388 ORALLY. RECURVIROSTRAD^E. 



spicuous enough in my specimen, a beautiful rosy 

 blush on the white of the neck and breast ; but only 

 in the male. The females had eggs in the ovary 

 at this time, (1st May) as large as pigeon-shot. 

 They were all very fat, the fat being of a deep 

 yellow hue. 



Mr. Hill has favoured me with the following 

 notes on this species : " In addition to the extraor- 

 dinary length of leg of the Himantopus, it has been 

 asserted that its leg-bones are as limber as a leathern 

 thong, and that they can be bent up without being 

 Broken. The accurate Wilson has made this state- 

 ment. I will not merely say that it is at variance 

 with my experience, but that it is absolutely absurd. 

 The bones of this bird are as rigid as those of any 

 other. [To this I add also my own testimony.] 

 The only peculiarity I observe in them, is a flatness 

 in the make of the leg. While the measurement 

 is a fourth of an inch one way, it is scarcely an 

 eighth of an inch the other. The tendon that runs 

 all along the limb is very large, and the skin 

 that envelopes the whole leg very fleshy. A fleshy 

 feeling of softness is the only approach to the 

 leathery peculiarity so confidently spoken of. The 

 bill has a trifling trace, almost imperceptible, of re- 

 cuvature. It is very rigid. Out of sixteen or 

 eighteen birds carefully examined, I saw only one 

 with a very decidedly marked recurved character. 

 There was another circumstance I observed, very 

 worthy of notice; viz. that the length of the legs 

 of no two birds was precisely the same. Nearly 

 half an inch of difference was found between the 



