154 
WADING BIRDS. 
extent of tide-water. Although they live principally upon the 
insects and larvte they find in the marshes, at a later period 
they also pay occasional visits to the strand in quest of mol- 
lusca, ismall shrimps, and minute shell-fish, the ordinary fare of 
the true Sandpipers. In the fall, when fat, their flesh is highly 
esteemed, and they are frequently brought to market. 
The Tell-Tale occurs throughout this Eastern Province, breed- 
ing from about latitude 50 degrees northward, and wintering in 
Brazil and Chili. It is said to breed also in Michigan and Wis- 
consin. On the Atlantic coast the birds are as common in spring 
as in autumn. Mr. Brewster reports finding numbers on Anticosti 
in summer, and a few have been seen in New England at that 
season. 
YELLOW-LEGS. 
SUMMER YELLOW-LEGS. LESSER YELLOW-LEGS. 
Totanus FLAVIPES. 
Char. Upper parts dark ash varied with black, white, and gra.y ; 
upper tail-coverts white, streaked with dusky ; tail ashy, barred with 
white; wings dusky; under parts white, the breast and sides streaked 
with dusky. In winter the plumage is paler; the upper parts are plain 
ash, with few and less distinct markings. Length about ii inches. 
Nest. Amid the bushes on the margin of a marsh or lake ; a slight 
depression scantily lined with grass or leaves. , , ,, 
E^gs. 4.; dull buff or pale drab, marked with brown and dull lilac; 
1.70 X 1 .I 5 - 
The Yellow-Shanks, in certain situations, may be considered 
as the most common bird of the family in America. Its sum- 
mer residence, or breeding-station, even extends from the 
Middle States to the Northern extremity of the continent, 
where it is seen, solitary or in pairs, on the banks of rivers, 
lakes, or in marshes, in every situation contiguous to the 
ocean. And though the young and old are found throughout 
the warm season of the year in so many places, the nest and 
eggs are yet entirely unknown. Calculating from the first 
appearance of the brood abroad, the females commence laying 
by the middle of June, and are seen in this neighborhood at 
