Form. General form rather robust; bill depressed, soft at the tip; wing
with the first quill longest; tertiaries longer than secondaries; tail
quite short; legs long; tibia feathered nearly one-half of its length;
tarsus covered with scales.
Dimensions. Total length of skin, from tip of bill to end of tail, about
16½ inches; Wing, 9; tail, 3; tarsus, 3½; bill, 3½ inches.
Colors. Back and upper surface of wings brownish black, lightest on the
tertiaries, and darkest on the primaries; all other parts white,
slightly tinged with ashy on the head above and neck behind; secondary
quills white; greater coverts of the wing widely tipped with the same.
Hab. California. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada., and Nat. Museum,
Washington.
Obs. This strongly-marked species bears some resemblance to the European
Avocet, and in fact is more closely allied to it than to the only
American species previously known. It is, however, a well characterized
and distinct bird.
The sexes of this species differ somewhat in size, the female being
slightly the smaller; and in the male, the dark tints are stronger. The
latter is represented in our plate.
SYNOPSIS
OF
NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS.