594 



8 



So far as I can ascertain, there are only five good species of Stilts known, viz. : — 



Himantopus candidus (Bonnat.), of which the range and description are given above. 



Himantopus nigricollis, Vieill. (Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. x. p. 42). — This species differs from 

 H. candidus in having the crown, to the portion in front of the eye, the nape, and entire hind 

 neck deep glossy black, except a patch of white above each eye. A male measures — culmen 2-6 

 inches, wing 8 - 7, tail 3"2, tarsus 4*2. This bird inhabits the central, western, and southern por- 

 tions of the United States; and Messrs. Sclater and Salvin say (P. Z. S. 1873, p. 454) that they 

 have examined specimens from California, Guatemala, Columbia, and the Galapagos, and a live 

 example was sent to the Zoological Society's gardens from Brazil. 



Himantopus brasiliensis, C. L. Brehm (Vog. Deutschl. p. 684, 1831). — This, the southern 

 representative of Himantopus nigricollis, is found, Messrs. Sclater and Salvin say, in Southern 

 Brazil, Chili, and the Argentine Republic. It resembles Himantopus leucocephalus more closely 

 than it does that species ; for the lower nape and hind, neck are deep black, a broad black line 

 passes from the nape to below the eye, and there is a broad white band on the fore part of the 

 back separating the black on the hind neck from that on the back. An old male in the collection 

 of Messrs. Salvin and Godman measures — culmen 2 - 55 inches, wing 9 - 5, tail 3 - 35, tarsus 4 - 5. 



Himantopus leucocephalus, Gould (P. Z. S. 1837, p. 26), inhabits Southern India, New 

 Guinea, Celebes, Australia, &c. It differs from H. brasiliensis merely in lacking the black line 

 from the nape to below the eye ; and, as a rule, the black on the hind neck does not extend so 

 far up. A male from Celebes in the collection of Messrs. Salvin and Godman measures — 

 culmen 2 - 5 inches, wing 9T, tail 2-8, tarsus 4-6. 



Himantopus novce-zelandice, Gould (P. Z. S. 1841, p. 8). — This species, which inhabits New 

 Zealand, is easily recognizable from all other Stilts, being sooty black, the back, wings, and tail 

 being glossed with green. 



The specimens figured are : — on the one Plate a male with the neck black, killed in the 

 summer, and an old male, with the head and neck white, obtained at Ondonga in November ; 

 and on the second Plate an adult female in breeding-dress and a young bird in down, — all being 

 the specimens above described. 



In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens: — 



E Mus. H. E. Dresser. 



a, b, d , c, 2 ■ Seville, Spain, June (Ruiz), d, 2 . Albania (Hanbury Barclay). e,i,f,2. Sarepta, May 

 (Moschler) . g, pull. Kerghis steppes, June (Schliiter) . 



E Mus. Salvin and Godman. 

 a, $ , b, c, d,2 • Zana, E. Algeria, June 1857 (0. Salvin). 



E Mus. J. E. Harting. 



a. France, b, c. Spain, June (Lord Lilford). d, e, 6 . Sicily (C. A. Wright). /, J . Dobrudscha (Cullen). 

 g, 2. Sarepta, May 1872 (Moschler). h. Algeria (Troughton). i, S • Ondonga, Africa, November 6th, 



1866 (Andersson). k, 6 . Nile Delta, February 12th, 1870 (Captain Shelley). 1. Deccan, India (Feilden) . 

 m. Deccan (Lieutenant Burgess), n. Nepal, o, 2 ■ Darjeeling (Whitely). p. Ceylon, February 17th, 



1867 (Buchanan). 



