62 WATER BIRDS 
when, during nesting season, it adds much to the weird- 
ness of the marsh music. The alarm call is something 
between a croak and a whistle, but usually the retreat 
is made with no sound but the soft flutter of wings as 
the birds take refuge in the tall marsh grass. 
226. BLACK-NECKED STILT. — Himantopus mexicanus. 
Famity: The Avocets and Stilts. 
Length: 14.50-15.00. 
Adult Male: Back of head and neck, upper back, and wings iridescent 
greenish black ; tail grayish ; forehead, throat, and under parts white ; 
white spots above and below each eye; bill black; feet and legs 
flesh-color. 
Adult Female: Similar to male, except back, which is grayish brown. 
Downy Young: Upper parts light grayish, mottled with dark ; large 
black patch on back and rump; crown light grayish, with median 
line of black ; under parts white. 
Geographical Distribution : United States, chiefly west of the Great Lakes ; 
south in winter to Brazil. 
Breeding Range: From Southern States to Oregon. In California, breeds 
in Los Angeles County and in various localities in interior of State 
north to Sutter County, west of the Sierra Nevada ; east of the Sierra 
Nevada it breeds as far north as Rhett Lake. 
Breeding Season: May 1 to June 16. 
Nest: A shallow depression in ground ; lined with grass and occasionally 
rimmed with rootlets ; usually in grass on edge of lake. 
Eggs: 3 to 4; light olive-brown, thickly and irregularly marked with 
purplish brown. Size 1.72 X 1.20. 
Tuts bird with the extraordinarily long legs is rare 
east of the Mississippi River, but throughout the West 
it is abundant. It is a common summer visitant In 
California, where it breeds in colonies. Formerly it was 
found in numbers in Los Angeles County, but of late 
years it seems to prefer more northern nesting grounds, 
although a few pairs still breed there every year. It is 
