134 NOTES ON THE 
They remain often into November before taking final leave 
for the milder latitudes. The Red river country is their 
abounding region in their migrations, yet there is no section 
which they do not visitin greater or lessernumbers. I have 
them abundantly reported from Big Stone lake (Cutter), Her- 
man, Grant county (Clague), Red River (Washburn), Lanes- 
boro (Dr. Hvoslef), Lake Shetak (Herrick), Waseca (Everett), 
Elbow Lake (Sanford), and many other localities indicating 
their distribution. Mr. Washburn states that when he visited 
the Red river region late in July and early in August, he 
found both the Telltales (the sportsman’s name for the Yellow- 
legs), still non-gregarious, only one or two individuals being 
seen in one place, which hints strongly at their being in prox- 
imity to their breeding places, for in a very short time after- 
wards they were seen in considerable flocks on the plowed 
fields. On August 6th he says ‘‘many single birds observed 
along the Thief river.” On the 20th, I found them in large 
flocks along the Minnesota river, ten to fifteen miles above St 
Paul. 
SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 
Bill longer than the head, rather slender, curved towards the 
tip; wings rather long, first quill longest; tail short;neck and legs 
long; toes moderate, margined and flattened underneath, con- 
nected at base by membranes, the larger of which unites the 
outer and middle toe; hind toe small, claws short, blunt; 
grooves in both mandibles extending about half their length; 
entire upper parts cinereous of various shades, dark in many 
specimens in full plumage, generally light with white lines on 
the head and neck, and with spots and edgings of dull white 
on the other upper parts; lower back brownish-black; rump 
and upper tail coverts white, generally with more or less im- 
perfect transverse narrow bands of brownish-black; under 
parts white, with longitudinal narrow stripes on the neck, and 
transverse crescent, lanceolate and sagittate spots and stripes 
on the breast and sides; abdomen pure white: quills brownish- | 
black with a purplish lustre, shaft of first primary white; sec- 
ondaries and tertiaries tipped, and marked with transverse 
bars and spots of ashy-white; tail white, with transverse nar- 
row bands of brownish-black, wider and darker on the two mid- 
dle feathers; bill brownish-black, lighter at the base; legs 
yellow; iris dark brown. 
Length, 14; wing, 7.50 to 8; tail, 3.25 to 3.50; bill, 2.25; tar- 
sus, 2.50. 
Habitat, America generally. 
