152 THE BIRDS OF MAINE 



Genus HIMANTOPUS Brisson. 



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226. Himantopiis mexicanus (Mull.). Black-necked Stilt. 



Plumage of adult male : forehead, spot above and spot below eyes, cheeks, 

 entire lower parts, rump and upper tail coverts white ; tail grayish ; back, 

 scapulars, wings and rest of head and neck glossy black ; legs and feet red. 

 Plumage of adult female: back and scapulars brownish slate, otherwise 

 much as in male. Immature plumage : feathers of back, scapulars and ter- 

 tials bordered with light buff and the head and neck mottled with white. 

 Wing 8.40 to 8.90 ; culmen 2.30 ; tarsus 4.10. 



Geog. Dist. — Temperate North America from the interior to the Pacific, 

 southward to Florida, the West Indies, Brazil and Peru ; breeding locally in 

 the Mississippi Valley, Minnesota, California, etc.; straggler to Maine. 



County Records. — Knox ; a specimen taken at Rockland early in May, 1889, 

 was sent to Chas. K. Reed, (0. & 0. 14, p. 78). 



We have only this one record for Maine, the specimen so 

 frequently and erroneously cited as from Maine being taken 

 by Mr. Boardman in New Brunswick. Four eggs seem to be 

 the number most frequently laid, though three are sometimes 

 the complement. The nest is a mere depression in the ground, 

 lined with a little grass, and is situated on the margin of a 

 lake or pond or near some other inland body of water. The 

 birds nest in colonies. 



Four eggs taken in Orange County, California, June 11, 1893, 

 are olive colored, spotted thickly with brownish black. These 

 eggs measure 1.89 x 1.18, 1.72 x 1.14, 1.79 x 1.20, 1.84 x 1.23. 

 The Stilts are waders like the Avocet, being fond of feeding 

 in shallow pools. Their food is of similar nature to that of 

 the Avocets. 



Family SCOLOPACIDyE. Snipes, Sandpipers, etc. 

 Key to the species of SCOLOPACIDyE. 



A. Toes three. Sanderling. 



B. Toes four. 



1. Wing 7.50 or over. 

 §. Bill ciurved downward. 

 ?. Bill under 3.00. Eskimo Curlew. 

 ??. Bill over 3.00. 



