92 GRALLATORES. RECURVIROSTRA. AVOCET. 



In Africa, it is met with in Egypt, and other parts ; and the 

 species sent from the Cape of Good Hope appears also to be 

 identical. 



PLATE 20. Represents this bird of the natural size. 

 General Head, nape, and two-thirds of the hinder part of the neck, 

 tion. black. The cheeks, the rest of the neck, and the whole 



body white, with the exception of the outer scapulars, 

 the middle wing-coverts, and the greater quills, which 

 are black. Bill black. Legs and toes bluish-grey. 

 The young, previous to the first moulting, have those 

 parts which are of deep black in the adult birds, more 

 inclining to brown, and in them, the black on the head 

 extends but little beyond the occiput. The dark sca- 

 pular feathers, and intermediate wing-coverts, are also 

 margined with reddish-grey. 



GENUS LIMOSA, BEISS. GODWIT. 



GENERIC CHARACTERS. 



BILL very long, rather thick at the base, compressed, more 

 or less turned upwards, higher than broad, semi-flexible 

 throughout its whole length ; culmen rounded from the base 

 for two-thirds of its length, the remainder to the tip flattened ; 

 both mandibles laterally grooved to within a short distance 

 from the point, which is somewhat dilated, and blunt ; tip 

 of the upper mandible projecting beyond the lower one; 

 angle of the chin very narrow, and extending about one- 

 third of the length of the bill. 



Nostrils near the base ; placed in the lateral groove, nar- 

 row, and longitudinal. 



Wings acuminate, of mean length ; the first quill-feather 

 the longest. 



