THE STILT-WALKERS. 51 



patter about with its wide-webbed feet, and gather small crustaceans and sea-worms. Those who have 

 seen a Stork or a Crane with a frog at the tip of its long mandibles, and watched it, as, with an upward 

 movement of the head, it dropped the victim into its throat, will have a good idea of the action of the 

 Avocet when it has captured a small shrimp, a marine insect, or any other of the objects upon which 

 it lives, and at once perceive that, with such a peculiarly-formed beak, it could not feed in any other 

 manner. The Scooping Avocets are numerously met with throughout the Eastern Hemisphere, even 

 as far south as the Cape of Good Hope ; in Central Europe they appear in April, and commence 

 leaving again about September. A century ago, before the English fens were drained, they were 

 common in the marshes of Norfolk and Lincolnshire ; but are now rarely seen. These birds only 

 frequent the immediate vicinity of salt water, and are almost exclusively met with on shallow muddy 

 sea-coasts, or the slimy banks of brackish lakes. When occupying the shores, they follow the advance 

 and recess of the tide in search of food, and are often seen half a mile out upon the sands when the 

 waves have retired. Among the many varieties of sea-birds that frequent the sea-shore, the Scooping 

 Avocets are always conspicuous, as they move slowly along, with body erect and slender neck 

 gracefully curved, or fly rapidly through the air, with broadly-flapping wings, and their long legs 

 stretched directly out. In the water they exhibit great skill, and frequently venture out to a very 

 considerable depth. The piping note uttered by this species has a somewhat melancholy but not 

 unpleasing tone, and is replaced during the period of incubation by a plaintive call, which is constantly 

 and rapidly repeated. In disposition the Avocets are unsocial, and only rarely keep company with 

 their feathered companions ; whilst towards man they exhibit much timidity, and considerable intelli- 

 gence in discerning such persons as are likely to prove dangerous. At the commencement of the 

 season for incubation, the pairs seek a suitable spot whereon to breed, and usually prefer grass-covered 

 flats, or fields, in the immediate vicinity of the sea. The nest is a mere hollow, slightiy lined with dry 

 blades of grass, or fibres, and contains from two to four pear-shaped eggs, about as large as those of 

 the Peewit, with a thin, lustreless, greenish yellow shell, more or less marked with blackish grey or 

 violet spots. Both sexes brood, and tend the young (which are hatched in about eighteen days) with 

 great affection, leading them at first about the fields, then near large pools, and only venturing with 

 them to the open sea when they begin to use their wings. 



The CURLEWS {Numenii) are very beautifully-formed birds, with a slender body, long thin 

 neck, small head, and a very long, slightly-curved, and soft beak, which is broad at its base, and horny 

 at its tip. The upper mandible is a trifle longer than, and bends somewhat over, the lower portion ot 

 the bill ; the slender, high, broad-soled feet are bare, and furnished with four toes, connected by a 

 decided web ; the wings are long and pointed, with the first quill longer than the rest ; the moderate- 

 sized tail is composed of twelve feathers. The close compact plumage does not vary in the sexes, or 

 at different seasons of the year. The members of this group include about a dozen species, and are 

 met with in almost every portion of the globe. 



THE GREAT CURLEW, OR WHAAP. 

 The Great Curlew, or Whaap (Numenius arquatus), is from twenty-six to twenty-eight inches 

 long (this measurement includes the beak, which is from seven to eight inches long), and from forty- 

 five to forty-seven inches across the span of the wings ; the wing measures from twelve to thirteen 

 inches, and the tail from four inches and a half to five inches and a half. On the upper portions of the 

 body the feathers are brown, edged with light reddish yellow, those of the lower back are white, spotted 

 with brown, and those on the under side reddish yellow, shafted and spotted with brown. The quills 

 are black, spotted and bordered with white, and the tail-feathers white, striped with brown. The eye 



