104 BIRDS OF THE WORLD 



persing again in the spring. They are among the 

 most valuable of the farmer's allies, worms, slugs and 

 insects forming their principal food. 



The Black-winged Stilt is one of the most remark- 

 able of the Plover tribe, having extremely long legs 

 (from which fact it receives its name), a long, sharp 

 bill, long neck and long wings. The colour, in gen- 

 eral, is blackish above and white below, and the feet 

 and legs are brilliant red. This bird is met with abun- 

 dantly in marshy places in the Old World. The great 

 length of the Stilt's legs is due to the fact that the bird 

 obtains its food by wading in shallow water and prob- 

 ing in the mud for snails and other small creatures. 

 See Plate 30, Fig. 172. 



Occasionally seen in the eastern parts of this coun- 

 try, and quite common in certain sections of the West, 

 is the Black-necked Stilt, which is all black above and 

 white below. 



The Avocet is one of the strangest forms of Plover, 

 having a very long, slender, upward-curving bill, long 

 legs and webbed toes, in the latter respect differing 

 from most of the Wading-birds, whose toes are free. 

 The colour of the Avocet is chiefly black and white and 

 the legs are bluish. The principal American species 

 differs from the European in having a reddish-brown 

 head and neck. See Plate 32, Fig. 184. 



The Snipe and the Woodcock are birds with which 

 most people are somewhat ^amiliar. The long, slender 

 bills and long legs whic^pjslinguish them show at once 

 that they cannot live loiig'f ar away from water. They 

 are, indeed, dwellers in marshes and swamps, living on 

 worms and aquatic insects and small water-snails. 



