THE BLACK-WINGED STILT. 
379 
Family SCOLOPACIDiE. 
Genus HIMANTOPUS, Briss. 
725, HIMANTOPUS CANDIDUS. 
THE BLACK-WINGED STILT. 
Charadrius himantopus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 255. Himantopus candidus, 
Bonnat. Tahl. Encycl. et Meth.^ Orn. i. p. 24 ; Jerd. B. Ind. ii. p. 704 ; Hume, 
Ibis, 1870, p. 146; David et Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 462 ; Di'essej-, Birds Eur. vii. 
p. 587, pi.; Hume 8f Dav. S. F. vi. p. 464; Hume, 8. F. viii. p. 113; Legge, 
Birds Ceylon, p. 919 ; Oates, S. F. x. p. 241. Himantopus intermedius, 
Bl. Cat. Birds Mus. As. Soc. p. 265 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, p. 589 ; id. 8. F. 
i. p. 248, iii. p. 183. Himantopus autumnalis, apud Bl. B. Burm. p. 154. 
Description. — Male and female. Crown, nape and ear- coverts smoky- 
brown ; back and sides of the neck and the upper back grey ; middle of 
the back and tbe w^hole of tbe wings glossy black_, tinged with metallic 
green ; upper tail-coverts and tail grey ; forehead and remainder of the 
plumage pure white ; under surface of wing black. 
Iris red ; bill and claws black ; legs lake-red. In the immature bird 
the legs are pale pink and the bill blackish brown. 
Length 15 inches_, tail 3*4, wing 10, tarsus 4'9, bill from gape 2*8. The 
female is rather smaller. 
The plumage of this species varies a good deal, and the causes of the 
variations do not appear to be well understood. I have described above 
the birds usually met with in Burmah in the winter months. According 
to Major Legge, and in my experience also, the sexes are alike. Ac- 
cording to Mr. Dresser the sexes differ, the male having the hind crown, 
nape and hind neck black intermixed with white, the wings and back 
black ; the female having the hind crown and nape blackish grey, the back, 
scapulars and inner secondaries dull blackish brown. I am of opinion, 
however, that the sexes are alike, and that the variations are due to age 
and season. 
The Black- winged Stilt appears to be generally distributed over Pegu 
and Arrakan, and Capt. Wardlaw Bamsay observed it on the Karin hills 
east of Tonghoo. In Tenasserim it is confined to the flat portions of the 
northern half of the Division. 
It occurs throughout the southern half of Asia, the whole of Africa and 
a considerable portion of Europe, being migratory in some parts, resident 
in others. 
This peculiar-looking bird is nowhere very abundant in Burmah, visiting 
