lO 



WiDMANN, A Winter Robin Roost in Missouri. 



r Auk 

 L Jan. 



darker, longer, straighter. There is no jerking with tlie head in 

 Tringa as in Totanus. The former goes up with a Swallow-like 

 note, the latter with a loud whistle, which it sometimes utters 

 while in the water, and not seldom does it stretch its leg or raise 

 its wings straight overhead, to show the pretty lining of that 

 powerful wing which makes him such a wonderfully swift flyer. 



As the Yellow-legs go up and fly away from us, the white tail 

 is a striking object and when on wing the long and slender body, 

 with legs sticking way out behind, is a peculiar sight. The white 

 outer tail-feather of Tringa is just visible as a white margin and 

 when the bird is speeding through the air it has some resemblance 

 to a Swallow. 



The Pectorals, though there are always a few together, seem 

 disposed to be quarrelsome at this season, and frequent bickerings 

 occur, in which they jump up against each other and utter some- 

 thing hke bad language. 



Following the border of the slough we come upon many solitary 

 Snipes ; they go up but do not leave the slough, which is about a 

 mile in length, and has the shape of an S. In the peninsulas formed 

 by the curves of the S the grass and weeds have escaped the fire 

 entirely and remain in their original wilderness. Here is where 

 the Savanna and Swamp Sparrows find a retreat to their liking, and 

 the old Red-winged Blackbird is occupying a perch on one of the 

 few small bushes, in which his last year's nest is still hanging. 

 He declares with wonderful perseverance over and over again that 

 he is the owner of the patch. 



A pair of Shovellers, Spatula dypeata, fly low over the slough, 

 and, as our eyes follow admiringly the showy birds, we detect a 

 bunch of Blue-winged Teals, which upon nearer approach go up 

 in pairs with a soft, peculiar whistle. Troops of Pipits and Golden 

 Plovers come towards evening to bathe and drink and leave again. 

 On a part of the marsh set aside for pasturage and with the old 

 grass pretty thick in places, a number of small birds spring up and 

 fly a few rods, low over the ground, and drop out of sight. Using 

 a little strategy we succeed in driving one to the border of the 

 slough, where he perches in full view and allows an easy identi- 

 fication : a Leconte Sparrow in high plumage, deep yellow head 

 and neck with almost black stripes and markings in sharp contrast. 



