THE WINTER YELLOW-LEGS 185 
the ground in the drier parts of the marsh and 
lined with dead grass and moss, and the male 
bird, though he is said to take no part in the 
incubation, stays near at hand and aids in the 
care of the young. About the middle of An- 
gust they begin to leave their breeding places 
and scatter over the surrounding country, lin- 
gering in New England into November. 
The coloring and habits of the two species are 
nearly identical. The principal difference is 
that of size, the ‘‘Winter’’ averaging from 
twelve to fourteen inches long, with an extent 
of about twenty-four inches. The ‘‘Summer”’ 
is ten or eleven inches in length, with a wing- 
spread averaging twenty-two inches. The bill 
of the larger species is somewhat up-curved, as 
if slightly bent in the middle, while that of the 
‘“‘Summer’’ is proportionately shorter and 
straight. The legs of the ‘‘Summer’”’ are a lit- 
tle longer in comparison with the size of the 
bird. The weight of the larger species will run 
from eight to nine and one-half or even ten 
ounces; the smaller species seldom weighs over 
seven ounces, and usually less. 
The description of one bird’s markings will 
answer almost equally well for the other, and 
