STILT 8i 



thence eastwards as far as the Hoangho valley in China. It also breeds 

 in South Africa — of course at the opposite time of the year to that in 

 which it nests in Europe. Many of the European birds migrate in 

 winter to North Africa ; and those which in summer reach the British 

 Islands and the north of Europe generally are mere stragglers, as the 

 species has never been known to breed in such latitudes. 



In the cock the head, neck, the lower portion of the back, the 

 axillary feathers, and the under surface of the body are white, and 

 the mid-region of the back, together with the wings, is black with 

 green reflections, while the under wing-coverts are wholly black. Brown 

 replaces the black in the female ; and the birds of the year differ from 

 the latter merely by the sandy margins to the dark feathers, and the 

 brown top of the head and nape of the neck. Although the beak is 

 black, the legs are pink. As the species is such a mere straggler to 

 Britain, any mention of the young, eggs, or nests would be superfluous. 



Just over forty instances of the occurrence of the stilt in the 

 British Isles were recorded during the nineteenth century, most of 

 these being single birds, although there were several pairs and at least 

 one flock. The localities range from, the Orkneys and Shetlands to 

 the southern and south-western counties and Ireland. Norfolk and 

 Suffolk, as might be expected, claim a considerable share, namely, 

 eleven of the records ; and it is interesting to note that in the winter 

 of 1832 one of these birds was seen at Frensham Pond, Hampshire, the 

 locality where a flock of six came under the notice of Gilbert White, 

 of Selborne, in the year 1779. 



Stilts, which frequently associate in large flocks, frequent the open 

 parts of the shallows of pools and lakes, avoiding covert, and being so 

 easily approached that they are easily noticed. Their loud cries, as 

 well as their conspicuous plumage, likewise attract attention, both 

 when wading knee-deep in water, or flying overhead with outstretched 

 legs. 



Unlike the stilt, the graceful avocet was formerh- a 



AvOGGt 



regular summer-visitor to England, where it bred in the 



^ marshy grounds of Sussex, Kent, Norfolk, and Lin- 



avoeetta) . . 



'' colnshire. Not a single English-laid &^^g is, however, 



contained in the collection of the British Museum ; and it is believed 



that the species has not nested in England since the year 1824. With 



the stilt the avocet is connected by an Australian species, which, while 



agreeing with the former in the structure of the feet, approximates to 



the latter in having a slight upward inclination of the tip of the beak. 



G 



