274 TiMEHRl. 



long and thin black beak and pink legs — the former 

 being nearly three inches in length, and the latter 7 

 inches. The legs are so peculiarly long and thin, in 

 comparison with the size of the body, that they appear 

 more like stilts than the legs of an ordinary bird. In 

 fa6l, when the bird is seen standing, it is hard to realise 

 that the two long spindle-like legs, which seem to be 

 entirely artificially attached, are not merely stuck in by 

 some badly trained taxidermist, since they stand straight 

 out from the body and nearly at right angles with it. 



It is a remarkable thing that, when the bird stands 

 upon one leg, and the other is drawn up near the body, 

 in spite of the great length of the limb, it is hidden 

 entirely in the feathers of the breast and abdomen, so 

 that not a vestige of it is exposed. To the closest ob- 

 servation, the bird appears then to be decidedly one- 

 legged. Its perfe6l balance, too, is noteworthy, more 

 especially considering the absence of the hind-toe. 



It was curious to note, in the case of a bird which was 

 kept in confinement for some weeks^ that whenever 

 worms were given to it, it invariably dropped them in 

 the little tank of water in its cage before eating them. 



The general upper surface of this species is of a deep 

 greenish glossy black, the prevailing under colour being 

 white. 



Another migrant which will at once be recognised by 

 its thin, long and flexible beak, and its long, slender, 

 light blue legs, with four toes, is the Red-breasted God- 

 wit or Marlin (Limosa hudsonica). This bird is but 

 seldom obtained on the coast in the colony, though con- 

 sidering its range, they must pass through equatorial 

 America in considerable numbers on their way south. 



