392 SOLITARY TATTLER. 



closely and when driven from the nest, will often feign lameness. The young appear dur- 

 ing the latter part of June and follow their parents as soon as hatched. Later in the sen- 

 son, little groups gather on the banks of .the rivers, or may be seen with the southward-going 

 shore birds on the coast, in company with which they depart early in September. 



GENUS XI. TOTANUS. THE TATTLERS. 



GEN. Cn. Bill, much longer than head, slender , but not expanded at lip. Hind loe, present. Marginal indentations, 

 four. 



The sternum is narrow, about as wide as height of keel which does not exceed the length of the coracoids. The outer 

 marginal indentations are at least twice as deep as inner. Legs, long and slender, with tibia feathered fur less than half 

 its length. The stomach is oval or cuboid in form, quite muscular, and lined with a hard, finely rugose membrane. The 

 proventriculus is large. The intestines are short and large, and the eoeca short, or rather long, with blind ends dilated. 

 The sterno-treachealis is quite stout and there is a weak bronchialis, but no other laryngeal muscles. Tyuipaniforni mem- 

 brane, present but there is no os transversale. Sexes, simlar. There are four species within our limits. 



TOTANUS SOTLITAKIUS. 

 Solitary Tattler. 



Totanus solitarius AUD. Syn.; 1839, 242. 



DESCRIPTION. 



SP. Cn. Form, slender. Size, small. Tongue very long, thin, and gradually tapering toward tip which is pointed. 

 Membrane between toes, small. Inner marginal indentations, small, inclosed in adult. Coeca, 1-30 long. 



COLOR. Adult. Above, dark-brown, streaked on head and neck, spotted on back, and widely banded on tail, witli 

 white. Beneath, white, streaked on neck and breast, and banded on sides, under wing coverts, abdomen, and under tail 

 coverts, with dark-brown. 



Young. Similar, but more ashy, and the head and neck are spotted, not streaked. There is a white line from bill to 

 eye, and the neck and breast are tinged in obscurely defined spots of ashy. Bill, black, iris and fret, brown, in all stages. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



Readily known from the preceding by the large size and absence of spots below, and from the succeeding by the small- 

 er size and broad bandings on tail. Distributed, in summer, from Massachusetts, northward; wintering south of the Uni- 

 ted States. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Average measurements of specimens from Eastern North America. Length, 9'00; stretch, 17'00; wing,5 - 00; tail,2'00; 

 bill, 1'12; tarsus, 1'35. Longest specimen, lO'OO; greatest extent of wing, 18-00; longest wing, 5-^5; tail, 2'25; bill, 1-25; 

 tarsus, 1'40. Shortest specimen, 8'00; smallest extent of wing, 16-00; shortest wing, 4'75; tail, T75; bill, TOO; tarsus, 1-30. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 



Eygs, placed on the ground in a slight depression of the soil on a little grass, etc.; from two to four in number, vary- 

 ing from creamy to pale buff in color, spotted and blotched with umber-brown of varying shades, with the usual pale shell 

 markings. Dimensions from - 95x 1'35 to 1'OOx T40. 



HABITS. 



The Solitary Tattlers are rightly named, for it is quite rare to see more than two to- 

 gether, especially in spring; and in autumn, single individuals are frequently met with, 

 feeding along the border of some pool in the interior. They are always unsuspicious and 

 will sit and gaze at the intruder, until he approaches within a few feet, when they will rise 

 with a shrill cry, fly a short distance, and leisurely settle down again to resume their avo- 

 cations. On the sea shore, where they are very common in fall, they seldom mingle with 

 other shore birds, but feed by themselves, either by the borders of pools or on the beaches. 



There are few birds, the eggs of which have remained so long unknown, as the pres- 

 ent species. At first ornithologists were inclined to believe that these birds would be found 

 breeding in the deserted nests of Crows or Huvks, after the manner of the closely allied, 



