1mdn·d an~ annually killed hy sportsmen, yd it i,, lwliPvcd dial lh1·ir numlll'r is a1·lually 011 the i11cn·a~c." A1ul11ho11 and Bad1111an f 18S]) likewiiw re• markf'<l that 011 Loni! Island, whn<" the l!.11111' law!'- wen• strictly Pnforc:('il, d,·cr :-cc11w1I lo lw incn•;H,i11µ:.

Th,· ,kn pop11latio11 1·onti11u,·d lo ,b:linl' latt"r in tlw I ::oo\, lroWC\'l'f. An:onli ng lo rI<'lm<' ( I 902) tlw di,«•r hao hy then lwi:01111· rc~tril'trd lo a small arl"a ( (, x /4, or 5 1nil<·s I 111·ar I h,· ."outh shore of Suffolk

County in tlw tow11~hips of Islip a111I Rrookh:1v<"n. Pro­t1·ctio11 aflord1·d hy ira1111• pn·,nvci- and privat<" est.ites 1•11;1lilcd 1111' <lr,1•r lo "1trviv1• in thi~ arf':,. White-tailed <IPl'r w1·n~ al!.o i111rud11r«·d fro111 th,· mainlarul. In recf'nt il1·c11d<'s dP<'r hav,· i11rn•11sc<l ag<1i11, a11<l have sprc·ad wicldy ov<'r 1111wh of th<• i,LtJ11l. although the <"Xp:inding 111clropolita11 :1rP:1 l'l'"lriet" tlwir 1111111lwrs in llw wc•stl'fn portion.

At 1)11, pn•~1·11t ti1111• d1\1•r an• 1111m1•nrn" 011 th<' ea><tnn half "f l m1g [.,laud wlwn"v<'r th<'r<' i~ "ll itah]r, 1:ovt!I', in fa('I tlwy lwv1· hec1111w a 11uis:mt'<' in somr areas, lla111ilton rl!H<)) wr111<-1ha1 till' Suffolk County 1l1•f'r hNd. 1lw11 1111111h,·ri11f.( hl'IWl'Cll l.SOO and 2,000 ,111imali;: ,11111 incn•;1si11;.r. 1·a11s1•,; considerahlt• <lamaµ«· to vegrlahl1•.s, pr incipal!\' polat1u•s. :11ul lo 1111r,-en· .stock, such ;1~ tlll' µ,rowing sprout~ of yo1111µ-applC>s and othrr frnits. Hamilto11 prr1li('li'd thnl in a ft'w )'<'tiff r:idical

m<•asun's would havr lo he considered ln eo11trol thr n11111lwr of dl'rl'. Mild winl<>rs, abunclancc of food, no large predators Pxcepl dog.,, and tlrr g,·neral ;1b~1·nce of

lmnling have Ln·ored <l1Tr ab1111da11cr in the mon• thinly ,,c111Pd an'a~ of L,Hlµ [~land. Many an· killrrl hy dog~

and automobiles, but thf' drer have continued to increase nnd now number ~everal thousand individuals.

ln January 1969, a special d«:er hunt was held on Long Island, the fir~t deer hm1t sinc e 1928; with pcm1it~ car<"fully rr/!1.llatrd by the State Consrrvation Depart­nwnl, Hi2 deer wrre takl'n by huntns using shotguns flurinl-' two s.d;_iy prriod~ I Jachon and Miller, 1969).

\Ve saw de<"r or their track~ at most of our trapline loc,ilitics in Suflolk County. Dl'rr were l'ncounlcr<'d in all sorts of woods, including the inland pine barrens, where thry are numrrous, and around fields, ponds, and bof!s. Occasionally thf'y WPre sPrn in woods on thr very rtlge of lar;;1· n·sidenliul arr.a~. Deer are abundant all throuµh 1hr Monlauk urea, HPre they arr «iasily observed and often appt·/Jr quite tame in thl" extensive open and ~l1rubhy an·a~ such a~ the Monlauk Downs; we nolrd groups of up to 16 or more here in the evening. Signs of den w1·re f'Ven found on the ocean ,-hor<' at thr very rnd of Montauk Poi11t.

At Hither Hills, def'r arc common in oak woods and other habitats. 111 Peconic Bay, drer were met with on J.,ssup Nrck, and I understnnd they arc present on Robin.s Tslancl. On tht- north shore they arr presrnt locally in drcicluom, woods ovnlooking Long Islanc~ Sound, east lo th<· vicinity of Orirnt. Roy Latham, in a recent pe.r­~011a! communication, writes: "Orient is overrun with white-tailf'd d,w. We counted 28 in a field east of us enrly i11 the spring (1970) and I had a'herd of nine in rny littlr garden; they haw done much damag<' to plants and small trees." Ju w1•stnn Suffolk County, drer are Tl'/!'.ular hut uncommon in the vicinity of the Kalbfl eisch R1·i-earch Station, Dix Hills near Huntington (Lanyon , 1961) and are said to be numt"rous in Heckscher Stale Park 011 GrPat South Bay.

Oe1•r w!'r<' sren on visits lo Gardincrs Island, Shelter Island. and Fire Islancl (including thr. Sunken Forest),

Controll1·d markPtinµ: is practiced on Gardiners Island, wh1•rf' drer arr vrry abundant ( Anon., 1968a). Gardiners Island, incidentally, has had a uniquely Ionµ: rrcurd of 0111•.family owrwrship. and the deer Wt're carefully pro• tecte,l in the• dnys whm they had disappe<1rl"d elsPwhrre 011 1•nstr.m Lc111p: Island. I am not familiar with the hif<­tory of this de1•r hnd, but Dutcher and Dutcher (1893) in their account of the mammals of Monlauk wrote, "De.er sunwtimrs swim across from the Gardiners Island game

prc·serve some thref' miles away, causinµ; tremendous ex­citenwnt and grc·at loss of breath among all the nativf' inhabitants of Montauk."

