THE STILT 99 



some of the secondaries and the linings of the 

 wings are white. The tail short and squarely 

 cut, pearl gray or light ashy. Iris bright red. 

 Bill long, slender and generally up-curved, is 

 black in color. Its long legs are a dull, pale 

 blue, with lighter webs, these sometimes flesh- 

 colored. Length from sixteen to twenty in- 

 ches; wing spread varying from thirty-two to 

 thirty-six inches. 



The wings and tail are often very short for 

 this family, thus their measurements may vary 

 widely in different specimens, but there is no 

 chance for confusing the Avocet with any other 

 of our birds, for his cinnamon head, short and 

 square-cut tail, to say nothing of the slender, 

 long and up-curved bill and the webbing of the 

 feet will identify him at once. 



The range of this species is from the Sas- 

 katchewan southward through the United States 

 to Central America and the West Indies. 



THE STILT. 



(Himantopus mexicanus.) 



Having much the same range as the avocet, 

 though perhaps more southerly in its habitat, 



