THE AVOCET 
Recurvirostra avocetta 
Whole plumage white, excepting the following parts, which 
are black—top of head and back of neck, a band between the 
shoulders, inner part of scapulars, wing-coverts, and prim- 
aries; beak long and slender, and turned upwards; legs, 
slaty-blue-green colour. Total length, 17 inches. 
I wavE included this bird because it is like the 
Spoonbill, so singular in the form of its bill, and so 
interesting to us, because at one time it was fairly 
common in Great Britain. If it is seen it ought to 
be easily identified, not only because of its black 
and white plumage, but also because of the curious 
sweeping movement it makes with its bill as it 
searches the water for its prey, something sug- 
gestive of a mower with a scythe. Captain Shelley 
says it is met with in large flocks on the Nile, but 
I have only seen it in very small parties, six being 
the largest number that I have seen together on the 
river, but at Lake Menzaleh I have seen hundreds 
together. Von Heuglin says they are very abund- 
ant on the shores of the Red Sea, but on the two 
occasions I was on those shores—the last time at 
Kosseir—I was not fortunate enough to observe it. 
On the sandbanks—those that are very low, with 
wet spots and little pools—it can be seen better 
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