OTHER MAMMALS

Vanished Recent Mammals

A nurnlll'r of modern-day spPciPs of mammal~ whir:h cvi<k11c1· i11rlicatcs lived (,,r prohahly liv<·d) 011 Long Jsland, have hr·comc cxtiq)at, ·rl. Sc·\'C'ral rnrmb<·rs

of the· original mammalia11 fau11a which cocxisll·d with the l11dia11!-!, induili11g all of th<' laq~Pr carnivor<'s, dis ­

appc~awd 1:arly in 1111' ~rltl1·rn1·11I of Lon;! Island by thf' Dutch arHI E11glisl1. l.ittlt· is known ahout tlwse formerly irnporlanl .•p<·cir.~. whir.It i11dud1' the ;!Tay wolf ( Cani .1 /up1H), l,olwal f/,ynx rn/u..1), !,hick hc·ar (Ursus Amrri­,:,11111s), a11d lll'aVl'r !Castor W/tltllf'IISi.1). fi<·causf' this

an·a is r:oastal a11d i11rnlar, a11cl wa~ h<•avily sdtl('(l early

in C.olo11ial limes, 1110~1 of tll<' large wild animals WPre ratlwr qnickl y <·xlr.rminatPd. A f<'w rnountairr lions , or pa11tlwrl-l ( F<'ii.1· coru:nlo r). may hav<· been pn·sP11t thPn, too, hut lh<•rr. s1·<·111s to IH· no infonnalinr1 ahout them

011 Lo11g lsla11cl; if a f<:W of thrs<· laq.\<' cal, roamed the island originally, tlir.y prohahly di~;1pp1·arcd VPr)' enrly in th<' Colo11inl 1wriod , which is appan ·nlly what hap­pcrwd i11 various other un·ns along thr East Coast. The whitr-lailcd dc1·r is tlw <>111· larp:e land mammal which mnnagn<I lo survive lo 1!11· pn·sc11I, although S<~verely re­strict<·d al um· time to 011<· or twu small protected arl.'as of Suffolk Co1111ly, mul tlll' pn·~rnl stock is much rlilutrd by

animals i11troduccd from the mainland. Ik11to11 ( 1670) m<·ntio1l<'<I tht• prcsrnce of dcer,

bcnrs, a1ul wolv<'s on I.orig lslmul, bt·•sid<•s various small fnrllf'an•r s. A 111111illl'r of t•arly doc11111r11ts and accounts

n•f<•r to tlu· gn ~at alnmcla11C<' of wolves all(! bobcats, upo11 whi<·l1 1lu• s<•ltl<'l's 11111<1<· w:1r for 11w11y yt>nrs. In the 1600's :uul hc\gi1111iug of till' 1700\ bo11nly payment s for

wolves kill<~cl w<·n· mad<' hy towns throughout Long lslnucl from flrooklyu to East llamptou (Thompson, 18~1), and olhl'r snur c1•s). Oftl'n it was requirt>d that th e

lu·ads of tlw wulv<'s lu· displayed in public, such as hav­ing thr.111 nailPd to the door of tlw cnns1ah11lary. Larii;e pits nml p:1111s .set ovrrnight W<'I'\' m11011g 1lw methods used

in cfTt'ctinp: their captun• . A~ for tllf' hobcat, Dl'Kny ( 1842) rc·latcd that ii was hPlieved to hr extirpated on Long Island 1111'11, b111 that it wa~ so nmuerous 130 years

rarlier that tlH' Grrn•ral A:-,-1·mbly pass,•d an act [ regard­ing bou11ty pay1111•11ls] lo encourage tlw dest ructi on of wilckats iu Suffolk County, :11111 that tl1is net was rrnewPd

in 1745. Very little is on record co11cerni11g bear and lwavn ht•rr, rxcPpl thal apparently they did occur m

57

early historic timrs . Thompson (1839) reco unls that beavers wrre reportedly common at a well-known body of water callt·d Beavf'r Pond near an Indian settlement not far from presl'nl-day Jamaica in Queen s, during the

time of first settlemrnt of the area. Murphy (1964) has been unablr to find a11ythi11g in th e literature about beavrr trapping on Long Island, but has found the term "h<'aver dam " in written records. Latham (1940) lists braver, brar , wolf, and bobcat as recorded for the Town of Southold durin g the Colonial period , but with dates

of latrst captures uncertain. Van drr Donk (1656) drscribed in much greater

drtail than Denton the abundance and habit s of animals

in c·arly Colonial days. Van dl"r Donk , however , wrote not .iboul Lon g Isla11d or of any one area in particular,

but of th<' e11tirr Nrw Netherlands colony, the area now consisting of southern and eastern New York Stale and parts of adjacent states. But his words help g ive some idra of the abundancr of certain species in the general region in th<· early and mid-1600 's, includin g the follow ­

ing mammals th<'n presrnt on Long Island as well as on the mainland: hcavers---"numerous," wolves-"num er­ous," and prryin g on dcrr , calves, sheep , etc.; and

bcars-"many. " Mountain lion s, howev er, wne evidently VPry scarce or abse nt nrar the settled areas and coast according to Van der Donk, although known to the Dutch

settlers from skins brought in by the Indian s to sell. Scanty rrmains of some lar gr ga me mammal s have

b<'<'ll found at [ndian archaeological sites on the island,

specirs which rlid not exist on the island in colonial limes, but which are still found today on the North Amrrican mainland. Thesr include wapiti or elk (Cervus canadrnsis), moos<· ( A lees alces), and apparently b ison (Bison bison). These species, as well as some others

which survivPd lo t·arly Colonial days, are in Latham's archarological collrction from eastern Lon g Island. He

writes ( personal communication), in response to a re­qurst for information 011 va nish ed species, as follows:

"l have trrth from the black bear from Indian village ,-ites on Sheltrr [sland , Three Mil e Harbor, and Southold. I have a section of nn antler from n wapiti from a pit on

an [ndian site i11 Noyack near Sag Harbor and a sec­tion of a moos<· antln from an Indian site in Acquebogue.

Thrsc antlers werr detrrmi11ed by [Robert T.] Hatt. I have the leg bone of a bi son from Noyack. Thi s member was identified at th<' U.S. National Museum as 'either a bison

58

or a clorn,·.sticale·cl 1:ow. II c-oulrl not ha\'e ber>n a tow

as ii was i11 1hr. hollom of a 1-foot dee·p pit in ground not clisturlwd ,ince tlw Indian occupation in the pre­hisloric: pe·riocl. R,:r11ai11s of ln.-a\'<·r ha\'r. lwc>n found irr all lrrcliarr ,ite·s from ivl1111lauk lo Hive·rheacl. No11c· of tl,e I nclia11 ~itcs c·xc:avat,:cl li.,vc he·,·11 contact sites. W1• found wolf remains, hut w1: k11ow 1k ,1 they wc·n· common in l'arly ,wtllPr t inu·s. We· ir111.<I t.ikc· into co11siderntio11 that a11tlns a11cl c:vc•11 hcM te!'th could have hcc11 brought to LonA" Island in lraclP." 111 a late·r leilte·r Latham adds that tile' Sh..ltn lsla111l hc•;1r has lw1•n clate•1.I .it about l ,000 B.C.; also h1: rec-ore hi a holwal from a Shelter Island silt·. Latharu focls thal lh,· wapili, rnoo~c, and bi~on r,·­main .~, hcing of lat<· pn:hisloric timc•s (200-300 year~ l,dorc· white se·ttle•11lr'nl). wc:rc• prohahly hrought over fn,111 the 111ainlaH1I hy tlw lrrdians.

