Plate CCCXVIII. Adult, and Young in winter.
Bill black; feet light blue; head, neck, and fore part of breast
reddish-buff, the parts around the base of the bill and the eye nearly
white; back white, with a longitudinal band of brownish-black
elongated feathers on each side; inner scapulars of the same colour,
the outer and interior edge of the wing being white; wing
brownish-black, with a broad band of white, formed by the tips of the
secondary coverts, four of the inner secondaries, and the basal part,
with the inner webs and outer edges of the rest; lower parts white.
_Male_, 18, 30-5/8.
Passes along the coast from Texas northward, in small numbers, a few
breeding in New Jersey. Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. Abundant in
the Rocky Mountains, and the Fur Countries. Migratory.
American Avocet, Recurvirostra Americana, Wils. Amer. Orn. v.
vii. p. 126.
Recurvirostra Americana, Bonap. Syn. p. 394.
Recurvirostra Americana, American Avocet, Swains. & Rich. F.
Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 375.
American Avocet, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 74.
American Avocet, Recurvirostra Americana, Aud. Orn. Biog. v.
iv. p. 168.
GENUS IX. HIMANTOPUS, Briss. STILT.
Bill about twice as long as the head, very slender, roundish,
tapering, slightly recurved; upper mandible with its outline slightly
curved upwards, the ridge rather flattened, the sides convex, the
edges inflected, the tip narrow and rather acute; nasal groove nearly
half the length of the bill; lower mandible with the angle very long
and narrow, the sides grooved as far as the angle. Nostrils linear,
direct, subbasal. Head small, ovate, rounded above; neck very long
and slender; body rather compact. Legs extremely elongated, slender;
tibia bare for more than half its length, covered anteriorly with
large curved scutella; tarsus very long, moderately compressed,
scutellate before, reticulate on the sides; toes of moderate length,
slender; first toe wanting; outer a little longer than inner, anterior
toes webbed at the base. Claws small, nearly straight, moderately
compressed. Plumage ordinary. Wings very long, of moderate breadth,
acute, the first quill longest. Tail short, even, of twelve feathers.