AMERICAN AVOSET. 171 
How far such cries as those of the Avoset may be heard by birds of 
the same species I cannot tell; but this I know, that the individuals 
which had gone toward the Wabash reappeared in a few minutes 
after I had disturbed the first bird, and hovered over me. But now, 
having, as I thought, obtained all desirable knowledge of these birds, 
I shot down five of them, among which I unfortunately found three 
females. 
The nests were placed among the tallest grasses, and were entirely 
composed of the same materials, but dried, and apparently of a former 
year’s growth. There was not a twig of any kind about them. The 
inner nest was about five inches in diameter, and lined with fine prairie 
grass, different from that found on the islets of the pond, and about 
two inches in depth, over a bed having a thickness of an inch anda 
half. The islets did not seem to be liable to inundation, and none of 
the nests exhibited any appearance of having been increased in 
elevation since the commencement of incubation, as was the case 
with those described by Witson. Like those of most waders, the 
eggs were four in number, and placed with the small ends together. 
They measured two inches in length, one inch and three-eighths in 
their greatest breadth, and were, exactly as Wiutson tells us, “of 
a dull olive colour, marked with large irregular blotches of black, 
and with others of a fainter tint.” To this I have to add, that they 
are pear-shaped and smooth. As to the time of hatching, I know 
nothing. 
Having made my notes, and picked up the dead birds, I carefully 
waded through the rushes three times around the whole pond, but, 
being without my dog, failed in discovering the young brood or their 
mother. I visited the place twice the following day, again waded 
round the pond, and searched all the islets, but without success: not 
a single Avoset was to be seen; and I am persuaded that the mother 
of the four younglings had removed them elsewhere. 
Since that time my opportunities of meeting with the American 
Avoset have been few. On the 7th of November 1819, while search- 
ing for rare birds a few miles from New Orleans, I shot one which I 
found by itself on the margin of Bayou St John. It was a young 
male, of which I merely took the measurements and description. It 
was very thin, and had probably been unable to proceed farther south. 
Its stomach contained only two small fresh-water snails and a bit of 