Moose remains lwv•· IH·1·11 found 011 Fi.•lwrs lsb11d; Cooclwin ( 19:JS) mc·11tio11l'cl a lra;::mcrrl of an a11tler forwcl in a11 Indian :-lwll ll<'ap tlwrc·, and Rnlwrl Cush ­ma11 l\'lurpliy l)H·r~o11:d ,·on1111u11ie·.11io11) recalls thal thP late llarry Fe•rgus1111 1111cove•rc:<I moos<" ll·dh on Fi,hcr:< lsla11d a11d had d1r111 i,lcnl i/i,·d hy a qualified authority. H,·1uaiw, of Indian clogs have• also hc<>n rq,orted from Lon~ Island arduu~ological site~.

Th,· Dutch sC'lllcrs o[ N,·w Nctlwrla11ds in th,, l'arly I (,00'~ Ir.eel k11owlcclµ-<' ol living wapiti, 111ousl', and bison, h11L 11111 in the im11rc~dia1,· vil'inily of their coast. For ex­a111pl,·, ii is well k11ow11 thal Van d<>r Do11k 11656) was familiar with hison. Al 1lw l)('gi1111ing of a rather lonf.!; passnµ:,· 011 I his spC"e·ic:-, hi' wrolr: "BulTalops arc also lolc,rnhly pll'rrly. Thc·s,· animals mostly keep Inwards the :-outhwcsl wlwre le•w J)C'opl,· f.!:O."

A Wl'll doc:111111·11l1·el ,·xampl1· of a small m:rnunal ( sub­spc,ci,•s) wlrich l11•ca111c ,·xi ind quite- recn111ly I latl' l800's) in 1111· Louµ: lslarrd arc·;i lwe·a11s1• of the. cor11plcte elC'struc-1 ion of ils hnhilnl l,y man is IIH' Cull J~land mou8e· I Microl11s pr1111sy/ti1111ic11.~ 111•.w,philus), which is discussed in the species ae·cotrnl. O1l11•r s111all, i11conspieuo11~ m[lm• 111:11,. may huve 1lisapp,·an·cl without notice in the years followi11µ-Emope·.tn s,•11l,·1rn·11t of Long Ti-land. Fox srp1ir­rel" \'anishccl clurinl,! 1lw last 1·,·nt11ry from the Northe::ist; tlw suh:-p,·c:i,•s k11o>W11 as tlw rwrthcrn fox squirrel ( S,:iuru8 ni~<'I' mt!1ii1ws) 011c1' rnngecl north lo ConnPcli ­c111 and N1·w York. But Hangs ( 1896) wrole that tl1is slry form eoulcl 1101 withstand prr~ecutio11, aml clraring and se·11l1·menl of tlw l,11\d. For Long l~land, tl11·re ~eems lo he little infornwtion nvuilabl<· conce•rning v11lpinu.,, and abo mueh confusion exi:-ted in the p.rst rel?'arding the variou.~ race~ nad color forms of fox and gray squirrels. But Audubon a11d Bachman ( 1849) apparently h::id thi~ suh~pe·cic" pri 111arily i11 mind whe11 lhry wrote• tlrnt thr

"cal squirrel" I Sciurus ci11er<'us), which thf'y l"xplain is the fox squirr<'I nf :\c>\\' York, Pennsylvania, and New ]ersPy, and inlerm,·clial<' in siz<' bP!wPen the gray squirrf'I and tlw fox ~quirr<"I of th1' ~outhcrn state!-, "i~ rather a rare species-and i~ ml'l with on Long Island and soml" ollll'r portion~ of th,, stat" of New York."

Introduced Mammals

The Norw ay rat and housr mouse are familiar asso­f'iat,·:- of man which came ovn from the Old World. So did 1h,· black rat, which is now ran'. At l('ast one <md probably morr nali\·r Americ11n ~pecies also made tlreir way to Long Islancl by 01w method or another during tlw historic pc>riorl. This i~ fairly well document<'d in the ease of the opossum. Othrr species, such a~ the eastern collontail, arrd pos~ibly tlw little brown bat, also may have invader! thr i~land and prospered in response to changing e·cological conditiom sincr tlw comin12: of the white ma11. All of th('se• well-establish<'d mammab arr dis­cu~sPd in the• spc>cies accounts.

But in acl,li1io11 lo these , Lonp: lslancl has played ho.~t 10 ,Ill unusually larp:c number of deliberately im­ported aml e~cap<·el <'Xolic mammals, somr of which havP be·corn" l<'mporarily cstnbli~hcd locally. The many wealthy hrnclowners and sportsmen, wilh their private estates and game presPrves, and numerous travelers re­turning from other lands have contributed lo this situa­tion. Also crr1ain out!yinir islands have provrd lo be havens for some of the newcomers. None of the sprcit's has bccomc wi<lf'ly distribul! •d, as far as I know, and lacking drtails on tlw history and status of mo st of them, they will b" discu~sed only briefly. Bui the possibility of P1tcc,un!Pri11µ such animals is something lo hr kept in rnind hy thr student or observer afield in this area.

Various hare's and rabbits have br<'n introduced, lwside·s wcstn11 races of Sylvila{{US fioridanus, and somr of th<'S<' may he· founcl locally in small numbers. These includ .. -EuropPtm rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus), said lo he on Great Gull I~land and possibly one or two areas 011 Lon/! Island prop,·r; bl::ick-tailt•d jackrabbit !Lepus c11li/omic11s), n·por ted in some limitl'd areas of western .i11cl central Lonµ- Island in rc>crnt years; European hare ( l,epus e11roprar1s), a few reportedly in Nassau County, possihly al~o CPntral Suffolk County; and varying harf' I Lepus america1111s), introduced in several localities years aµ:o. Some varying hart's introducer! into Orient in 1915 l:ist!'d about 4 years (Roy Latham, per sonal communica­tion). Among the harrs ( Lrpus), authentic recent rrcords ( within the pa~t 2-3 yrars) arf' known only for the black­tailrd jack. of which two skins have been !"Xamined

(Jo,eph D<·IL Aulhony Taormina , pnsonal commu111ca­Lions).

As far as I know, tlu· varying h,m' was 11rot a native resi<lcr1t of l."n).! l,la11rl duri11g liis1orir tinws. Tlw citing of Locusl Crow, Na.-s,111 C1J11111y, a;, a periplwral locality rc·cord for this ,J!'·cil"'.~ l,y IIall a11d K,·bo11 ( 1959 I :ip­p('a rs 1o be an error. Aft<·r tra1;i11g thi, record hack Lo :'-l('lsun I I 1)0 1) I, wl10 did 1101 indurl<· Long lsland i11 thr. rnng<· of this sJ><Ti,·s, I lidin·1· 111<• prohahl,~ locati,,u for thi:. rc·co rd i, 11w wry .~mall vill.ig,· of Lnn1sl Grove in L,·wis Cou11ty lnorthwc~t,·rn l\<•w York), wh<·r(' C. Hart M,·rriarn collPde.,I many ,p,·ci111«·11s in the lair l 800'~, ratlwr tlian tll!' m1wl1 hn;::,·r luw11 of the s;1m1· nam,· on I ,011g fi;la11d.

