T or ANUS FLA V1PES. 
393 
European species, and such may be the case at times. I am inclined to think, however, 
that these Solitary Tattlers generally place their eggs on the ground. The late Dr. T. M. 
Brewer described an authenticated egg, in the Bulletin of the Nufctall Ornithological Club, 
taken about the middle of May, 1878, by Mr. Jenness Richardson, in Castleton, Vermont. 
The bird which was sitting on the nest, was secured; thus the identification of the egg was- 
proved beyond a doubt, yet I think from the description, that the specimen will prove 
unique among its kind. The eggs from which I have taken my description, came from Utah 
and, as I have every reason to believe, are authentic. The Solitary Sandpipers make their 
appearance in the North, about the first of May, remain a week or two, then pass to their 
breeding grounds. They reappear early in September but shortly after migrate south. 
TOTANUS FLAVIPES. 
Lesser Yellowlegs. 
Totanus jlavipes Vieill., Nouv. Diet.; 1816, 400. 
DESCRIPTION. 
Sp. Cn. Form, slender. Size, medium. Tongue, long, thin, and horny, tapering gradually toward the tip which is 
rounded. Membrane between toes, small. Inner marginal indentations, small, inclosed in adult. Legs, very long. Coe- 
ca, P20 long. 
Color. Adult. Above, dark-brown, lined, spotted, and banded, with white. Rump and upper tail coverts, white, 
faintly banded with dark-brown. Tail, finely banded with white. Beneath, white, streaked on neck and breast and band¬ 
ed on sides, with dark-brown. 
Young. Similar to tbe adult, but more ashy above, and the streakings beneath are not as well defined. Bill, black, 
iris, browD, and feet, yellow, in all stages. 
OBSERVATIONS. 
Known from the preceding species by the larger size and white runlp, and from the succeeding by the smaller size, and 
from all others by the colors as described. Distributed, in summer, from Labrador, northward; wintering from the Car- 
olinas, southward. 
DIMENSIONS. 
Average measurements of specimens from Eastern North America. Length, 10 - 25; stretch, 20-12; wing, 635; tail, 2 - ?5; 
bill, 1 "42; tarsus, 2'15. Longest specimen, 10‘80; greatest extent of wing, 21-00; longest wing, 6'80; tail, 2 75; bill, P60; 
tarsus, 2'25. Shortest specimen, 9’50; smallest extent of wing, I9 - 25; shortest wing, 5-90; tail, 2'00; bill, 1'25; tarsus, P90. 
DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 
Eggs , placed on the ground in a depression of the soil on a little grass. They are from two to four in number, decid¬ 
edly pyriform in shape, varying from creamy to ashy-buff in color, spotted and blotched irregularly with umber-brown of 
varying shades, with the usual shell markings of lilac. Dimensions from 115x P60 to 1'20 x P80. 
HABITS. 
The clear whistle of the Lesser, or Summer, Yellowlegs, is heard early in July, for 
these birds are among the first of their kind, to bid adieu to their northern home and pro¬ 
ceed southward. They are very abundant and may often be seen flying in large, strag¬ 
gling flocks, but they also associate with other shore birds. They are fond of the marshes 
and at low tide, may be found feeding in the creeks which intersect the low lands; then 
when the rising water forces them to leave their banquet, they will proceed to the dryer 
spots to rest, when they will occasionally catch a few grasshoppers, but generally remain 
quiet, until the next ebb exposes their feeding grounds, covered with a fresh supply of 
small mollusks, aquatic worms and many other insects. I found these birds very common 
from the Carolinas, southward, even to Key West; and in the interior of Florida, they 
were accustomed to wade in the shallow pools, in company with the Black-necked Stilts. 
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