280 



HIM ANTO PITS. 



Literature. Plates. — Wilson, Am. Orn. pi. 58. fig. 2; Sclater & Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1873, p. 453 



(woodcut of head). 

 Habits. — Baird, Brewer, and Bidgway, Water-Birds N. Amer. i. p. 346. 

 Eggs. — Thienemann, Abbild. Vogeleiern, pi. lxiii. fig. 6. 



Specific 

 characters. 



Geographi- 

 cal distribu- 

 tion. 



The North-American Stilt is an intermediate form between the Common Stilt and the 

 Chilian Stilt. It may be recognized by the distribution of the black on the back of the neck, 

 which not only passes underneath the eye, but also extends over the crown and joins the 

 black on the mantle. Young in first plumage resemble adults, except that the black is 

 replaced by brown. 



It breeds in the southern half of North America, and winters in the northern half of 

 South America, but in the central portion of its range it is said to be a resident. 



It does not appear to visit Canada, but in the United States it is found in California, 

 and is especially common on the shores of the Great Salt Lake. To the east it is said to 

 be common on the coast of New Jersey, and has occurred once on the Bermudas (Reid, 

 Zoologist, 1877, p. 475). It is a summer visitor to the Southern States, but is probably a 

 resident in Mexico and the West Indies. It is a winter visitor to Central America (Salvin, 

 Ibis, 1865, p. 192), Colombia (Wyatt, Ibis, 1871, p. 383), the Lower Amazons (Wallace, 

 Proc. Zool. Soc. 1867, p. 591), and the Galapagos Islands (Dr. Habel, Proc. Zool. Soc. 

 1870, p. 323). 



HIMANTOPUS KNUDSENI. 



SANDWICH-ISLAND STILT. 



Diagnosis. Himantopus haud inter collum posticum et dorsum collari albo : loris parte anteriore alba, parte 

 posteriore nigra. 



Variations. It is not known that any local races of this species occur. 



Synonymy. Himantopus knudseni, Stejneger, Proc. U. States Nat. Mus. 1887, p. 81. 



Specific 

 characters. 



The Sandwich-Island Stilt is little more than an island form of H. mexicanus, but it 

 appears to have become differentiated from the parent form in several ways. It has a 





