THE BLACK-WINGED STILT. 645 



and north Africa (Tunisia) ; Asia to India, Malayan and Moluccan 

 Islands, China and Japan ; and through N. to Central America, 

 Bermudas and occasionally Hawaii. 



Genus HIMANTOPUS Briss. 



Himantopus Brisson, Orn., i, p. 46 (1760— Type by tautonymy " Himan- 

 topus " =Charadrius himantopus L., 1758, according to vol. v, p. 33). 



Bill almost perfectly straight, hard throughout, not flexible. 

 Red legs enormously long, with exception of Flamingos most long- 

 legged birds in proportion to size. Tibia mostly bare, bare portion 

 about three-quarters length of tarsus which is reticulated, larger 

 in front. No hind toe, outer and middle toes with membrane 

 between basal joints, only indication of web between middle and 

 inner toes. Wings long and pointed, 1st developed primary by 

 far largest. Tail short, middle and outermost pair a little longer, 

 tail therefore appears slightly doubly emarginate. Several species 

 recognized in America, eastern Archipelago from Sunda Islands 

 to New Zealand and Hawaiian Islands, but most can be treated 

 as subspecies of European Stilt, which is only Palsearctic form, 



HIMANTOPUS HIMANTOPUS 



420. Himantopus himantopus himantopus (L.) — THE BLACK- 

 WINGED STILT. 



Charadrius Himantopus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, i, p. 151 (1758 — 



" Habitat in Europa australiore "). 



Himantopus candidus Bonnaterre, Yarrell, in, p. 305 ; Saunders, p. 563. 



Description. — Adult male. Winter. — Fore-head and lores white ; 

 crown, nape and upper -mantle white, feathers with ashy-brown 

 bases often imperfectly concealed, hinder crown sometimes with 

 a few sooty-brown feathers or marks ; a few feathers on nape 

 sometimes tipped black ; mantle and scapulars black, glossed 

 metallic blue-green, most feathers narrowly edged brown ; back, 

 rump and upper tail-coverts white, latter suffused pale drab -grey ; 



The Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus h. himantopus). 



under-parts white, under wing-coverts black, glossed metallic blue- 

 green ; tail-feathers pale drab-grey, tipped white, outer ones more 

 or less white ; primaries and secondaries (including innermost) 

 black, shading to black-brown or sepia on inner webs and glossed 



