THE AVOCETS. 1 87 



Stretched out behind in a h'ne with its bill, and fly round and 

 round, uttering its alarm-note, which resembles the syllables 

 //V7, ///■/, til-it ^ tic-it I If one of the birds is wounded, its com- 

 panions fly round over-head, incessantly uttering their notes, as 

 if bewailing its fate. At all seasons of the year the Avocet is 

 sociable, and may be observed in large or small parties. It is 

 a very beautiful sight to watch a party of these birds, when their 

 nesting-grounds are invaded, daintily running before you, their 

 brilliant plumage contrasting strongly with the mud or sand. 

 Every now and then they run a little way with up-lifted wings, 

 occasionally rising in the air and flying round your head, utter- 

 ing their anxious cries. The bird wades into water as deep as 

 its belly, and will even venture farther, for it swims with ease, 

 sitting lightly and gracefully on the water. In the course of 

 their wanderings over the mud-flats and tide-washed sands, they 

 often swim a little distance across a stretch of deep water, and, 

 if pursued, will readily make use of their swimming powers to 

 carry them out of danger. The food of the Avocet is captured 

 principally on the mud and in marshy places. It is chiefly com- 

 posed of worms, small crustaceans, and vast quantities of 

 aquatic insects. Their prey is searched for as the bird moves 

 its long slender recurved bill from side to side across the sur- 

 face of the sand or mud, or in the shallows. The Avocet 

 never appears to probe in the soft ground with its bill, but 

 always uses it in a side direction. A small quantity of gravel 

 is swallowed to aid digestion. Sometimes the bird captures 

 the small gnats and other insects as they flutter over the water 

 or flit by it on the land." Lord Lilford says : " The method 

 of feeding is by sidelong scoops in the soft mud, which they 

 sift with a sort of nibbling action between the mandibles. 

 They are very active on foot, and excellent swimmers, con- 

 tinually shifting from place to place, uttering a pleasant, clear 

 whistle, very different from their discordant cries when 

 alarmed." 



Nest. — A slight depression in the bare mud or sand or in short 

 grass, with sometimes a little dry grass or leaves for lining. 

 Mr. Seebohm says that those he found in the valley of the 

 Danube were most of them slight, but some had more founda- 

 tion than others ; they were always on the dry land. 



Eggs. — Four in number, pear-shaped. The general aspect 



