AVOCET. l8l 



wing it may be taken for an Oyster-catcher, and on the water, 

 swimming buoyantly, is not unlike a Tufted Duck. He remarks 

 that "it appears to delight in associating" with gulls, but in 

 Holland Miss Best found that it did not trust them near its 

 eggs, boldly driving them away, striking with wings and feet 

 but not with its delicate and pliable bill. The Avocet is a bird 

 of the ooze and shallow pool ; it may, perhaps, occasionally 

 probe the mud with its needle point, but the usual method of 

 feeding is to scoop the surface with a side-to-side action, which 

 as it walks leaves a wavy track behind. On land insects are 

 captured deftly in the upturned tip. Small crustaceans are 

 scooped from the pools or skimmed from the mud. It wades 

 deeply, its partly webbed feet preventing it from sinking in the 

 ooze, but it swims well, alighting on water intentionally. On 

 the mud it often runs with wings uplifted, perhaps ready to 

 fly if the feet sink too deeply. Like the Redshank it used to be 

 called "Yelper," for it is a noisy bird when alarmed, uttering 

 a clear kluit or tti^ tu^ tweet, as spelt by some writers. 



The Avocet nests in colonies, usually on open stretches of 

 sand or mud, sometimes on water-surrounded tussocks. More 

 or less — usually less — litter encircles the nest hollow ; often 

 only a few dead bents or shells are collected (Plate 75). The 

 three or four buff, black-spotted eggs are not unlike small eggs 

 of the Oyster-catcher. 



The plumage of the mature bird is white and black, the 

 latter confined to the head to below the eye, the back of the 

 neck, and parts of the back and wings. The distribution on 

 the primaries and coverts gives a black-streaked appearance to 

 the closed wing. The black is browner and edged with rufous 

 on the immature bird. The bill is black, the legs blue-grey, 

 and the irides brown. Length, 18 ins. Wing, 9 ins. Tarsus, 

 3 ins. 



