150 SNIPES, SANDPIPERS, ETC. 



Generally similar, but head and neck white or pearl-gray. L., 16*50; W., 

 y-00 ; Tar., 3-75 ; B., 3-75. 



Jiange. — Temperate North America; rare or accidental on the Atlantic 

 coast; breeds from Illinois, and rarely Texas, northward to the Saskatche- 

 wan; winters along the Gulf coast and southward. 



Long Island, A. V. 



Nest, a slight depression in the ground in marshy places. Eggs^ three to 

 four, pale olive or buff'y clay-color, thickly spotted with chocolate, l-ys x 1-35. 



Avocets are common birds in parts of the interior, but are rare on 

 the Atlantic coast. They frequent shores and shallow pools, and in 

 searching for shells, crustaceans, etc., their peculiar recurved bill is 

 used in a most interesting manner. Dropping it beneath the surface 

 of the water until its convexity touches the bottom, they move rap- 

 idly forward, and with every step swing their bill from side to side, as 

 a mower does his scythe. In this way they secure food which the 

 muddy water would prevent them from seeing. 



226. Himantopus mexicanus {Mull.). Black-necked Stilt. 

 jl^^ 3 ,_A white spot above and another below the eye ; front of the head, 

 front of the neck, lower back, rump, and under parts white ; tail grayish ; rest 

 of the plumage glossy, greenish black. Ad. 9 .—Similar, but with the back 

 fuscous-brown, /w.— Similar to the preceding, but head and neck more or 

 less marked with white ; back and scapulars bordered with white or whitish. 

 L., 15-00 ; W., 9-00 ; Tar., 4-15 ; B., 2-00. 



Range. — Tropical America, breeding northward to the Gulf coast and 

 " locally and rarely " up the Mississippi Valley as far as Minnesota ; rare on 

 the Atlantic coast north of Florida, but straying sometimes as far as Maine. 



Long Island, A. V. 



Nest.^ a slight depression in the ground lined with grasses. Eggs.^ three 

 to four, olive or butty clay-color, thickly spotted with chocolate, 1-70 x 1-25. 



Stilts are fond of wading in shallow ponds in salt marshes, and are 

 graceful and alert in their movements. During the nesting season 

 they become very noisy, and at nightfall I have heard them utter their 

 froglike croak as they darted erratically about over the marshes. 



Family Scolopacid^. Snipes, Sandpipers, etc. 



About one hundred species are considered as belonging to this 

 family. They are distributed throughout the world, but during the 

 breeding season are mostly confined to the northern parts of the north- 

 ern hemisphere. Some forty-five species are found in North America. 

 With the Plovers they constitute the great group known as Shore 

 Birds or Bay Birds, and with few exceptions they are rarely found far 

 from the vicinity of water. Generally speaking, they are more abun- 

 dant on the coast than in the interior, but many species are quite as 

 numerous inland as they* are near the sea. As a rule, they migrate 



