AVOSET. 257 



black and white; the forehead, crown above the 

 eyes, and back of the neck, for about two-thirds of 

 its length downwards, the outer scapulars, shoul- 

 ders, middle wing-coverts and quills, are black, of 

 a deeper tint on the wings, and on the head and 

 wings slightly tinted with greyish-brown ; the other 

 parts of the plumage are pure white ; the bill black, 

 resembling towards its tip a narrow stripe of thin 

 whalebone ; the legs and feet bluish-grey. The 

 young birds are described as having the black por- 

 tions of the plumage tinted with brown, that on the. 

 head extending a little past the nape ; the scapulars 

 and dark wing-coverts edged with reddish-brown. 



