222 DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



in spring chiefl}' during the month of April, but it has be^i 

 noted as earl}- as March 28 and as late as May 14 in Winneshiek 

 county (Smith), and in the fall in September and October. The 

 species has been reported as breeding in Iowa (Goss, Bds. of Kan., 

 189; Ridgway, Manual N. A. Birds, 165), but I have been able 

 to find no definite records. The habit which many Sandpipers 

 have of dallying about favorite feeding grounds until late in the 

 spring and returning in midsummer has led man}- observers to 

 consider them as breeding residents. The presence of straggling 

 or unmated birds throughout the whole season is not necessarily 

 proof of their nesting, however. The Yellow-legs are birds of 

 restless habits, and their melodious whistle calls innnediate atten- 

 tion to their presence in the vicinit}'. Cooke reported the Greater 

 Yellow-legs as a common sunnner resident at Heron Lake, Minn. 

 (Bird Migr. in Miss. Yal., 18S4-85, 95). 



109. (255). 7ofa?n/s f/ai'ipes (Gmel.). Yellow-legs. 



The Yellow-legs, or Les.ser Tell-tale, is a common migrant in 

 Iowa, perhaps even more common than the Greater Yellow-legs. 

 The two species are almost identical in form and coloration, but 

 are readily distinguished by the size. It has been noted by prac- 

 tically all ol)servers in the state. Cooke (Bird Migr. in Miss. Val., 

 1884-85, 95) states that "it is a common summer resident at Heron 

 Lake, Minn., and has been found breeding in northern Illinois." 



I have seen numbers of the birds lingering on the marshes of 



the Iowa River flats in Hancock county in the latter part of Ma}^ 



acting as if they were nesting, in company with Wilson Phala- 



ropes, but have never found a nest. The Yellow-legs return 



early; .shot one specimen July 27, 1893 (Winnebago), and the}^ 



are usually numerous duying the first half of August, in northern 



Iowa. 



Genus Hki.odromas Kaup. 



1 10. (256). llclodnviias so/ifaiiiis (Wils.). Solitary Sandpiper. 

 The Solitar}' Sandpiper, or Solitary Tattler, is a common 



migrant in most parts of the state and occasionally a summer 

 resident. It usuall}' arrives in the latter part of April and 

 remains during the early part of May, returning in midsummer 

 and remaining along the shores of ponds and banks of wooded 

 streams until October. I have shot specimens July 15, 22 and 



