97 
SNIPES, SANDPIPERS, ETC. 
feet touch the earth. But though fascinating to watch at their 
feeding grounds, they are seen at their best when they come in high 
from a distance on angular tern-like wings and sweep swiftly down 
through the sky. 
255. Totanus flavipes ( Gmel .). Lesser Yellow-legs. 
Smaller than melanoleucus. Plumage similar in all its stages, but with 
finer markings. Length : 9.50-11.00, wing 
6.10-45.65, bill 1.30-1.55, tarsus 2.00-2.15. 
Distribution. — Nearly the whole of 
America, breeding mainly north of the 
United States; migrating to southern 
South America. Less common west of the Rocky Mountains ; accidental 
in Europe. 
Nest. — A mere depression in the ground, sometimes lined with leaves 
or grass. Eggs : usually 4, of varying shades of buff, spotted with dark 
browns. 
In habits as well as general appearance the lesser yellow-legs 
resembles its larger relative, with which it is often found, sometimes 
in the same flock but more often in separate flocks on the same 
feeding ground. When seen together the difference in size is most 
noticeable, though the birds are otherwise counterparts. 
GENUS HELODROMAS. 
General Characters. — Bill very slender, a little longer than head; legs 
and toes olive green, long, and slender ; tarsus scarcely longer than middle 
toe and claw. 
Fig. 117. 
KEY TO ADULTS. 
1. Specking of back white or creamy. solitarius, p. 97. 
1'. Specking of back cinnamon brown .... cinnamomeus, p. 98. 
256. Helodromas solitarius (Wils.). Solitary Sandpiper. 
Adults in summer. — Upper parts, including upper tail coverts and two 
middle tail feathers, dark olive gray, finely 
specked with whitish ; rest of tail barred 
with white ; outer quills and edge of wing 
deep black ; under parts white, streaked 
with dusky on chest and throat. Adults 
in winter: upper parts more dusky and less olive, chest less streaked. 
Young: specking of back buffy, and dusky of chest and sides tinged with 
buff. Wing: 4.83-5.19, tail 2.05-2.28, biff 1.03-1.20. 
Remarks. — The solitary is distinguished from the other sandpipers in 
the field by its dark color and black wings, and by its shrill note as it takes 
wing. 
Distribution. — North America east of the Rocky Mountains, breeding 
from the northern United States northward, and migrating to Argentina 
and Peru. 
Nest. — A slight depression in the ground lined with leaves and grass. 
Eggs : said to be 2 to 4, dull buffy, spotted with rich brown and purplish 
gray. Few nests have ever been found or well identified eggs collected. 
Fig. 118. 
