NESTS AND EGGS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 139 



The only record of its being taken in the State before this is that of Dr. 

 Kirtland's. It is a bird of striking appearance, of odd coloration, having 

 long legs like any wader, but extraordinarily long; feet webbed like those 

 of a swimming bird, body flattened underneath, and duck-like plumage 

 to resist the water. The most striking characteristic of the bird is its long, 

 decidedly upturned bill, and from its blue legs it received the name of 

 Blue-stocking. The nest of this bird is built in tall grass in marshy or 

 wet places on the lonely prairies west of the Mississippi. 



Hab. United States and British Provinces. North to the S.iskatchewan and Great Slave Lake. Rare 

 or casual in New England. Breeds throughout. Winters on our southern border and beyond (to Guata- 

 mala). 



567. Black necked Stilt — himantopus mexicanus. Brownish-olive, 

 spotted, blotched and lined quite thickly and irregularly with brownish- 

 black of varying shades; pyriform in shape; three or four; size from 1.60 

 to 1. 85 long by 1.15 to 1.25 broad. The eggs appear very large for the 

 size of the bird. This exceedingly long-legged bird is distributed through- 

 out United States, and like the Avocet, is rare in the eastern portion. It 

 is abundant in the West, but its range is rather more southerly than the 

 Avocet. In Ohio it is a rare summer visitor. Perhaps breeds. The 

 nest of the Stilt is often only a slight depression in the ground, lined with 

 dry grasses, situated along some stream or ditch, or near water; some 

 collectors have found the nest at the water's edge, or a heaped mass of 

 vegetation just above the surface of shallow water. A. M. Shields, in 

 the "Young Oologist" for July, 1884, says that the Stilt arrives in large num- 

 bers in the vicinity of Los Angeles, California, about May ist, and the 

 eggs may be found fresh until the middle of June. He says the birds usually 

 congregate in large flocks in some suitable locality and build their nests 

 close together, a score or more are often found within a few yards of each 

 other; the nests being composed of small sticks and roots, closely put to 

 gether and placed among the grass on the margin of a lake or river. 



Hab. United States generally. Rare on the eastern coast north of the Carolinas. Winters south of the 

 United States. 



569. Red-breasted Rail — rallus elegans. Varying from a dull white 

 to cream or pale buff, sparsely dotted and spotted with reddish-brown and 

 lilac; six to twelve in number; size from 1.55 to 1.72 long by i.i5to 

 1.25 broad, averaging 1.67 by 1.12. The King Rail or Fresh-water 

 Marsh Hen is distributed in summer from New York southward, breeding 

 throughout the inland marshes. It is probably a summer resident in 

 Ohio, Dr. Jones having taken the young in the vicinity of Circleville. It 

 is frequently confounded with the Clapper Rail; the latter, however, is 

 confined to the vicinity of salt water, and is a bird of duller plumage. 



