248 GRALLATORES. HIMANTOPUS. STILT. 



THIS bird, of such singular appearance, from the great 

 length of its legs, in proportion to the size of its body, is on- 

 Occasional lj known to us as an occasional visitant, a few specimens 

 visitant, having been from time to time killed in different parts of 

 these islands. It is met with in France, Germany, and the 

 southern parts of Continental Europe, but only as a bird of 

 passage, its chief habitats being in Hungary and Russia, up- 

 on the margins of the widely extended saline lakes of those 

 countries, where it breeds and rears its young. It is also 

 common in various parts of Asia, and occurs in Egypt and 

 other districts of the African continent. Of its habits and 

 other peculiarities I am unable to give any detailed account, 

 never having been fortunate enough to see the bird in a liv- 

 ing state, nor can I supply this deficiency by extracts from 

 any other author *. Judging, however, that they will, in a 

 great measure, resemble those of others of this genus, I refer 

 my readers to WILSON'S graphic account of an American 

 species closely related to the present one, and which he has 

 described under the title of Recurvirostra Himantopus. 



PLATE 39.* Represents this bird of the natural size. 

 General Bill black. Irides red. Forehead, region of the eyes, 



descrip- ^des and front of the neck, lower part of the back, and 



tion. 



Male. the under parts white ; the latter tinged with rose-red. 



Occiput and nape of the neck greyish-black. Hind part 

 of the neck white, many of the feathers being tipped 

 with greyish -black. Mantle, scapulars, wing-coverts, 

 and quills black, glossed with duck-green. Tail ash- 

 grey. Legs and toes vermilion- red. Tarsi thin and 

 reticulated. 



Female. The female is inferior in size, and the dark parts of her 

 plumage incline more to brown, without exhibiting the 

 glossy green lustre of the male bird. 



* I am informed that there is a coloured figure and description of this 

 bird, under its former title of Long-legged Plover, in Dr SHAW'S " Natural- 

 ists' Miscellany," (a periodical work of considerable ability, but now diffi- 

 cult to be met with), taken from a recent specimen transmitted to that 

 distinguished naturalist by a clergyman in Wales, where the bird was killed. 



