a44 



PR.ECOCIAL O.vALLATORES — LIMICOLiE. 



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On several oreaaions ^[^. Salvin notipcd that tli<> birds of this species seen at Chiii- 

 pam were swinuiiiuK. and were most indiistriouH feeders, their Itills l)einK eonstantlv 

 at work, and admirably adapted fur pickiuK the most minute object from the surfaic 

 of the water. 



Mr. Dresser often saw Avoccts at the town-la^'oon near Matamoras, generally 

 findinj,' them in families of Hve or six, .some of tlie yoiinj,' birds bein^ oidy just alile 

 to Hy. They were not sliy, init canu' to a sliallow part of the lagoon close to the 

 houses, and waih'd alon^. moving tiu-ir heads from side to side with [x-rfeet ref,'idarity, 

 reminding' one of a i>arty of mowers, not K"J'>n '» i"' ''V" I'l'tS but one being sli},ditly 

 behind and to the side of tlie other. Towards August tliey had liectnue much nunc 

 abundant. In .May and .lune, \HM, M\: Dres.ser .saw several pairs on (Jalvestnn 

 Island, and was told tliat tlu^y breed on Molivar I'oint, and on the islands outside ol 

 the IJrazos, and St. Louis Pass. 



Mr. Aiken mentions the occurrence of this species in Colorado. Ca|)tain Iiendire 

 foiuid it an aluuidant summer resident in the lower valleys of Southeastern ( >regon. liut 

 not in the higher regions of tlie lUue Mountains anywhere above an altitude of |..stMi 

 feet. It breeds on .Malheur Lake and tlie swampy siu)res of Sj'lvia's Hiver. .Mr. 

 Nelson speaks of it as very abundant on Salt Lake, where it Ireipiented tlie shore iiy 

 hundreds. One which he had wounded tried to escape by diving and swimming short 

 distances uiuh'r the water. ]h: Merrill mentions it as i)eing common during the 

 winter in tiie Uio (Jrande Hegion, where a few remaint'd to Inced. 



Mr. llenshaw saw on Santa Cruz Island, Califoruia, several which had paired, and 

 were probal)iy lireeding. They lived on the beaches, picking up sea-slugs and small 

 crustaceans from the surface of the water. 



Eggs of this species (S. I. No. L'{(>.S",») found by Mr. Hidgway in an alkaline deposit 

 at Soda Lake, near Carson Desert, .June '2H, ISOS, measure l.H~} by l.J3() im-hes. Their 

 grcmnd-color is a light rufous drab, over which are jirofusely distributed blotches of 

 irregular shape and size, the colors being a eondjinatiou of sejua-brown and liistrc 

 The eggs are oboval in shai)e. with one end more pointed than the other. Another 

 set (S. I. \o. l.'(-14I) from Carrington Island, in (Ircat Salt Lake, June, 1SG9, measure 

 2.08 by L40 inches. Their ground-<'olor is a dark drab, lightly tinged with olivaceous, 

 and spotted with dark blotches exclusively of bistre. 



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GEifus HIMANTOFUS, Brisson. 



Himanfopus, Biuhs. Orn. V. 1700, .33 (type, Charadriits himaiUopus, LiNN.). 



Char. Hind tne wiuUing ; outer and miilillc toes coniipcted nt the base by a short web ; tin' 

 inner toe completely separated from tliu niitltlle. Bill Kubiilate, deeper tha.. broad, slightly up- 

 turned towanl the end. Legs excessively lengthened, the bare ]iart of the tibia about half as Idiii; 

 as the tarsus, wliieli greatly exceeds tlie hill in length, the latter being nearly twice the lengtli nf 

 the middle toe. 



The Stilts have much tli(! same range as the Avocets, but the species are more numerous, tin if 

 Ijeing at the present time alxmt seven recognized by authorities. Like Recurrr rostra, the nciiiw 

 Himantopm is represented in America hy two very distinct sjiecies, the one belonging to Noitli, 

 Central, and Northern South America ; the other peculiar to the more southern portions of the 

 Southern Continent. Thev differ as follows : — 



1. H. mexioanus. White of the forehead not extending over the crown, 

 continuous with that of the back. 



Black of the nape 



