This proved to be a common bird in the Kowak Valley. Its arrival was noted in the vicinity of our winter camp on May 19, and from that day on its presence could hardly be overlooked, for as one approached their domains the yellow-legs would fly to meet him, uttering prolonged, monotonous cries. Besides these notes of alarm the males had a full, melodious warble, sung for minutes at a time as they flew slowly about overhead. Their favorite haunts appeared to be the meadows lying between strips of timber, especially if there was a shallow lake or pond in the vicinity.
Nesting.—MacFarlane recorded in his notes some 30 nests of this yellow-legs, found by him and his men in the wooded country about Fort Anderson and its vicinity from 1862 to 1866. He speaks of it as "a very noisy bird" that "will keep going before one, from tree to tree, for several hundred yards beyond its nest." One nest is described as "near a lake, a small hole in the ground, with a few decayed willow leaves underneath the eggs"; another nest was "about 150 yards from a lake, on a rising, thinly wooded piece of ground"; another was "on the face of a low hill, or rising ground, in the midst of a tuft of hay, or rather of a 'tête-de-femme,' made of a very few dead leaves in a depression"; others were "underneath or shaded by some stunted willows on the borders of a swampy tract, lined with a few withered grasses."
J. Fletcher Street (1923) has published an interesting account of the nesting habits of this species in Alberta, from which I quote as follows:
As Mr. Thomson had told us we found the chosen nesting site of the yellow-legs to be on relatively high ground at an elevation from a few feet to a possible 30 feet or more above the level of the ponds. Invariably the nests were found not closer than 100 feet from the water's edge and sometimes as far away as 200 yards. Generally a sloping bank, a ridge or a level plateau was chosen for the immediate nesting site. No nests were noted in the heavily forested area; all of those secured in the region about Belvedere being found among broken hills covered with burnt and fallen timber with a second growth largely of low poplars, the burnt stubs affording excellent perches for the birds. Therefore the assumption would be that amid normal conditions the species would select rather open and high woodlands with sparse, low undergrowth within a reasonable distance of marshy or grassy ponds.
It is not until the full clutch of eggs is laid that the birds show that degree of concern which leads to their undoing. Then there is great excitement on the nesting grounds. The female bird will fly about with drooping legs and tail, keeping up an incessant kip, kip, and alighting upon near-by stubs. In this the male will join her, but not to the same degree, frequently, after the initial rally, flying away to the lake. His darker breast markings and slightly larger size readily identify him. If the observer retires and conceals himself the excitement of the female will gradually subside, she will fly from stub to stub, at length become silent, look about inquiringly and take a short flight to the ground and run to the nest. After settling she may be approached within 4 feet before flushing which she does with a loud call of alarm. While on the nest she sits low and close.
The nest is a mere depression in the ground, lined with a few leaves or a small amount of dry grass, the cup having a diameter of 3.5 to 4 inches and a depth of 1.25 to 1.50 inches. It may be located next to a stub, along a prostrate log or in the open.
Richard C. Harlow, who collected with Mr. Street in the same region, tells me that this bird will sometimes scratch out several hollows within a radius of 50 or 75 yards and line some of them with dry aspen leaves before laying in the one selected. Three of the nests found by Mr. Harlow were close to or between fallen burnt logs and one was in a bushy situation in a clearing near the edge of some woods. The nests were lined with dry leaves of poplar and aspen and a few dry grasses. One set that he collected for me was at the base of a small bush on dry barrens, half a mile from water. Richard H. Rauch in the same general locality found a nest in what he calls an unusual location, 10 yards from the margin of a small lake in a very wet muskeg; the nest was a depression in the moss, lined with a few dry birch leaves.
Eggs.—The yellow-legs lays four eggs, occasionally only three. These are ovate pyriform in shape and have a slight gloss. The ground colors usually vary from "olive-buff" to "cream-buff" and rarely from "honey yellow" to "cartridge buff," or from "light pinkish cinnamon" to "pinkish buff." The more richly colored eggs are often boldly and handsomely marked. Some are quite evenly covered with small blotches and spots; others also have large, irregular blotches and splashes, chiefly about the larger end and often with a spiral trend. These markings are in dark rich browns, "chocolate," "liver brown," "bay," and "chestnut brown," sometimes deepening almost to black, where the pigment is thickest. Many large underlying blotches and spots of various shades of "purple-drab" and "ecru-drab" are conspicuous and add to the beauty of the eggs. There is an albino egg in the national collection, creamy white with only a few small pale brown spots. The measurements of 51 eggs average 42 by 28.9 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 45 by 30, 42 by 30.5, 39.5 by 29.5, and 41 by 27.5 millimeters.
Young.—Incubation is shared by both sexes, but we have no information as to its duration. MacFarlane found a pair of yellow-legs with three recently hatched young "in a small watery swamp," where the young were able to conceal themselves in the short grass. Mr. Street (1923) says: