HUDSONIAN GODWIT 175 
siderable white. Bill dull orange, blackening 
at the tip. Legs black. Length from fourteen 
to sixteen; extent from twenty-two to twenty- 
five inches, 
In winter the colors of its plumage are 
much lighter. The upper parts a grayish 
brown with very little of the showy colors of 
the breeding dress. To the casual observer it 
closely resembles the willet, showing the same 
sober hues as does Symphemia at this season, 
though white patch on primaries and bluish legs 
of willet to say nothing of the differences of the 
tails, should distinguish between the two at 
once. 
This species is said to decoy readily and to 
be easily lured by a good imitation of its note, 
though wary and cautious beyond most shore- 
birds if it suspects danger. In more favored 
localities they are said to travel in large flocks, 
but in New England the rule is some half-a- 
dozen in a bunch, or more commonly a single 
lone traveler on his way to the southland. 
Very rarely are they taken in our borders dur- 
ing the spring migration. 
Nests mostly in the far north, along the Arc- 
tic shores. Eggs, three to four, brownish olive, 
splashed with darker spots. 
