_Himantopus nigricollis._
_Recurvirostra himantopus_, +Wils.+—Aud. pl. 328.
_Himantopus nigricollis_, +Vieill.+
[121] Length 14 inches, expanse 26³⁄₄, flexure 8¹⁄₂, tail 2⁹⁄₁₀,
rictus 2⁷⁄₁₀, naked tibia 3, tarsus 4¹⁄₂, middle toe 1⁷⁄₁₀.
Intestine 12 inches, two cæca attached by a mesentery, 1 inch long,
1¹⁄₂ inch from cloaca.
This beautiful and singular bird first fell under my observation in
December. It was wading in the water of Crab-pond, picking from the mud
at the bottom, with the beak, the water reaching not quite half-way up
the tarsus. It did not feel with the beak in the manner of the Snipe,
but struck at the prey that caught its eye, as it walked with the head
erect. The statement of Cuvier that walking is painful to this bird,
is as contrary to fact as to reason. This specimen was walking in the
shallow firmly enough; and even when shot in one leg so as to break
it, it stood for some time on the other in a firm erect attitude, the
broken limb being held up and dangling.
Three were shot at Bluefields Creek on the 1st of May, in the evening,
out of a large flock that were wading on the little bar at the
mouth,—and were brought to me. One which had the wing broken was alive,
and otherwise unhurt. It ran actively enough, without the slightest
vacillation, taking long strides; but when it was on its belly, it
could not get on its legs without help, sprawling about with opened
wings: it is quite likely, however, that this was owing to one wing
being rendered useless, for in attempting to rise, I perceived, it
always tried to balance itself by opening and extending horizontally
the wings. Probably this is the compensation given to it by the Allwise
Creator, for the want of purchase which must be felt in raising the
body at the end of levers, so long and so slender as the legs. It
frequently stopped abruptly, essayed to go on, and stopped again, in
that hesitating manner common to the Plovers; and like them it often
jerked the head up and down. Its usual attitude, when standing still,
was with the neck shortened, so that the head projected from between
the shoulders, the beak pointing obliquely downwards, and the hinder
parts of the body a little elevated. Now and then it lifted one foot,
and held it dangling behind the other for a few seconds. Once or twice
I saw it pick at the floor, and probably it took a small insect. Its
cry, which was uttered once or twice, was a short _clank_, loud, harsh,
and abrupt. I cannot by any means agree with Wilson, that this bird
manifests no resemblance to the Plovers.
The stomachs of these contained a few small shells, _Turbo_ and
_Nerita_: two which Robinson dissected contained “a kind of
_Cornu-ammonis_,” probably _Planorbis_. He notices also, what I have
not seen mentioned in print, but which was conspicuous enough in my
specimen, a beautiful rosy blush on the white of the neck and breast;
but only in the male. The females had eggs in the ovary at this time,
(1st May) as large as pigeon-shot. They were all very fat, the fat
being of a deep yellow hue.
Mr. Hill has favoured me with the following notes on this species: “In
addition to the extraordinary length of leg of the _Himantopus_, it has
been asserted that its leg-bones are as limber as a leathern thong,
and that they can be bent up without being broken. The accurate Wilson
has made this statement. I will not merely say that it is at variance
with my experience, but that it is absolutely absurd. The bones of this
bird are as rigid as those of any other. [To this I add also my own
testimony.] The only peculiarity I observe in them, is a flatness in
the make of the leg. While the measurement is a fourth of an inch one
way, it is scarcely an eighth of an inch the other. The tendon that
runs all along the limb is very large, and the skin that envelopes
the whole leg very fleshy. A fleshy feeling of softness is _the only
approach_ to the leathery peculiarity so confidently spoken of. The
bill has a trifling trace, almost imperceptible, of recurvature. It is
very rigid. Out of sixteen or eighteen birds carefully examined, I saw
only one with a very decidedly marked recurved character. There was
another circumstance I observed, very worthy of notice; viz. that the
length of the legs of no two birds was precisely the same. Nearly half
an inch of difference was found between the tibia and tarsus of the
longest, and of the shortest specimens. [My own observation _fully_
bears out this statement.]
“The birds brought me were shot while feeding in some shallow pools of
water in the Salines at Passage Fort. They were wading deeply. They fed
in small flocks, and winged about sportively, mingled with Sandpipers
of the _Tringa cinerea_ species. A variety of Teal were there also; and
the Shoveler Duck (_Rhynchaspis clypeata_), a peculiar insect-feeder,
being among them at the same time, makes us pretty distinctly
acquainted with the food of _Himantopus_.
“In March 1842, I noticed several Stilt Plovers fishing breast-high in
a lakelet at the mouth of the Rio Cobre, which I used to look upon from
the window of the dwelling I stayed at, at Passage Fort. I saw some
eight or ten together, when a Kingfisher was fishing at one end of the
pond, and an Osprey at the other; the Kingfisher confining himself to
the tranquil stream, and the Osprey to the broken waters, where the
current of the river contended with the shoaling sea. I saw the Stilts
there an hour together, beating breast-high over the pond. It was
evident that their food floated on the surface.”
* * * * *
My friend adds _Recurvirostra Americana_, as an occasional visitant of
Jamaica.
+Order.+—ANSERES. (_Swimmers._)
+Fam.+—ANATIDÆ. (_The Ducks._)