222 BIRDS OF AMERICA 



ground in swampy places; the eggs are three or four in number, of ohve or buff color profusely- 

 marked with dark brown spots. 



Of the true Stilts there are seven or eight species, only one of which occurs in America. 

 The family differs from the Avocets in having no web between the middle and inner toes; 

 in being considerably smaller, with an average length of about thirteen inches ; and in having 

 the wings long and pointed. The common American species occurs in both continents and 

 is found most often in small flocks on muddy flats, where the bird walks with long, deliberate 

 strides, probing the mud with its long bill or catching fish in the shallow waters. Physically 

 and in their habits, there is considerable general similarity between the Stilts and the Avocets. 



The 3'oung of both Avocets and Stilts are covered with down at birth and shortly after 

 leaving the shell are able to run about. This natal down is soon replaced by the first or 

 Juvenal plumage. 



AVOCET 



Recurvirostra americana Gmelin 



A. O, U. Xuniber 22s 



Blue Stocking; 



18 inches. 

 , flattened 



Color, 

 md up- 



U'liilc. changing 



Other Names. — .American Avocet ; 

 Blue Shanks; Irish .Snipe. 



General Description. — Length, 

 white with some black areas; bill 

 turned; three front toes webbed. 



Color. — .Adults in Summer: 

 imperceptibly to clicstnul-brown of head and ncci;: 

 shoulders and wings, black; some secondaries and 

 coverts, white ; tail, pearl-gray ; bill, black ; legs, dull 

 blue; iris, red or brown. Adults in Winter: Head 

 and neck, pearl-gray ; otherwise like summer plumage. 

 Young : Head and neck, washed with chestnut, the 

 black feathers edged with same color ; bill, nearly 

 straight. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: In the marshes, hidden in 

 the grass and constructed of grass and weed stems. 

 Eggs: 3 or 4. pale olive or huffy, uniformly and 

 thickly spotted with burnt umber and other shades of 

 brown. 



Distribution. — North America ; breeds from eastern 

 Oregon, central Alberta, and southern Manitoba ( rarely 

 north to Great Slave Lake) south to southern Cali- 

 fornia, southern New Mexico, northwestern Texas, 

 northern Iowa, and central Wisconsin ; winters from 

 southern California and southern Te.xas to southern 

 Guatemala ; casual from Ontario and New Brunswick 

 to Florida and the West Indies, but rare east of Mis- 

 sissippi River. 



Courtesy of American Museum of Natural History 



AVOCET 

 The most showy of North American shore biids 



