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276 



PR.lilCOCIAL OIIALI.ATORES — LIMICOL/E. 



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uwl witli this bird in eonsidcraljle numbers as tar north as latitude 71' o4'; and at 

 Fort Vorit he has known it to In' shot as late as the hitter part of ()etol)er. At tlii> 

 time it is in its K''«'iiti'st jterfection, and is said to he delicious eatinij;. 



It is not noted in the nintli volume of the '• I'aeitic Hailroad Iveport" as occurring 

 west of the Missouri, yet Mr. d. A. Allfu found it in considerabh- numbers aliouttlu- 

 laijoons of Kastern Kansas in tlic earlier jiart of May. and afterward in An,i,'ust; hf 

 also saw it at Lake I 'ass, in Colorado, ami a few were found in Sejitendier in the 

 Valley of (ireat Salt Lake. It was not notieed by ^Mr. Hid^way in I'tah or Nevada; 

 but it has been found very alunidant in Au,L;ust and Sei)tend)er throuf,'hout Dakota 

 and Montana, where it was invariably seen associating with the iiivlininlriira. Botli 

 species are there the most unsuspecting of the WatU'rs, so that they may be approaclnil 

 without the .slightest ditlieulty. Mr. L. Helding, in the winter of 1878-1879, procured 

 a specinu'U on the coast of faliforiua. 



In the Valley of the Mississippi this species is a regular ndgrant both in the 

 spring and in the fall. It is much more abundant in its autumnal movement, and 

 much more c()mnu)n, than the niifniiofriirit, coming later and departing earlier than that 

 species. None remain to brei'd near Ijake Koskonong, where, in the fall, they again 

 become very abundant. 



It was met with at Fort Kesohition from Jlay Tith to the 14th, in 1860, by Mr. U. 

 Kennicott; on the Vukon liiver, in Juiu', by Mr. Loekhart ; at Fort Simpson, from 

 May ir»th to the L"Jth, by ,Mr. M. H. Ross; at lUg Island by Mr. Reid ; and was found 

 in great abundance by Nr. Ma(!l''arlane at Fort Anderson, on Anderson Itiver, at 

 Horton H-.er, Rendezvous Lake, etc. 



On the Atlantic coast it begins to a])pear, in its nngratinns soutlnvard, in July, 

 and its movements continue through August. It returns in the spring, but comes as 

 late as May 15. In Massaidiusetts Mr. William Hrewster has taken it from July 15 

 to Septendier 1, and has noted its passing north occasionally as early as the first jiai t 

 of May. A large flock was observed by Mr. Frank 15. Tileston near Boston, May 

 .3, 1875. It is (juite common near Calais in both these migrati(Uis. 



On Long Island, according to (iiraud, and also on the coast of New Jersey, this 

 species arrives in the early part of ^lay. It is said to associate in flocks, and to fre- 

 quent the muddy flats which are left bare at the recess of the tide. At high water it 

 resorts, to the ponds on the beaches and meadows, where it collects its food, which 

 consists of snuiU shellfish, worms, and insects. Occasionally it nuiy be seen wadim,' 

 into the shallow Avater in pursiut of small flshes. It is conspicuously gregarious in 

 habit, and is constantly calling upon others to unite with it, its shrill cry betraying 

 its presence to the hunter. It is readily attracted by decoys, answering the fowler's 

 Avhistle, and, if the sportsman is well concealed, gliding directly up to the decoys, 

 gradually lowering its long legs, which, when it flies, ])roject beyond its tail-feathers. 

 It is much more tinud than the Red-breasted Snipe, yet, like that species, when 

 invited by the hunter's whistle, will not infrecpiently return and receive his second 

 Are. The cry of this species is very shrill, consisting of three or more notes. AVheii 

 woimded in the wing it will run very fast, and will often conceal itself so successfidly 

 in the long grass as to escape detection. It is often seen on streams in the interior. 

 Its flesh is not particularly good, yet it meets with a ready sale in the New Yoik 

 market, and large numbers are shot to supply the demand. Giraud mentions one 

 instance in which one hundred and six were killed by the single discharge of a 

 double-barrelled gun into a flock that was sitting along the beach. In the latter part 

 of August the Yellowshank begins to move southward, and in September all have 

 usually retired from the shores of Long Island. 



