216 
Flocks of these birds assail the various corn crops 
whenever they are in a state to afford them. 
food, and after the harvest is gathered, the’ pro- 
fuse gleanings of the old rice, corn, and buck- 
wheat fields supply them abundantly. They breed 
in swampy places in Pennsylvania, &c., in the 
beginning of May. Their eggs are of a pale bluish 
white, with a circle of spots and streaks of dark 
liver brown round the thick end, and one or two 
scattered spots of the same colour, and some faint 
blotches of purplish grey.” 
STILT, BLACK-WINGED. 
LonG-LEGGED, oR Stitt PLover. 
HIMANTOPUS MELANOPTERUS, FPlem. 
This species, which is said to be plentiful in 
many parts of Asia and the south-eastern portions 
of Europe, migrates into Germany, France, and 
Italy, and has been in several instances obtained 
in England. It is of a singular slender form, 
with legs so extremely elongated as at once to 
suggest the idea of a bird walking on stilts. It 
flies with rapidity, walks and runs with celerity, 
vibrating its body, and when standing is remark- 
ably vociferous. It prefers the margins of lakes to 
the sides of rivers, and searches the mud and sand 
for worms, insects, &c., often wading far ito the 
water in pursuit of its natural prey. It breeds in 
