Birds of Britain 



below high-water mark. One brood only is reared in the 

 season, and as soon as the young can fly they begin to 

 gather again into flocks. 



The head and neck, scapulars and mantle, lesser wing 

 coverts and tip of the tail are black, the rest of the plumage 

 white. Bill orange vermilion ; legs pink. The sexes are 

 alike, and in winter there is a white crescent round the top 

 and front of the neck, and the bill is horn-coloured at the 

 tip. The bill is continually growing and so counteracting 

 the wear and tear to which it is subjected. Length 16 in. ; 

 wing 9* 7 5 in. 



THE AVOCET 



Recurvirostra avocetta, Linnaeus 



If only the amasser of British killed specimens could be 

 exterminated and the protection laws of this country more 

 rigidly enforced, the Avocet might once more become a local 

 breeding species in some of our counties. At present, however, 

 a few birds arrive in our southern and eastern counties yearly, 

 and it is to be feared that but few live to cross over to their 

 breeding grounds in Holland. It used formerly to breed in 

 considerable numbers in the marshes of Kent and Sussex, 

 and along our flat eastern shores, but on the west and in 

 the north it has never been more than an extremely rare 

 and local visitor. The nest is placed on the mud or sand 

 in an estuary, and at no great distance from the water, and 

 consists merely of a very small collection of dry bents and 

 grass. The eggs are three to four in number and pale clay 



312 



