The Tattlers. 
179 
THE 
YELLOWSHANK. 
(Totanus Jiavipes.) 
This American species has oc- 
curred twice in England, once in 
Nottinghamshire and once in Corn- 
THE 
GREEN -LEGGED 
TATTLER. 
( Helodromas 
ochropus.) 
The Yellowshank. 
wall. It has the lower back and 
rump dusky brown, and the upper tail-coverts white, 
banded with brown. Its yellow legs also distinguish 
it from the other Tattlers. 
In the genus Helodromas the 
tarsus is much shorter than in the 
genus Totanus , and only just exceeds 
the length of the middle toe and 
claw. The Green Sandpiper, as it 
is usually called, is told at once by 
its dark coloration, which is dark olive-brown, with 
a few tiny white spots ; the rump is like the back, 
but the upper tail-coverts are white, as also are the 
tail-feathers, the latter having blackish bars ; the under surface is white, with brown 
streaks on the lower throat and fore-neck ; the feet are greyish-blue, tinged with green. 
Young birds have pale edgings of ashy-bronze to the feathers of the upper surface. 
The Green Sandpiper does not breed in Great Britain, but it occurs plentifully on 
migration on the banks of rivers and inland waters. In the autumn it frequents the 
muddy ditches of tidal waters, generally in small parties of six or eight together. 
It breeds in Northern Europe and Siberia, and is found in winter in Africa, India 
and Australia. It nests in trees, generally selecting the old nest of a Thrush or 
other bird, but sometimes laying its eggs on the moss of an old bough. The 
eggs are four in number, about one-and-a-half inches in length, greenish-white or 
clay-colour, with reddish-brown and purplish-grey blotches and spots. 
The Common Summer-Snipe. 
The Wood-Tattler. 
The Green-legged Tattler. 
