134 NOTES ON THE 



They remain often into November before taking final leave 

 for the milder latitudes. The Red river country is their 

 abounding region in their migrations, yet there is no section 

 which they do not visit in greater or lesser numbers. I have 

 them abundantly reported from Big Stone lake (Cutter), Her- 

 man, Grant county (Clague), Red River (Washburn), Lanes- 

 boro (Dr. Hvoslef ), Lake Shetak (Herrick), Waseca (Everett), 

 Elbow Lake (Sanford), and many other localities indicating 

 their distribution. Mr. Washburn states that when he visited 

 the Red river region late in July and early in August, he 

 found both the Telltales (the sportsman's name for the Yellow- 

 legs), still non-gregarious, only one or two individuals being 

 seen in one place, which hints strongly at their being in prox- 

 imity to their breeding places, for in a very short time after- 

 wards they were seen in considerable flocks on the plowed 

 fields. On August 6th he says "many single birds observed 

 along the Thief river." On the 20th, I found them in large 

 flocks along the Minnesota river, ten to fifteen miles above St 

 Paul. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 



Bill longer than the head, rather slender, curved towards the 

 tip; wings rather long, first quill longest; tail short;neck and legs 

 long; toes moderate, margined and flattened underneath, con- 

 nected at base by membranes, the larger of which unites the 

 outer and middle toe; hind toe small, claws short, blunt; 

 grooves in both mandibles extending about half their length; 

 entire upper parts cinereous of various shades, dark in many 

 specimens in full plumage, generally light with white lines on 

 the head and neck, and with spots and edgings of dull white 

 on the other upper parts; lower back brownish-black; rump 

 and upper tail coverts white, generally with more or less im- 

 perfect transverse narrow bands of brownish-black; under 

 parts white, with longitudinal narrow stripes on the neck, and 

 transverse crescent, lanceolate and sagittate spots and stripes 

 on the breast and sides; abdomen pure white: quills brownish- 

 black with a purplish lustre, shaft of first primary white; sec- 

 ondaries and tertiaries tipped, and marked with transverse 

 bars and spots of ashy- white; tail white, with transverse nar- 

 row bands of brownish-black, wider and darker on the two mid- 

 dle feathers; bill brownish-black, lighter at the base; legs 

 yellow; iris dark brown. 



Length, 14; wing, 7.50 to 8; tail, 3.25 to 3 50; bill, 2.25; tar- 

 sus, 2. 50. 



Habitat, America generally. 



