224 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



coverts, wliite; tail, ash; bill, black; iris, retl ; legs. 

 flesh color. White of rump covered by the wings in 

 life. In the female the black is often dingy. Young: 

 Upper parts, brown, marked with whitish. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: \ depression in the sand 

 or a frail structure of grass and small stems hidden in 

 a bunch of weeds. Eggs: 3 or 4, bufTy or olive-brown, 

 thickly spotted and blotched with dark brown. 



Distribution. — Temperate North America and north- 

 ern South America ; breeds from central Oregon, 



northern Utah, and southern Colorado to southern Cali- 

 fornia, southern New Mexico, southern Texas, coast of 

 Louisiana, and in Mexico, and from central Florida and 

 Bahamas throughout the West Indies to northern 

 Brazil and Peru; formerly bred north to New Jersey; 

 winters from southern Lower California, southern 

 Texas, southern Louisiana, and southern Florida south 

 through Central America and the West Indies to north- 

 ern Brazil, Peru, and the Galapagos; casual in migra- 

 tion to Nebraska, Wisconsin, and New Brunswick. 



The Black-necked Stilt has been brought to 

 verge of extermination along the Atlantic coast 

 by the spring and summer shooting. It is not 

 uncommon in the \\'est and S(nith, being par- 



BLACK-NECKED STILT 

 The bird walks with long deliberate strides 



ticularly abundant about the alkaline lakes and 

 pools of the Great Basin, where it is often seen 

 in the company of the Avocet. 



On the ground, whether walking or wading, 

 the bird [the Black-necked Stilt] moves grace- 

 fully, with measured steps ; the long legs are 

 much bent at every step (only at the joint, how- 

 ever) and planted firmly, perfectly straight ; 

 except under certain circumstances, there is 

 nothing vacillating, feeble, or unsteady, in either 

 the attitudes or the movements of the birds. 

 When feeding, the legs are bent backward with 

 an acute angle at the heel joint to bring the body 

 lower ; the latter is tilted forward and downward 

 over the center of equilibrium, where the feet 

 rest, and the long neck and bill reach the rest 

 of the distance to the ground." (Coues.) 



When the birds light they raise their wings 

 straight up above the body for a moment, then 

 close them slowly over the back. Many water 

 birds have this same habit ; and it is undoubtedly 

 a recognition mark to keep in touch with the rest 

 of the flock as the pose is a very conspicuous 

 one, enabling the bird to be seen from a long 

 distance. 



The Black-necked Stilt's diet is known to 

 include in considerable cjuantities several species 

 of the predacious diving beetles which, because 

 they prey upon insects that are the natural food 

 of fishes, are counted a nuisance in all fish hatch- 

 eries. In this respect its economic value is a 

 matter of fact, not of theory. Grasshoppers are 

 destroyed in large numbers by this bird, and also 

 bill-bugs which feed upon corn. 



R. I. Br.^siier. 



