HUDSONIAN GODWIT 175 



siderable white. Bill dull orange, blackening 

 at the tip. Legs black. Length from fourteen 

 to sixteen; extent from twenty-two to twenty- 

 five inches. 



In winter the colors of its plumage are 

 much lighter. The upper parts a grayish 

 brown with very little of the showy colors of 

 the breeding dress. To the casual observer it 

 closely resembles the willet, showing the same 

 sober hues as does Symphemia at this season, 

 though white patch on primaries and bluish legs 

 of willet to say nothing of the differences of the 

 tails, should distinguish between the two at 

 once. 



This species is said to decoy readily and to 

 be easily lured by a good imitation of its note, 

 though wary and cautious beyond most shore- 

 birds if it suspects danger. In more favored 

 localities they are said to travel in large flocks, 

 but in New England the rule is some half-a- 

 dozen in a bunch, or more commonly a single 

 lone traveler on his way to the southland. 

 Very rarely are they taken in our borders dur- 

 ing the spring migration. 



Nests mostly in the far north, along the Arc- 

 tic shores. Eggs, three to four, brownish olive, 

 splashed with darker spots. 



