294 



NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



There are four or five species of avocets inhabiting the temperate 

 regions, only one of which reaches North America. They are well adapted 

 to wading and swimming, and when the}- get beyond their depth in water, 

 continue on their course as if nothing had happened, in this respect being 

 vinlike all members of the order, with the exception of the phalaropes. 



Recurvirostra americana Gmelin 



American Avocet 



R e c u r V i r o s t r a am e r i c a n a Gmelin. Syst. Nat. 17S8. Ed. i. 2:693 



DeKay. Zool. N. Y. pt 2, p. 266, fig. 227, 229 

 A. O. U. Check List. Ed. 2. 1895. No. 225 



recurviro'stra, Lat. recurvus, bent back or upward; rostrum, bill; americd'na, 



American 



Description. Breeding plumage: Head and neck pale reddish brown 

 or cinnamon fading to white below; back, lesser coverts and primaries 



black; rest of plumage white. In 

 winter and immature: Similar, 

 but head and neck white or gray- 

 ish white. Bill recurved or bent 

 upward, blackish; legs bluish; 

 eyes dark. 



Length 15. 5-1 8 inches; ex- 

 tent 28-31; wing 8.75-10; tail 

 3.5; bill 3.75; tarsus 3.75. 



The American avocet, or 

 Bluestocking, was formerly an 

 occasional visitor to the shores 

 of Long Island and the Great 

 Lakes, but now is purely acci- 

 dental or entirely absent. The 

 last authentic specimens from 

 the State were obtained about 

 50 years ago on Long Island. 

 Specimens from this locality 

 without definite data are found 



American avocet. R cc ur vi rti s t ra amer icana Gmelin. From •_ ,1 Oj-^j--, IVT--^ ---,^ j-l. A ^' 



specimen in Stite Museum. J nat. size m the OtatC MUSCUm, thC AmCri- 



