Sandpipers 365 



Other Sandpipers. Agreeing with theGodwits, at least as regards the hard 

 point of the bill, is another considerable genus of Sandpipers (Totanus), which, 

 however, may be distinguished by their generally smaller size, non-webbed 

 inner and middle toes, less grooved bill, and gape extending decidedly behind 

 the base of the culmen. In coloration the plumage is plain grayish or brownish 

 above, more or less streaked with white or dusky, and white somewhat streaked 

 or spotted with dusky below. As here considered, Totanus embraces nearly a 

 dozen forms, but by others it is divided into some three or four genera; it is 

 clearly an ancient type, as no less than five more or less satisfactory forms 

 have been described from the lower Miocene or later. 



The Greenshank (Totanus [or Glottis] nebularius) is a well-known bird of 

 the Eastern Hemisphere, spending the summer in northern Europe and northern 

 Asia, and wintering far to the south, even reaching Australia, and accidentally 

 eastern North America. It is about fourteen inches long and may be known 

 by the pure white rump and lower back and olive-green legs and feet, whence, 

 of course, its common name. It is a rather shy, noisy bird, frequenting both 

 the seashore and the inland waters, often in company with its close relative, 

 the Redshank, and feeding on insects, worms, etc. It is often found far from 

 water, and in such situations frequently makes its nest, a mere depression in 

 the sand and lined with a few grass stems. The Redshank (T. calidris} of 

 Europe and central Asia to eastern Siberia is of smaller size, being only eleven 

 inches long, and has the legs and feet orange-red; the female is slightly larger 

 than the male. It is also a shy, wary bird, congregating in large, noisy flocks 

 in winter along the coasts, but during the nesting season it is often found in 

 marshy places more inland. Distinguished by the larger size and barred in- 

 stead of white secondaries is the Spotted Redshank (T. fuscus] of northern 

 Europe and Asia north to Kamchatka; its habits are similar to those of its 

 relatives. Ranging over the whole of North America, but breeding only or 

 mainly far north, is the Greater Yellow-legs (T. melanoleucus}, a bird about 

 fourteen inches long, and agreeing with it essentially in all save size is the Yellow- 

 legs (T. flavipes), with a total length of less than eleven inches; in both the legs 

 are yellow in life. They are found mainly along the coasts during the winter, 

 but in summer frequent the inland waters. Another typical New World species 

 is the Solitary Sandpiper (T. solitarius] of temperate North America in summer, 

 whence it ranges to tropical America in general for the winter. It is a so-called 

 Wood Sandpiper, being rather rarely found along the coasts, but keeping mainly 

 about the lakes, ponds, and streams of the interior, often in the vicinity of human 

 habitations. " When surprised it utters a sharp, whistling note, raises its wings, 

 and runs nimbly over the miry ground. If closely pursued, it retreats to the 

 opposite side of the pond, arranges its feathers, and soon resumes its usual gentle 

 manners." Its nest and eggs remained long unknown, though from its close 

 affinity with the Green Sandpiper, the habits of which are mentioned below, 

 Mr. Ridgway and others have suggested that its nesting habits may also be 

 similar, and such apparently proves to be the case, since Mr. Walter Raine has 

 recently (1904) recorded the finding of three sets of four eggs each in northern 



