GREATER YELLOW-LEGS 327 



Satisfied for the moment, the bird rose and flew to the leeward end of the pond 

 hole where it had been feeding, alighted, walked up the bank, and stood in a 

 tuft of partly dry grass at the edge of the water, quietly facing out into the 

 breeze for some twenty minutes, although all the time alert and watchful. In 

 this sheltered position it would not have been noticed unless known to be there. 



Dr. Paul Bartsch (1899) found a greater yellow-legs in the Wash- 

 ington market whose throat was jammed full of top minnows. He 

 says that many times he has ' ; watched this bird wade out into the 

 shallow water of the bars, moving along slowly with tilting gait, 

 suddenly lower that long head and neck and proceed to run through 

 the water at a speed which would have done credit to a college 

 sprinter, quickly striking to right and left with his bill." Others 

 have noted a similar performance. 



I have occasionally seen greater yellow-legs on damp, grassy 

 meadows where they were probably feeding On insects or their 

 larvae, snails, worms, or crustaceans, all of which have been found in 

 their stomachs. Lucien M. Turner refers in his notes to a bird he 

 shot at the mouth of the Koksoak River, Ungava, on September 18, 

 1882, which had been feeding on the berries of Empetrum nigrum. 



Three birds collected by Stuart T. Danforth (1925) had eaten 

 exclusively animal matter : " The recognizable fragments were : 

 Dragon-fly naiads, 65.33 per cent; aquatic Hemiptera (Belostoma 

 species), 22 per cent; fish scales (Poecilia vivipara), 6.0 per cent; 

 Dytiscid larvae, 0.66 per cent." 



Behavior. — The flight of the greater yellow-legs is quite swift, 

 strong, and well sustained on the downward and sweeping strokes 

 of its long, pointed, dark-colored wings. Its long neck and bill ex- 

 tended forward and its long, yellow legs stretched out behind give 

 it a slender, rakish appearance which is quite distinctive. It usually 

 flies at a good elevation and when traveling it often flies at a great 

 height. It scans the ground beneath, looking for a suitable place to 

 feed or searching for desirable companions. It responds readily to 

 the call of its own species and will often answer an imitation of its 

 notes from a great distance; sometimes when it is too far away to 

 be seen. When coming in from a distance it usually flies in wide 

 circles around the caller several times until it is satisfied that it is 

 safe to alight. It then comes zig-zagging or scaling down on down- 

 curved wings and settles lightly near its would-be companions. On 

 alighting it stands for a moment with its wings extended upward 

 in a graceful attitude, folds them deliberately, gives a few jerky 

 bows or upward nods, and then either begins to feed or settles down 

 to rest. It is not very particular as to its companions; it associates 

 freely with any of the smaller waders that frequent the mud flats, 

 meadows, or shallow ponds; it seems to be particularly fond of the 

 companionship of the teals when they are feeding in shallow water. 



