AVOCET (Recurmrostra'americand). Eas- 

 ily known by the very slender upturned bill 

 and the long bluish legs, the latter giving 

 them a local name of "Blue-stocking." 

 They are among the largest of our waders, 

 measuring about 18 in. in length. The bird 

 shown is in summer plumage. In winter 

 and immature plumage they have no rusty 

 color on the head. The plumage of the 

 under parts is very firm and duck-like. Their 

 webbed feet enable them to swim easily and 

 they frequently do so. 



They are particularly abundant in alkaline 

 regions of the west, and occur north to Sas- 

 katchewan. They are rarely found east of 

 the Mississippi River. 



They frequently feed in shallow water by 

 immersing the head and sifting the soft mud 

 with their slender bills. 



BLACK-NECKED STILT (Himan- 

 topus mexicanus). These birds, which are 

 easily recognized by their striking black-and- 

 white plumage and by the unusual length 

 and slenderness of their red legs, are abun- 

 dant in southwestern United States, breed- 

 ing north to Oregon and Colorado and 

 along the Gulf coast to Florida and Cuba. 

 They feed chiefly by wading and gleaning 

 tiny insects from the surface of the water or 

 from aquatic plants rising above the surface. 

 PHALAROPES are small shore birds hav- 

 ing lobed webs on each toe, thus having excellent swimming power. Their 

 feathers underneath are very closely set and waterproof. Wilson Phalarope, 

 which has a chestnut stripe on the side of the neck, breeds in the interior, 



from Alberta south to 

 Texas. Red and North- 

 ern Phalaropes, the former 

 rufous below and the lat- 

 ter with the neck largely 

 reddish-brown, breed 

 in Arctic regions and mi- 

 grate chiefly on the coasts 

 or at sea. 



AVOCET 

 BLACK-NECKED STILT 