For cl1·1·r, tlicrr• ar,· l,lack-lailrrl <l<·<·r (Odocoi/r,us lwrr1io11us) on Shr.llcr Tsla11d a11cl sika d,·cr (Sitra. 11ippo11) 1w11r tlw Carnians Hiwr. TIH\ fomwr, which :1m wc·ll k11own lo the l .. c:al rr~id,~111s, w,·r,· introduc<'cl in J 910 and .,till ,11 rviv«· in un 11nd1·vcl1Jp,·1l arf'a of Shdln l~land; T 11111ccl ~,·vc·r,1I 1,Lu:k-tai!,·cl arul whitc·-Lailc·d deer asso­cial i11g loµ:c·llll'r a11d r,~Pdiug in ;111 0)1<'11 field tlw re in J111w 11)6.1. Tlw ,-;ik;i 1b·r ,1·r1·c inlrodncT<l al SnfTn!k Lurlg1' ( tire llarcl prn1wrty 011 tl11• C;,rr11,ms Hivc·r. now a county park) many y<'ars :lf.!:O: the~ small lwrd n·mains in a wilrl s1;1II', l111L is larg('ly cn11(i11ecl lo thC' park I A111lw11y Tn1Jn11im1. p«'rso11al cnn111w11i('a(io11 ).

lkavns (Cus/or ,·111111dl'11si.1) hav .. l)['t'll n·i11trod11ce<l a11d «·.•tah[i,-;]wd lof'ally ;111d 1<·mporarily, bul I havf' 110 knowlPd/.!e' of any pn:sPntly-<·xi~ting colonies. OtllC'r odditi(',- i11cl11d1· r;;capccl hrrlgd10µ:~ ( Erinac<'lls eu.ro· /l!lt'I/,, I iu c·.c·11tral Louµ-lsbrHl. and thirt,,rn-lincd µ:ruuud sq air n·l~ I Cit ,·ll11., tridcr,·111 f i111•11f us) 1111 Fi~lirrs Isla 11d; 1 IHI\'(' 1111( h,•ard or any rccc·nl l'C'l'l)J'li" of ti!('/,(' speciC':-. The h,·d,gPhOl!S ar,• ,;rirl lo hnvl' e~<'apC'<l from g-re<'n• lio11;;c•:s wl!('n· th,·y wn,i kq1t In r·onlrol i11,-;l'cl~ (as is done in Eur11p1·).

f:y1•11 c.~c:qll'rl C:dirorni.i :;tc•a lio11,-; 1Zalo11h11s rnfifor-11iw111s) ha,·,· l"•c·n 1•111·1111111,,r,.,I. In .Inly l<J(iS, about 15 <'.<cap,·cl from a n1arindarnl at Or·l';m f.ity. Maryland, and ;,hlumgh lllo,-;I of tlwm ,,,·,·11111allr lwad«·d south. two of

them wn,· rc1·ov«'J'l'd a~ far north a" thr Louµ: li;la11rl on·a f Hohn I /\. l\fol'l'i,-;. personal com1111111ical ion).

Missing Land Mammals

Luuµ: f,-;lan<i heh ,-;ewr:il ki11rl,-; o[ small mammals prrs<•ntly fo1111d 011 1h,-• 11,•;1rhy mainland or i11 ~imilar

l<•rrain :ilon/! till' New Jrrscy coal'tal plain. For soml' of

59

the specie• this ~erm~ surprising, but probably thr situa­tion i~ about what one might expt>ct for a larµ:e island neur till' mainland-th<' ii-land fauna ii; mostly similar, but bu~ somrwhat fewrr species. Certain forms apparf'ntly did 1101 nrnke thr "hort jump from tht' mainland at the westnu end of thr island, ur if they occurred earlif'I, condi1ions may have become unsuitable for them in the limitf•d Lonµ; Islancl nrea. With thr paved mPlropolis now bl11ckinf! 1his appruach , Lonµ- Island seems morr efTec­tivr·ly isolatrd than previously to natural invasion by four-font<'d fond mammals ( although 11ot lo accid.-ntal or inlmtionnl introcluclion by 10a11).

ThP rt:d ~quirrd (Ta.miasciurus hudsonicus) is mis>-• i11g, withoul any evidence that it ever occurred here as for as I know, although it is fouucl in southern New England and :1bo abundantly southwards on the N«•w Jn.se:y ('.oastal plain in pitch pine-oak woods r<:"sembling lhosr- growinf! on Long Island. Tht' n~d squirrel formerly ocnirrr·c! a~ close as Bronx and Manhattan on the other sic.le· of the· E;rst River. Thr red-backed mouse (Clethrinn­omp grapperi) has nev er been founrl rilher, although it is pn·F1'nl in southnn Nrw England and southern Nf'w York aucl al,;0 south of Long Islan<l in thr const white cedar swamps and sphagnum hogs of Nrw Je~y; if it c·xist,·d on Lon/! Island onf' would expect it in lhe;;(' same habit;1ts and po~sibly also in red maple'. swamps.

ThP bog lemming (Synaptomy.1 cooperi) has appar-1·11tly ,•,:caped all srarch for it on Long Island. This species is often local and uncommon where it occurs and there is the possibility of it having brrn overlook r d, but it sc·crn~ unlikely that Synaptom'p rrmains undiscovered in ~uch a heavily iwttled nrea as Long Islund. The scat· terrd sphagnum bog,-; of the pinr region would be the mo,-:t likely habitat. Thrrr arr no rec;ordn of the least ~hrcw I Cryptotis parva), Lo, my knowlrdgr, although t!lt'r<' is still somr clwnce it may be found herr. More than most ~mall mammals it is ;ipt to go unnoticed, and it appears to be rare and local this far north. Cryptotis

ha~ hr.<'11 found twic,· on the Con11rcticut coa~t, at Darien n11d We~tbrook (see Jarrell, 1965) and several have hc1·n collrcle<l 011 Staten Island ( Cliapin, 1908).

Two ,mall bats, the Indiana myotis (Myotis sodalis) ~111d the small-fool('d rnyotis ( Myotis leibii) have not hc1'n found on Long Island as far as J know. Both are rnn• in thr Norlheasl and known primarily from winter

hibcrnatinµ- sites in cav<'s. If a few individuals occasion­ally visit Long I~lnnd or even spend the summer here they would b,· difficult to detect.

60

Figure 1. Woods of larµ;<· L1·cch, luliplnT, oab, cl<:., surviv ing near North Hills, western Na~sau Co11111y, liut ,·nci rclnl Ii} 1\w n :parl(lin{! metropolitan an-•a. March, 1961. Shu rt-tailccl shn·w , !'astern molt·, t'"ll o11taiL diiprnunk, gra y squirrel , white­foolc<I mou~<·, pi111' mou,,·, a11<l rac·coon n ·eordecl.

