HIMANTOPUS. 



273 



The Common Stilt {Himantopus melanopterus), being the Charadrius himantopus of Determina- 

 Linueus and the Himantopus himantopus of Brisson, has a double claim to be regarded as *^°° °^ ^^'^ 

 the type of the genus. The name Becurvirostra could scarcely be applied to the Stilts 

 whose bills do not turn up. 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 

 (during the breeding-season). 



Avocets. 



I 



H. AVOCETTA -^ 



Ethiopian Region. 

 Throughout. 



PaLjE ARCTIC Region. 

 Southern half. 



Oriental Region. 

 India. 



Stilts. 



H. MELANOPTEBUS. 



H. EUBRICOLLIS 

 H. PECTORALIS 



Australian Region. 



Australia. 



New Zealand. 

 Sandwich Islands. 



H. LEUCOCEPHALUS. 



H. MELAS. 

 H. KNUBSENI. 



H. AMERICANUS . 



Nearctic Region. 



Southern half. "^ 



Neotropical Region. 



Mexico and Central America. 



Peru. 



Chilian subregion. 



H. MEXICANUS. 



H. ANDINA. 



H. BRASILIENSIS. 



The range of the genus is almost cosmopolitan, but it does not extend into the Arctic 

 Region nor to most of the smaller islands of the Pacific. Pive species breed in the 

 Australian Region, two in the Nearctic, and two in the Neotropical Regions. The 

 remaining two species breed in the Palaearctic Region, but one breeds also in the Oriental 

 Region, and both in the Ethiopian Region. This information has little interest because 

 it has little significance, except perhaps that Australia appears to have been the centre of 

 distribution of the genus, an inference probably false. If the genus be split into three, bad 

 is made worse, and the key to the geographical distribution is broken. 



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