William H. Southard Running Yellowlegs

William H. Southard (1874-1940) Seaford, Long Island, NY, c. 1900 14 1/4 in. long

This racy bird features carved eyes, a splined bill, deeply cut S-shaped raised wing carving and V-cut wing tips, and ticked feather paint. Original paint with gunning wear, a professionally replaced bill, and touch-up to minor flaking.

Literature: William J. Mackey, Jr., "American Bird Decoys," New York, NY, 1965, p.102, plate 86, similar decoy illustrated. Timothy Sieger, "The Decoys of Long Island," Water Mills, NY, 2010, p. 37, similar decoy illustrated. Joe Engers, ed., "The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys," San Diego, CA, 1990, p. 103, similar decoy illustrated. E. Jane Townsend, "Gunners Paradise: Wildfowling and Decoys on Long Island," Stony Brook, NY, 1979, p. 130, plate 224, similar decoy illustrated.