Fig-111-r- 2. Same woo11la111! a rc•a a;; /igu n · l. wilh ;;mall stn, a m.

J.'il!,11 n· :J. l 'inr. harrr!I~ near Fland1·rs. Novrmhcr 1962. Opos.sum, maskrd shrew, short -tailed slrn·w, eastnn rnul<', ,·a,trrn collo11tail, chip1111111k. µ-r11y :;quirrd, ,nut lwrn /lying s11uirrcl, wliit('•footc•d rnous(', pine muus<', rc·rl fox. lo117-t;1iled weas el, and while­tnil,·d d,·1·r fff('S( •nt.

l·'igun· -\.. l'Pnd in pinl' barren, 11ear FLu1tlcrs. Ol'lt>bN 19(>2. l\Iuskrat common, mink ncrn~io1wl. A l,o all ~pe<'i(', as 111 fiµu1-.- 3. with 1-om,· kind, 111nre lllllll('J'()ll5 in thr ,·iein it\ of thl' pond.

61

62

Figure 5. Pcconic RivPr, ,war Calv1•rlo11, July 196~. Ma;.k<'d slircw, mt•adow 111011,e, a11tl muskrat numt'rous in callails and other marsh vq ;c tatiuu. Otl1·rs havt· he,·11 n•purl1·tl 111 this general ar!'a of the riv1·r.

Figure 6. Looking towa rds Grea t Pecon ic Ray marshes fr om pine land east of Fla nde rs. l\' ovemb1•r 1962. Ea~tern mol1'. chipmu nk, and pine• mouse com 111011 1111cl,•r the pi1H"s. but nor venturi11,!! out i11!0 ~alt marsh I th1· hi/me of ma11y mra dow mice) . Also masked shrew_ PaslPm cottontail , Norway ra t, whilc-footl'cl mou!'C. raccoon, long•la il,·rl wr a~rl. and white-lail ed deer foun d i11 th1· genera l a rea .

Figun· 7. Ed1fc of ~011tlwru white, <'l'dar ,-wamp I pim~-oak wouds to rif!"hl), rw.ir Riwr­lwad. i\nwmbn 11)(,:2. Flying squirrels ohscrv,·d i 11 Lhr et·dars: ma~kt'd shrew, .-hort­tailc·d ,!1n·w. <'asl<'l'11 coltont.iil, grny squirr('l, ancl whit<'-foot<-d mous" collC'cted uud<•r tlu, <Tdar~. b1,l1·rn mole lu11ud~ in dry ground 11car <'dgc. Abo chipmunk, woodchuck, n,11 fox. a11d whitc·-lailrd drn· n:cnrcl1·d i11 the 1!rnrral area.

fipm· 8. Wilhi11 n•dar ,;w;unp .,lwwn in figure 7. Ma,-k<•d ,hn·ws 111111h·rnus 111 can­

ties at tlw ba,1· pf redar trc<'s and moumk

63

Fi~un · <). S111all spha)!llllln huµ- witl1 southern white cedar, lcatherlf•af, and a laq:w .•(•rig<', 1war F'lancl,-rs. (ktolH'I' J<)62. Maskt·tl shn·w and m\'adow mouse 11umerous.

Al,;o ,ca.<lr•m collolllail, ~1111tlH'rn llyinp: s,1u1rr<'L white-fo(ll<•d nwusc, n1uskra1, ra<·c-0011.

l1111g•lailc<l Wl'asd, ;111d whil<·-tailcd de('(' 1·<·<·or•l<'d,

Figun• 10. Abandoned fannhnu,:t • near Manorville. Kovember 1962. Sumnwr matt•r­nilv eolony of littl,• brown hats in a1tir. jusl unclt>r pe.:ik of roof; hat~ flew iu and out of uppn windl>W, ,\l,o a f,•w biµ: hro11n bnls prese11t in fall.

li'igun· 11. Weedy, ~undy fiC'!,I with black oak and young pitch f>ines, Hampton Bays. Novemher 19(,2. Short-t,lil<'d slm:w and pine mouse abundant, mPadow mous(' uncom­

mon. Also cas1n11 mnl<' tunnel,, throu/!houl the area.

Figun• 12. Shi1111t'('Ock lnl,·t, from base of jl'lty on west sidt·. Harhor s<'als in inlt' t u11tl vil'inity durin[! winter, hotll<'-nnsed dolphin found strandP1l 11,•arby. Abo f('{~ords uf pigmy sper m what,~. finhack whale, and Atlauti" right whah· o/T tl11· inlPt in n·crnt _l't•ars. Norway rah, liw• ,lllHlll1! tl11· jetty nl('ks.

65

66

Figun· 1 :i. HPd 11wpk ~walJlp with small "tn·am, cin11amon fern, ,-kunk cabbagr, vinl'~. l"le., ru·ar Baby 1011. April 19(,:t St·v,·ral star-11os<'d moles t very loc;tl on Long [sland) coll1•cted in an~a shown, in tunnr'.ls r11•ar the strPam. Shorl •laikd .shr('W a11d meadow 111011se mwd tli<' 11101<' IU1I11l'k Also opos~um, cottontail. gray squirrel, whit1•-footed

mousr, and raccoon listed.

Figure 1-t.. ~lar-no~ed mol<' ,d,,,, ·1· dt·1•p t11111wl whPre cau:zht I in area shown 111 fiµure 13). April 1 %:1.

Figun· l.'l. f;rassland with clumps of shrubs und scalll 'Tl'd tr,·e~, in Shinnecock Hilk Novembn 19(,2. Maskrd shrew, short·taill'd shrew, and meadow nwu.se numerou,;; ('IIRlf'm mule in som<' depressions. Rc·d foxt's ohservl'<l and dens found in art'a shown. Opos~um u11d white-tail~d deer cummo11.

Fiµun· Hi. Salt marsh on outer strip about l mil,· l'a,;t nf Moridws lnkl. No,,1·mlu·r 1962. 1\lc·adow mous1• ;1bundant, masked shrew prPSPnl. Also muskrat. long-tail<•n weasPI. an<l mink n·corded in this mar::h. wi1h npo~sum. Pa~krn i,oltontail. and rl'd fox co111111011 in getH·ral an>a.

67

68

Figun· 17. Vic-1\' fr11111 outc-r durw,: I with l1t•achµ-l'tls'-'I across intndun1• valley to i1111er dmws, Ea"! IIamptou lkad1. Nov1·111IH'r l 1)(1:l. Meadow mouse, house moU~l', and col-

1.onlnil rnl,l,it frc'(Jll<·nfrd thl' oukr <lu,w~. More rnaru111al, wne found in the intl'rdune vall<'y, iucludi111-( tlw aho,·c- .-pccie,- autl :ilrn masked shrew , ,horl-lailnl ,-hn·w, eaf.lem

111oli·. and whiti·-fool<?d 111ou~1·. Opo~sum, red fox, arul lonwtailcd weasrl in the ar!'a.

