THE AMERICAN AVOCET. 687 
the neck and bill being outstretched to fullest capacity, to offset the long 
rudder of the legs. 
How exactly fitted these handsome creatures are to their somewhat unique 
environment, may not be fully realized until one attempts to wade thru their 
oozy haunts. The bottom here is very treacherous, with frequent concealed 
pitfalls and subaqueous passages. Both Mr. Bowles and myself shipped water 
in our hip boots repeatedly, in spite of the greatest precaution; and once I went 
Taken in Douglas County. Photo by the Author 
NEST AND EGGS OF THE AMERICAN AVOCET 
into a hole so neatly, with both feet, that I had a momentary vision of total 
disappearance, and shouted in terror. Fortunately, however, the sides held 
when my outstretched hands met them. But the bird is prepared to meet any 
inequality of bottom, since it does not fear submergence, and the legs are 
carried at a slight angle, that is, divergent, to preserve the equilibrium and 
guard against sudden surprise. 
In feeding along the water’s edge, or at moderate depths, the Avocet 
