BLACK-WINGED STILT. 21 



QRALLATORES. SCOLOPACIDAL. 



PLATE CLXXXVI. 



BLACK-WINGED STILT. 



HIMANTOPUS MELANOPTERUS. 



The Black-winged Stilt is occasionally met with in Britain, 

 but is not frequent. Several ornithologists have enumerated 

 and described British killed specimens, both in Scotland, 

 Ireland, and England ; still it is considered by all to be 

 rather scarce. 



The geographical distribution of this bird extends over 

 most of the temperate and warm climates of the four quarters 

 of the globe : in America there occurs also another species, 

 for which it has been mistaken, owing to its great resemblance 

 to ours. In Europe it is most plentiful in Spain, Italy, 

 Greece, Hungary, and the southern provinces of Russia. 



The Black-winged Stilt is a migratory species, working its 

 way northward in May, and southward as early as August. 

 In Hungary many pairs breed annually, but rarely farther 

 north ; and it is only in warm fine weather that some indi- 

 viduals extend their journey as far as our isles. The migra- 

 tory movements of the present species are performed during 

 the night. When they are disturbed during the day they fly 

 off to some distance, but are very apt to return to the same 

 spot again the next day ; and where they are observed to 

 alight or to haunt they generally remain for some days, 

 which circumstance facilitates the capture of specimens very 



