A W L W O 11 T A X I N I T F. 



261 



at all a rare bird in Leadenhall market ; that is to 

 say, there might be as many as a dozen of them there 

 in the course of a week, or sometimes a dozen at 

 one time ; but now there are not above one or two 

 seen in the course of a year, though the interest 

 which is taken in rare native birds has increased, 

 which has of course augmented the price and in- 

 creased the inducement to the capture of them. 

 Thus the avocet claims particular attention as one of 

 the family of our native and resident animals which 

 appears to be fast leaving us, and of which the people 

 of the next generation may never sec a live British 

 specimen. The details of it are thus more worthy 

 of record than those of other birds which we have in 

 plenty and without apparent decay of numbers. The 

 following figure will give a general notion of its shape 

 and the markings of its colours ; and we shall add 

 some of the details in words. 



The Avocet. 



The length of the avocet is about eighteen inches ; 

 but when the legs are stretched backwards, they 

 reach four inches beyond the point of the tail, and 

 of course make the total length four inches more. 

 The tail is short and the closed wings reach rather 

 beyond it ; and when they are expanded, their extent 

 from tip to tip is about two feet and a half. The 

 bird cannot thus be said to be one of very powerful 

 wing ; but still its capacity for flight is considerable, 

 and from the length, strength, and mode in articula- 

 tion of the legs, the bird can take the wing with great 

 case, there being always plenty of air under it. The 

 same strength of the legs assists it in alighting easily. 

 The length of the bill, measured along the curve, is 

 about three inches and a half. 



The irides of the eyes are hazel, the naked parts 

 of the feet and legs blue, and all the feathered part 

 of the body either white or black. White is the pre- 

 vailing colour, and it is beautifully clear, showing very 

 handsome, both on account of the closeness and 

 smoothness of the plumage, and 'of the black mark- 

 ings, of which the colour is as deep as the white is 

 pure. 



The bill, the head as far as to under the eyes, and 

 the nape of the neck are black ; but the upper part 

 of the head is less or more relieved with white. 

 There is sometimes a white streak over each eye, 

 and a white spot on the forehead ; but in other spe- 

 cimens the spot on the forehead is wanting, and the 

 streaks over the eyes are broken into spots, which 

 are sometimes inconspicuous. All the black mark- 

 ings are liable to vary, not only in different .indivi- 

 duals, but probably in the same individuals at different 

 ages. They arc always sullicicnt, however, inde- 

 pendently of the form, the bill and the habit (which 

 of themselves are also enough), to distinguish the 



avocet from every other British bird. Besides those 

 that have been mentioned, the usual black markings 

 are, the bastard wing, the turn of the wing, some of 

 the scapulars and middle coverts, and the quills ; all 

 the rest of the upper part generally, and the whole 

 of the under part invariably are white. 



From the brightness of its colours, the bold con- 

 trast of its markings, the height which it stands on 

 the legs, and its feeding on the dull brownish surface 

 left by the tide, the avocet is a very conspicuous bird, 

 and may be seen at a very considerable distance ; 

 but it sees as readily as it is seen, and the distant 

 view is the only one that can be obtained if the ob- 

 server goes openly upon it. It makes off one knows 

 not very well where, so that one may search long 

 enough without getting another sight. 



Some of the grallidee have a shrill and clear whistle, 

 and pipe as loud as a boatswain ; but none of them 

 deserve much praise for their " sweet voices." The 

 avocet forms no exception to this, as its cry is harsh 

 and screaming. This is not owing to the bill, ur- 

 couth as it seems for a musical instrument; for the 

 bill of birds has very little to do in the sounds which 

 they utter. Their organ of voice is at the lower or 

 pulmonary end of the trachea, and not at the upper 

 or larynx end. 



Avocets breed on the borders of the marshes : the 

 eggs are understood to be four, and placed quatrefoil, 

 or in the form of a cross. They are large for the 

 size of the bird, and of an olive brown colour marked 

 with spots. In the breeding season, the birds have 

 much of the shyness which they are said to have in 

 the winter and autumn. They become familiar, and 

 to appearance sportive ; but the sport is, like that of 

 the lapwing, a ruse to entice visiters away from tin- 

 nest. The female especially flies round the head of 

 the visiter, playing in circles, and uttering an incessant 

 but not apparently angry cry of " quhcct, quhcet," 

 and she receives him, and also takes leave of him, at. 

 a considerable distance from that place which she 

 seerns anxious he should not visit. The nests are 

 now become, of course, as rare as the birds, and it is 

 as difficult to procure an avocet's egg as to procure 

 an avocet. They and some others of the resident 

 marsh birds appear to be passing away faster than there 

 is any apparent reason for; for in the years that have 

 been mentioned there has really been no alteration, 

 at least no artificial alteration in the fens, that ap- 

 pears at all calculated to reduce their numbers to 

 one in the hundred, which, from their appearance in 

 the market, seems to be about the ratio. The cir- 

 cumstances which influence the numbers of wild 

 animals are, however, but imperfectly known. 



Avocets are more numerous in some other coun- 

 tries than they are in England ; and there are several 

 foreign species differing from the common one in 

 their colours, though their habits appear to be so 

 much the same as to render details unnecessary. 

 An American species is described as having a red- 

 dish or purplish mantle on the lower part of the neck, 

 and there is one mentioned in India which is all 

 white except the wings. The variations which are 

 found in the markings of even the few that are to be 

 found in this country, are sufficient to make us 

 cautious in founding species upon mere differences 

 of colour. 



AWL WORT. Called by Linnaeus Subultiriu, a 

 tetrandrious plant, found in most of our lakes. 



AXIN1TE. This mineral, derives its title from 



