WHITE-HEADED STILT. 153 



Genus HIMANTOPUS. 



Himantopus Brisson, Ornith., Vol. I., p. 46, Vol. V., p. 33, 1760. Type (by tautonymy) : 



Himantopus = Charadrius himantopus Linne. 



Macrotarsus Lacepede, Tabl. Ois., p. 18, Dec. 1799. Species added by Daudin, in Hist. Nat. 



Buff on, ed. Didot, Quadr., Vol. XIV., p. 336 [1799 =] Oct. 1802. Type (by monotypy) : 



C. himantopus Linn6. 



Not of Link, Beytr. Nat., I (2), pp. 51, 65, 1795. 



Hypsibates Nitzsch, in Ersch und Gruber's Ency., sect, i., Vol. XVI., p. 150, 1827. New 



name for Himantopus Bonnaterre = Brisson. 



Calobatus Lesson, Manuel d'Orn., Vol. II., p. 339, June 28th, 1828. New name for Himan- 



topus Brisson. Type (by monotypy) : Charadrius himantopus Linne. 



Himantellus " Rafinq. 1815 " Gray, Cat. Gen. Subgen. Birds, p. 117, Oct. 1855. In synonymy 



of Himantopus Brisson. 



The members of the genus Himantopus have the bill long, thin, and flattened ; 

 it is straight, with the tip of the upper mandible decurved over the lower one. 

 The culmen is about half the length of the metatarsus ; shorter than the 

 exposed tibia, but longer than the middle toe with claw. The nostrils are linear, 

 placed near the base of the culmen and situated in a groove which extends half 

 the length of the bill. The wings are long and pointed, about twice the length of 

 the metatarsus. The tail is short and square, about one-third the length of the 

 wing. The legs are very long about twice as long as the culmen and half the 

 length of the wing ; the bare tibia is longer than the culmen ; the metatarsus is 

 covered with reticulated scales, which tend to fusion in the adult. The outer toe is 

 connected to the middle one by a small basal web ; the inner toe is not connected. 

 No hind -toe. 



106. Himantopus leucocephalus. WHITE-HEADED STILT. 



Gould, Vol. VI., pi. 24 (pt. iv.), Sept. 1st, 1841. Mathews, Vol. III., pt. 2, pi. 141, May 2nd, 



1913. 



Himantopus leucocephalus Gould, Synops. Birds Austr., pt. n., pi. 34, April 1837 : New South 



Wales. 



Himantopus novcehollandios Bonaparte, Comptes Bendus Acad. Sci. Paris, Vol. XLIII., p. 



421, Sept. 1st, 1856. New name for Himantopus leucocephalus Gould. 



Himantopus seebohmi Hartert, Katal. Vogels Mus. Senckenb., p. 220, 1891, mid-January. 



New name for H. leucocephalus Gould. 



Hypisbates leucocephalus assimilis Mathews, Nov. Zool., Vol. XVIII., p. 219, Jan. 31st, 1912 : 



Parry's Creek, North-west Australia. 



DISTRIBUTION. Australia generally. Not Tasmania. 



Adult male. Hind-neck, mantle, scapulars, and wings, both above and below, 

 glossy black with obsolete wavy cross-bars on the long innermost scapulars ; head, 

 lower hind-neck and back below the mantle pure white ; tail also white, the middle 

 feathers tinged with grey ; throat and entire under-surface white including the 

 axillaries ; primary- and secondary -quills below fringed with white at the tips ; 

 bill black ; iris dark red ; tarsi and feet pink. Total length 388 mm. ; culmen 59, 

 wing 223-230, tail 75, tarsus 109-119. 



Adult female. Similar to the adult male but smaller, and the feathers of the 

 mantle and scapulars inclining to brown. 



Immature male. Distinguished from the adult by the dark grey on the head 

 and nape, the brown on the back and scapulars and the darker tips to the tail- 

 feathers. Some of the feathers of the back have white edgings and the under wing- 

 coverts are margined with white. As the bird advances in age the grey on the head 

 and nape disappears. 



Nestling. Yellowish down, the upper side with black markings. 



Nest. A bare shallow hollow in the earth. A slight structure consisting 

 merely of a few short pieces of rushes and grass placed in and around a depression 



