TOTAHUS FLAV1PES. 393 



European species, and such may be the case at times. I am inclined to think, however, 

 (hat these Solitary Tattlers generally place their eggs on the ground. The late Dr. T. M. 

 Brewer described an authenticated egg, in the Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, 

 taken about the middle of May, 1878, by Mr. Jenness Richardson, in Castleton, Vermont. 

 The bird which was sitting on the nest, was secured; thus the identification of the egg was 

 proved beyond a doubt, yet I think from the description, that the specimen will prove 

 unique among its kind. The eggs from which I have taken my description, came from Utah 

 and, as I have every reason to believe, are authentic. The Solitary Sandpipers make their 

 appearance in the North, about the first of May, remain a week or two, then pass to their 

 breeding grounds. They reappear early in September but shortly after migrate south. 



TOTANUS FLAV1PES. 



Lesser Yellowlegs. 

 Totanus Jlavipei VIEUL., Nouv. Diet.; 1816, 400. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Sr. Cn. Form, slender. Size, medium. Tongue, long, thin, and horny, tapering gradually toward the tip which is 

 rounded. Membrane between toes, small. Inner marginal indentations, small, inclosed in adult. Legs, very long. Co> 

 ca, 1-20 lon.i:. 



Cou>R. Adult. Above, dark-brown, lined, spotted, and banded, with white. Hump and upper tail coverts, white, 

 faintly banded with dark-brown. Tail, finely banded with white. Beneath, white, .streaked on neck and breast and band- 

 ed on sides, with dark-brown. 



Yifuny. Similar to the adult, but more ashy above, and the streakings beneath are not as well defined. Bill, black, 

 iris, brown, a*d feet, yellow, in all stages. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



Known from the preceding species by the larger size and white rump, ami from the succeeding by the smaller size, and 

 from all others by the colors as described. Distributed, in summer, from Labrador, northward; wintering from the Car- 

 ulinas, southward. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Average measurement! of specimens from Eastern North America. Length, 10'25; stretch, 30- 12; wins, 6'35; tnil,2-5; 

 bill, 1'42; tarsus, 2'15. Longest specimen, 10'80; greatest extent of wing, 31-00; longest wing, 6'80; tail, 2 75; bill, 1-00; 

 tarsus, 2'25. Shortest specimen, 9'50; smallest extent of wing, 19'25: shortest wing, 5-90; tail, 2'00; bill, 1-25; tarsus, 1'itO. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 



Eyys, placed on the ground in a depression of the soil on a little grass. They are from two to four in number, decid- 

 edly pyriform in shape, varying from creamy to ashy-buff in color, spotted and blotched irregularly with umber-brown of 

 varying shades, with the usual shell markings of lilac. Dimensions from TlSi rfiO to I'SOx 1'80. 



HABITS. 



The clear whistle of the Lesser, or Summer, Yellowlegs, is heard early in July, for 

 these birds are among the first of their kind, to bid adieu to their northern home and pro- 

 ceed southward. They are very abundant and may often be seen flying in large, strag- 

 gling flocks, but they also associate with other shore birds. They are fond of the marshes 

 and at low tide, may be found feeding in the creeks which intersect the low lands; then 

 when the rising water forces them to leave their banquet, they will proceed to the dryer 

 spots to rest, when they will occasionally catch a few grasshoppers, but generally remain 

 quiet, until the next ebb exposes their feeding grounds, covered with a fresh supply of 

 small molhisks, aquatic worms and many other insects. I found these birds very coininoii 

 from the Carolinas, southward, even to Key West; and in the interior of Florida, they 

 were ,-u-eusiomed to wade in the shallow pools, in company with the Black-necked (Stills. 



oo 