Fi,!!ur e Ul. S:rll<h. lall-,.:ra,-,- arr a 11t·ar tlh' l!lOYlll/--'. dmu·s I backµ.ruund l at H itlwr llill,-, :\lead,iw j11mpi11µ. 11111u,:1•. a,: well as nwadow moust' and 1na,-kcd ,-hn·w. wn

cot11111,>11 in tlu• tall ~ra,., lic'r<'.

Figure 19. View across rxtensivc marshes mid Napcagu11 Harbor (left) from summit of high movini; dune in Hither Hills State Park. November 1962. Meadow mice

PVcrywherP here, 1•v1,;n in clumps of beach~ra/'s on 1hc high Junes. Re,I fox common.

Figun• 20. Moving du,w~, sltowi11g active 1·tlg1· of a du11e 1•m-ruachi11µ: 011 a patch nf

woods , Hither llill,, Stall· P~1rk. Nov1·111lwr IW>2. Trach of collontail. r\'d fox. rac­

com1, strip<•<l sku11k. and whit1:-Laiktl den fr('qucnt 1>11 the smooth saml.

69

70

Figure 21. Woo,ls or wliitr oi1k and black oak with bayberry undergrowth, in Hither

Uill!:I 11ear shore of Block U:md Sound. October 1962. Our f':asternmost locality for t\l(' 1·a~tern mol,•. Also chipmunk and pinf' mouse present, local this far east. Hoth ~lm:w~, gray .<qui rn•l, whi 1<•-foutcd mnm,r, and white-tailrd deer common.

Figure 22. Fresh Pond, Hither Hills State Park. October 1962. Keen 's bats abundant and nctive over the ponrl anrl vicinity at least from June to October. Red hats com-111011 in [;1te ~u111111<'r a11d fall. Both ~p<·cies mist-netted over water anrl shoreline on left. H.<"t! fox and mink obccrvt'd a!on~ thr shor(',

Figure 23. Typical ~ccn<• under a pitch pine in the pinr bu rrc·ns- hu~ked COll('S and

liner l<'fl hy squim·ls forclinl-( on the pine s,·Nk

Figur<' :.H. 'l'ub<'r~ u( µ-rou11duu1 or wild lwan, from a large pil,· accumulated by nw,1d­uw mice , m·:H llaupp,m/!<'. CollPctcd in M,Hch I 961. Individual tuber s about 1 inch ]0111-(.

71

72

Figure 2.5. Sa11dy :m•a with headwrass, bayberry, de., in foreground, near salt water bay on Shc:lter Island. June l 9G3. Meadow jumping mouse present, also short-tailed shn·w, white -foot<>d mouse, meadow mouse, and raccoon listed. (osprq· nest on dead tree in d istanc<') .

Figun• 26. Fil·ld nu Sheller Mand. J uru• 19<,:1. Black-tni J,·d derr I i11troduced) and white-tai\P<l de,·r ob,cn·N1 fr1•di11g here. Red fox sal on rock under lone tree in center distnnc1·. Shnrt-lailed ~IH1'\\'. nll'adow mouse, and t>astt•rn cottontail common.

LI'fERA 1lJRE CITED Allm1, C. M. 191<1. Tlw wh,1ld1011<· whal,·s c,f i\c·w Elli",'•

laud. Mc·111. B"stc,11 S,w. !\al. !list.. 8 ( 2): 107-322. --- i<J;J,I. Pyi,:my spr.r111 wlrnlc in tl,e Atla11tir·. Field

!VI us. Nat. II i-',1.. Zoo I. Sn., 27 : I 7-:~6. Anclrcw.,, J. C. 1111• I Mott. I'. H. l'X17. (;ray sf'als at Nun­

tuc:k«-t, Masstwlrn~,-11, . .I. :Vlamm., 11-8<4 ! :(1S7-658. Ancln·w:s, H. C. I •JOH. \,,ic, 11po11 th•· ext, ·rna l ancl in-

1c'r11al a11ato111y of /Jalm·1w Klacialis Ronn. Rull. A111C'r. M11s. l\al. llist.. 2-1-( 10) :]71-182.

--- I CJ()'J. Furth1'.r 1101 r·s or1 l •."ul,f/lant.a f!,lncia!iJ ( 801111.} Bull. Anl<'L Mus. Nat. llisl.. 2h (21 I : 2n .21s.

--- l91(i. Wlwl,• hunting with ;:ru11 and camc·ra. D. Appli-to11 a11cl C"·· N,·w Y"rk. :~:n pp.

A11011. l'J:i(1. S1rarHl1'.il r11a111111al.s "f till' sea. N.Y. State Co11,nvatio11ist, I I ( I I :1--S.

Anon. l'J<,8:1. Th,· natural history of Lonµ Island - the land 111ar11111;ik Smwtuary ( publil'atio11 of th<' L.1. Clwpl<"I" of th, · Nat11n· Cons,·rvm,cy ), 2-19.

A11011. l<JMlh. Ran· 1111<1 cnda11w·n·d fish and wilcllifr of Ille' lfnil<·d Staks. Co111pilrd hy Committe ,· on Rare and l•:nclanµ:c--:rc~tl Wildlifr Sp('cics,, Rur<"aU of Sport Fi!<hnirs nm] Wil,llifp IH1·sourrr Puhl. 34), Wash­i11gto11, I >.r..

A11d111•011, J. J. a11d llacl1111a11, J. 1841. Descriptions of 11cw sprci1'.s of qu,Hlnqwds inhahitinµ: North Amer­

icn. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phi la., l :92-103. --- I IM'J-firl,. Th<' quadmp<'<ls of North i\m<'rica.

V. C. i\11duho11. N"w York. :i Voll'\. (Vol. l, :18:{ pp .. IHV>: Vol. 2, :13,1, pp .. l8SI: Vol. ~- 848 pp., I H:,4).

Bailey, V. 1898. DcFcriptio11s of devm 11t'W Sj>f'Ci<'s and suhsp1·c:ic•:-of vol,·s. Pror. Biol. Soc. Wash., 12 :85-90.

--- I 900. Jfr\'isio11 of Allll'rica11 vol('~ of the g<'nus Micror11.,·. N. A111C'r. F:11111;1, No. 17, 88 pp.

Bnngs, 0, JB()(1. A l"<'vi,·w of tl11· squirrels of e;istern North Anl<'rica. Proc. Bini. Sol'. \Vnsli., l0:14,S -167.

Barbunr. H. W. a11d l>:n•is, \V. II. l 9(i9. Bats of Amrrica. Tiu· Univnsity Prrs~ of K<'11t11cky. 286 pp.

llr11to11, A. 1111d Atkinsou. T. 196'1-. Notrs on thr New Eu1.da111l col1011tail i11 ,,asl<'rn N<>w York, N.Y. Fish a11cl Ganw J .. 11 (2) :15,i-156.

