BRAZILIAN STILT 193 



BRAZILIAN STILT 



Himantopus brasiliensis 



White ; line behind each eye> nape, back of neck, intetscapulium, 

 and wings black ; a narrow white band divides the black neck from 

 the black upper back; bill black, feet orange; length 14, wing 8.5 

 inches. Female similar. 



This bird is resident and common in the Plata dis- 

 trict, and is called in the vernacular Tiru-real, also 

 Zancudo (Stilt). It frequents marshes and lagoons, 

 and wades in search of food in the shallow water 

 near the margin. It is lively in its movements, and 

 notwithstanding the great length of its legs has a 

 pretty, graceful appearance on the ground. On the 

 wing, however, it is seen at its best, the flight being 

 remarkably swift and free, while the sharply-pointed 

 glossy-black wings contrast finely with the snow- 

 white plumage of the body, and the red legs stretched 

 out straight behind have the appearance of a long, 

 slender tail. Stilts are fond of aerial exercises, pur- 

 suing each other with marvellous velocity through 

 the air, so that a few moments after the spectator 

 has almost lost sight of them in the sky above they 

 are down again within a few yards of the surface. 

 While pursuing each other they constantly utter 

 their excited yelping cries, which in tone remind 

 one of the musical barking of some hounds. 



The nest is made on the low ground close to the 

 water, and consists merely of a slight lining of dry 

 grass and leaves gathered in a small depression on 



N II 



