T0TANU8. 



363 



» * 



ju Sabgenm Tringoides : Totanus dorso postico et interscapulio concoloribus ; axillarihus 



aut omninb alhis aut albis brunneo notatis. 



TOTANUS MELANOLEUCUS. 



GBEATEB YELLOWSHANK. 



Totanus dorso postico et in'terscapulio fere concoloribus : siipracaudalibus pro majore parte Diagnosis, 

 albis : magiiitudine medi^ (alee 185 ad 300 millim.). 



It is not known that Eastern and Western examples of this species differ in any respect. Variations. 



Scolopax melanoleuca, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. p. 659 (1788). 



Scolopax vociferus, Wilson, Am. Orn. vii. p. 57 (1813). 



Totanus melanoleucus {Gmel.), -\ 



Totanus Tociferus (Wilson), V Vieill. N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. vi. pp. 398, 401, 412 (1816). 



Totanus sasashew, J 



Gambetta melanoleuca (Gmel.), Bonap. Compt. Rend, xliii. p. 597 (1856). 



Totanus chilensis, Philippi, Wiegm. Archiv, 1857, pt. i. p. 264. 



Synonymy. 



Plates. — Wilson, Am. Orn. pi. 58. fig. 5 ; Audubon, Birds Am. v. pi. 345. 

 Habits. — Baird, Brewer, & Ridgway, Water-Birds N. Amer. i. p. 269. 

 Eggs. — Unknown. 



Literature. 



The Greater Yellowshank has the lower back nearli/ the same colour as the mantle, but 

 the predominant colour of the upper tail-coverts is white. Wing more than 7 inches from 

 carpal joint is a sufficient character to distinguish it from the allied species which also 

 possess the other characters. 



The Greater Yellowshank undoubtedly breeds from the south of Alaska to Labrador, 

 but we have no authentic account of the discovery of its eggs. It passes through the 

 United States, the Bermudas (Reid, Zoologist, 1877, p. 477), and the West Indies on 

 migration, a few remaining to winter in the Southern States, but the greater number 

 passing further south to winter on the South-American coasts, where it has occurred in 

 Venezuela (Berlepsch, Ibis, 1884, p. 441), Trinidad and Colombia (Salmon, Proc. Zool. 

 Soc. 1879, p. 547), north of the equator. From the west I have an example obtained by 



3a 2 



Specific 

 characters. 



Geographi- 

 cal distribu- 

 tion. 



