246 



KEY And bESCRlPTiON 



and belly are pure white, and the sides of head, neck, and 

 breast white or slightly buffy, streaked with black. In winter 

 the back is less distinctly speckled. This is an inhabitant of 

 the woody borders of ponds, lakes, and streams of inland 

 places, and is rarely found near salt water. As its name 

 indicates, it is generally solitary in its habits, though some- 

 times a few (3-6) are to be found together. (Solitary Tattler.) 



Length, 8| ; wing, b\ (4|-5|) ; tail, 2^ ; tarsus, 1.^ ; ciilmen, IJ. North 

 America ; breeding along the northern border o{ the United States and 

 northward, and wintering in the Southern States and southward to cen- 

 tral South America. 



22. Willet (258. SympMmia semipalmMa). — A large, shy, 

 brownish-gray-backed, white-bellied snipe, with a distinct, 



large white patch on the 

 wings, and white upper 

 tail coverts. In sum- 

 mer the head, neck, and 

 sides are much streaked 

 with white, and the 

 ashy tail is barred with 

 blackish. It is found 

 on both fresh and salt 

 water marshes and 

 shores. The name comes 

 from the shrill-whistled 

 call notes, pilly - mill- 

 willet. 



Length, 16 ; wing, 8 (1\- 

 U); tail, 3; tarsus, 2-3 ; cul- 

 men, 2-2|. Eastern North 

 Willet America ; breeding from 



Florida to New Jersey and 

 locally to Maine, and wintering in the West Indies to South America. 

 The Western Willet (258°-. S. s. inornata) of western North America can 

 hardly be distinguished from the eastern form. It averages larger and 

 with a longer bill, and is in general a grayer bird. It breeds from Texas 

 to Manitoba ; mainly found in the Mississippi Valley and westward, but 

 occasionally along the coasts of the South Atlantic and Gulf States. 



