Oedek GRALI^E.] [Fast. SCOLOPACITLE. 



HIMANTOPFS LEtTCOCEPHALUS. 



(WHITE-HEADED STILT.) 



Hhnantopus leucocephalus, Gould, P. Z. S. 1837, p. 26. 

 Himantopus alius, Ellman, Zool. 1861, p. 7470. 



Native name. — Tutumata. 



Ad. supra niger, pileo undique, collo laterali et postico torquem collarem formante albis : dorso postico et 

 uropygio albis : alis omnino nigris dorso concoloribus : cauda, alba, cinerascente lavata, pennis duabus 

 centralibus omnino cinerascentibus : corpore toto subtus pure albo : rostro nigro : pedibus cruentatis : 

 iride rubra. 



Juv. supra, niger, brunneo tinctus : collo postico sordide griseo-albo : tectricibus alarum et supracaudalibus 

 albo terminatis. 



Adult. Back of the neck, middle portion of back, scapulars, and entire upper surface of wings glossy 

 greenish black ; lining and under surface of wings sooty black ; the rest of the plumage pure white, 

 with the exception of the tail-feathers, which are more or less tinged with smoky grey. Irides and eye- 

 lids red ; bill black, sometimes horn-coloured at the tip ; legs and feet deep pink flesh-colour. Length 

 14 inches ; extent of wings 26-5 ; wing, from flexure, 9 ; tail 3 ; bill, along the ridge 2'4, along the 

 edge of lower mandible 2'6; bare tibia 2; tarsus 4 - 25 ; middle toe and claw V7. 



Young. Crown of the head, middle portion of back, scapulars and upper surface of wings, and tail dull 

 sooty black tinged with brown ; nape greyish white, blending on the shoulders into the darker plumage ; 

 upper wing-coverts and tail-coverts tipped more or less with greyish white ; inner lining of wings and 

 axillary plumes sooty black, tipped with white ; the rest of the plumage pure white. 



Chick. Covered with short soft down of various shades of fulvous yellow, varied on the upper parts with 

 brown, and with a series of square black spots down the back, and a broad streak of the same colour on 

 each thigh. 



The White-headed Stilt, which appears to be also widely distributed over the continent of 

 Australia, is a comparatively common bird in the middle and southern portions of New Zealand ; 

 but I know of only a single instance of its occurrence as far north as Auckland. 



Notwithstanding the extraordinary length of its legs, this bird is most graceful in all its 

 movements ; and it is a pretty sight to watch a flock of them on the edges of a lagoon, stalking 

 about in the shallow water in search of their food, which consists of aquatic bisects and small 

 mollusca, and displaying then' well-balanced bodies in a variety of artistic attitudes. When on 

 the wing, the legs are trailed behind, with a slight swaying motion as if to preserve the equipoise ; 

 and the bbd utters a sharp, quickly repeated note, like the yelping of a small cur. 



Mr. Gould has given an interesting account of this species in his ' Birds of Australia,' but 



