1 6i EECUEVIEOSTEA.— IBIDOEHYNCHUS. 



Genus REOURVIROSTEA. 



Seeurvirostra, from r?curiws= turned back, and rosJrMm= the beak. 



Bill long and flexible, turned up, channelled above and below. Eemiges 

 twenty-nine. First quill longest. Tarsus reticulated. Hind toe small. Anterior 

 toes deeply webbed, webs notched in middle. Swim well. Avocets, from their 

 strongly webbed feet, were classed by Temminck and others near the Flamingo. 

 Nearly cosmopolitan. 



156. Eecurvirostra avocetta. The Avocet. 



The Italian name ; said to be connected with am,$=a, bird. 



Kusya-chaha, Bekar. 



$ 16 J". 5 17". Legs pale grey. Bill 3 J", black. Crown, nape, lesser 

 coverts, and quills black ; the rest white. Europe, Asia, and Africa. A winter 

 visitor to Ceylon. Shot one, in hot weather of 1861, on E. Narra, Sind. Eggs 

 (2-0 X 14) buff, blotched brown. (J. 899. B. 1452.) 



Also with greater wing-coverts and secondaries white : — 



R. americana. i 16". 9 15". From temperate N. America. 



B. novcB hollandicB. 15J". From Australia and New Zealand. 



Also with greater coverts and secondaries dark brown : — 

 S. andina. 17"- From Chili. 



Genus IBIDOEHYNCHUS. 



r/3is=Ibis ; piyx<>s=^ bill. 



A peculiar species. Bill curved downwards. Nasal groove extends to more 

 than half length of the bill. First, second, and third quills subequal. Tarsi 

 reticulated throughout. No hind toe. Third and fourth toes connected by web, 

 hardly any web between second and third toe. 



157. Ibidorhynchus struthersi. Tee Ibis-bill. 



cj 16"; 10 oz. Legs blood-red. Bill 3f", crimson. Head black, mixed grey 

 and margined white. Plumage olive. 



Hodgson says it has the short legs and feet of a Plover. Gould remarks that 

 its legs and feet are those of an Oyster-Catcher, and its biU that of an Ibis. 

 Masson, in December, 1880, shot eight in the Great Eanjit Eiver. Excellent for 

 the table. From W. Turkistan to N. China. Inhabits the Himalayas from the 

 Afridi country to Assam. (J. 879. B. 1453.) 



