OF THE BEITISH ISLANDS. 167 



Subfamily HIMANTOPODIN/E.— The Stilts and Avocets. 



The Stilts and Avocets may be distinguished from other members of the 

 Ghabadbiidm by the absence of a dertrum from the bill, which is long, slender, 

 and either straight or curved upwards. The bill is further peculiar in having the 

 nasal orifice situated in the basal fourth, as measured from the frontal feathers. 

 The metatarsus is finely reticulated, and never less in length than twice that of 

 the middle -toe. This subfamily contains three well-marked genera. 



Genus HIMANTOPUS, or Stilts. 



Type, HIMANTOPUS MELANOPTBEUS. 



HimantopUS, of Brisson (1760). — The birds comprising the present genus 

 are characterised by having a long, slender, nearly straight bill, only slightly webbed 

 feet, and no hind toe. The wings are long and pointed, the first primary being 

 the longest ; the tail is rounded. The metatarsus is long, more than twice that of 

 the middle toe and claw ; a great portion of the tibia is devoid of feathers. The 

 bill is long, slightly recurved at the point ; nostrils lateral, linear, and elongated. 



This genus is composed of seven species, one of which {H. Picatus) appears to 

 be of doubtful distinctness, locally distributed in the Australian, Neotropical, 

 Ethiopian, southern Palsearctic and Nearctic, and Oriental regions. One species 

 is an accidental visitor to the British Islands. 



The Stilts are dwellers in salt marshes, on low-lying coasts, and on the banks 

 of lakes. Their flight is rapid, graceful and sustained, and on the ground they 

 walk and run with elegant ease. Their notes are clear and loud. They subsist 

 principally on insects and small univalves. They make scanty nests near the 

 water on the ground, and their eggs are usually four in number, and spotted. 

 They are monogamous, and at all times of the year are more or less gregarious, 

 usually breeding in colonies. 