Brodu , l. M. 1968. T]u, lirlwn~ of Long r~hlllcl, New York: ;i Vt'g(•lutio11al and nnri~t ii' analysis. N.Y. Stall' Mui-. a11d Sri. St•n•. Hull. tl0. ~~Opp.

Carter , D. T. 1 %0. On tile' 111il!r;1tio11 of the r<'d bat, Lnsiurus bori•nfis hor,·afi.~. J. Mamm .. 31 (3) :349-350.

73

Chapin, J. 1908. Not<·s on some Sta !Pn !~land mamma ls. Proc. S.J. Assoc. Arts and Science~, 212 ) :65-67.

Chapman, F. M. 1908 . Camps and cruises of an orni ­thologist. D. Appleton and Co .. Nt'w York. 432 pp.

Clark, J. 1965. Occurrrnc1· of the bottlmose porpoist' in a tidal river. Underwater Natura list, 3 (3) :19-20. (Arnn. Littoral Soc., Sandy Hook Mar in.- Lab., Highlands, Nrw Jersey]

CliM, M. G. 1955. Soils and soil assoriations of New York. Cornell Ext. Bull. 930. 72 pp.

Cook, J. J. and Wisner, W. L. 1963. Killer Whale! Dodd, Mead, and Co., New York. 64 pp.

Crowe, P. E. 1939. The l<>ast weasel on Sta tt>n Is land, New York. Proc. S.I. Inst. Arts and Sciences, 8: 135.

Davis, W. T. 1908. Obst'rvations on Sta ten lsland moll's. Proc. S.I. Assoc. Arts and Scit·nces, 2(3) :141.

-- - 1920. A Staten Island whale. Proc . S.I. lost. Ar ts and Scimr.t·s, 1 : 5G.

DeKay, J. E. 1824. An account of the Pho ca cristau,, rrcc-ntly taken in the vicinity of this eity. Annals Lyceum Nat. Hist. N.Y., l :94-99.

- -- 1842. Zoology of New York. Pt. 1, Mammalia. Albany. 146 pp.

Denton, D. 1670. A brief description of NPw York: for­m<'rly called New NC'therlands. London, printed for John Hancock. (1902 rt'print , Burrow s Bros. Co., Clevdancl).

Dutcher, B. H. 1889. Bird notes from Littlt> Gull I,land, Suffolk Co., N.Y. Auk. 6(2 } :124-1.39.

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74

Cnodwin, C. C. I <J:tt Occu rrc'.IH'.I· of a /!ray ff al at At­la11tic Ciry. \('W J..rsey. J. Mamm., Ml I) :n.

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76

a11d Rivard, C. J. 19(12. T.-rre !;trial and marine mammal~ 11l Ma ssacl 1 u~dts and othf'r New England ~Lal<:~. Standard-M,,d,·m l'rinti117 Co., l11c., Brockton, Mas~ad1usdts. 1 SJ l'P·

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APPENDIX Allen H. Benton, Danny L. Kelly, State University College, Fredonia, New York 14063

Siphonaptera From Long Island, New York

l>uri11.,: lh<' ,(udy of Lonµ Isbnd mun1111als, l'aul Co1111or ""IIC'dt:d ,J.21 fl,.as whid1 form llw rnotcrial for tl1i, stud)", \V,· an· ~rat,·ful lo :Wr. Connor arnl tlw Nt>w York Stat(· 1Vlusru1t1 mid S,,i,·rwc S(·rvin· for 11w oppor ­t1111i I y lo ,t 11dy t it is inll-n:st i11~ colb:tion.

Tlw '121 s1••·c i111r11s inclu(lc only 11 -~1wci1·s. a n·-

111.irkal•ly sn1all 11u111IH'r. ]11 1:omparirn11, a slurly of ma ­lc,rial l'ollc!'l(td hy C:.,l111<>r in Lewis Co1111ty ( Benton, I <J(,(i) prodtw,·d I JB individ11;ils of J :{ sp<'c:ics, while a sludy of Co1111111's S('liohari,· Crnrnly matnia l I Kuczrk , 11np11li.1 prod1w1·d (1(/fi spc1:inu-11s o[ I (J spe·cics. It ap ­

pears that Ille' ll1·a fa1111;1 of Loll;.\" l~la11d i~ impove·ri~IIC'd. l11 part. thi s i,- du,· lo tllf' ah,w1u:e· of ;1 1111111lwr of north­e•ru forms ;1,-sociatc1l with siwh rn,11rnual spe·cit ,l'o a~

(,'l,:1/iim11,m1_ys f!,11/J/INI and Tr1111ia.,ciurr1.s ltwlsonicu.s. In othc,I' l'a><1·,, 1!1,· l1nsl sjw('ie·" may hav1· !>C'C.l1 µn ·~enl hut nol e·.oll('c:\eid or co!l,.e·tc·d i11 suc:h small 11umlwrs that ,1

1·cp1Ts1:11l,1liv,· sa111pl(' of thr Ocus w;1s not ohtaine d. Fur l:Xa111ple-, l1olli '/'11mirt., strir1l11s and (;/aucornys volmts

Wl'm e,11llPcl1·d in !<111all 1111111lwr", 1,ul snc:h flea "rwri,·s as M,·J!rd10thri.1 1U'r-rlm., a11cl Tamiopliila gra11di.1 from the d1ip1111111k. a11cl l•:pilerliu facr·ta. Co1wrhi11opsylla stan/ordi, ;111.J 0JJ1.rnrlr1srs psr•11dar,:/r1111ys fr11111 tlw flyinl-' squirrrl wnt• ltol 1ake·11. Ccary ( )<)!)<)) li"ls thrcl' aeldi1io11al nrnm-111;d fle·ns fru111 I ,011µ l~lm1d local it i<·": Orupsylla afflornys, llw c11111111C>ll !l,·a of wouell'llll('k~; Mep,11fwthris a.~iu. us11-;1lly fouml u11 /l.,i,:rn/11s. and Orlo11lop.>yll11s llllllii.~pinosus, ;1 parasitP of r;1lihit,. l'ussihl y. llll' rdalive·ly small 11tnn­

l•l·r uf s1we·i,·s rc·fl,·c-1.~ l)ll' \'\'I')' liwit1·rl ahitn1\inal ,incl l01·oluµ.i<'al v;Hinliility 011 1111· island. Ce·rtaiuly. 011c miµ-ht 1•x1>1·cl IIIOl'f' tl1a11 011c-tl1ird of N,111· 't'urk's flen fauna lo .be [0111111 011 s1wh a laq.:1· lrnul an •.a. S1·lc-eriv1· roll<'l'ti11µ­frn1n s11<•cie·~ po o rly rqll'P~1;11ll'<l iu tllC' Sta!t- M11~Pm11 ,:oll,·ct iou 1uigh1 add ~<'V('ral ~(H'c·i .. ~ of nra;:, to th<' li~t of ·"]HTiC'~ whkh follows:

r-AMILY PULICTDAI•: Ct•dio/Js:vll(/ si111ph•:r { lbk,,r)

