162 BULLETIN 15 5, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



one hundred seen at the Etang Bois-Neuf July 25, and saw others 

 on the sloughs near the mouth of the Artibonite July 28 and 29, and 

 at Les Salines July 30, 1927. Bond records them from Etang 

 Miragoane, Trou Caiman, Port-de-Paix, Fort Liberte, and on Gonave 

 and Tortue Islands. 



The lesser yellowlegs is found singly or in little groups on muddy 

 shores along salt or fresh water, or around ponds and marshes, 

 where aquatic vegetation is low so that it does not impede feeding. 

 The birds walk about on the mud or wade in shallow water to secure 

 their food of water insects, amphipods and other aquatic creatures. 

 Their flight is swift and direct, and they often utter a clear, whistled 

 note that is characteristic when once it is learned. 



The lesser yellowlegs is grayish brown above, mottled with white 

 and dusky, with white rump and light barred tail. Below it is white, 

 with grayish brown streaks on the breast. The markings of the 

 under surface are heavier in the breeding season. The bird is dis- 

 tinguished by the bright yellow tarsi and feet. The wing measures 

 from 149 to 163 mm. 



TOTANUS MELANOLEUCUS (Gmelin) 

 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, CHORLO, CABALLERO CHILLON, PATA AMARILLA 



Scolopax melanoleuca Gmelin, Syst. Nat., vol. 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 659 (Chateau 

 Bay, Labrador). 



Totanus melanoleucus, Tippenhauer, Die Insel Haiti, 1892, p. 322 (listed). — 

 Baetsch, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 30, July 27, 1917, p. 132 (Haiti).— 

 Cifebri, Segund. Inf. An. Est. Nac. Agr. Moca, 1927, p. 6 (listed). — Danforth, 

 Auk, 1929, p. 364 (Monte Cristi, Les Salines, Gonave Island).— Moltoni, Att. 

 Soc. Ital. Scienz. Nat., vol. 68, 1929, p. 313 (Haina, San Juan, specimens). 



Neofflottis melanoleuca, Beebe, Zool. Soc. Bull. vol. 30, 1927, p. 139 ; Beneath 

 Tropic Seas, 1928, pp. 69, 70, 220 (Source Matelas). 



Winter visitant ; abundance uncertain. 



Abbott reported this species from Saona Island, September 12 to 

 18, 1919, and Danforth found it at Monte Cristi June 24 and 27 and 

 August 5, 1927. Ciferri obtained it at Haina in April, 1926, and San 

 Juan October 28, 1928. 



In Haiti it is listed by Tippenhauer without comment. Bartsch 

 saw it on the salt flats north of Port-au-Prince, Haiti on April 25, 

 1917. Beebe found it at Source Matelas January 23, 1927, and took 

 one at the same point March 21. Danforth found it at Les Salines 

 July 30, and on Gonave Island observed it at Anse a Galets July 

 "15 and Etroites July 17, 1927. The species is regularly migrant 

 through the Greater Antilles so that the records though not based 

 on specimens taken are not to be considered unusual. 



Like its small relative the greater yellowlegs will be found in 

 the marshes of the coastal plain or on the mudflats bordering saline 



