BLACK-WINGED STILT. 253 



Europe it is perhaps also a visitant, but its real, or 

 any abundant locality, does not appear to be well 

 ascertained. The time of their appearance in Britain 

 varies, though it is generally in spring or winter ; 

 that, however, from which Mr. Yarrell derived his 

 drawing, as well as another, were procured in the 

 London market, during the month of July. A 

 curious habit was noticed by the Rev. R. Lubbock, 

 in a specimen killed in Norfolk : " When shot it 

 was standing in a shallow pool of water, mid-leg 

 deep, apparently snapping at insects in the air as 

 they buzzed round it."* 



An African specimen before us is in length to 

 the end of the tail, fourteen inches, to the extremity 

 of the centre claws, nineteen ; the unfeathered part 

 of the tibiae is two inches and three-quarters in 

 length, the tarsus four and one-quarter ; the whole 

 plumage, except the wings and centre of the back 

 or mantle, is pure white, slightly tinted with grey 

 on the occiput, and having the centre tail-feathers 

 of a pale broccoli-brown ; the tail, in this specimen, 

 is slightly forked, the outer feathers exceeding the 

 others more than one fourth of an inch ; the under 

 coverts equal the tail in length ; the centre of the 

 back and tertials approach nearest in tint to dark 

 clove-brown, glossed with green ; the whole of the 

 wings are rich glossy-black with green reflections; 

 the legs and feet are described to be pink,t and 

 vermilion-red ;J in the young birds orange. 



* Yarrell, ii. p. 561 . f Yarrell. Selby. 



