Ornithological biography, Vol. 3 (of 5)

by John James Audubon

Head rather large. Neck of moderate length, strong. Body rather full. Feet of moderate length, stout; tibia bare below; tarsus somewhat compressed, covered before with numerous scutella, on the sides and behind with series of small angular scales; the hind toe very small and elevated, the fore toes of moderate length, the fourth much longer than the second, the third longest, the hind one with a single scutellum and three transverse series of scales, the rest scutellate above and connected by reticulate membranes having a concave margin, the lateral toes margined externally with a narrow membrane. Claws stout, rather large, arched, compressed, rather obtuse, that of middle toe with an enlarged inner edge.

The plumage in general is close, full, elastic, soft and blended, on the back rather compact. Wings very long, rather broad, acute, the first quill longest, the other primaries rapidly graduated; secondaries broad and rounded, the inner tapering but rounded. Tail of moderate length, even, of twelve rather broad rounded feathers.

Bill bright yellow, greenish dusky at the base. Iris brown, edges of eyelids vermilion. Feet and claws black. The whole of the plumage is pure white.

Length to end of tail 19 inches, to end of wings 20 1/2; extent of wings 41; wing from flexure 13 1/2; tail 6 1/4; bill along the back 1 5/12, along the edge of lower mandible 2; tarsus 1 7/12; middle toe 1 2/12, its claw 5 1/2/12. Weight 20 oz.

Young of the second year, killed in September. Plate CCLXXXVII. Fig. 2.

After the second moult, the bill is pale yellow at the end, dusky at the base for two-thirds of its length; the edges of the eyelids vermilion, the iris brown, the feet black. The plumage is white; the forehead and sides of the head mottled with leaden-grey; most of the wing-coverts have towards the end a spot of greyish-black, and the quills, large coverts, and tail-feathers are similarly marked, the markings on the tail forming a subterminal bar.

THE YELLOWSHANK.

Totanus flavipes, Vieill.
PLATE CCLXXXVIII. Male.

The Yellowshank is much more abundant in the interior, or to the westward of the Alleghany Mountains than along our Atlantic coast, although it is also met with in the whole extent of the latter, from Florida to Maine. It exceeds the Tell-tale Godwit in numbers on the shores of the Ohio, as well as on the margins of the numerous ponds and lakes in the vicinity of the Mississippi, from the mouth of the river just mentioned to New Orleans, and beyond that city southward. In early autumn, when the sand-bars of the Ohio are left uncovered, these active birds are seen upon them in small flocks, formed each apparently of a single family, busily employed in searching for food, and wading in the water up to the feathered part of their legs. When the water is high, they resort to ponds and damp meadows intersected by small rivulets. In the Carolinas and the Floridas they are pretty numerous, in the former betaking themselves to the rice-fields, and in the latter to the wet savannahs. They are equally fond of frequenting the shores of our estuaries that are bordered by salt marshes, on the muddy edges of which they find their food. I have also met with them on the margins of clear streams in the interior of the States, and indeed should hardly be able to mention a district in which the species is not to be seen, from the beginning of September until May, when the greater number retire northward, although some remain and breed, even in our Middle States, as Nuttall says they are seen in the neighbourhood of Boston in the middle of June. I found a few on the coast of Labrador, but did not succeed in discovering their nests, which was the more surprising that these birds, according to my friend Thomas MacCulloch, breed in considerable numbers about Pictou. He describes the nest as placed among the grass on the edges of the rivers and large ponds of the interior.

The flight of the Yellowshank is very similar to that of the Tell-tale Godwit. They generally run to some distance before they take to wing, stop as if to discover your intention, vibrate their body backwards and forwards, intimate by their cries the knowledge they have of the nature of the weapon you carry, and, as if convinced that you are bent on mischief, spring up, rise obliquely to some height, emit louder notes, and with continued flappings pass around you, or remove to some distant place. Their long yellow legs, which are stretched out behind, are quite conspicuous when they are on wing. Should you bring one to the ground wounded, it walks off leisurely, vibrates its body, and emits plaintive cries; and should one fall into the water under similar circumstances, it paddles its way towards the nearest shore with considerable speed. If you approach it, it may immerse its head, but it cannot dive to any depth.