THE AMERICAN AYOCET. 



347 



of England, but selJom visits Scotland. It freqaents marshes and 

 the miiuths of rivers, where it finds in the 

 mnd myriads of the smrdl worms and insects 

 on which it feeds, and which it obtains by 

 icooping them up from the mud with its 

 curiously curved bill. It is a good swimmer, 

 but seldom has recourse to that art except 

 when it wades unexpectedly out of its depth. 

 The egcrs of the Avocet are laid on the 

 ground, m a depression sheltered by a tuft avocet. 



of herbage Their color is a bluish green, 



spotted with black. The birds when disturbed at their nests feign 

 lameness, like the Lapwing, in order to draw the intruder to a di«- 

 tan^e. The lenolh of the bird is eighteen inches. 



THE AMERICAN AVOCET. 



The American Avocet, supposed to winter in tropical America, 

 arrives on the coast 

 of Cape May, in 

 New Jersey, late in 

 April, where it rears 

 its young, and with 

 them again retires 

 to the south, early 

 in October. In tlie 

 months of spring 

 they were observeii 

 by Mr. Say, in the 

 lower part of Mis- 

 souri. They are also 

 known to visit Nova 

 Scotia, though 

 scarcely ever seen in 

 the State of Massa- 

 chusetts. Doctor 

 Richardson also ^|- 



found them abun- 

 dant in the Saskat- 

 chewan plains, as far 

 as the 58rd parallel, 

 where they frequent 

 shallow lakes, feeding on insects, and fresh water Crustacea. In Nevv 

 Jersey, they seem to have a predilection for the shallow pools of the 

 salt marshes, wading about often, in search of their prey, which 

 consists of marine M'orms, small paludinas, turbos., kc, to which, like 

 the European species, they sometimes add, small Fuci, or marine 

 vegetables 



AMERICAS AVOCET. 



