146 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 
Famity RECURVIROSTRID€.—Tue Avocets anp StTitts. 
(Page 143.) 
Genera. 
a‘. Hind toe present ; anterior toes all webbed; bill decidedly recurved toward tip. 
Recurvirostra. (Page 146.) 
a’, Hind toe absent; no web between inner and middle toes, and that between 
outer and middle toes occupying less than half the space; bill very slightly 
or not at all recurved toward tip.........scsceseeeee Himantopus. (Page 146.) 
Genus RECURVIROSTRA Linnaus. (Page 146, pl. XLIV., fig. 1.) 
Species. 
a’. Outer scapulars, rump, and upper tail-coverts, also part of secondaries and 
greater wing-coverts, white. 
Wings (except secondaries and termina] half of greater coverts), inner 
scapulars, and adjacent feathers of back, brownish black; lower parts, 
rump, outer scapulars, and middle of back, white; tail ashy white or 
pale ashy. Summer adult: Head (except anteriorly), neck, and chest 
light cinnamon. Winter plumage: Head, neck, and chest white, tinged, 
more or less, with pale bluish gray, especially on top of head and hind- 
neck. Young: Similar to winter plumage, but quills slightly tipped 
with whitish, scapulars, etc., tipped or transversely mottled with buffy 
or pale fulvous, and hind-neck tinged with light rufous. Length 15.50- 
18.75, wing 8.50-9.00, culmen 3.40-3.65, tarsus 3.70-3.80, middle toe 
1.60-1.70. Eggs 3-4, 1.93 x 1.35, pale olive, olive-buff, or drab-buff 
(rarely creamy buff), thickly spotted (sometimes sparsely lined also): °° 
with dark brown or black. Hab. Temperate North America, north, 
in the interior, to the Saskatchewan and Great Slave Lake; south, in 
winter, to Guatemala, Cuba, and Jamaica. 
225. R. americana GmMEL. American Avocet. 
a’, No white on upper parts, except head, neck, and rump. Hab. Andes of Chili. 
R. andina Puiuipri & Lanps. Chilian Avocet.! 
Genus HIMANTOPUS Brisson. (Page 146, pl. XLIV.,, fig. 2.) 
Species. 
a, White of forehead not extending over the crown; black of hind-neck continuous 
with that of the back. 
Adult male: Forehead, spot behind eye, lores, cheeks, entire lower parts 
(including fore-neck, throat, and chin), rump, and upper tail-coverts, 
pure white (sometimes tinged with pinkish in breeding season) ; rest of 
1 Recurvirostra andina Puiuirri & Lanppecn, Weigm. Archiv, 1863, 131, Harrina, Ibis, 1874, 257, pl. 9 