FourlC'('ll ~pe·cinH'll.S of 1hi~ rah hit flf•a wc-re eollr('!Prl from t \\'CJ spee'illl<'lll' of Syhiilagus floridanus. Thi~ i~ a com111011 11Pa ou T.1·porid~. par tic-ul;1rly ('olton­lail~, thro11µ-h11ul tlw 1·a~t 1•x1:ept in hi/!h .irc·as whNI' cotto11t,1il~ do 1101 l'Xi~t. f2 111ah·s, 12 fmrnlcs)

77

FAMILY HYSTRJCHOPSYLLIDAE

Atyphloccras bi slwpi (Jordan) Thrr<- spe·cime·ns were takrn from Microtus pf'nnsyl ­va.nicus at Shinnrcock Hills, December 15, 1961. This is primarily a winter flea, usually takf'n in larger numb1·r s from nests of the fidd mous e. It is known from only a few localities in New York , but probably occur~ throul!"hout th<· Stale'. (3 femalrs)

Stenoponin americana (Baker) Forty sp1·cimem; of this specirs wt're taken_ with ~5 of the·m 187.5 percent) having bt't>II taken in the months of SPpt<'mbrr-March. Six hosts were repn·­,-ent1•1I, with the la rgest numbers being found on PPromy.,cus ltiucopus ( 35 per crnt) , and Microtus pen11sylvar1ic11s (20 perc1·nt). In New York, thb sp<'cics has bt'en found only on Long Island and up lhe Huds on Vallf'y as far north as Albany. (15 males ,

2S females)

Epit,~dia wen.manni tcstor (Rothschild) Srven specimens w<•rc tahn from November-March , four from Peromyscus leucopus, thrc r from Microtus pe.nnsylvanicus. Th e 1\istribution of this southern subspecies in Nl'w York is similar to that of Steno­ponia w11uica11a. (2 rnalrs, 5 femall·s)

Ctcnoplrt/10/mus pseudagyrtps pseuclagyrtes (Raker) By far the commonest flra species collected, this flea made· up 30 \HT C<'nl of tlw Aeas co!IC'cte•d. with ] 28 S(Jc'cimt'ns from 10 host species. It was tak('ll through ­out the Y<'Hr, with 80 percent ocrurri11~ in lhP Sep­trmhcr-Mareh collPctions. (76 males, 52 frmales)

Doratopsylla blurirrnc (C. Fox) Forty specimens of this sprciPs \l'f'rP tak en, 39 of tlwm from Blari1w brevicmulo. 1l1is sp t'ci es is thus tlw most host-specific flea taken during Lhis study. Tht' specimens were quit( • f'Vf'llly distrihutrd throughout the year , except for a surprising gap rluring the nlllnths of July -Oetobcr. Possibly this gap was cau.,ed by a low population of th<' host sp<'cies, or by limited collections during this time pPriod, since it ha~ bren taken commonly during 1\w~e' month~ in othn parts of New York. ( 18 malf's, 22 females)

71:l

:'V1•f1.rr•fo/J.,yllo l!,('JUtfi., /f,l'tt11li., 1 Baker) l-:l,·v1•11 ,p,·1·in11·11s w•·r·,, tak,·11, six from Hlriri1111 l.,n·vi­

n111d11. !iv,· fr11111 S,·,tf,,1111., 1u11111fin1,. All \HT!' tak,·11 !wt wec•11 f),.,·,·ndwr :111d :\hrclr. ( :i mal1>s, 6 fc·rnalc•~)

1-':\:VIIJ,Y <:1-:HAHJl>IIY!J,Jl>J\E

Or,·ft,,1w1ts ft,ur11rr/ii f,,,,, ,11rdii ! llak,·r I

Tlrii,. 1·111111ir1,11 S'flllrrl'I fl,,a is n·pr,•,-1·11t,·d l,y ] 1:1 sp1•C"i1111,11~. "·v1·11 fro111 (;/111tctJ11tys vn/1111.,, th,· r,·sl fro111 S,·i11,11s 1:1/f'tJli,"•n,is. i\.11 ,pPl'i1111:11s w,-rc taken fro111 :-i1·pl1·11d11·r to F,·l,rnan t:r;- rnal,,,. 7(> f,·mal<•sl

Or1·ft1J/H'11., f,,11,·n1111s I llak .. r I Th,· ;,,(, sp1·cinu·11- of tlri, ,pP,·i,•.< W<TP w,·ll rlis­tril,11t1·d tlrr11uµ-lr1111t tlw y,,ar. with p,·ab i11 J\oVl'Jll· J ... r.Jkc,·1111,n, 1-'<>rty-,·iµlit 18:1 JWITPIII I wer,· take11 from l'1·1w11y.,c11., l,·111:nf'I/S. t 22 mal,·,. :12 f1·111ali-s)

NtJ.\llfJSl'fllls /11.w·iut11s I 1!11,c·) Tlr,· c·o11m11111 rnt 11,·a was tak1·11 1111ly 1111ce, a si11; . .de

spPci1111·11I fro111 /)id1·/11!tis 111arw11i,tlis. Tlris was 1111-rlo11l1tc·dly drH' l11 a11 a,Tid,·rrtal I ransfrr l11 rlw opos­s11111 fr11111 .r harn or 1111thuildi11µ-whf'rc• rat,.; wc·n· 1m·sc·11I. I l fc·111.tli, I

FA:VIILY LF.PTOPSYLLIDAE

Pern111yscopsylla scotti ( I. Fox) Ten sp1·cinw11s of th i~ sp .. cic·, were taken from Oc­tober-Dn;ember, substantiating prn·iou;; n ·port~ that thi~ is an autumn nea. All C'Xcept n n,· were from P,•romrscus l,·ucopus. ( 4, male,, 6 females)

REFERENCES CITED

B\'11ton, All,·n H. .1966. Siphonaptc·ra ,:ollected 011 Tuµ­Hill, L,·wi, Cou11ty, l\,.w York. In "The ~lammal,­of thl' Tuir Hill Platc·au, New York." br Paul F. Co11nor. N.Y, Stale Mu,. and Sci. Sen· .. Rull. 406: 7()- 78.

C1·.iry, Jolin M. 1959. The Fl,·as of N<'w York . Conwll Univ. Ai:rr. Exp. Sta. Memoir 3.'>.5: 15:'i pp.

Kuczek, Bernard E. 1%9 i llnpublishPdi. The Siphonap­lcra of Sclrohari,· County. N,·w York. A Seminar Report pn·~•·nted lo th,· Department of Bioloi:ry, Stat,· Univ. of l'i.Y .. Albany . N.Y. 16 pp.

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