AVOCETS AND STILTS 



The A\-occt stands out among' North American 

 shore birds as the most showy of them all. Its 

 white body and black and white-striped wings 

 re\cal its presence at a great distance. It is a 

 large bird, being about a foot and a half long. 

 This, added to the fact that it makes a most 

 acceptable dish when served on the table, is 

 responsible for the extended persecution to w hich 

 it has been subjected by gunners. One of the 

 names by which shooters know it is " Blue 

 Shanks,'" the color of its long, bare legs being 

 responsible for this. \\'hile searching for wild 

 Ducks' nests on the marshes of the Klamath 

 Ri\er in Oregon I first came upon these remark- 

 able birds. E\idently a small .gr('U|i was nesting 

 in the neighborhood, for upon our appearance 

 three birds came into view and at once ^et up a 

 great outcry. Our first view of them was when 

 they came flying toward us giving vent to their 

 alarm and resentment at our approach. They 

 flew oxerhead and circled about much as is the 

 custom of W'illets under like circumstances. 

 Their screaming soon brought others, who may 

 have been their mates called from the nests by 

 the general alarm. At times they alighted on the 

 ground at a safe distance, or settled in the water 

 of the slough. Here the maneuvers of head- 

 bobbing and wing-waving were most amusing. 

 Sometimes the body would be all but submerged 

 and with head laid out along the water the bird 

 would swim away just as a wounded wild Goose 

 will often try to escape the fowler. 



The Avocet's nest is a depression in the 

 ground in the vicinity of water and is lined with 

 grass. The young upon emerging from the 

 spotted eggs are able to run almost at once. 



Audubon has this to say in reference to their 

 feeding habits : 



■' Thev search for food precisely in the manner 

 of the Roseate Spoonbill, moving their heads to 

 and fro sideways, while their bill is jiassing 

 through the soft mud ; and in many instances, 

 when the water was deeper, they would immerse 



their whole head and a portion of the back, as 

 the Spoonbill and Red-breasted Snipe are wont 

 to do. When, on the contrary, they pursued 

 ac|uatic insects, such as swim on the surface, they 

 ran after them, and, on getting up to them, sud- 

 denly seized them by thrusting the lower man- 

 dible beneath them, while the other was raised a 

 good way abo\ e the surface, much in the manner 

 of the Black .Shearwater [Pdack Skimmer], 

 which, however, perforins this act on wing. 

 Thev were also exjiert at catching flying insects, 

 after which thev ran with partially expanded 

 wings." 



In the United Stales the Avocet is to-day con- 

 fined almost entirch- to the territory lying west 



Photu Uy H. T. Buhlman Cuurttsy of i^.ii .\.-,:„i. .\ud. Soc. 



MEST AND EGGS OF AVOCET 



(it the Mississippi I'iiver. The Federal Migra- 

 tory Bird Law extends protecticjn to it at all 

 times, and it is to be hoped this splendid game 

 bird may be spared the melancholy fate of the 

 Eskimo Curlew and the W'hoopcr Swan. 



Like several other shore birds, the Avocet 

 makes itself very useful by destroying diving 

 beetles, which are predatory in their habits and 

 do much damage to fish hatcheries by feeding 

 u])on insects which are the natural diet of fishes. 

 It also feeds freely upon grasshoppers and upon 

 bill-bugs, which injure the corn crojis. Snails 

 and marine worms also part of its diet. 



T. Gilbert Pearson. 



BLACK-NECKED STILT 

 Himantopus mexicanus {Mi'iUcr) 



A. O U. .Vumlicr 22U 



Other Names. — .'^tilt : Longshanks ; Lawyer. 



General Description. — Leii.Ertli. i,i inchi's. Color 

 above. I)lack. sharply contrasting witli the white of 

 under parts ; legs very long. 



Color. — .Anui.TS : Bad.:, shouldi-rs. and udngs, glossy 

 Vi.L. I — 16 



black, continuing up hack of neck, on crown, en- 

 larging on side of head, and including the eyes; a spot 

 over and behind eye. one beneath eye, forehead, fore- 

 part of crown, lores, chin, sides of head below eye. 

 sides of neck, entire under parts, rump, and upper tail- 



