120 Birds of Colorado 



It passes through Colorado at the end of April, and has been noticed 

 at Loveland, April 20th and May 1st, by W. G. Smith. It also ranges 

 into the mountains, since Carter observ'ed it at Breckenridge. The only 

 other definite records are : San Luis Lakes, where a single example 

 was taken by Aiken, October 1st, 1874 (Henshaw), and Barr, where 

 it has been noticed at various dates in May and July by Hersey and 

 Rockwell. 



Genus TOTANUS. 



Bill long and slender and straight or nearly so, longer than the 

 head, but the cuhnen shorter than the tarsus ; the lateral grooves 

 on the bill only extending for half its length ; tail short, nearly even 

 and barred ; legs long, tibia nearly half their length ; tarsus, which far 

 exceeds the middle toe and claw, scutellated before and behind ; hind 

 toe present ; web between the middle and outer toe fairly well 

 developed, between middle and inner toe almost obsolete. 



This genus, as restricted, contains four or five species breeding in 

 the northern parts of the Old and New Worlds. The two North 

 American species commonly met with both occur in Colorado. 



Key of the Species. 



A. Larger ; wing 7 to 8. T. melanoleucus, p. 120. 



B. Smaller ; wing 6 to 7. T. flavipes, p. 121. 



Greater Yellow-legs. Totanus melanoleucus. 



A.O.U. Checklist no 254 — Colorado Records — Allen 72, pp. 152, 159 ; 

 Tresz 81, p. 244; Drew 85, p. 18; Morrison 89, p. 168; Cooke 97, 

 pp. 18, 66, 200 ; Henderson 03, p. 234 ; 09, p. 228 ; Rockwell 08, 

 p. 159 ; Felger 09, p. 289. 



Description. — Adult in sumnjer — Above ashy-grey and dusky black, 

 mottled with white, rather more streakily marked on the head ; vipper 

 tail-ooverts white, sometimes with a few narrow bars of dusky, tail ashy 

 to white barred with dusky ; primaries plain dusky black, the shaft 

 of the outer one white ; below white streaked about the fore-neck and 

 breast, barred on the sides and flanks with dusky ; iris and bill 

 brown, legs chrome-yellow. Length 13 ; wing 7-75 ; tail 2-75 ; 

 culmen 2-20 ; tarsus 2-60. 



The sexes are alike. In winter the birds are dark ashy-grey without 

 black above and more white below, with fine ashy-grey streaks on 

 the throat and upper-breast only. 



Distribution. — Breeding apparently from Anticosti to British Columbia 

 and south in the Missoiu-i Valley to Iowa, but breeding records are very 



