Shore Birds. 



254. Greater Yellow-legs {Totanns melanolencus). 



L. 14; B. 2.2. No rusty; upper tail-coverts mostly 

 white; tail barred with black and white or gray. Ads. 

 Above black margined with whitish; below white and 

 black. Yng. Above grayish margined with whitish; 

 below white, breast lightly streaked. Winter. Simi- 

 lar but white margins less conspicuous. Notes. A 

 whistled wheu, tvheu-wheu-wheu-wheu-wheu-wheu, wheu- 

 wheu. 



Ringe. — North America; breeds from Minnesota, rarely northern 

 Illinois, and Anticosti northward; winters from Gulf State and Cali- 

 fornia to southern South America. 



255. Yellow-legs (Totanns flavipes). L. 10.7; 

 B. 1.4. Similar in color to preceding but smaller in 

 size. 



Range. — North America; breeds rarely in upper Mississippi Valley 

 hut chiefly north of latitude 55° ; winters from Gulf States to southern 

 South America; rare on Pacific coast. 



258. Willet (Symphemia semipalmata). L. 15; 

 W. 8; B. 2.1. Primaries black with a broad white 

 band; upper tail-coverts mostly white. Ads. Above 

 brownish gray, black, and a little buff; below white 

 heavily marked with black and slightly washed with 

 buff. Yng. Above brownish gray margined with 

 buffy; below white, breast lightly streaked with dusky. 

 Winter. Similar, but above plain brownish gray. 

 Notes. Song, pilly-will-witlet, repeated. 



Range. Eastern North America; breeds from Florida to southern 

 New Jersey, later strays casually to Maine; winters from Gulf States 

 to South America. 



258a. Western Willet (5. s. inornata). Similar to 

 No. 258 but slightly larger. W. 8.5; B. 2.4. In sum- 

 mer above paler, less heavily marked with black both 

 above and below. Yng. and Winter. Indistinguish- 

 able in color from No. 258. 



Rinee — Western United States; breeds from Texas to Manitoba; 

 •winters from southern California and Gulf States southward. A rare 

 migrant on Atlantic coast from South Carolina to Florida. 



259. Wandering Tatler (Heteractitis incanus). L. 

 11. Tail-coverts plain slaty gray. Ads. Above plain 

 slaty gray; below white barred with slaty gray. Yng. 

 Above slaty gray more or less margined with whitish; 

 breast and sides slaty gray; throat and belly white. 

 Winter. Similar, but no white margins above. 



Range.— Pacific coast; breeds from British Columbia northward; 

 winters south to Hawaiian Islands and Galapagos. 



282. Surf Bird (Aphri^a virgata). L. 10; B. 1. 

 Upper tail-coverts and base of tail-feathers white. 

 Ads. Above black, slaty, and rusty. Yng. Above 

 slaty margined with whitish; breast barred slaty and 

 whitish; belly white spotted with slaty. Winter. The 

 same, but no whitish margins. 



Range. — "Pacific coast of America, from Alaska to Chili." (A. O. 



U.) 



Ill 



