SCOLOPACID.E — THE SNIPE !• AMILY — TOTANUS. 



273 



A]iril and May. It lias also l)cpn I'ouiid in tin' spring and autumn ovtT tlif wliolo 

 iutt'iior of tlio eountiy, and (iuitc almndiint at those seasons along the entire length 

 1)1 the -Mississippi, Ohio, and .Missouri rivers, as well as on the Arkansas. This hinl 

 (•iiiiy;n'gates in great numbers during the winter in the inland marshes of Florida and 

 iilong the rivers. Audulxm saw them at Hastport as early as tlie 1 Ith of .May, and on 

 the eoast of Labrador on the iSth of . I line. In Newfoundland, on the 11th of August, 

 tiie yomig were nearly ecpial in size tt) their parents. 



Though found at all seasons in the vicinity of salt water, this species seems to 

 pre-fer fresh-water ponds where the sliores are muddy and the water shallow ; and in 

 these places it freqiUMitly wades to such a deiith us to j)re.sent the apjjearance of 

 swimming. Wlien just alighted it always hohls u}) its wings, as if (hiubtful of its 

 hidting. It feeds on small lishcs, snails, in.sects, and worms, which it catches and 

 devours with great rapidity. It alights on floating logs on the iMississippi, where it 

 jirorures shrimjis and the fry of fishes. 



Audubon fountl it breeding in Lalirador. A fenude, having been kilhtd, was found 

 to contain a full-formed egg; this was pyriform, 2.2o inches in length, 1.0(5 inches in 

 breadth, of a pale greenish yellow, and marked with blotches of umber and i)ale pur- 

 plisli gray. We have had no other knowledge of its eggs than this mention and that 

 ol' llutchins, until the Notes of .Mr. K. W. Nelson on the Hirds of Southeastern Illinois. 

 Tliis writer mentions this bird as not only being a regular migrant to the southern 

 shores of Lake .Aliehigan. but also as breeding in that locality, when' it is said to arrive 

 about tlie middle of .Vpril, the grcati-r luimber going north early in 31ay, returning 

 on the first of September, and then renuiining until the last of ( )ctober. He also met 

 with pairs of this bird in the t'ahnuet marshes ; and on obscM'viiig their actions, be- 

 came convinced that they were breeding. Mr. lUee, of Evunston, received a set of 

 eggs, which were not identified, but which were attributed to this species. The nest 

 was in a slight depression on the edge of a slough, and was composed of grass-stems 

 and lilades. The eggs varied from 1.70 to l.SO inches in length, and from l..'JO to 1.38 

 in breadth. The ground-color is described as being a deep grayish white, marked on 

 tlu'ce eggs with spots of dark brown, aiul on the other egg with spots and well- 

 (Ictined blotches of a considerably lighter shade of the same color. In addition there 

 were shell-nmrkings and obscure spots of lilac. The nuirkings were abundant over 

 the whole surface, but more numerous about the larger end. This description varies 

 materially from that of Mr. Audubon in regard to the size of the egg. 



Hi 



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k'hich 



Totanus flavipes. 



TELL0W-LE6S. 



Scolopax flavipes, Gmel. S. N. I. 1788, 059. — Wii-s. Am. Oni. VII. 1813, 55, pi. 58, tig. 4. 

 Tot'inus flavipes, Vieill. Nouv. Diet. VI. 1810, 410. — Sw. & Ricir. F. B. A. II. 1831, 390. — 



NUTT. Man. II. 1834, 152. — Am. Oni. Biog. III. 1835, 573 ; V. 586, pi. 228 ; Synop. 1839, 243 ; 



B. Am. V. 1842, 313, pi. 344. — CorF.s, Key, 1872, 259; Check List, 1873, no. 433, 2(1 ed. 



18S2, no. 034 ; Birds N. W. 1874, 497. — Einow. Xoni. N. Am. B. 1881, no. 549. 

 Gumbiifa flavipes, Bonap. Compt. IJoiid. 1850, 597. — Ca.ss. in Baird's B.N.Am. 1858, 732.— 



Baiud, Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, no. 540. 

 Toianvs natator, Vieii.l. Nouv. Diet. VI. 1816, 409. 

 Totanus fuscocapilhts, Vieill. I.e. 

 " Totaniia leiicopygn, Ii.ligeu., in Mtis. Berol." 



IIab. The whole of America, breeding in the cold-temperate and subarctic districts of the 

 northern continent ; migrating south in winter to Buenos .Ayres and Chili. Much rarer hi the 

 Western than in the Eastern Province of North America. Accidental in Europe. 



VOL. I. — .'i.'j 



